1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



373 



the time, valuing stock on hand as at the com- 

 mencement? 



I have had no experience in working- an apiary 

 for honey, but know a little about A's side of the 

 house, and would not be afraid of losing my old hat, 

 that B will "get away" with A on short notice. Both 

 parties keep pure Italians, which are to be valued at 

 the same per colony, the first and last year. Now 

 who will give us the most light on the question? 



Jos. M. Brooks. 

 Columbus, Ind., July (i, 1880. 



In fixing the prices on queens and pounds 

 of bees, I have tried very hard to decide the 

 very question you take up, friend 13., and, 

 although there are some who say I have put 

 the prices too low, I think, all things con- 

 sidered, they are not far out of the way. 

 We can raise bees and queens without any 

 trouble, when we could not possibly raise 

 honey at all, and, since the advent of 

 grape sugar, we can do it too with but little 

 expense comparatively. 



HEXAGONAL LAWN HIVE APIARY, OF NINETEEN niVES, BELONGING TO N. II. ALLEN, 



KIRKW r OOD, MO. 



ALLEN'S LAWN HIVE APIARY 



MAIL you with this the promised photo of my 

 apiary, and hope you will like it. The view is 

 J taken from the east side. The first two rows 

 of hives and the two end ones of the third row face 

 the house, or west, and the rest face east. 



N. H. Allen. 

 Kirkwood, Mo., May 29, 1880. 



I know from personal experience that you 

 are happy in that apiary, friend A., for it 

 evinces work and study. 'When the grass is 

 nicely mown with a lawn mower, every un- 

 sightly thing picked up about the premises, 

 and the Italians busily going out and in with 

 loads of pollen and honey, I do not know of 

 anything that can conduce more to one's 

 happiness than such an apiary. And when 

 you can feel that it is all your own, even to 

 the very ground the hives stand on, it gives 

 a thrill of honest, innocent pleasure, that is 



about as much as one ever feels here on this 

 earth. There is one important feature in 

 the photo, however, which our artist has 

 left out, although it was in my mind when I 

 wrote the above description. It is baby in 

 a pretty little carriage, with its mother 

 standing near by, and the two are but a lit- 

 tle distance from our friend, in a way which 

 indicates that they, too, have an interest in 

 the pleasant little ground and its sur- 

 roundings. I wonder how many such tidy, 

 cosy, little apiaries there are that have 

 sprung into existence since the ABC was 

 set atloat to do its work among the people. 

 I hail hoped and planned that such things 

 should become an ornament and joy to your 

 homes, and, my friends, you can hardly 

 know how deeply I thank God, that he has 

 blessed this work, and that it is now becom- 

 ing more of a reality than I had even dared 

 to hope. 



