146 



THE GARDEN 'MAGAZINE 



April, 1919 



BARKER 



WEEDER.MULCHER 

 CULTIVATOR 



Takes 



Hard Work 



out of 

 Gardening 



Just push this machine through your gar- 

 den and see the weeds go. Blades, revolv- 

 ing against stationary knife (like a lawn 

 mower), destroy the weeds and at the same 

 time break up the clods and crust into a 

 moisture-retaining mulch. "Best Weed 

 Killer Ever Used." Gets close to the 

 plants. Guards protect leaves. 



Go over your garden with a BARKER after 

 even- rain. (Ten times as fast as a hoe.) It's 

 really a pleasure — and it'll keep your garden in 

 perfect growing condition. A boy can use this 

 machine. Has shovels for deeper cultivation, 

 making three garden tools in one. 



FREE Booklet 

 and Factory - to - User Offer 



Write for our free book of information about 

 gardening. Fully illustrated. Shows the Barker 

 at work, tells what users think of it. 



BARKER MFG. CO. 



Dept. 11 David City, Neb. 



SIX "BUFFALO" 

 Portable Sections 



m 



and a few live chicks or rabbits 

 will amuse and keep the 



BOY HEALTHY 



Ideal weather now approaching, those youngsters 

 have fresh air to be healthy. 



Six "BUFFALO" Portable Sections and a few- 

 chicks or rabbits will keep them outdoors and en- 

 tertain as well as educate them. The 6' x 2' size is 

 just the thing for the youngsters. Six sections will 

 only cost S10.56 and a small additional amount the 

 express charges may be to your point of delivery. 



Send in a trial order now and avoid the rush. 

 Booklet No. 67 A A will be mailed upon request 

 with six cents in stamps to cover postage. 



BUFFALO WIRE WORKS CO. 



'Formerly Scheeler's Sons 



467 Terrace Buffalo, N. Y. 



' - _^>: - 



ROUND AB 

 HOME PLOT 



Novel Planting Device for Dry Soil 



HERE'S a good garden "stunt" that I 

 saw used last year. The gardener is a 

 suburban amateur enthusiast for good 

 culture, a man who applies fundamen- 

 tal principles rather than follows the rules of the 

 thumb. He has been using his feet to firm the 

 seeds in the soil when sowing had to be done in 

 dry weather and had always had good success 

 even when the ground was so dry that most of it 

 would blow away when a handful was crumbled 

 and allowed to "pour." But since he weighs 

 about 175 pounds and since weight is, he thinks, 

 too much for seeds as small as carrots though all 

 right for beans, corn, and perhaps beets, and also 

 since tramping takes too much time he hit upon 

 the idea of turning his wheel barrow upside down 

 and laying a few pieces of plank or some large 

 stones near the wheel which is trundled down 

 the row in a quarter the time needed for tramping. 

 The weight may easily be varied from that of 

 the unweighted wheel barrow to a heavy load 

 according to the size of the seed sown so the firm- 

 ing may not be over done. If one does not have 

 a wheel barrow but can get cast iron wheels of 

 various sizes these may be given axles and handles 

 and pushed down the row. If the wheels have 

 cogs, so much the better because not only would 

 the wheels press the soil well but the cogs would 

 break up the immediate surface and leave it in 

 a mulched condition. Such devices are of special 

 value when sowings are made in June, July, or 

 August when the soil is usually much drier than 

 in May or earlier. 



Ideal Bee Hive Location. — An orchard, near 

 fields where flowers are plentiful is doubtless 

 ideal for the location of bee hives. But colonies 

 may be successfully maintained in backyards 

 and even on the house tops of cities. The hives 

 should be placed a few feet apart to allow working 

 between them without disturbing the hives. 

 Also they should be far enough away from walks, 

 avenues, or roads to prevent annoyance of pas- 

 sersby. In the North a sunny slope protected 

 from prevailing winds should be chosen. While 

 the early morning sun should reach the hive yet 

 shade is needed during midday in summer. The 

 former starts work early in the day; the latter 

 makes life bearable in hot weather. Always the 

 location must be dry. Weeds and tall grass must 

 not be allowed to grow around the hive especially 

 in front as they interfere with the bees and the 

 operator. 



Good Hives For Bees 



Before starting beekeeping it is well to decide 

 on the style of hives to be used. The standard 

 hive is used by nearly all practical beekeepers. 

 The hive consists of a bottom board, the brood 

 chamber or living quarters which is a box con- 

 taining eight or ten movable frames and a cover. 

 A more thorough description is given in supply 

 catalogues. The original of this hive was invent- 

 ed in 185 1, by the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, so is 

 sometimes called the Langstroth hive. All other 



movable frame hives are but modifications of 

 this. It is usually best to buy hives in the flat 

 and nail them together, rather than to try to 

 make them. Factory made hives are made with 

 great accuracy. This hive (illustrated) has been 

 adopted as the standard because it combines 

 more good qualities than any other. 



Above the Standard hive and beneath the 

 cover is placed a shallow box or frame which holds 

 the comb honey section. It is called a super, and 

 is the store room in which the bees place their 

 surplus honey. Often several supers are placed 

 on one hive. These supers may be used for either 

 comb or extracted hone} - . Each is fitted differ- 

 ently with inside fixtures. The extracting supers 

 having frames similar to those of the brood cham- 

 bers but much shallower. The section box super 

 is provided with section holders or forms to hold 

 section boxes. The super most highly recom- 

 mended by A. W. Yates of the Connecticut Ex- 

 periment Station is known as the N section frame 

 super (see below). It is fitted with eight 



section frames 

 holding four 

 section boxes 

 each with a 

 ten frame 

 hive; or seven 

 with the eight 

 frame hive. 

 The frames 

 are separated 

 by fences as 

 shown by the 

 illustration. 

 These frames 

 not only serve 

 to hold the 

 section boxes 

 square, but 

 by covering 

 them com- 

 pletely pro- 

 tect them 

 from stains 

 that are al- 

 ways present 

 when the open 

 top styles are 

 used. 



The frame 

 most com- 

 monly used 

 At top section-frame super where thelioney • 1 «. l _ „ _ 

 is stored by the bees. The other sketches Wltn tnese 

 show a ten frame hive with comb-honey super h i ves is known 

 and perforated zinc queen excluder 1 J-fnfF 



rnan self spac- 

 ing. This is built in two sizes; one being 9! 

 inches deep for the regular hive, the other 5§ 

 inches deep for the shallow hive or super. 

 These are suspended separately so the bee- 

 keeper may be able to keep a hive of bees apart 

 if he desires. The person who has a modern hive 

 and does not avail himself of the advantage it 

 permits, may as well go back to the old box hive 

 of his grandfather. 



{Continued on page 148) 



I I 



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