570 



GLEANINGS IN iBEfi CtJLTUtlE. 



Attfi. 



chaff hive with the entrance open the full 

 width in winter, as it is in summer, and 

 loose leaves or loose chaff above the cluster, 

 seems to me would be about the thing. 



Pa has Ave swai-ms of bees, and one of them is an 

 Italian swarm. He has log- hives Ave feet long- and ;53 

 inches in diameter. They are hollow, and there are 

 little doors in each end, and he takes the honey out 

 of the little dooi-s. I like honey. Milt.y Keyser. 



Wilksport, Ont., Can. 



I am twelve years old, but 1 must write about 

 bees. Bees were introduced into America from 

 Eui'ope; they were first broug-ht to South America 

 in 184.5, and California in 18.50. The Indians called 

 bees the white man's tiy, because it followed where 

 he went. Eugene Holzer. 



Allerton, Iowa. 



HEDDON PliAN OF AFTER-SWARMING. 



Ma has 40 stands of bees. She lost eight stands 

 last winter. She did not lose as many as the most 

 of the people. It was very cold here. My ma takes 

 Gleanings. She had only 31 stands in the spi-ing-, 

 and now she has 40. Ma tried the Heddon plan, and 

 did not have any after-swarms at all. I read Glean- 

 ings when there are letters in it. Annie Cochran. 



Macon, 111. 



WHAT AILED THE BEES? 



Papa boug-ht several stands of bees, and the most 

 of them died last summer. Could you tell what 

 was the reason? Ettie Faris. 



Huffman, Ala. 



Friend Ettie, it is pretty hard to tell why 

 the bees died in the summer time, withont 

 knowing more about the facts in the case. 

 Perhaps they lost their queen, and dwindled 

 away. I think the ABC book would help 

 you to find out what the trouble was. 



THE calves, the DOG, AND THE SHEEP, AND THE 



WAY THEY MANAGED TO FIND NAMES FOR 



THEM AT JESSIE'.S HOUSE. 



My father takes Gleanings. We have an e.v- 

 tractor that we bought of you several years ago. 

 Brother has three calves, named Cleveland, Hen- 

 dricks, and Tilden. Sammie has a little dog- named 

 Huber, and two sheep named Doolittle and Novice. 

 lam one of six children. Baker, Fannie, Jessie, Ellie, 

 Thomas, and Susie. Jessie Smylif.. 



Caseyville, Miss. 



HOW TO hive a swarm OF BEES, DESCRIBED BY 

 ONE OF OUR JUVENILES. 



My aunt Fanny keeps bees, and one day they 

 swarmed, which is something- I had never seen 

 them do before. On my way to school I heard an 

 awful uoise, and I knew in a moment what it was. 

 Then I ran into her house and shouted at the top of 

 my voice, " Aunt Fanny, your bees have swarmed !" 

 But I could not find her; so I ran over home and 

 told mamma the whole story. She ran out to look 

 at theru, while I ran up the road to tlud my aunt 

 Fanny. I saw a boy, and he said she was up at his 

 house. After I ran up there and told her, she 

 jumped and caught up her shawl and said, " What! 

 have those bees swarmed ag-ain?" 



"Yes," said I. 



Then she told nie to run down on the new road, 

 and g-et my uncle William, who was cutting- 

 bean-poles, which I did. We got into the wagon 

 and drove home as fast as we could. Then we fixed 



the hive all ready beside the other hives, and then 

 my uncle William took a saw and sawed off the 

 limb upon which the bees had gathered, and placed 

 it in front of the hive. Then my aunt Fanny sat 

 down beside them and took a little branch off apine- 

 tree, and tickled the bees on their backs, and made 

 them go into the hive. I lay down in front of the 

 hive, and laughed to see them stand on their heads 

 as they went in. Herbert A. Hodsdon. 



Center Ossipee, N. H. 



Friend Herbert, your description is real 

 good : and I presume that, by the aid of it, 

 one who had never hived a swarm would 

 manage pretty fairly. 



BEES THAT MAKE HONEY, BUT DON'T SWARM. 



My brothers had a swarm of bees summer before 

 last that swarmed six times, and went back to the 

 hive every time. It died the next winter, and had 

 a lot of honey left in the hives. What is the matter 

 with a swarm that makes lots of honej' and doesn't 

 swarm? My brother has got a swarm of bees that 

 have not swarmed for three years. 



Douns, Ills. 



Why, my little friend, I should say that 

 nothing was the matter ; but on the contra- 

 ry, the bees are doing exactly what we want 

 tliem to do. If you could advertise a race of 

 bees that would make lots of honey, and 

 would not swarm, you could make a mint of 

 money. _J 



450 SWARMS OP BEES IN SIX Dl FFERENT API ARIES ; 

 REPORTED BY_A 13-VEAR-OLD JUVENILE. 



I have one swarm of bees, which was given to me 

 by my pa. He has 450 swarms standing- on six dif- 

 ferent places, which he works with the help of a 

 hired boy. I have two brothers and two sisters, 

 and we have to help pa in the summer, making 

 foundation and extracting honey. Pa puts a lot of 

 empty comb into empty bee-hives on the wagon, to 

 carry them to the different places, and fetches back 

 full ones; then we children have to put them in the 

 extractor, and throw out the honey and put it in 

 tin pails. I can not go to school just now, as we are 

 very busy; but I am fond of books. My elder sister 

 is 15 years of age, and is at work putting- founda- 

 tion in honey-boxes. My youngest brother is five 

 years old. He is wasting a good lot of nails, and 

 not much good yet. Elizabeth Hoffman. 



Canajoharie, N. Y., June 38, 1?85. 



Why, Elizabeth, your father is really put- 

 ting in practice the plan I give in the ABC 

 book. I notice your letter is dated where 

 the Bee-Keepers' UxclKnuje used to be pub- 

 lished. I am glad to know that hee culture 

 is flourishing to such an extent in the neigh- 

 borhood of our old friend Neliis.— Never 

 mind the nails your five-year-old brother is 

 wasting. Although his' work may not 

 amount to nutcli, driving nails helps to 

 make the boy grow into a man ; and if he 

 leai-ns to drive nails skillfully, the time and 

 money won't be wasted. It was only yes- 

 terday that I saw two of our grown-up men 

 driving nails, and they started the nail into 

 the board in such a way that it acted like a 

 w edge, and would be almost sure to split the 

 ))oard unless it were very tough and strong 

 wood. I wonder how many boys and girls 

 who read this know just how to set a nail 

 when they commence to drive it. If you do 

 not, get your father or brother to show you. 



