THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



But I am getting a little ahead of my story. 

 When about sixteen. I constructed a turning 

 lathe and engaged in the manufacture of the 

 old fashioned spinning wheels and reels, 

 peddling them about the country. The intro- 

 duction of woolen factories spoiled this in- 

 dustry. AVheu I was about twenty, as I was 

 peddling out the last load, I made a sale to a 

 farmer living sixteen miles from my home. 

 After making the sale, I begged to be al- 

 lowed to stay all night, although it was then 

 only three or four in the afternoon. I had 

 discovered a row of brightly painted hives in 

 the rear of the house and I wanted to " talk 

 bees." I stayed. In a few months I went 

 there again to " talk bees " and I stayed two 

 days. I kept going to "talk bees" until 

 finally the age of twenty-two found me 

 " talking love " to Miss May Simpson, the 

 farmer's only daughter. 



Two happy years of courtship ended in a 

 marriage that has proved all I ever hoped or 

 dreamed. During those two years t several 

 times walked those sixteen miles to see " my 

 girl." I walked to save livery hire. Had 

 the lady of my choice known how thoroughly 

 accustomed I was to " tramping " perhaps 

 she would not have felt quite so proud of the 

 fact that "her young man " thought enough 

 of her to walk sixteen miles to bask in her 

 smiles. Before we were married I built, 

 with my own hands, a small house on 

 my father's farm. I can remember yet 

 the snatches of some love song that I sang 

 softly to myself while doing some par- 

 ticular piece of work on what was our future 

 home for thirteen years. 



The next year after we were married I be- 

 gan bee-keeping with four colonies. Oh, 

 the enthusiasm of that first year with the 

 bees ! I think that I learned to recognize 

 every comb in my little apiary. The bees 

 were in the American hive. The bodies were 

 painted white and then "marblized" by 

 moving a smoking lamp under the paint 

 while it was fresh. Each cap was painted a 

 different color. The hives stood four feet 

 apart in a row. On the south of each hive 

 were planted three or four sunflowers for 

 shade. The marblized hives with their dif- 

 ferent colored covers nestling in under the 

 the green leaves of the sunflowers sur- 

 mounted with their great yellow blossoms 

 formed a picture that will ever linger in the 

 memory. 



To a distance of six feet in front of the 

 hives the turf was removed a la Boardman. 



Every few mornings I swept the ground in 

 front of the hives with a broom. I did this 

 early in the morning for I really didn't want 

 to be laughed at about it. I made !};<)0.00 

 profit from the bees that season. 



When I finally embarked in the queen 

 trade I had to go two miles each day to the 

 post olfice, but my way lay across fields, 

 through woodsy paths nd down shady lanes, 

 with blackberries fringing the fences. How 

 I did enjoy my own quiet thoughts tramping 

 those four miles each day as evening was 

 coming on. W^hen coming home I could 

 usually see three little " figures " sitting on 

 the fence, and then a moment later they 

 would hop off and faintly would come to 

 my ears the words: "Papa is coming." 

 Then I would hear a clatter of little shoes 

 on the hard road and see brown curls flying 

 in the wind as the " little figures " ran to 

 meet me. As I approached home I had a 

 certain tune to whistle if I should be a little 

 late and the girls could not see me. When 

 they heard that tune they knew I was com- 

 ing and would run to meet me. 



How did I come to start the Review ? 

 Well, as I advanced in knowledge of bee- 

 keeping, I was often struck with the amount 

 of matter that was published from which it 

 seemed there was little information to be ex- 

 tracted. Mr. Heddon and myself often 

 talked the matter over in regard to the 

 amount of reading necessary to get a little 

 real information. He often said if some 

 one would only get up a journal containing ex- 

 tracts from all the other journals he would 

 give more for this journal than for all of 

 them combined, providing the right man 

 was doing the reviewing. At this time I was 

 also reading the Rural Neiv Yorker. It oc- 

 casionally gave special numbers just the 

 same as the Review has been doing. From 

 these sources came the idea of making the 

 Review what it is. For at least three or 

 four years before beginning the publication 

 of the Review I had its publication in mind 

 and was planning for the work. ( )wing to 

 the poor seasons and sickness that have 

 come since the Review was started, I have 

 seen many times when it seemed as though I 

 had come up squarely against a stone wall, 

 but I kept on going, and at last the stones 

 would tumble this way and that and I would 

 go on again. 



W' hat are my latest recollections ? They 

 are of a four-months-old, golden haired, 

 violet - gray - eyed baby, that kicks, laughs 

 and crows on my knee. I think there is 



