708 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



Rabbit-drivii^g is an institution peculiar to 

 California. The long - eared jack -rabbit is 

 very destructive to tender vegetables and to the 

 bark of young fruit-trees which are so rapidly 

 invading his domain. The coyote is a natural 

 enemy of the rabbit; but a State bounty of 

 $5.00 on his scalp so decimated his ranks 

 that the balance of numbers was thrown in 

 favor of the rabbit family, and a consequent 

 increase of vexation to tlie rancher. The pest 

 is endured until every rancher receives more or 

 less damage; then a grand rabbit-hunt is or- 

 ganized. 



There are two metliods employed to make a 

 wholesale slaughter. Sometimes a corral is 

 constructed with wide-expanding wings. The 

 drive is carefully organized, and noise and clubs 

 are the chief implements used. All of the 

 rabbits from a mile area are concentrated into 

 the corral and killed. 



Another plan is to form a long line of men, 

 armed with shotguns. As the line advances, 

 the rabbits take alarm; and. leaping from their 

 cover, attempt to run along in front of the line 

 of shotguns; its life is soon cut short, if not by 

 one shot then by half a dozen in rapid succes- 

 sion. The line on our rabbit-drive was nearly 

 a mile in length, and was composed of a non- 

 descript crowd of over 200 men. boys, and 

 women. There was a cavalry contingent on the 

 flanks, made up of Mexicans and boys, whoop- 

 ing in the rabbits and giving chase to those 

 that were likely to escape. The front rank of 

 the shotgun brigade was on foot; behind came 

 several wagons loaded with women and chil- 

 dren to see the fun; and still further in the 

 rear were two big wagons with batr^ls of lem- 

 onade, for this is a very thirsty countiy. The 

 whole force was under the direction of a grand 

 marshal; and hi.s orders to halt, to wheel and 

 to march, vvere obeyed with the precision of a 

 drilled sirmy. A baking-powder can, with a 

 few pebbles in it, was vigorously shaken by the 

 marshiil lo attract attt^ntion; orders were then 

 givt-n in a stentorian voice, iind also imparted 

 to the outlying wings by several mounted sub- 

 ordinates, who went to their posts at a break- 

 neck speed and a series of whoops. The rapid 

 advance of the whole line, and the continuous 

 bang of guns, made a novel and exciting pic- 

 ture. 



The little army made Bloomington its objec- 

 tive point for dinner, and here the hungry 

 crowd was bountifully fed. A rest, and then a 

 final drive in the afternoon. This time the 

 swing was made to within half a mile of the 

 Rambler's apiary, and he dropped out and 

 sought his cabin, where the watch over the 

 honey was resumed. Over a thousand rabbits 

 were shot that day. and the pest was that much 

 abated. While our line was marching through 

 the low bushes, two or three miles from any 

 habitation, we came upon a bee-ranch that 

 was just being established. The hives, cans, 

 extractor, and cases were in a protniscnous con- 

 dition, and the only residence was a bougli 

 house. The situation was decidedly pictur- 

 esque. 



Quite a number of bee-men were in the hunt, 

 with their families. They did valiant service 

 with the shotgun, for all bee- men are good 

 marksmen, with, possibly, the exception of the 



Rambler. 



The queen-C!ig"es and other things wo ordered of 

 j'ou arrived all right, and are tlie nicest lot of g:oods 

 we have ever boug'ht. We did not ex-pect you to 

 send wire clotli for the large cages, lun- did we ex- 

 pect the covers printed. In tlie future we shall 

 know where to send for a choice lot of goods. 



Decatur, Miss., July 25. Cleveland Bkos. 



THOSE OLD BEE-BOOKS. 



ANOTHp;i: PEEP AT THI<: "GOOD <)I,D TIMES." 



The second edition of Thomas Wildman's 

 "Treatise on the Management of Bees" ap- 

 peared in London in 1770 — the year famous in 

 American history for what is known as the 

 Boston Massacre. The book in question is a well- 

 printed octavo volume of .320 pages, large clear 

 type. The old-fashioned long S is used, except 

 at the end of words— lometliing this fafhion, fol 

 On the title-page i-ome former owner has writ- 

 ten " excellent," and also added side-notes all 

 through the book. For instance, on page 3.3 the 

 author says he has seen bees come home loaded 

 with wax the same day tliey emerge from the 

 cells. The commentator adds, '■ Mr. Wildman 

 is certainly mistaken here." 



Some very interesting information is to be 

 found all through this volume. For instance, 

 before the Europeans took possession of the 

 West Indies, honey was very much more exten- 

 sively used than then (130 years ago); but, on 

 the other hand, luxury had greatly enhanced 

 the price of wax. it being ust d for candles in 

 all polite assemblies, but more particularly for 

 wax candles in Roman churches. Our author 

 says honey was raised mainly for the mead and 

 wines made from it; but as the Mohammedans 

 were forbidden tlie use of wine, "' Africa affords 

 the great supply of wax to tlie western parts of 

 Europe as Asia and Greece do to the eastern." 

 This is for the benefit of those who don't like to 

 raise rye. 



In n.''!" an ordinance was passed in Rouen, a 

 city in ihe north of France, to encourage the 

 cultivation of bees. A diminution of the capita 

 tax was promised, proportioned to the number 

 of hives kept each year. The weight of taxa- 

 tion suffered at that time by the wretched in- 

 habitants of that loveliest of lands can best 

 be realized when we read of the awful hoiTors 

 of the French Revolution of ]789-'94. 



As honey was then an article of very great 

 importance, a French writer, quoted by Mr. 

 Wildman, "recommends it as worthy the par- 

 ticular attention of the schools of agiiculture 

 which he proposes should be established in dif- 

 ferent districts of France." That is in line 

 with what Mr. W. C. Frazier advocates in this 

 number— see page 700. 



The author is confident that he has the best 

 hive in use, and that his system combines all 

 the advantages of the others. It seems from 

 this that the desire to make a new hive is no- 

 tliing new; and that same desire to improve 

 our condition is what makes the difference be- 

 tween France, England, and the United States 

 on the one hand, as contrasted with the stag- 

 nant and effete Egyptians. Arabs. Turks, and 

 other peoples cursed with a religion based on 

 fatalism, or predestination. Some nice copper- 

 plate engravings show his hive, which is 7 in. 

 in height and 10 in. in width. As showing how 

 two persons sometimes adopt the same idea at 

 the same time, each ignorant of what the other 

 is doing, Mr. Wildman says that the Count de 

 la Bourdonnaye, in Brittany, France, did prac- 

 tically the same thing. Each hive held about 

 a peck. 



In one of our exchanges lately, somebody was 

 wailing because the honey-extractor had ever 

 been invented; but in order to get along with- 

 out one, Mr. Wildman tells us. " Before the 

 combs are laid to drain out their honey, they 

 should lie carefully cleaned of every sort of filth 

 or insects. The crust with which the bees cov- 

 er the honey in them should be pared off with a 

 sliarp. thin, broad knife, and the combs them- 

 selves should be divided through the middle, in 

 such a manner as to render the cells open at 



