82 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 



I^^arf^ of Imin, 



From Different Fields. 



SUGGESTIONS ON FOOT-POWER SAWS. 



flELL friend W. Z. Hutchinson to put his driving'- 

 belt on a rim built on the side of his driving- 

 — ' wheel, so as get the weight of the wheel out- 

 side of the belt. 1 at first had the belt of my foot- 

 power saw on the outside of my driving-wheel; but 

 an old mill-wright told me to fasten a rim about four 

 inches from the face of the wheel, and I find it 

 much better; the belt doesn't have to be so tight, 

 and I get a better grip on the mandrel-pulley. I 

 lose some speed to ihc saw, but I can feed faster, 

 and the belt doesn't slip. G. Luff. 



Salt Lake City, Utah, Dec. 14, 1883. 



Thanks, friend L.; but I would suggest that 

 perhaps in your case you had more speed 

 than was best, for tlie kind of work you 

 were doing. With one of the Barnes hand- 

 rippers we found we could get excellent re- 

 sults with very heavy hard plank, by putting 

 the crank right on to the other end of the 

 saw-arbor. It was then virtually cutting di- 

 rect on the stuff, almost as a man would 

 with a hand-saw, only that there was no 

 drawing back, and the stuff was cut exact. 

 It may be, too, that yours was an iron bal- 

 ance-wheel, and it is well known that a belt 

 works better on a wood surface than on 

 iron. Aside from the above two points, I 

 presume it is true that we shall get better re- 

 sults by having the main weight of the bal- 

 ance-wheel outside of the rim of the pulley 

 that carries the belt. 



ONE AND ONE-HALF-INCH SECTIONS, WHEN NO SEP- 

 ARATORS ARE USED. 



I started with 20 swarms in the spring; increased 

 to 50 by natural swarming; took 2000 lbs. of honey 

 in one-pound sections, or, rather, in sections 4Mx4}4. 

 about 800 of which were two inches wide; and as I 

 was experimenting for honey without separators, 

 the remainder were in sections 1?^ and VA inches 

 wide. The result is, that I never want any more 

 sections over 154 inches wide, if they are to be used 

 without separators, as there wiU be ten of the two- 

 inch sections, to one of the lli-inch that will be 

 bulged; in fact, out of 800 sections VA inches wide 

 I did not have half a dozen that would not pack in 

 the shipping-cases without any trouble; while of 

 the 2-inch sections there were ten times as many. 

 And another thing: I find that my 154-inch sections 

 will be filled out nice and full, while the 2-inch sec- 

 tions will be but poorly filled. This being the result, 

 I have about come to the conclusion to use only 1!^- 

 inch sections after this, without separators ; this 

 will make the sections enough narrower so that we 

 can get two more frames in a hive. I should like to 

 have others try the narrow sections without sepa- 

 rators next season, and report. 



FOUNDATION TO FILL THE SECTIONS. 



I fill my sections about half full of the thinnest 

 f dn. that I can get. I use the thin veneering, or 

 fruit-box sections, that cost 75 cts. per 1000 in the 

 flat; I have used them for the last three years; have 

 shipped nearly all my honey to Chicago, and not lost 

 a single section by being broken. My honey has 

 sold for from 18 to 22 cts. per lb. But I have spun 



this out too long already; so I will close by wishing 

 you God speed in every good word and work. 



Wm. L. King. 



Sod us, Berrien Co., Mich., Jan. 8, 1883. 



Not at all long, friend K., so long as you 

 are discussing vital points like these. Friend 

 Muth has for years advocated the H-in. sec- 

 tions, used without separators ; and, if I am 

 correct, friend Ileddon is following pretty ve- 

 hemently in the same wake. I am glad to 

 know you like filling the sections with fdn. 

 — Will you please tell us where you get ve- 

 neer sections for 7.5c. per 1000 V And do you 

 have entrances for the bees cut in them for 

 this price, or do you put them in the hives a 

 little way apart V 



A HANDY TABLE FOR THE HONEY-HOUSE. 



While the subject of honey-houses is before us, 

 please allow me to describe the table I use in mine. 

 It is circular, 4 ft. in diameter, made of 1^4-in. pine 

 boards. It;is 3 ft. 5 in. high; the shaft, or standard 

 upon which the table turns, is 4x4 in., made of white 

 oak. Any stiff scantling that will remain straight 

 will do. The table is well braced on the under side; 

 but the braces do not come so near the edge of the 

 table that they come in contact with the knees when 

 we are sitting up to it and turning it. The shaft has 

 a 54-iuch iron pin in the bottom end, which goes 

 through the floor with a piece of leather between it 

 and the floor. This should have a little tallow once 

 a year. The top end of the shaft is round, and goes 

 through a hole made in a board that is fastened 

 overhead. Now for the use of it: We fill the table 

 with empty jars, cans, or pailf, as the case may re- 

 quire, then fill all that can be reached conveniently. 

 We then give the table a gentle pull, and with one 

 motion, easily performed, requiring only a moment's 

 time, we remove the filled ones and bring as many 

 more empty ones right in their place, and so on un- 

 til all are filled. About one foot above this table 

 should be a smaller one, say 18 inches in diameter, 

 upon which to put labels, etc. When the contents 

 of the table are all filled, we just turn around, plac- 

 ing our feet under the table, and proceed to cover 

 and label, turning the table as occasion may require 

 it, until all are ready for packing for market. We 

 then clear the table, and commence again. When 

 we are crowded for time, one fills, another puts on 

 the covers, while a third labels. 



I regret that you still continue to write up blue 

 thistle. To my mind, it is a grievous sin againt hu- 

 manity. Time will tell. 



Bees are doing well so far. S. T. Pettit. 



Belmont, Ont., Can., Jan. 13, 1883. 



Thanks for your description of the re- 

 volving honey-table, friend Pettit; but I 

 waited anxiously all through it to hear you 

 say you had a place fixed to roll up a barrel 

 so a honey-gate would deliver the honey 

 right into the cans, as you turned them one 

 after another right under it ; or do you pour 

 the honey out of a coffee-pot or pitcher, 

 strainer pail, or something of the sort? I 

 am not yet convinced the blue thistle in our 

 garden will do any more harm than a stalk 

 of its near relative, borage. 



A SHEET OF GLASS AS A HJOTEIJIANCE TO ROBBERS. 



Reduce the entrance so but few bees can pass; 

 then lean over the entrance a window-glass 8x10; 

 and if there is any fight in your bees they will stop 



