22 
A YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 
each one having his specialty. I find it a great saving of 
time. For instance, Charlie puts together the sections, and 
Emma puts in the foundation, and they are such adepts that 
it is a pleasure to watch them at work ; but if they were to 
change places, both would make slow, bungling work. As a 
general rule, I practice each kind of work, until I settle upon 
what I think a good plan, and then it is given over to the 
specialist, who may make such improvement as further 
experience suggests. So, when for the sake of convenience, 
I speak of doing a certain thing, it may be that I may not 
have, with my own hands, touched such work for a year. 
Now, as to filling combs with syrup : The syrup is made 
in a wash-boiler, about 4 pounds of sugar to each quart of 
water. It must be made some little time before used, so as 
to have time to cool, or the syrup may be made with less 
water and filled up with cold water. I have a tin-pan 3% to 
4 inches deep, slightly flaring, so as to be about an inch 
larger at the top than bottom, the bottom about half an inch 
longer than the top-bar of the frame, and about an inch 
wider than the depth of the frame. This pan is put in a box 
without top or bottom, made of 6-inch wide fence-boards, 
and large enough so that when the pan is in it, there is 
about an inch play lengthwise, and scarcely any play laterally. 
Another box is made without top or bottom, 18 or 20 inches 
deep, 'the ends of %-inch stuff, the sides of thin stuff, and 
the outside dimensions about half an inch less than the 
inside dimensions of the box first described. 
The pan sets on the floor inside the shallow box, and the 
deep box also sets inside the shallow box, resting on top of 
the pan. The object of the deep box is, that the syrup, 
instead of spattering all over the floor and one’s clothes, may 
strike against the side of the box and rundown into the pan. 
An old tin quart fruit-can is placed upside down on a very 
hot stove, or on the fire, till the end becomes unsoldered and 
drops off. With a 2}£ inch No. 12 wire nail I punch holes in 
the bottom, making a row around the outer edge about % 
Of an inch apart, % of an inch inside of this another row, 
