GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15. 



tures, both sought some shallow standing- 

 place; but the bottom of the cave was like a 

 well with a deep rounding bottom. The sides 

 were as smooth as water could make them, and, 

 moreover, slippery with slime. The opening, 

 which was three feet wide, twenty feet above, 

 was only six inches for several feet above the 

 water, and of such a nature that but little light 

 entered the well, except from above; and as 

 this portion of the cave was large at the bottom 

 and smaller at the top, our bee-keepers found 

 themselves in a precarious situation. They 

 were both, fortunately, good swimmers; and as 

 soon as Fred had cleared his vocal organs, and 

 had taken in the situation, he exclaimed with 

 deep disgust, " Well, this is a pretty kettle of 

 fish." 



" Faith, that's jist me own idaas," said Matt; 

 " an if I'm to name the braad of fish we are, I'm 

 thinking we're floundhers." 



" Whatever we are," said Fred, " the prospect 

 is not very transporting." During their con- 

 versation they had searched for a standing or 

 holding-on place; but tbe only suoport of that 

 nature was at the six-inch crevice, and here 

 they finally anchored close together. 



" Well, Matt, the question is, can we hang on 

 here all day? for surely Mr. Gehring or the 

 men will not come out here until evening, and 

 I do not see any way of escape except with their 

 aid." 



"It is certainly a sarious question," said 

 Matt; "an it'll be a tiresome job to hould on to 

 these shlippery rocks all day. I wunther, I 

 wonther. shall I ever see my Biddy Malooney 

 again at all. at all." 



"Oh! we must not be discouraged," said Fred, 

 cheerfully; "every cloud has its silver lining, 

 and the righteous shall never^be forsaken." 



"Aye, that's it— righteous '."/said Matt; ye 

 know, Fred, yees told me last Sunday bhatrit 

 was an unrighteous act to go fishing on that 

 day, an i went. Me conscience troubles me a 

 bit; an what think yees, Fred, did me unright- 

 eous fishing bring me to this pass ? " 



" Oh! no. Matt, you are getting superstitious. 

 You know I did not go fishing, and I am in as 

 bad a fix as you." 



"That's so, Fred; but all the same, let me 

 get out of this with sinse, an I'll never go fish- 

 ing again on Sunday, so help me Saint Path- 

 erick." 



"That's a good resolution. Matt. But what 

 on earth is that I hear ? " 



"It's a speerit," whispered Matt, supersti- 

 tiously. Then they both listened breathlessly, 

 and, penetrating through the crevice, came the 

 song: 



The night is stormy and dark, 



My lover is on the sea; 

 Let me to the night winds hark. 

 And hear what they say to me. 



PAPER TRAYS FOR HONEY CRATES. 



Question.— 1 have been told that you use 

 something in the bottoms of your honey-cases, 

 when sending section honey to market, to catch 

 the drip or leakage, should there be any during 

 shipping or in handling, so that the honey from 

 the crate above will not daub the top of the 

 crates below, the floor of the car. or store, or 

 any thing else. This leaking of crates is a 

 nuisance that grocers do not like; so if you 

 have any plan to prevent it, won't you tell us 

 about it in your department in Gleanings? 

 Tell us all the little kinks about making, using, 

 etc.; for one little item, so explained that any 

 one can appropriate it, is of more value to one 

 who has no experience than half a dozen ar- 

 ticles hinting at things of value, but not put 

 in form so they can be of use to the rank and 

 file of bee-keepers. 



A7isiver. — Very well. If the managers of 

 Gleanings do not object, I will try to give all 

 the items regarding the paper trays I use in the 

 bottoms of my honey- crates, even if it takes 

 the whole of my ailoted space to do this in; for 

 there is little use in writing to help some one 

 else unless it is made plain enough so the read- 

 er can appropriate it to himself or herself. 



The first thing wanted is the paper. After 

 testing many different kinds I have come to the 

 conclusion that none is equal to that known as 

 " manilla " having more or less of a glossy fin- 

 ish on it, for the purpose we wish it for. This 

 kind of paper will hold honey a year without 

 wetting or soaking through, while much of 

 the common paper from the stores, such as 

 wrapping paper, etc., will soak through in 

 from a few hours to a week. This manilla 

 paper can be had or bought for about 7 cents 

 per pound at the present time; but I used to 

 pay 10. It comes in sheets from 24 by 36 inches, 

 up to 40 by 60, or therabouts. The size I use is 

 30 by 40, as that cuts to the least waste for my 

 crates. 



As to the cutting. You can generally get it 

 cut to the size you wish at the store where you 

 buy it; but as I always wish to use more or 

 less of it for other purposes, I cut it myself. To 

 do this I employ one of two plans; the first of 

 which is to lay the paper flat on my work- 

 bench; and, after having marked the upper 

 sheet into the size I wish, I take a straight- 

 edge, lay it on the paper in the right place, 

 bear on the same to hold it in place, when with 

 a sharp knife it is cut by drawing the knife 

 several times along the straight-edge, each 

 drawing cutting to the depth of from three to 

 five sheets. 



The second way, and the one most often used, 



