58 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1."). 



It is a museum now, and seemed to have a col- 

 lection of a little of every thing from nearly all 

 of the buildings of the fair. A number of 

 pieces of statuary were still in the building, 

 very near their old positions, and everywhere 

 numerous other exhibits that I remembered. 

 But in contrast with a year ago it was disap- 

 pointing. Along late in the afternoon, footsore 

 and tired (yes, I was tired too), we made our 

 way to the station, and were soon back in Chi- 

 cago. After a few minutes in the office we took 

 the train for Englewood, a suburb of the city, 

 where Ero. York lives. On the train we were 

 joined by Dr. Peiro, the one who writes those 

 interesting articles for the Arnerlcnn Bee 

 Journal, under the title of "Doctor's Hints." 

 I wish I could show you his picture; but he is 

 so modest that I was unable to get it. Never 

 mind. I will get even with him somehow. 

 Evidently he is a man who practices what he 

 preaches, for he seems to be the picture of 

 health; full of life and fun, it is indeed a 

 pleasure to know him. I believe in his profes- 

 sion he makes a specialty of lung and throat 

 troubles, and yet by his writings it is evident he 

 is well up in all that pertains to his profession. 



That evening, before supper, we took a look 

 over the apiary of the Ainerican Bee Journal, 

 situated in the rear of Dr. Peiro's yard. The 

 neighbors at Bro. York's, if I remember, were 

 afraid to have them there, and so the doctor 

 kindly offered to "take them in." Mr. York 

 very modestly professed to know little or noth- 

 ing about bees,* and wished me to look them 

 over, and assume the role of instructor. A 

 smoker was procured, and we proceeded to open 

 up the hives. 



" Why," said I, " Mr. York, you have got su- 

 pers on at this season of the year." (You will 

 remember it was the first of September.) "I 

 would take them off, for surely you do not need 

 them now." 



'•But they are gathering honey Jiou'." said 

 Mr. York. 



"Impossible," said I. 



"Indeed, they are." 



On pulling off the covers, I saw sure enough 

 that the bees were putting honey into sections. 



" What in the world can they get around here, 

 almost in the city? " 



" I can not tell you," said Mr. York. 



We opened two or three hives, and every one 

 of them seemed to be busy piling in the surplus. 

 In the mean time Dr. Peiro came out and en- 

 livened the proceedings with his easy-flowing 

 wit and banter. After looking over the bees, 

 Mr. York called my attention to the lawns, as 

 we neared Mr. York's home. I presume there 

 were a good many acres in reach of these bees; 

 and the constant mowing and sprinkling allow- 

 ed the white clover to spring up and yield nec- 

 tar out 0/ seosoji; but on sampling the honey 



*Such modesty in an editor wlio gets out such a 

 good bce-jouruiil is quito inexcusable.— Ed. 



that evening at the table, there seemed to be 

 something besides white clover which was cer- 

 tainly present. It had a beautiful minty flavor,, 

 and in my estimation — and I think perhaps lit 

 that of Mr. York — it was as flne honey as can 

 be produced anywhere in the world. A swamp- 

 near by it evidently gave the mint taste, sa 

 pleasant. I have always considered the Colo- 

 rado alfa'fa, since I first tasted it, the best; but 

 this is fully its equal. 



That evening Dr. and Mrs. Peiro called upon 

 the Yorks. Somehow or other I felt as if I were- 

 out of place, in my knickerbocker suit, dusty 

 and dirty: but I soon forgot my external ap- 

 pearance in the pleasant chat that followed. 



The next morning, having had a delightful! 

 sleep and good breakfast, I called at the office 

 of the Overman Wheel Co., secured my wheel, 

 and took the train for Toledo. The bicycle at 

 this point was resumed; and on reaching home, 

 110 miles was made in 9 hours. Thus ends my 

 long trip on the bicycle to the Mississippi,, 

 through Michigan. 



^RSiziOl(E 



MRS. HARRISON EN ROUTE FOR FLORIDA. 



Bil Ji/N. L. H(irris<,)i 



On the l.-)th of December 1 left my home at 

 Peoria. 111., and turned my face in the direction 

 of the sunny Southland. While in transit I 

 loo4<ed carefully for the sight of homes of the 

 busy bees. In Tennessee T saw an apiary of 

 considerable size, arranged with care and order, 

 in movable-frame hives; and another, more 

 southward. The weather was like sumiuer, 

 and heavy clothing unbearable at Pensacola. 

 Florida. 



I took passage in a schooner to cross the Gulf 

 of Mexico. We passed leisurely along by the 

 Navy Yard, Fort Pitkins. the light-house and 

 life-saving station, and I thanked my God that 

 I was a citizen of a Christian land, whose gov- 

 ernment looks after and provides for the safety 

 of her people who do business in great waters. 

 The winds were kind, and the next day we ar- 

 rived at the place of our destination, St. An- 

 drews, Florida. 



Here roses of every hue were blooming in 

 great profusion; pear-trees in full leaf, loaded 

 with a second growth of fruit. While a resi- 

 dent was showing me over his lovely grounds, 

 and directing my attention to the difference in 

 the spray of the Satsuma oranges, he remarked 

 that his bees had stored only 40 lbs. of surplus 

 honey to a colony, which he considered only a 

 third of a crop. This apiary is located near 

 the Bay, so that half of the flight of the bees 

 is over salt water. 



