10 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan 1 



suits. He says : I washed the feet (resp. claws) of the 

 cattle affected, with propolisin solution, and gave each 

 animal about one teaspoonful of the same on a piece 

 of bread two days running. The results far exceeded 

 my expectations. Not only did the animals eat their 

 food next morning with relish, but the supply of milk 

 increased again to its former quantity, and fever dis- 

 appeared. Thus in several days I had quite got rid of 

 the plague ; and I am of the opin on that if propolisin 

 is applied in good time, before the disease has bfen 

 able to make much progress, the epidemic can be easi- 

 ly held in check. 



Snakes as enetnies of bees is an old theme. 

 Here is a practical illustration of the matter: 



A bee-keeper gives an interesting acount of a swarm 

 which he noticed oue day at the corner of a wood 

 while out for a walk. He ran home to fetch his swarni- 

 ing-tackle, but was surprised to find on his return that 

 the whole swarm was in a .state of great excitement, 

 and on closer inspection found that a ringed snake h^d 

 crept into the middle of the cluster, where it had evi- 

 dently thought to enjoy a hearty meal. Having, how- 

 ever, removed the snake (which was already by this 

 time considerablv injured by stings), the swarm set- 

 tled down, was afterward hived, and has since devel- 

 oped into a satisfactory colony. 



AMATEUR BEE-KEEPERS. 



Their Usefulness. 



BY RAMBLER. 



When we mention the name of an amateur 

 in any profession we usually convey with the 

 name a disparaging remark. For instance, 

 the amateur photographer, always snapping 

 his camera in season and out of season, is 

 termed a fiend. Probably the term "ama- 

 teur" has fallen into disrepute just from the 

 free use of the snap-shot camera. Any way, 

 each individual trade is not given to praising 

 its amateurs. 



Let us give a few moments of attention to 

 what relation amateurs bear to bee-keeping. I 

 have a book on the table before me that gives 

 a brief account of the first amateur bee-keeper 

 — Samson, the son of Manoah. We can infer 

 from Samson's conduct that he was naught 

 but an amateur, ior no pro/t'ssioaa/ hee-Viee-p- 

 er from that day to this would be guilty of 

 stalking off across the country to visit a Deli- 

 lah. Some writers go so far as to claim that 

 Samson invented the movable frame hive, from 

 the supposition that the bees built the combs 

 to the ribs of the defunct lion ; and it was the 

 comb attached to one of these ribs with which 

 he sweetened himself. But, like all amateurs, 

 he failed to get his idea patented, and thereby 

 missed a great opportunity. 



Coming down the stream of time, the next 

 amateur of importance is the immortal Virgil. 

 He left a distinct and lasting impress upon the 

 industry ; and no doubt the practical bee- 

 keeper of his time derived great benefit from 

 his researches. 



I am inclined to put Huber in the amateur 

 class. He was not dependent upon the indus- 



try for his sustenance, and, owing to his in- 

 firmity, ho had to turn the management over 

 to other parties ; and while some profit was 

 made from the bees they were worked with 

 the paramount idea of scientific research ; and 

 the results have been of the utmost value to 

 bee-keepers. Cotemporary with Huber, and 

 following in his footsteps, were many German 

 investigators who were amateurs. 



Crossing the ocean, in our own land we find 

 the mati we love to term the father of Ameri- 

 can bee- keeping — Langstroth. His invention 

 of the movable-comb hive gave to the most 

 crude bee-keeper a key with which to open 

 the mysteries of the hive, and to enhance the 

 profit of the same ; and if he were the only 

 amateur who has aided in developing the in- 

 dustry, that invention alone is enough to give 

 lasting fame to the amateur. 



Naturally, in due time the honey-extractor 

 followed the invention of the movable frame, 

 and this too was given to us by an amateur — 

 Hruschka. 



I may now get myself into trouble ; but I 

 am going to put A. I. Root into the class of 

 amateur bee-keepers. A manufacturer of bee- 

 keepers' supplies can have a large number of 

 colonies of bees and still not be a professional, 

 f >r he is not dependent upon his bees for his 

 living. Then when said apiary is turned over 

 entirely to other parties for management, and 

 the owner goes off after greenhouses and gar- 

 dening, of course he is an amateur bee-keep- 

 er. And what has amateur A. I. Root given 

 to the fraternity ? He gave us the pound sec- 

 tion and the dollar queen. He has given us 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture and the "ABC 

 of Bee Culture," the most popular up-to-date 

 text-book, and the largest supply-manufactory 

 in the world, where new things too numerous 

 to mention are being tested and introduced, 

 and bee-keepers are handling the industry 

 with less manual labor than in former days. 



Prof. A. J. Cook is another amateur, and 

 has given us an excellent manual, and contin- 

 ues to give us good things from time to time in 

 the journals. 



George W. York, of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, is another very useful amateur, and fol- 

 lows weekly in the steps of Samuel Wagner, 

 its founder, and an amateur. In the same 

 c jnnection we place Thomas G. Newman, ed- 

 itor, author, and stanch defender of the rights 

 of bee-keepers, and an amateur. 



Arthur C. Miller, who gave us the hot-plate 

 foundation-fastener, is an amateur, and may 

 possibly soon give us another useful machin>. . 



When I once met Mr. Danzenbaker he was 

 an amateur bee-keeper. He will possibly now 

 claim to be a professional, but I am sure he 

 invented his hive while an amateur. 



Crossing the ocean again, we find J. Meh- 

 ring, a German, the first inventor of comb 

 foundation. He was an amateur. 



In England we find many amateurs, among 

 them Cheshire, who gave us a fine work upon 

 scientific and practical bee-keeping ; and Mr. 

 Thomas W. Cowan, editor of the British Bee 

 Journal, and author of a very correct and 

 comprehensive work on bees, also inventor of 

 the Cowan hjney-extractor. 



