1875. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Novice and Blue Eyes. 



But what has Blue Eyes to do with Bee Cul- 

 ture, some may ask? "Well, not much as yet, 

 but as it so happened, that she first opened 

 those blue orbs, to the light of this world, on 

 the very day, that Gleanings Vol. 1, No. one, 

 came from the printing office, she became asso- 

 ciated, and grew with Gleanings, in the affec- 

 tions of her papa. Accordingly at a very early 

 day, she visited the bees with him, and shared 

 his pleasures and enthusiasm. Up to this date 

 she has, strangely, never been stung. Should 

 it please God to permit her to talk to you all 

 on these pages, at some future time, as does 

 her papa now, that day will indeed be a happy 

 one to both her parents. Mrs. N., has been 

 deterred from taking a very active part in the 

 duties of the Apiary, principally by the very 

 severe, and almost alarming effect of a single 

 sting. She is promising now however, to make 

 an attempt to become inured to the poison, a 

 point on which, although her faith is very 

 faint, Novice's, is unbounded. 

 H. Nesbit, Cynthiana, Ky. A valued friend 

 who has been through the "ups and downs" of 

 the business, but who we think is getting to be 

 a pretty cool and steady hand of late. 

 Miss Ida F. Notes, Detroit, Mich. A friend 

 furnishes the following : 



Several years ago she obtained a colony of bees in a 

 box hive. I transferred it for her. The number of 

 colonies was increased the first season to three or 

 lour; then came a severe winter and all of them died. 

 This of course, was discouraging to a beginner, and, 

 to say the least, her opinion of bee culture was at 

 "low tide." She then changed her location for the 

 purpose of attending high school, and the subject of 

 bees was dropped for a time. Happening however to 

 read a bee item of mine, her interest was re-awakened, 

 and, though for a long time she kept very still on the 

 subject, she says "I very soon became so interested in 

 Apiculture that I read anything and everything I 

 could find relating to the subject, and at last have 

 come to the conclusion that bee-keeping is the very 

 beet kind of business to follow, and since it allows 

 much leisure during the winter months, one can de- 

 vote considerable attention to general literary culture." 



She now has an interest in a modest little Apiary 

 and is succeeding finely. 



Our Friend Charlie, is not a bee-keeper ei- 

 ther, but he comes very near it, for he carries 

 the frames, hives, extractors, honey etc., etc., 

 to the station, and brings the tin, lumber, sug- 

 ar etc., besides the paper, type and all the ma- 

 terials for printing the "Bee Cultivator" as he 

 terms it. Charlie has seen bees a few times but 

 he has never got hurt and we consider him 

 almost one of us. 



D. D. Palmer, Eliza, Mercer Co., Ills., has 

 written some pleasant articles entitled "Chips 

 etc." He is familiarly known through the 

 Journals. He writes us March 1st. 



Lost all my bees two years ago ; last winter lost 60 

 out of 95, the 35 left I increased to 100 and got 3000 lbs. 

 slung honey and 600 lbs. box honey, 3600 lbs. in all, 

 bees are in cellar, no sign of disease. 

 Geo. Parratt, Winamac, Pulaski Co., Ind. 

 Page 9, Vol. 2. 



Melvin Parse, Pine Bluff, Ark. 

 T. Pierson, Ghent, Summit Co., O. Page 22 

 and 58, Vol. 2. 



Wm. Payne. Spencer, Medina Co., O. Page 

 92, and 118, Vol. 2. 



E. S. Pope, Indianapolis, Ind. 



A. J. Pope, Indianapolis, Ind. P. 144, Vol. 2. 

 M. L. PvAub, Bolivar, Alley Co., N. Y. 

 Mrs. M. L. Raub, Bolivar, Alley Co., N. Y. 

 J. T. Rose, Petersburg, Monroe Co., Mich. 



Mr. & Mrs. M. Richardson, Port Colborne, 



Welland Co., Canada. Page 120, Vol. 2. 



