1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



8?1 



SOME VALUABLE FACT, NOT GENERALLY 

 KNOWN, ON BEES OR OTHER MATTEKS, 



will receive one of David Cook's excel- 

 lent Ave- cent Sunday - school books. 

 Many of these books contain the same mat- 

 ter that you find in Sunday-school hooks 

 costing: from 81.00 to 81.50. If you have had 

 one or more books, give us the names that we 

 may not send the same twice. We have now 

 in stock six different books, as follows; viz.: 

 Sheer Off, The Giant - Killer, The Roby 

 Family, Rescued from Egypt, and Ten Nights in 

 aBar-Room. We have also Our Homes, Part I.,and 

 Our Homes, Part II. Besides the above books, you may have a 

 photograph of our old house apiarr, taken a great many years 

 ago. In it is a picture of myself. Blue Eyes, and Caddy, and a 

 glimpse of Ernest. We have also some pretty little colored 

 pictures of birds, fruits, flowers, etc., suitable for framing. 

 You can have j-our choice of any one of the above pictures 

 or books for every letter that gives us some valuable piece of 

 information. 



' A chlel's araang ye takin' notes; 

 An' faith, he'll prentit." 



fOU are takinjr hold nicely in the prob- 

 lem whicli I gave a short time ago. 

 So far we feel tdlcralily certain that a bee 

 dies after having stung, and that, too. 

 a few honrs afterward ; but let us have 

 more reports until we are absolutely certain. 

 While these things are important, little folks, 

 there is something else that I wish to call 

 your attention to. 



Did yon ever see a bee that acted as though 

 he were real mad, and while buzzing before 

 your face fairly boil Avith rage until you 

 think that he has almost a human temper? 

 I wonder if a bee ever tries real hard to con- 

 trol himself. I presume not ; for how could 

 he know any better? We have an old horse, 

 Jack, by name, that will lop his ears flat 

 upon his head, and his eyes seem to be 

 ablaze with evil spite. There is one particu- 

 lar thing that he doesn't like to do ; and 

 this is. to back. lie can't see the need of it, 

 and will, if he can, smash something by one 

 big lunge backward. I wonder if he tries to 

 control himself. 



Little boys and girls act very much like 

 those dumb creatures. They have their 

 good davs and bad days ; they have things 

 they don't like to do ; they have their spells 

 of being cross at every thing. Some- 

 times, when Huber is a little naughty, we 

 ask him if he is a good boy. " No. bad boy," 

 he will say, Avhile his face, with a dignitied 

 expression, shows that he meant what he 

 said. I wonder how many little boys have 

 just a little of the Are tliat a bee has. The 

 little bee probably does not kiioic that he is 

 doing wrong; but" (iod loves liis little chil- 

 dren vastly more than he does the bee or the 

 horse, and he has made the little boys and 

 girls to know when they are good or bad. 



Now, little friends, see if you can't please 

 God and help your mother by trying real 

 hard. Some time you will tind it not so easy 



when you get old, if you don't begin now. 

 When " you are asked to do som.ething that 

 is disagreeable, not only do it, but see what 

 a pleasant face you can have while doing it. 

 If the bee or the horse doesn't know it is 

 right to control himself, you do. Ernest. 



1.50 SWARMS KILLED BY BLACK HOXEY ; MEXICAN 

 PONIES. 



My papa takes cousin Caddie and me down to the 

 River farm, where he keeps bees, when it is warm 

 and pleasant, and gives us lots of honey. This year 

 it was real nice; but last year it was black, and we 

 did not like it. Papa said the bees gathered it from 

 the leaves of the trees, and it killed 1.50 swarms for 

 him last winter. On the same farm we have a pony, 

 and It has a little tiesh-colored colt with pink eyes. 

 Papa thinks it's a daisy, and perhaps I am going to 

 ride it some day. Mabel Harrington, age 7. 



Medina, O., Dec. 1, 1885. 



I will explain that Mabel is Neighbor H.'s 

 daughter, and she is also a playmate and 

 cousin of Caddie. They are nearly of a size 

 and age. As I was going up the street yes- 

 terday I saw them a little ahead of me, and 

 I declare I could not tell "which from 

 t'other."— Yes. that colt of cream color and 

 pink eyes is a real beauty, and is what bee- 

 keepers would call an albino. Ilis mother 

 is a mustang, and was caught right oft" the 

 plains. Neighbor II. used to let me ride her 

 around horseback. 



I remember once tliat she took fright at 

 something, and made a bee-line through the 

 apiary whilst I. clinging to her back,l)egan 

 to see visions of broken hives, stinging bees, 

 and myself bleeding and mangled upon the 

 ground ; but the reality never came ; and by 

 some strangely unaccountable way I could 

 be seen a moment after on her V)ack, up the 

 road. As a moral, I woidd advise inexperi- 

 enced horsemen to be careful with Mexican 

 ponies around the apiary. Ernest. 



PUTTING HONEY AMONG THE BEES, WHEN THERE 

 IS NONE COMING IN. 



Pa has one hive of nice Italian bees. I think they 

 are very prettj-. We put some honey around the 

 bees, but they were not working much that day. 

 When we put the honey out there you could see the 

 Italian bees begin to come first. Victor Cox. 



Chocowinity, N. C. 



Placing honey among the bees after the 

 honey-flow, is a little risky. It would very 

 likely start robbing, then you would have no 

 end of ti'ouble. So you think the Italians 

 will more quickly stent the sweet, than the 

 black bees, do vou? Ernest. 



WHO ARE CADDIE AND ERNEST.'' 



Please may I ask who Caddie and Ernest are? I 

 don't believe I ever heard who they are. My fa- 

 ther has but one stand of bees. They are Italians, 

 but he is going to get some more. My brother has 

 some very nice chickens, and he is going to raise 

 more next summer. I got a letter from Nellie Ros- 

 siter. Clara Madson. 



West Branch, J a., Nov. 13, 1885. 



Why, of course you shall know ; but I 

 kind o' hate to talk about myself, because 

 it would hardly be the proper thing. How- 

 ever, I will say that Ernest and Caddie are 

 a brother and sister of Huber. Huber, you 



