176 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Al'KIL 



with those queens whose progeny must be put into 

 chaff or frost-proof cellars, to prevent freezing? 

 Friend Root, is this queen and her progeny an ex- 

 ception? If so, who is the man that will pay a thou- 

 sand dollars for her, or five dollars apiece for her 

 daughters? K. B. IIoruins. 



Bloomdale, O., March 7, 1883. 



Thanks, friend R. I have several times 

 seen bees " nosing around " the leaf of corn, 

 in a way that seemed to indicate they had 

 been getting something from the spot you 

 mention. All that is wanted now is a kind 

 of corn that bears honey there every season, 

 and I have little doubt but that it can be 

 furnished. — The bees you mention, I opine, 

 are no more hardy than any bees. It 

 was because they were tilled with honey, 

 that made them endure the cold so well. If 

 plenty of good honey were kept in the cl us- 

 ter all the time, they might stand it that 

 way all winter ; but after every freeze and 

 thaAV they would gradually drop off, and, in 

 time, if the winter was severe, they would 

 all be gone. In our back volumes I have 

 given you the result of some experiments in 

 much the same line.— Can anybody name the 

 plant described? 



HOW TO STEAL A LIVING, AND DO IT 

 HONESTLlt'. 



FRIEND JONES'S IDEAS ON THE MATTER. 



THINK it would be of advantage for you to 

 make more departments similar to those of 

 Hive Manufacturers, Square Men, etc. I would 

 suggest one "Situation Vacant," "Situation Want- 

 ed." I am constantly being asked if I know a good 

 bee-keeper that could be had at fair wages; then 

 another, "Bees Wanted," and another, " Bees for 

 Sale." I have educated many every year, and still 

 the demand increases. This year I expect to have 

 a small army of students, and I am surprised that 

 more young men do not serve their time at learning 

 the business. If we had fewer mechanics and more 

 bee-keepers, we should be much better off; and no 

 mechanic can make as much on a small investment 

 as can a trained and successful bee-keeper. We 

 have millions of dollars worth of honey going to 

 waste, and thousands of peopleir juringtheir health 

 eating vile adulterated sweets; thousands of young 

 men leading an idle, miserable, profligate life for the 

 want of some legitimate employment. Now, if they 

 could be Induced to learn apiculture they would be 

 a great lienefit to the country as well as themselves; 

 and to those whose inclinations lead them to steal, I 

 would say that bee-keeping is the only way I know 

 of that a man can steal his living honestly. 

 Beeton, Can., March 3, 1882. D. A. Jones. 



Many thanks, friend Jones. The idea has 

 been for some time forcing itself on my 

 mind, on account of the number constantly 

 asking if I know where they can get a hand, 

 and others asking lor a situation. Your 

 ideas, my friend, about setting the bees 

 and young men to work gathering the honey, 

 are right royal ; and students who have 

 worked with you ought to find places readily, 

 north, south, east, and west ; for if we judge 

 of you by your fruits, you certainly know 

 how to Iceep bees and get honey. If you 



will turn to the advertising pages, you will 

 see tills suggestion has boi'ne fruit too ; for 

 we have there a department for " Wanted, a 

 Bee-keeper," and " Wanted, a Situation." 

 Notices to this effect will be inserted for 20 

 cents a month, or S2.00 a year. 



FROM THE BOX-ELDERS. 



MR. DUSTER DISCOURSES ABOUT " WATER FOR BEES." 



E took a look into Mr. Duster's bee-yard one 

 evening as we were passing his place the 

 latter part of February, and saw that he 

 had taken his bees out of his cellar, and there they 

 were, with the hono.v-house in the center and the 

 white hives standing all around it gleaming in the 

 bright moonlight — quite a little city. Wo knew 

 this was unusual for him — this bringing out his 

 bees at this season of the year; so we gave him a 

 call to learn what he had to say about it, and talk a 

 little about other bee matters. 



" I never put my bees out so early before," said 

 Mr. Duster, in answer to an inquiry of ours, "nor 

 did I ever see so mild a winter since I first put bees 

 into the cellar for wintering. I used to put them 

 out about the 10th of March, but I became satisfied 

 that, for most seasons, it is better to let them re- 

 main as long as they can be kept quiet, or until they 

 can gather pollen. 



" I was just thinking that your friend A. I. Root 

 would like to know just how bees have behaved this 

 warm winter in cellai-s, and so I give my experience. 



" My bees were as quiet as usual up to about the 

 10th of February, when they showed some uneasi- 

 ness, but not enough to bo troublesome. I gave the 

 uneasy stocks water in a sponge, at the entrance, 

 with satisfactory results, and it always quieted them. 

 I am sorry I did not leave in a few hives to try how 

 long I could have kept them in the cellar, while so 

 warm outside. 



" The two first weeks of February were the most 

 warm and beautiful weather that I ever saw for the 

 time of year. I ate it and drank it — rolled in it and 

 bathed in it to my heart's content. But my bees were 

 in that dark cellar — my pets! and I could not but 

 think if this beautiful weather brought such enjoy- 

 ment to me, how could I keep any of God's innocent 

 creatures from this great flood of his beautiful sun- 

 light? So the night of the llth saw my bees all out. 

 Those hives that had sponges at the entrance could 

 not be closed for carrying out, for the sponges were 

 completely covered with bees, forming quite a large 

 ball. They gave no trouble in carrying out; in fact, 

 they seemed among the most quiet; and now for a 

 few more observations on 



" WATER FOR BEES." 



Here Mr. Duster seemed to lose himself, as is some- 

 times his habit; but his thoughts soon began to re- 

 veal themselves as he commenced soliloquizing in a 

 slow, deliberate way, by saying,— 



" Yes, ycsl This (hobby) horse of mine Is good IC!-! 

 hands high; young, andgrowing; good action; style, 

 the best; head up and tail a coming! That's about 

 the size of it; and here I am just trotting it out for 

 some graceless, thoughtless, witless nincompoop of 

 a bee " 



"Stop, stop! Mr. Duster," called his wife from 

 across the table, "you forget yourself! What ate 



J 



