248 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



May 



\riRINQ FRAMES FOR FDIV. 



ANOTHER STEP IN THE MATTER. 



f SUPPOSE that you are crowded almost to death 

 with business and bees-ness. But listen one mo- 

 — ' ment, and then chatter away before that short- 

 hand fellow— or, rather, lady. In wiring my frames 

 I have no holes to make nor wire to trifle or bother 

 with; and the frames when full look just as though 

 they were miled into the frames. 



I think they work "boss." Fasten f piece of ''i 

 board to the side of the work-bench, about 4 inches 

 wide, and the length of the frame on the inside. 

 Now make holes at every interval where you want 

 a wire. Hang the frame on this block, and drive ?8 

 wire nails into the frame over the holes. Turn over, 

 and hang the other side on and treat in the same 

 manner. When the nails are all driven in, take a 

 pair of round-nose pliers and turn the point down in 

 the form of a loop, or staple, and they will never 

 pull out. You need nothing to hold the wire when 

 starting, but thread it through the middle one at the 

 bottom and give it a turn or two around, making a 

 kind of twist; then go on amund the frame. 



I think it will be all plain to you; but for fear that 

 it won't, I will send a piece with two places fixed. I 

 use % nails, but think ^i will be as good, and perhaps 

 better. It takes, I think, a little longer to make 

 them, but they are so much nicer it more than pays 

 for the trouble. 



BOTTOM-BAR, WITH WIRE-NAIL STAPLES IN IT. 



If you like this plan, use it and welcome: but if 

 not, you don't "have to." You can make the loop 

 go across the grain, if you choose, but I turn them 

 this way because it is so much handier, and they 

 work just as well. 



Bees are not wintering very well in this part. 



Gales ville. Wis., March 22, 1883. G. E. Button. 



Thank you, friend D.; and although it 

 seems to me some one else has suggested the 

 same, or something similar, you have im- 

 proved on the manner in putting in the nails 

 and bending them, until I shouldn't wonder 

 if it would be really cheaper for the majority 

 of the friends, than drilling holes and weav- 

 ing the wire through. The thin nail-heads 

 on the wire nails can be easily sunken in 

 level with the wood of the top-bar, and will 

 not be in the way through any scraping of 

 the top-bars ; nor will they give the top of 

 the frames an untidy look, as the wiring oft- 

 en does. If the wire could be put in more 

 easily with the hooks turned at right angles, 

 they could be easily twisted a quarter-turn 

 •after the frame is wired. And this suggests 

 another idea that I am going to claim as my 

 own invention : Should the wires be a little 

 too loose, just twist the staples around until 

 they have their requisite tension. There, 

 now, boys, isn't this "• brilliant"? Our 2o-ct. 

 round-nose pliers are just the tool for bend- 

 ing the points of wire nails into a hook. To 

 do this rapidly, we want the wire nails made 

 ratlier slender. Those we sell are made ex- 

 pressly to our order of a smaller-sized wire 

 than those made first. In regard to your 

 board for spacing the nails, I would suggest 

 that the wood be cut out on the side next 



the operator, so that, in turning them, they 

 can see the points as they come through. 

 Friend D., I rather think we owe you a vote 

 of thanks — quite a number of us. 



HAI.F-POUND SECTIONS OF COMB 

 HONEY. 



ANOTHER SCHEME SUGGESTED. 



f THINK the best way to supply the demand for 

 'a-lb. sections would be to have the honey made 

 ' in large frames, and then have it cut with a cut- 

 ter into pieces about 2^2 inches square (which, 1^ 

 inches thick, would be about M lb.), and the pieces 

 placed in square tin boxes just a little larger, so that 

 they would slip in easily; then pack these in a large 

 box, with a thick paper between thelaj'ers (or paste- 

 board), and when the case is full, press down the 

 cover and fasten tight. The cases should then be 

 kept right side up; but I do not think they would 

 leak if they got turned wrong side up. 



Perhaps the boxes could have covers, and be sealed 

 as you seal the extracted honey in small pails. They 

 would be nice for picnics or fairs, as they could be 

 eaten right out of the box (I guess we should want 

 J4-lb. boxes for such places); i^-lb. boxes ought to be 

 furnished for 3 cents each in large quantities, and 

 perhaps less. I intend to try them the coming sea- 

 son, if I can get the boxes made. 



H. S. Kingsbury. 



Cavendish, Vt.. March 23, 1883. 



Friend K., I should not be surprised if 

 your idea bore fruit, after all! Why not use 

 our glass jelly-tumblers, and fill around the 

 piece of comb with liquid honey, and then 

 none will be lost by the drip and leakage. 

 We can make you round tin boxes for two 

 cents, easily enough. 



^VILLOW AS A HONEY-PIiANT. 



A HOXEY-BEABINO HEDGE. 



^y^\Y this mail I send you a few cuttings from a 

 jB[Qb)\ willow that grows in a neighbor's yard, across 

 the street from me. It sprouted up from the 

 root of a Scotch drooping-willow that died above the 

 roots. It is now three years old. I measured it this 

 morning, and found it to be 18 feet high. The top is 

 pyramidal, with long slender branches, making a 

 most beautiful shade-tree. It blooms the first of 

 April here, and is one of the best bloomers that I 

 know any thing about. The catkins are very large, 

 and yield yellow pollen, and honey in great quanti- 

 ties. When in full bloom it presents a very beauti- 

 ful appearance. Bees work on it all day long, gath- 

 ering a bright yellow pollen from it. It will grow 

 readily in any soil, I think. I put out a few cuttings 

 last spring along the fence, sticking them into the 

 hard ground, and every one grew, some of them 

 making a growth of 5 feet, and all are full of bloom 

 this spring. Those cuttings I send you will bloom in 

 a few days, if you stick them into the ground. It is 

 very easily propagated by putting the cuttings into 

 loose moist soil. It does not throw up runners or 

 sprouts. I think it will make a valuable spring 

 bloomer, and a pretty shade-tree. What variety of 

 the willow is it? I think that bee-keepers would en- 

 hance their interests very much by planting such 

 shade-trees as bloom In the spring. 

 There are different trees that bloom early when 



