1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTORE. 



713 



would not let her go. TLon there was a craze 

 for more importations, and others finally suc- 

 ceeded. It was not very long after this time 

 that I got the bee-fevor, or the Italian-bee fe- 

 ver, as you may remember from the introduc- 

 tory pages of the ABC book, and 1 paid !?20.00 

 for my tirst Italian queen, and it was a good in- 

 vestment. 



T. G. Newman presented the matter of the 

 Bee-keepers' Union. I will explain to our read- 

 ers who are not familiar with this organization, 

 that a certain number of bee-keepers through- 

 out the United States and Canada club together 

 and pay fl.OO a year for the purpose of keeping 

 a reserve fund lor employing legal talent when 

 any individual or town, or any locality, takes it 

 into its head that bee-keepers have not the 

 right to live and do business. Of late years 

 the Union has succeeded in settling most cases 

 of litigation by simply showing its record in the 

 past, and letting the world know that it has a 

 reserve fund that may be used to employ the 

 best legal talent to defend our rights. Of 

 course, this money is expended only for the 

 protection of its members. 



For years back, most readers of the bee- jour- 

 nals have enjoyed the writings and the instruc- 

 tion given us regularly by our good friend Doo- 

 little. In fact, his is almost a household name 

 in every family where a bee-journal is taken; 

 but I never knew until now that friend Doolittle 

 was an orator as well as a writer. And I want 

 to whisper to the friends in his vicinity, that, 

 in case the minister should be absent on a vaca- 

 tion or otherwise, friend Doolittle is abundant- 

 ly able to give them an excellent sermon, fit for 

 Sunday or any other day. I want to repeat just 

 one little story he gave us, because it contains 

 an excellent moral: 



When Henry Clay got to be something of a 

 public man. on a certain time it became very 

 desirable that he should have the friendly ser- 

 vices of one who had in days gone by been an 

 old schoolmate. This friend, however, had been 

 put out by something not according to his ideas 

 of justice and right. He flatly refused to give 

 Mr. Clay any aid or encouragement. The great 

 orator plead his case nobly. He reminded his 

 friend of their boyhood days — of the time when 

 they had been almost inseparable, winter 

 and summer, as they studied and played to- 

 gether. Said he, "James, do you remember 

 that old flint-lock musket our fathers used to 

 let us have to hunt with?" James nodded. 

 "Do you remember how many times it brought 

 down the game, and did wonders for such an- 

 cient artillery?" 



His friend's face softened a little at the mem- 

 ory of bygone days, and he nodded again. 



"Well, this old flint-lock musket failed us 

 once or twice." l T^tt '_ ~ S^l.-- ^ "• ^. • ' ' 



By this time James had reiented enough to 

 supply an incident or two in the narrative. 

 "Yes," said he, " I do remember one critical 

 moment when I stood face to face with a bear; 

 and, although it had not failed me once for a 

 very long time, the obstinate thing at just this 

 critical point, when it was almost a matter of 

 life or d eath, refused to go off.''r 

 D"Well, James, did yo;i throw the musket 

 away and declare you \\ luld never have any 

 thing more to do with it'.' " S i" 

 D" Why, no, I remembered how faithful it had 

 been previously: and as there was not really 

 any thing very much bett-ito choose from away 

 back in those days, I picked the flint' and 

 tried it again." 



"James, you have just -aid you would never 

 forgive me for that one foolish act away back 

 years ago. You surely di' not mean to say that 

 you are going to throw me over, and treat me 



with less consideration than you would an old 

 flint-lock musket, do you?" 



James threw his arms around his old com- 

 rade's neck, and in his turn begged forgiveness 

 for being so stubborn and obstinate, and they 

 were friends ever afterward. Dear brother bee- 

 keeper, does this story come home to you? Is 

 tliere one in our ranks who has done some fool- 

 ish thing? and have you been more foolish 

 still in declaring in your heart, even if you 

 have not said it in words, "No, I will never for- 

 give him nor forget the injury "? 



Praise je tlie Lord; for it is good to sing praises unto our 

 God.,— PSAL3I U7 : 1. 



One strong inducement to go to Toronto was 

 an exceedingly kind letter from Grainger 

 Brothers, florists and market-gardeners, out in 

 the suburbs of Toronto. It rained the evening 

 we came into the city : therefore next morning 

 at daylight it was a splendid time to look over 

 flowers, fruits, and vegetables. As soon as I 

 could manage to get my rations of beefsteak at 

 the hotel I was off on the beautiful new street- 

 cars that go everywhere in Toronto. How 

 customs do vary in difl:'ei'ent cities! In Toronto 

 you do not put your fare in a stationary box, 

 neither do you hand any money to a conductor. 

 The conductors are all prepared to give you six 

 tickets for 25 cts. Each ticket will take you 

 anywhere in the city. Just say where you 

 want to go, and the needful transfers will be 

 cheerfully furnished. The conductor never 

 takes your ticket, however. He simply pre- 

 sents you with a machine looking something 

 like a coffee-pot, and you are expected lo drop 

 your ticket down into the glass nozzle. If you 

 haven't any ticket, of course he sells you one or 

 more. At the close of his day's work I suppose 

 he hands over the unsold tickets and the mon- 

 ey, and they should just tally. The coffee-pot 

 is also handed in. and the tickets counted. 

 When I looked inquiringly at said coffee-pot, 

 the young man who carried it explained it very 

 cheerfully. You see, they are accustomed to 

 receiving visitors. 



Friend Grainger was away, out in the gar- 

 dens, among the wet grass and dahlias, and 

 other flowers decked with dewdrops. His 

 obliging and efficient assistant very courteously 

 took me over to the place, and showed me the 

 sights on the way. Grainger Brothers have 

 several ranges of greenhouses that made me 

 think I was in Pleasant Hill, Mo.; but they 

 were not quite as extensive. Off through a 

 pasture-lot we went, and climbed over the 

 fence. Here was an apple-orchard with the 

 trees bending with the most beautiful fruit, 

 perhaps, I ever saw; and underneath the 

 apple-trees, occupying almost every foot of 

 ground, were great gorgeous dahlias — some of 

 them as big as saucers (or a little smaller). 

 This, you see, is gardening again under the 

 shade of the trees, such as I described in Flori- 

 da. On every hand I saw something that came 

 from the Home of the Honey-bees. They put 

 the Ignotum tom.ato at the head of all others, 

 with the exception that it rots rather more 

 than some others— the Atlantic Prize, for in- 

 stance. These beautiful dahlias are shipped 

 away down to the States, and among their 

 customers are the seedsmen Dreer, Pitcher & 

 Manda, and others familiar to greenhouse-men. 

 But, didn't we talk tomatoes, sweet corn, spin- 



