1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



227 



Gleanings in Bee Culture. 



Published Setni-Monthly . 

 EDITOK AND PUBLISHER, 



i^^EODriNr-s-, OHIO. 



TERMS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POSTPAID. 



•—♦— ! 



For Chbbise Sates, See First Page of Beading Matter. 



Anil one uf tlie t-klfi-s unswcied. sayintf unto ini-, What ai-( 

 thfSf which areaiTayi-il in white lolies, and whcnrc lamr tlit'y : 

 And 1 said unto him. Sir. thou knowi-st. And lir s.iiil ujito uu- 

 These ai-e they whicli c.iuie out ot ^'leat I ijliulati..n, and liavt- 

 washed their i-ol>es. and made tlieui wliite in the bhiod (d tlie 

 Lamb.— Rev. 7 : 13, \i. 



AN APICULTLTRAL INSTITUTE. 



Our friends in Germany have struck upon quite 

 a novel method of imparting a practical knowledge 

 of apiculture. Beginning on the 8th of next April, 

 and continuing 10 days, Prof. H. Strack, at Flacht, 

 (lermany, assisted by several of the most eminent 

 bee-men of that country, will hold what we might 

 call a convention, in order to illustrate practically 

 modern apiculture. The lectures will be fully il- 

 lustrated by the use of about all the implements in 

 bee culture which are mostly used to-day. We 

 notice the name of C. J. H. Gravenhorst among the 

 helpers of Prof. Strack. We are of the opinion 

 that such an institute in this country would go far 

 toward illuminating the minds of the " old fogies," 

 and ditfusing more widely a general knowledge of 

 our industry. 



SENDING ALFALFA FROM COLORADO TO NEW YORK 



CITY. 



We take the following from the Denver News: 

 The shipment of a < arload of baled alfalfa from 

 Rocky Ford to New York is a matter of no small 

 import to Colorado. The freight is $18U, but even 

 at this rate tbe alfalfa will cost but $19 a ton at New 

 York as against $18 to $20 for timothy. The ship- 

 ment is an experiment for the purpose of feeding 

 milch cows, little being known practically of the 

 value of alfalfa as a fodder food tor cows. It is al- 

 so a fact that Messrs. Dye & Son, of Rocky Ford, 

 last week shipped $10,0(10 worth of alfalfa seed to 

 New York, a large amount of seed being produced 

 about that town. Whether alfalfa can be as suc- 

 cessfully grown in New York State as in Colorado 

 is a question, since the plant is indigenous to high, 

 dry climates. With a more favorable freight rate, 

 however, the News is not afraid to guarantee that 

 Colorado is able to produce all the alfalfa which 

 New York may be able to consume, and if a trade 

 of this kind can be opened and maintained it will 

 be of the largest possible benefit to the farmers of 

 our State. 



Such items are interesting to bee-men, because it 

 indicates to what e.xtent alfalfa may ultimately be 

 grown. 



"STEPPING HEAVENWARD." 



On my recent trip to Wisconsin I discovered, at 

 my first place where I had to wait for a train, that I 

 had not only mi.ssed taking along some reading- 

 matter laid out for the purpose, but I had also for- 

 gotten my eye-glasses. I soon replaced the latter, 

 and looked into a bookstore to see if there was any 

 thing there I wanted iu the way of reading. My 

 first thought was, that I should not care for any 

 thing they had. Pretty soon, however, conscience 

 rebuked me for my selfishness; and then 1 said 



mentally, " Lord, what hast thou for thy servant to 

 do during these coming two hours ? " Almost im- 

 mediately, by way o! answer, as it seemed to me, 

 my eye fell on a paper-covered book with the title 

 atthe head of this. I rend the book years ago; and 

 after our good friend Anna B. (i)uillin recommended 

 it so highly I at once decided to read it again. Here 

 was the opportunity. It was a good-sized book, 

 fully as large as these pages, double column, close- 

 ly written matter of 11".' pages, illustrated by toward 

 a dozen appropriate pictures. When the bookseller 

 said the price was 2j cents I mentally thanked God 

 that somebody had thought fit to put the book in 

 this cheap form for the great reading public. Be- 

 fore the two hours were up I felt that the prayer 

 was already answered. God had shown me how I 

 could help and benefit you all by recommending 

 and scattering widely this work. The publishers 

 have sold me 100 copies for $15.00. I propose to 

 furnish them to you at 18 cents each. Three cents 

 will a little more than cover the cost of freight, 

 wrapping up, mailing, etc. If wanted by mail, 23 

 cents each. Now, friends, after you have read the 

 book, and been helped in your struggles on the way 

 from earth to heaven, recommend it to your friends 

 and neighbors— lend it right and left until the book 

 is worn out. What more worthj' work can any hu- 

 man being be engaged in than assisting his fellow- 

 men in their struggles and trials in " stepping 

 heavenward " ? 



APICULTURE AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION. 



A French journal published at Amiens, France, 

 entitled Le Ruclier (Tlie Apiary), for February, 

 comes to us devoted entirely to the display of api- 

 cultural implements at the late Paris Exposition. 

 The countries represented were Austrian Hungary, 

 Belgium, Spain, United States, Great Britain, 

 Greece, Italy, Duchy of Luxemburg, Mexico, Rou- 

 mania, Russia, and Switzerland. Concerning the 

 display from the United States, we translate from 

 the columns of Le Ruchcr the following, which, if 

 coming from an American journal, would not look 

 well; but under the circumstances we will try to' 

 overcome our natural modesty and let our readers 

 know what the friends in France think of us as bee- 

 keepers and as manufacturers: 



The collective exposition of American bee-keep- 

 ers, under the direction of Messrs. C. V. Riley and 

 N. W. McLean, is the most important of all, and, at 

 the same time, that which teaches the greatest les- 

 son. The hives exhibited are, principally, master- 

 pieces in combination and execution. Open them, 

 and see if any thing is left to be desired; see what 

 admirable joineryl how every thing fits together, 

 and how easily it is taken apart! how smooth the 

 wood is, and well planed! One stands confounded 

 in the presence of this material made of wood. 

 And note well that all the hives that go out of any 

 one factory are scrupulouslj' like those shown at 

 the exposition, for a great part of the pieces which 

 compose them. If not all, are made by special ma- 

 chines, as one might well suppose, working always 

 in the same manner. There are in America im- 

 mense factories for making hives and apicultural 

 implements, which have in their work-rooms all 

 kinds of machines, which can not he found in 

 France, of which the daily output, astonishing to 

 us, gives a vivid idea of the advanced state of 

 apiculture in the United States. Thus, for exam- 

 ple, the factory of Mr. A. I. Root, in Medina, O., not 

 to mention others, contains machinery moved by a 

 !ii-hnrse-power engine. It can mako daily from 

 3.),('00 to 50,0110 sections and lOOO hives, without 

 countingan enormous (|uantity of other work. This 

 establishment sends out daily a carload of goods, 

 and in the busy season a carload and a half. Forty 

 years ago bee culture did not exist in the United 



