1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



631 



lei sides and impn^sscd miiielured lines on its 

 wing-covers, sent by J. E. Dart, Connesauga. 

 Ha., is Pafisalus Coniatus. The last name is 

 given because of the horn on the center of the 

 head of the male. This beetle is common in 

 Michigan, and extends to the Gulf. The grubs 

 live in and feed on rotten wood. This insect is 

 •closely related to the common stag-beetle, or 

 " pinch-bug." and has similar habits. I com- 

 ply with Mr. D.'s request and answer in 

 'Gleanings. A. J. Cook. 



Agricultural Colleg(\ Mich., Aug. l.">. 



RAMBLE NO. 27. 



NIAGARA FALLS AND STEUBEN CO. 



Our continued journey led us through Char- 

 lotte, on Lake Ontario, a famous summer re- 

 sort for the Rocln^ster and W(>stern New York 

 peoi)le. Our westward career was to end in 

 Rochester: but being so near Niagara Falls, 

 and thinking we should never again have the 

 •opportunity of seeing them, we I'esolved to 

 spend a day there, and were jn'ovidentially fa- 

 vored with a beautiful sunny day. and rambled 

 and pliotoed to our hcai't's content, making 

 some tine shots, witli which we can revisit 

 Niagara while cosily seated in our study. Our 

 stroll across the bridge, with camera in hand, 

 was interrui^ted on the Canada side with the 

 •question, '" What is that ere camera thing you 

 have in your hand?" 



" Yes, sir." said we. "this is a camera thing. 

 Any objections to my taking views?" 



" Not the least, sir. if you are going to return 

 soon: but if you an^ going on you must pay 

 •duty." 



I gave him my jn'oijused route to Horseshoe 

 Falls, then down to tlu' railroad Suspension 

 Bridge, and back to the American side. He 

 looked us critically in the face, and as much as 

 said, ■• I know you are an honest man:" then 

 audibly, " You can pass, sir." 



We felt very hapi^y. and smiled so b(Miignly 

 •on the next hackman we met that he offered to 

 carry us for 10 cents. We had been mad all day 

 at hack-drivers on the American side for try- 

 ing to i^revent us fi'om earning three dollars 

 with our good walking apparatus. We had 

 made up our mind. ho\vev(M', to keep out of 

 hacks, and did so to the end of the day. 



About as restful an exi^erience as we had at 

 Niagara was riding ui)hill backward on the in- 

 clined railroad. We felt so well over it that we 

 were on the point of walking clear down the 

 long stairs to rid(> up again: but a quarter for a 

 ride was too much for us. and we gave it up. 

 Our honest looks let us across the other bi'idgc^ 

 without an episode, and late in the evening we 

 were landed in Rochester. We have no regrets 

 for our Niagara visit. It is a work of nature 

 that grows uijon a i)erson as he contemplates it 

 in all its magnificent proportions. 



After brief stops in Lockport and Rochester 

 we were safely transported into Steuben Co., 

 and dropped down at a little deserted way sta- 

 tion near I}ath, where silence and the darkness 

 •of a moonless and cloudy night wei'e our .sole 

 •companions. We felt somewhat discourag(>d; 

 but when we made a dive for somewhere and 

 ran into a barbed-wire fence, we f<'lt most 

 wretched, especially where we ran against the 

 fence. We collected ourself togc^ther, so to 

 •speak, and after meditating around in the mud 

 and against various kinds of fences for an houi", 

 we at last found the house we were seeking^ — 

 the poorhouse. We were saluted with a husky, 

 :spasmodic bark of an overfed dog, who said, 

 "Tramp! tramp!" just as plain as talk. 

 Tramps of all sizes, and variegated colors and 



conditions, call nightly upon this institution; 

 and as the dog could not see our honesty he 

 was perhaps excusable for calling us " tramp, 

 tramp." We turned our camera up endwise 

 and sat down on it to rest and consider. The 

 governor of the institution, however, put in an 

 appearance, and learning that the Rambler 

 was th(^ benighted traveler we were happily 

 entertained, and all owing to the fact that the 

 keeper's wife was the Rambler's cousin: and 

 we found a home here, off and on, foi' nearly 

 two weeks. 



Bath is conceded to be one of the pleasant 

 villages of Western New York. It is character- 

 ized by broad shady streets and many beautiful 

 residences. The town is chiefly noted from the 

 institutions established here, among which may 

 be mentioned the Daveni)ort Orpliaii Asylum 

 and the New York State Soldiers" Home, the 

 latter accommodating in its many fine buildings 

 about 1200 old veterans, and the beauty of the 

 grounds and cleanliness of the buildings, and 

 abundance and (]uality of the rations supplied, 

 it is a home indeed. Be('-keei)ing is not a very 

 extensive industiy in and around Bath. Mr. 

 J. H. Hadsell has an apiary in the suburbs of 

 the village, where he attends to bee-keeping 

 and fruit culture. His small farm is almost en- 

 tirely devoted to small fruits. He uses the old- 

 time Kidder hive, which in external appear- 

 ance is much like the Dual hive recentlv advi>r- 



.1. H. IIAD.SELL S APIARY. 



tised in (iT.eanings. He uses the hive both 

 single and double walled, and winters on the 

 summer stands. Mr. H. uses an old-style 1}4- 

 Ib. section in pairs, which must be sawn apart 

 before putting upon the market. Comb honey 

 was selling at 10 and 12 cents per pound. Mr. 

 H. was very pronounei'd in his opinions about 

 small bee-keepers who allowed grocers to set 

 the price upon their products. He could sell I'X- 

 tracted honey at as good prices as comb honey, 

 and proposed to raise more of it in the future. 

 He said sulphured honey was liable to i)roduce 

 colic, and cited several instances to prove his 

 position. As a substitute for fum^ing, he pre- 

 vented miller-worms by k(»eping comb honey in 

 a cool dry I'oom, in a temperature not above 60°. 

 Mr. H. invented and ])atented a honey-!strainer 

 several years ago. but the sales did not amount 

 to much, and he evidently looked upon it as a 

 past folly, and did 7iot wish to say much about 

 it. Thns. how (tften our pet schemes of one 

 period become a thorn in the flesh later on! 

 Thei'e were other bee-keepers in the vicinity of 

 Bath, but mud and rain prevented the exten- 

 sion of our acquaintance in that line. Mr. 

 Henry Peacock, a helper at th<' county house, 

 should not be passed, foi' his apicultural expe- 

 rience was brief but thrilling. A few swarms of 

 bees, were under his maiuigement; every thing 

 weqt well until one day. while hiving a swarm, 

 an old dead apple-tree limb caught the hat and 



