392 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



lerenco; for other stands of both blacks and hybrids 

 (!i misnomer), with a great many less bees could 

 show eijually as good a stock account, and they 

 would make the alighting-board tilmost every time. 

 The best honey-gatherers I have arc queens raised 

 from these same queens. The blacks come next, 

 and these purely mated bought queens are List, al- 

 though they make up that deficiency by their great 

 breeding capacity. A. Williamson. 



Osceola, Washington Co., Va., June 19, 1883. 



Friend W., you liave stiuck on the posi- 

 tion held by 1). L. Adair, and discussed at 

 considerable lengtli in the first volume of 

 Glkanings, teii years ago. The only ob- 

 jection I know of, to your reasoning, is that 

 the time is too short for any such results. If 

 the wings of all queens were clipped for 

 several centuries, it would seem that nature 

 might cease to develop an organ that was 

 never used; but that the cutting -off of 

 (lueens' wings and dogs' tails in one man's 

 lifetime should give wingless (lueens and 

 bees, and tailless dogs, would hardly be in 

 accordance with the facts collected on this 

 strange subject. Should we, however, se- 

 lect dogs and queens, tailless and wingless 

 from birth, and breed from them for several 

 generations, no doubt we might in a few 

 seasons get a breed having this peculiarity 

 pretty well established. Do you not see the 

 difference V Well, if we notice that the work- 

 ers from a certain queen seem to have weak 

 wings, as in the case you have just stated, by 

 all means ajvoid breeding from her. Jf I am 

 correct, the point that Prof. Cook urges so 

 strongly is, that we take more heed to points 

 like these. It is, without doubt, of vast mo- 

 ment that something should be done in this 

 matter. At present there is, undoubtedly, 

 too much of a saving of everything that pro- 

 duces bees with three yellow bands, thus 

 cutting off all chance for nature to weed out 

 the poorest as she has been doing for ages ; 

 and as a result, we are obliged to send over 

 to barren Italy, every now and then, to get 

 stock that has been weeded out by this pro- 

 cess. When Italy learns to raise queens as 

 we do, and to feed up with sugar all that do 

 not get enough natural stores, what are we 

 going to do V Very likely we shall have to 

 depend on friend Cook, or some other good 

 friend of humanity, to save us from the evil 

 that even now begins to loom up in the dis- 

 tance. 



FKIEND ATCHIiEY IN TROirBLE. 



A STORY WITH A MORAL. 



AM almost ruined la business. I don't know 

 what to do. I sold a good lot of honey and col- 

 lected $500.00 to buy wax with, and to pay 1300.00 

 I owe, and night liefore last myself and family were 

 nearly killed by chloroform, and my money all sto- 

 len; my drawer torn out by the roots, and every 

 thing, including my watch and some other jewelry, 

 was also taken, and I can not get any trace at all of 

 who did it. I owe It. Wilkin $li;?.00, and James Mar- 

 vin $100.00, which is about all the money I owe. 

 Money can hardly be borrowed hero at all, at this 

 season; business is dull and I don't know where to 

 get It. 

 I was also indicted about a month ago for selling 



honey that the people pronounced glucose. It was 

 the honey I bought of friend Wilkin, and it was so 

 much whiter than Texas honey they at once called 

 it manufactured stutl', when it was nothing but the 

 finest California honey, and the trial comes off in 

 July, and that will cost me something, although I 

 am satisfied they can not make any thing out of it. 

 I am going to write my creditors and see if they will 

 not wait on me 90 days; and if they woTi'f, I don't 

 know what I shall do. I have got more money due 

 me at about that time, and you may be sure I will 

 never a?aia have more than $5.00 in my house at a 

 time. If these men will not wait on me I will adver- 

 tise in Gleanings and sell some bees and honey at 

 a sacrifice, and pay them. Please tell what you 

 would do in the matter. I had rather give up all my 

 bee:^ (90 stands), to pay the $3C0.00, than be called dis- 

 honest, or not coming up to my promise, and I can 

 not get the monej' now, otherwise. 



Yours in sorrow,— E. J. Atchley. 



Lancaster, Texas, June 20, 1883. 



Your resolution not to keep over $5.00 in 

 the house again, friend A., is a pretty good 

 one, unless you put the amount rather small, 

 for it is a fact, that keeping money in the 

 house, or in one's pocket, in sums like you 

 mention, is one of the incentives to crime. 

 When money is paid you, either pay it out 

 again or put it in the bank. Of course, you 

 received this sum in various small amounts. 

 Well, if so, why did you not send it, as fast 

 as you got it, to those you were owing, or 

 buy w'ax with it, and thus have it out of 

 your hands, instead of letting it accumulate? 

 It is an excellent idea, in several ways, to 

 keep money moving ; for while it is lying 

 still in your pocket or drawer, it is doing no 

 good to anybody. Money was made to be 

 used, and the more we use, judiciously, of 

 course, the more good it does. It is a loss 

 every way, for a strong able man to be stand- 

 ing around when there is so much work to 

 do, and it is, in the same way, a loss for good 

 money to be standing or lying still. Keep it 

 moving and " working." 



So much for good resolutions ; but what is 

 to be done now V Tell the full- facts in the 

 case to your creditors, and, without wasting 

 very much time in talking over the matter, 

 get" to work again. If there is a reasonable 

 chance of convicting the thieves, by all 

 means improve it; but don't waste much 

 time or money, unless the case is a pretty 

 plain one. A cousin of mine recently lost 

 his life in pursuing a thief who had stolen 

 his horse. He exposed himself to a cold 

 storm, because he was pretty close on his 

 track, and lost his life and — the thief too. 

 Coolness and wisdom are needed in coping 

 with Satan. The fact that you have in your 

 community, men who would want the hard 

 earnings of a brother, and risk their lives 

 for it, would seem to me to indicate that 

 the cause of religion must be at a rather low 

 ebb near you. Have you plenty of strong 

 churches, and are their members real live 

 Christians who carry their religion into their 

 daily business V If you are a man well 

 known and trusted and beloved in your 

 vicinity, I should expect the people would 

 rise up in a remonstrance in this honey mat- 

 ter, and declare it to be impossible that you 

 had done such a thing. I have purchased 



