474 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Junk J 5. 



vant, Mrs. Jennie Atchley, with a white apron 

 on, and holding to the laand of the baby-girl 

 Rosa. Just behind little Rosa stands Amanda. 

 She is now 19 years old, and runs her own 

 queen-yard; and last, but not least, comes Miss 

 Leah, six years old. She stands just in front 

 of sister Amanda, and just behind little Rosa. 

 She has now ten hives in the front yard that 

 she runs her own way; and it may take you by 

 surprise to tell you that she raises queens, 

 grafts cells, cages queens, or does any other 

 light work in the yards, and can go and cage 

 any certain queen in the yard if you will only 

 tell her the number of the hive she is in. 



This completes the family, except little Ives, 

 who is two years old. and stands between me 

 and little Rosa, but is hid from view. He is 

 already learning bees faster than any of the 

 others, simply because there are more to teach 

 him, and he is quick to "catch on." We also 

 have out-yards scattered in the country. 



Greenville, Tex. Mks. Jennie Atchley. 



[The following we clip from the Greenville 

 Headlight, of May 20, 1893:] 



Mrs. Jennie Atchley's apiary of this city is doing 

 the largest bee business now that we have ever 

 known done in the Soutli. They have, during- this 

 spring's Ijusiness, shipped out over a carload of 

 bees. They have gone to all parts of tlie United 

 States, and several shipments to foreign countries. 

 Recently an order each from Honolulu, in Hawaii, 

 and Ireland, were filled. Besides these shipments 

 they have sent over 20(10 Italian queen-hees by mail. 

 Tlieir apiary in tlie northern part of the city is 

 worth visiting. 



[We believe that Mrs. Atchley is not only the 

 largest queen-breeder in the South, but, in fact, 

 In the whole world. She has what those in the 

 North have not — a beautiful climate — in fact, a 

 climate wherein she can rear queens every month 

 in the year. Of course, this means no winter 

 problem and danger of losing nuclei as in the 

 North. It seems that Mrs. Atchley and family 

 do almost the entire work alone, and this re- 

 duces expenses. We regret to say that the half- 

 tone hardly does justice to the figures. They 

 would hardly be distinguished ; and as we are 

 not able to see Mrs. Atchley's features, we here- 

 by request her to send us a recent photograph. 

 We should also like a picture of that 16-year-old 

 boy who is said to be " the best-posted on bee 

 culture of any one in the South, of his age, and 

 the best queen-raiser in the world." We are 

 sure our readers would like to have a good look 

 at both.l 



RAMBLE '86. 



sheep; how the sages blosscm; temper- 

 ance IN CAMFOKNIA, ETC. 



In all parts of California the fertile valleys 

 and even the mountain-sides have rendered 

 good pasturage for sheep, and herds have 

 roamed at will over the waste places. Along 

 with the planting of the vine the early mission- 

 aries also introduced sheep and cattle as an aid 

 to the conversion of the natives. While the 

 indohnt Mexican ruled the country, and the 

 ranches were few and far between, large herds 

 of sheep had an unlimited pasturage; but with 

 the irrigation era the valleys are becoming 

 dotted with thriving villages, and the sheep- 

 owner is hedged about with difficulties un- 

 known in former times, and which are even 

 greater than the trials of the bec-keepiM', for 

 stringent laws have been passed in this State 

 against their crossing occupied lands, and often 

 damages to a considerable amount are claimed 

 and collected. The farmers are generally op- 

 posed to these marauding bands, and theliei'- 

 keeper also regards them as an unmitigaied 



evil and a damage to his occupation. A band 

 of five or ten thousand sheep means so many 

 thousand mouths to bite off the growing herb- 

 age, and four times as many thousand feet to 

 trample down what has escaped the mouths. 



Alfilaree is the first plant in February and 

 March that gives a honey-producing flower; 

 and though the blossom is a tiny one, bees get 

 a good start upon it, but the foliage of alfilaree 

 is good pasturage for any kind of stock, and 

 they thrive upon it; but a band of sheep will 

 soon clean up a large area of it, and the bee- 

 keeper dislikes to see the destruction go on. 

 Besides destroying this early plant, other 

 honey-plants with a low - growing habit are 

 either eaten or tramped. When the sheep finds 

 a scant supply of food from the low-growing 

 plants, even the sages are browsed upon and 

 injured. Though disliked by bee-keepers and 

 others, aside from this the life of the s-hepherd 

 is not an easy or a pleasant one. A good share 

 of the shepherds are Frenchmen. In the wilder 

 portions of the State they follow their herds, 

 and sleep where night overtakes them, with 

 their trained dogs with them. In the more 

 settled [jortion of the country the herd is 

 rounded up at night at headquarters, which 

 generally consists of a small tent. With .5000 

 sheep around it. the air smells decidedly sheepy: 

 add to this the terrible odors from several dead 

 sheep, and the pleasures of shepherd life can be 

 appreciated. 



The monotonous life of a shepherd often leads 

 to insanity. If sheep were endowed with a few 

 qualities that would bring out the idea of self- 

 defense, this monotony would be broken into 

 often, and danger from this cause would be 

 averted. Bee-keepers are not troubled in that 

 manner. There is only one instance on record 

 of a bachelor bee-keeper becoming insane. This 

 man allowed a fair-eyed damsel to beam de- 

 lightfully on him until the poor fellow im- 

 agined himself the sole owner and possessor 

 of the damsel. Just then another fellow came 

 along aud married his beloved. Instead of 

 taking it as an interposition of Providence, 

 or looking around for a better damsel, he just 

 went crazy over it. The aggressive nature of 

 the bee keeps the bachelor bee-keeper in a sort 

 of perpetual warfare, and he has enough of it 

 without adding a domestic war also. 



The bee-keeper does not care so much for the 

 destruction of the smaller flowering plants; but 

 when the sages come in for destruction, it 

 touches his pocket, and there is a sort of mild 

 warfare. 



The first sage to come into blossom is that 

 variously called black sage, button sage, and 



' 8 loj's on' c l'o j eo'.; 



boiled sage. Upon these buttons or bolls the 

 little flower-tube appears, and is much like the 

 flower-tube in the red - clover blossom. The 

 button develops flowers from the outer edge of 

 the button for several weeks. The bush is 

 about five feet in height, bearing a large num- 

 ber of button -stalks, with several buttons to 

 the stalk, the largest button being a little over 

 an inch in diameter, and diminishing in size 

 toward the tip of the stalk. A little drop of 

 nectar can be squeezed from the little tube, 



