Hello from Hazard!
We received another confirmation on Item No. 657 that it looks like a metal canister used to smoke bees. Paul Maurer of Wadsworth, Ohio, explains that rags are placed inside the canister and then lit. The holes provide the necessary oxygen to keep the rags smoldering while the person using it swings the canister by the handle to cover an area around the hive.
We had no takers on the next mystery item, Item No. 658, which we first showed last week and will repeat here this week. The posts were sold at a local auction and no one there knew what they were. Each is roughly 6 1/2 feet long and has a pointed cast iron tip. I didn’t give you this tip last week, but each carries the mark: “Mfd. by John W. N*** (illegible), Bellaire, O.”
If you can hazard a guess as to the item’s use, send your response to: Hazard a Guess, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460; or via e-mail to: editorial@farmanddairy.com.
