428 



(CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



June 1. 



these secrete honey, as all of you know, although 

 there are a few who claim that bees secure hon- 

 ey from corn. Then there are all the clovers, 

 all of the squash and other vine family, and 

 buckwheat, none of which are capable of being 

 fertilized through the process applicable to the 

 tirst. All these last named, secrete honey for 

 the sole purpose of enticing bees, files, etc., for 

 fertilization, so that they may mature seed that 

 the species may be perpetuated. The same 

 thing holds good with trees of all kinds; hence 

 the claim put forth by some, that the bees in- 

 jure fruit by taking the nectar out of the blos- 

 soms, is a false one. I then told them of the 

 law a few jealous persons succeeded in passing 

 in a certain township in Massachusetts, banish- 

 ing bees from that town; how the result was, 

 that little or no fruit developed in the interior 

 of that township, while all along the boundary, 

 fruit was as plentiful as ever; and that, after 

 this experience regarding their folly, they were 

 glad to welcome the bees back again, when 

 they again had fruit as formerly. I also told 

 them of the importation of bumble-bees into 

 Australia to fertilize the red clover; of Gregory's 

 experiments with squashes by tying netting 

 over the blossoms, etc. ; then I had the whole 

 number converted to my side of the question, 

 unless it was the man who had denounced the 

 bees. Whether he was converted or not, I do 

 not know; but I do know that he made no re- 

 ply to what I said. When men plead that bees 

 injure fruit by taking away the saccharine mat- 

 ter secreted for and needed by the fruit in its 

 development, they show their ignorance; and 

 it is the duty as well as privilege of every bee- 

 keeper to dispel this mist of ignorance which is 

 abroad in the land. 



Now to our correspondent's question. He asks 

 if more fruit would be obtained if bees were 

 kept on the same farm. Logically speaking, 

 the more bees kept, the more fruit: but, practi- 

 cally, 100 colonies of bees, from one to one and 

 one-half miles would be amply sufficient for the 

 needs of all flowers a mile and a half from that 

 apiary; that is. fruit would set to perfection for 

 a distance of one and a half miles in all direc- 

 tions around that apiary. Three miles from 

 this should be another such apiary, and so on. 

 But such system as this is not often found; but 

 hives by twos, fives, tens, fifties, etc., are scat- 

 tered all over the country, and in this way near- 

 ly all fruit-growing districts are supplied with 

 all the needed agents of fertilization which the 

 fruit-grower needs. If, as our correspondent 

 states, no bees are kept nearer than three miles, 

 and there are none in the woods near his or- 

 chards, T would procure some by all means. If 

 the location is otherwise good for bees, it would 

 pay to do so for the honey they would give as 

 surplus, as well as the fertilization of the fruit. 



Borodino, N. Y. G. M. Doolittle. 



WORLD'S FAIR. 



DR. MLLI^ER'S impression OP IT; EXORBITANT 

 CHARGES, ETC. 



So many contradictory reports have been 

 published concerning the World's Fair, I think 

 the readers of Gleanings may be interested in 

 having some little account from one of their 

 own number who has been on the grounds. 

 You see, I live a good deal nearer Chicago 

 than friend Root does; so, instead of sending 

 some one from Medina he got me to go in and 

 set up his exhibit. While I have not had the 

 opportunity for sight-seeing that one would 

 have who could devote his whole time to that 

 purpose, yet during a stay of several days I 



could not help finding out pretty well how 

 things were going. 



I'm not going to try to tell you what is to be 

 seen, but leave that for friend Root after he 

 goes thei'e. He will tell it in a more interesting 

 wary than I can, only he will be a little at a 

 loss whether to decide tliat there is so much to 

 say that it isn't worth while to try it at all, or to 

 take up a whole number of Gleanings with it. 

 I think, however, he will compromise by giving 

 quite a story in several numbers, and you may 

 be sure it will be good reading. 



I was somewhat posted beforehand, for I take 

 daily the Chicago Record, and for months there 

 has been never less than two columns about 

 the World's P'air, and from that to two pages. 

 By the way, I want to advertise that paper a 

 little right here. It's a marvel of Chicago en- 

 terprise. Think of getting daily a newspaper 

 having 8 pages, and sometimes 10 or 13, for less 

 than a cent a day! It stands up sturdily for 

 Sunday observance— the proprietor, Victor F. 

 Lawson, one of the World's Fair directors, 

 giving his vote always on that side. It has no 

 Sunday edition. 



Let me tell you that the Pair is not half fin- 

 ished, no matter what the papers say. It does 

 not seem possible that the exhibits can all be in 

 shape before the middle of June. And yet 

 there is more than you can see in a good many 

 days now. If it never was anymore than it is 

 now, it would be a big thing. The very im- 

 mensity of nearly every thing connected with it 

 seems to have the effect of belittling to some 

 extent. For instance, there is one building 

 that at a distance looks like a low shed-like 

 affair, and yet it is the largest building ever 

 erected on the face of the earth, covering 30 

 acres of ground, with 14 acres more of floor 

 room in the gallery. There are 11 acres of sky- 

 lights and 40 carloads of glass in the roof. I 

 haven't been in it. but I've seen it at a little 

 distance every day; and do you know I can't 

 get that building to look any bigger than one a 

 five-acre lot would hold out in the country? 

 On the Agricultural Building are figures of 

 men and animals that looked but little larger 

 than natural, till one day I saw a workman 

 standing by the figure of a man, and the knee 

 of the figure came just to the armpits of the 

 workman. In the same building is a cheese 

 from Cadada, weighing 22,000 lbs., but it hardly 

 looks it. So the first feeling, on looking at 

 some of the immense affairs you have read 

 about, is one of disappointment that they look 

 no larger; but every day you see them they 

 seem to grow in size. 



One of the things that I was interested to 

 know was, whether the stories told of the ex- 

 tortion and great cost of every thing were 

 true. Well, it's a good deal as you choose to 

 look at it. I could fill pages telling you about 

 the many great and beautiful things you can 

 see for the small sum of fifty cents, and how 

 every thing is specially arranged for your com- 

 fort; and I could take a blue view of affairs, 

 and fill as many more pages telling how some 

 one is ready to fleece you at every step, and 

 that discomforts are on every hand. I was 

 amused at a couple with a young daughter 

 beside whom I walked for some distance. They 

 were railing at the way things were done, and 

 the difficulty of finding any thing. The old 

 lady was saying, " I'm getting to know what I 

 think of the people of Chicago." And then she 

 looked sidewise, partly addressing me as she 

 said, " Why, if the people of Chicago who have 

 lived here all their lives can't direct you where 

 to find any thing, what is to be expected of 

 strangers?" She seemed to take it in high 

 dudgeon that every one in Chicago was not 

 ready to tell her every thing she asked, just as 