L. C. Root, Mohawk, Herkimer Co., N. Y. 



Page 27, Vol. 3. 



S. Rowell, Faribault, Rice Co., Minn. Page 



9, and 105, Vol. 2. 



Mrs. S. Rowell, Faribault, Rice Co., Minn., is 



the woman that is going to get an Organ with 



the proceeds of a single hive, (page 13, Vol. 3), 



and she will get it too, or we are no judge of 



"wo-maii nature." 



Chas. H. Rue, Manalapan, N. J. P. 108, Vol. 2. 



W. H. Sedgwick, Granville, O. 



I don't feel as though I was one of you yet, until I 

 can say I have had 100 lbs. surplus from a hive. I en- 

 close a Photo of my "precious self;" Mrs. S. thinks 

 that will be the best looking man in your collection. 



Mrs. S. is quite right ; we hope every woman, 

 aye, and every man too, feels a preference for 

 the fellow being whose happiness God has so 

 intimately interwoven with their own. 

 E. A. Sheldon, Independence, Buchanan Co., 

 Iowa. Pages 57, 96, and 131, Vol. 2. 

 Mrs. E. A. Sheldon, Independence, Buchanan 

 Co., Iowa. 



"W. F. Standefer, Dry Grove, Hinds Co., Miss. 

 Mrs. "W. F. Standefer and Son, Dry Grove, 

 Hinds Co., Mississippi. 



I send you Photo of my wife who helps me with bees 

 when she is able [being consumptive] and my oldest 

 child Sylvester, who attends my Queen nursery, and 

 either sets to rights any irregularity in Apiary or re- 

 ports to us ; shows visitors around in my absence, 

 opens hives, exhibits Queens, explains the use of 

 extractors, smokers, cages, etc. Many are as much 

 astonished at the child, as the Apiary ; he is 8 years 

 old, began working with bees at 7 and is now running 

 2 colonies on his own account. 



A. M. Steed, Front Royal, "Warren Co., Va. 

 Page 124, Vol. 2, and 23, Vol. 3. 

 Spencer Strong, Akron, Fulton Co., Ind. 

 J. M. C. Taylor, Lewiston, Maryland. 

 "Wm. Troyer, Annawan, Henry Co., Ills. 



I like bees. Was the first to introduce Bee Journals, 

 Frame hives, Italian Bees and Extractors in this town- 

 ship. At one time I had 110 swarms, but the winter of 

 1871-2 nearly cleaned me out. 



Mrs. Ellen S. Tupper, Des Moines, Iowa, 

 has by her labors through the medium of differ- 

 ent periodicals, and at associations and colleges 

 made herself widely known and gained a great 

 number of friends. Her life has been, and 

 probably will be one full of active work, many 

 times it seems more laborious and full of busi- 

 ness cares than one of her sex ought to bear. 

 Her health of late has been poor and we trust 

 her friends en masse would be glad to see her 

 take more rest, and enjoy her bees more in 

 peace and quietness, undisturbed by busy 

 traffic. 



Her daughter, Miss Kate N. Tupper, a grad- 

 uate of the Iowa Ag. College, is now studying 

 Medicine. May her life be as useful and yet 

 unclouded with the many cares that have at 

 times devolved on her mother. 



Rev. J. Van Eaton, York, Livingston Co., 

 N. Y., although a minister seems always run- 

 ning over with fun as may be seen from the 

 sketch from his pen on page 28, Vol. 3, and the 

 following which accompanied the Photo. 



On the opposite page is the last development in 

 that line of Darwin's system of evolution. It is all I 

 have. I use them as posters on marriage certificates. 

 It must be at safe distance from Grimm and Gallup 

 and all the aristocracy of the great bee-dom— perhaps 

 you'd better slip it round on t'other side. If I only 

 could whisper to P. G., that same picture might stand 

 a nice chance for display. 



