2G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 



Uiey had worked so industriously on it in Dec. 

 Tlie}^ seemed to take their flights close under 

 the glass. On the 81st we were rejoiced to see 

 the sun come out full and clear, and by 10 

 o'clock the room was abundantly warm with- 

 out any aid from the stoVe, but not a bit would 

 they notice the meal. We had read in the Fruit 

 Recorder that plants, especially strawberries, 

 must be placed close uj) to the ffhtfui to thrive. 

 Was it not so with bees? In a twinkling the 

 Simplicity hive cover containing the heap of 

 meal was suspended from the sash within about 

 a foot of the glass. Our better half here inter- 

 posed that it was long past church time and we 

 bent our steps churctiward with about as much 

 alacrity as did we when in the woods with the 

 wild Touch-me-nots. AVe were late, and what 

 is more were rebuked by having the minister 

 pause in his discourse until we could get seat- 

 ed. Never mind we deserved it and will ti'y 

 and do better next time. May our path through 

 life never lead, where the influence of sucli as 

 he is unknown. 



Do you wonder that we were in a mood to 

 rejoice more fully, with the bees, when we 

 found them happy as in June, dancing about 

 our heap of meal, and now and then scamper- 

 ing into their hive as fast as their padded legs 

 could carry them. Yet this was a cold wintry 

 day outside, and the sun scarcely thawed the 

 snow on the south roofs of the houses. 



We should have said before, that our second 

 sash were put in place about the middle of Jan. 

 It has not yet been closed up warm and secure 

 by any means, but it does excellent service in 

 keeping the ice from the glass and preventing 

 tlie attendant drip. 



Feb. l.vi — To-day we had sunshine again, and 

 brood rearing is going on beautifully. The 

 only dran'back is the drunken bees that blun- 

 der about and finally fall on the floor; these 

 we gather up in the evening and put in the 

 lamp nursery where they I'evive and at least a 

 {)art of tiieni go through the same programme 

 next day. Not all, however, for the lamp nur- 

 sery is getting built up tliereby. We forgot to 

 mention that one colony was found Queenless; 

 search showed her dead in bottom of hive. As 

 she looked natural and perfect, and as the 

 bees were healthy, we cannot think it any 

 fault of our own that we now have ()7 colonies 

 instead of 68. 



[The following is from A. I. Root personally.] 



Feb. StJi — I hope and trust that I have many 

 warm friends among our readers, nuxny who 

 have followed my elforts, in years past, and very 

 likely who feel that they know my weak points 

 ^ilmost as well as those who have held dailj' 

 converse with me, face to face. If I have gain- 

 ed any hold upon you, and if you have any 

 confidence in my truth and candor, please lis- 

 ten, and do not turn away, even if 1 talk a little 

 to you on these pages, on something, that does 

 not directlji i)ertain to Bee C'ulture. 



For a little time back a great light has been 

 breaking above me. This light might have 

 come sooner had it not been for several things 

 which stood in its way; i)rominently among 

 them, a vain pride and ambition in regard to 

 this very Gi.k.smxcjs. I worshipped worldly 

 things first, and my Maker, (when 1 worsh!pi)ed 

 Him at all) afterwards. In fact when this 



great light commenced to reveal itself, I deba- 

 ted whether it was best to mention the mattei' 

 at all, here ; whether it would be — well,7>?v^7- 

 able. Wlien these thoughts arose, the old dark- 

 ness threatened to come back, until I could 

 truly say, "I will do my Creator's work first 

 whatever it may be, and bees and all else after- 

 wards. Dear readers do you know that this is 

 one of the first tasks shown to me, to use my 

 influence whatever weight it may have, in ail 

 possible directions, to induce imperfect man- 

 kind to say with me lliy icill our Heavenly 

 Father, not ours be done. 



Do you say you have no duties that you are 

 aware of, left unperformed ? just as I did a very 

 few days ago V Go read your Bible, read the 

 commandments and see. When you have tried 

 to live up to these, when you have tried to love 

 your neighbor as yourself, and find you camiot 

 do it alone, admit your helplessness and call 

 on your Heavenly Father for aid, but first be 

 sure you can freely give up all or everything in 

 this world for His sake, and forgive all your 

 fellow beings, as you hope to be forgiven. 

 With a sincere prayer that God will enable 

 these few words to reach you just as they were 

 intended, I still remain more than ever your old 

 friend A. I. Root. 



Feb. \Wi — Reports come in from all sides in 

 regard to the extreme severity of the weather, 

 and brood rearing in the forcing house is again 

 suspended on account of the thick coat of ice 

 that covers the sash and prevents even the 

 noonday sun from penetrating and warming it 

 up. Instead of feeling like being dissatisfied 

 with such weather ought we not rather to take 

 it as a lesson that our climate is uncertain, and 

 that we sliould in building our wintering 

 houses, cellars etc., make proper calculation 

 for such extremes. 



Feb. IWi — Still zero weather. The forcing 

 house is so completely covered with ice that 

 even the noonday sun scarcely has an ettect on 

 it. In Jan. Am. Ar/rinilturist, Mr. Quinby des- 

 cribes the behavior of bees in cold weather, and 

 also reiterates the statement made last season 

 that the solid portion of the honey they eat 

 during winter is evacuated in a dry state, and 

 may ])e found on the bottom board of the hive, 

 when the bees are in health. As soon as the 

 paper was received we commenced some exper- 

 iments to determine (as we supposed) the truth 

 of the matter. We soon decided that Quinby 

 was utterly wrong in both, and prepared to 

 write a severe criticism. We are sincerely glad 

 we did not for the spirit that was then prompt- 

 ing, was more a disposition to show that Mr. 

 Q. was in error, than to get at the truth where- 

 rrer it might lie. What we did was to raise a 

 hive up from the bottom i)oard, remove cover 

 and (|uilt and subject them to severe cold 

 weatiier. Although the colony (nucleus rath- 

 er) contained not more than a quart of bees, 

 they seemed to bear this without detriment. A 

 sheet of white paj)er was placed under the clus- 

 ter, and after a few hour,> the brown particles 

 that had accumulated were examined. We 

 thought then there was nothing there but bits 

 of coml), propolis etc., l)ut a more candid exam- 

 ination since has convinced us that, in some 

 hives at least, the bees do void their excrement 

 in a dry state, and perhaps they always do iu 

 perfect health. The second point was to see 



