1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



353 



while, when he found a water-plant to snit 

 him he pulled it up and then sat down in the [ 

 water to nibble it while he held the root in 

 his paws. He looked as cute as could be. ! 

 and I felt bad to mar his enjoyment. But I 

 concluded it must be done, so 1 hunted up a 

 nice smooth stone, and drew back, thinking? 

 I could pop him n^]\i sciuare on the head, 

 sure ; but just then my foot hit a brush and 

 made a noise. lie stopped his lunch, looked 

 at me just about a second rather curiously, 

 and then went keelinj? liead over heels down 

 into the water, and Inially crawled up under 

 the turf rij^ht opposite the carp-i)ond. You 

 see, he digs back in the bank there and 

 comes out right inside of the pond, and 

 away goes the water. He has not done it 

 very lately. ho\ve\er. for we have pounded in 

 so many tin scriips thathewill spoil his teeth 

 if he gets through again. 



A PIECE ABOUT BEES — TAKEN KKOM THE THIKt) 

 READER. 



I will write joii a piece about bees. I frot it out 

 of my Tliirrl Reader. When bees enter a new hive 

 it is said that they divide tlieinselves into four 

 companies, one of which g-oes out to the fields in 

 search of materials; another employs itself in lay- 

 ing the bottom and wall of the cells; a third in 

 making the inside smooth from the corners, and the 

 fourth in bringing food for the rest; but they are 

 not always doing the same thing. They often ex- | 

 change their tasks— those that have been in the i 

 fields coming in to woi-k, and those that have been 

 confined to the hive take their flight. They have a 

 language, or signs, by which they understand «ach 

 other. When one that is hungry meets a loaded 

 bee, they stoj), and the one that has honey bends 

 down its trunk and lets the contents fall into the 

 mouth of the other. Their diligence and labor are i 

 so great that in one day's time they are able to 

 make cells in sufficient number to contain 3tX)0 bees. 

 Some of the bees are busy all the time in stopping | 

 the holes and openings, for it is necessary that they 

 should be warm. Their cells they strengthen all 

 round by bands or strings of wax, and when this is 

 done they go over them all again with their teeth 

 and pare away all that is unnecessary, and shape 

 round the partitions, taking away all the chips or 

 fragments of wax, and carrying them out of the 

 hive. They are very neat, and keep their house 

 perfectly clean. A.xnie Lecck, age 13. 



Campo Seco, Cal., March, 188.5. 



Friend Annie, your story is in the main 

 pretty accurate, although T think it is a mis- 

 take about bees dividing themselves into i 

 four companies, although it is true that they 

 apportion the work among them, some 

 working at one thing and some at another ; 

 but they exchange places so much that it is 

 pretty hard to lay down any rules in regard 

 to their divisi(m of labor. 



to plow. May be I would get tired of it, but 

 you see it is doing something outdoors, 

 right under God's blue sky, and then it is 

 something useful too ; and even though you 

 do get very tired, how one does enjoy'his 

 dinner after such kind of worki and then that 

 feeling of peace and happiness after you get 

 through at night, and have your team all 

 nicely cared for and put away! A boy who 

 can do a good job of plowing need never be 

 afraid of losing his situation ; and if banks 

 break, and money is hard to get, and all 

 these other things happen, what does he 

 careV I can very well remember when I 

 used to hate plowing ; but for all that, I can 

 not understand now whv I ever was so fool- 

 ish. '^ 



ONI.y 8 LOST OUT OF 147, AND THAT IN CANADA. 



We have twins. We call them Wiman and May. 

 They are four months old. Father had 147 colonies 

 of bees ; 8 of them died. They were out of doors. 

 Those in the cellar are doing well. Father gave me 

 2 colonies. They are both alive. I do chores, and 

 harness the horse for father. 1 had my leg broken 

 when I was 6 years old, and have not been able to 

 go to school much. Spencer Orvis, age 0. 



Whitby, Ont., March 28, 1885. 



^'ery good. Spencer. With 147 colonies of 

 bees, 100 bushels of alsike clover, and twins 

 four months old, it seems to me your fa- 

 ther ought to be a happy man. See p. '2H0. 



AND here is a letter FROM 4'; - YEAR - OLD 

 BERTHA. 



I am 4' 2 years old. I rock the babies for mother, 

 and play with Lilj-. She learns not to tear books 

 when she has them. Does Huber have books to 

 play with? Lily tries to help me clear the table. 

 Does Huber try to work any? 



Whitby, Ont., Can. Bertha Orvis, per niDtUer. 



Thank you. Bertha. If you were at our 

 house, you would think Huber did have 

 books to play with. When I go home 

 nights and get my Ohio Farmer he climbs up 

 on my knee and begins, "Pic'er-book, nic'er- 

 book, papa." And then when I a.SK him 

 what " pic"er-book"' he wants he will reply. 

 " Want burny man ;"' and if I do not get "it 

 right off he will keen saying. '' Burny man, 

 papa, burny man." lie means by this that 

 lie wants one of the old readers "that has a 

 picture in it of a man carrying a child out of 

 a burning building. He can hud the book 

 anywhere in the secretary, just by seeing 

 the back of it. when there are hundreds of 

 other books almost like it. Yes, Huber tries 

 to work. I do not know that he ever accom- 

 plishes very much, but I do know this: 

 That every few minutes he makes a great 

 heap of work, as they say down South. 

 Well, Bertha, 1 think you do pretty well if 

 you manage to rock both of those twin ba- 

 bies, and only 4^ years old. 



now n.\RRY GOT INTO TROUBLE. 



Last summer 1 went out to the cornfield where 

 my father was plowing, to tell him that the bees 

 were swarming, and that 1 would plow till he hived 

 them. I got mysell' into trouble, and had to plow all 

 summer. Harrv Neff. 



Clive, Iowa, Feb. 8, 1885. 



Now, Harry, I do not pity you a bit. For 

 my part I can not think of any thing in this 

 whole world that would be better tun than 



COVERING BEES WITH HEMLOCK KOUGH!*, ETC., FOR 

 AVINTER. 



My papa keeps bees. Last year he had 4 swarms, 

 spring count ; they swarmed so we had 12 that year. 

 In imi we got 179 lbs. of comb honey, and 90 lbs. of 

 extracted. They all wintered but two. He winter- 

 ed them out of doors, just as they stand in the sum- 

 mer. Our bees did not swarm at all last year, and 

 we got only 100 lbs. of honey, and that was all clo- 

 ver, as basswood did not blossom. In the fall, papa 



