278 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



A imi. 



had excellent results in wintering in chaff 

 hives, I believe I shall in time winter all my 

 colonies on his plan." 



We arrived at Mr. Newman's house; and 

 after a welcome by the family I was con- 

 ducted to his bee-cellar — a back room par- 

 titioned off from the main cellar. In it he 

 has 127 colonies, all of which seemed to be 

 wintering nicely, with one or two excep- 

 tions. 



" You see," said Mr. Newman, " I have 

 got tight bottom-boards ; but if I were to 

 get another lot of hives I would have the 

 bottoms loose ; and I would pile the hives 

 up in a repository just as Mr. Boardman 

 does, without bottom-boards, leaving the 

 latter on permanent stands." 



Of course, there was the strong odor of 

 ordinary wintering repositories. 



" From what source do you get your ven- 

 tilation V " said I. 



'■ From no source at all." 



"Don't you have an underground sub- 

 earth ventilator ? " 



" No sub-earth ventilator. There is an 

 opening," said he, pointing to a small win- 

 dow in one corner, " that I used to use ; but 

 you see it is now plugged up tight." 



" And your cellar-door is tight, is it ? " 



In response he closed the door and left us 

 in absolute darkness, showing just the way 

 he left the bees. As we left the repository 

 Mr. Newman said : 



''It is a mystery to me how that man 

 Boardman carries 3 his hives into the cellar 

 without the bottom-boards. It seems to me 

 the bees would be dropping and flying out, 

 to the discomfort of the carrier." 



" Yes, I should think so too ; but I am 

 going down to East Townsend to-morrow, 

 and I am going to find out just how he does 

 it." 



Mr. Newman is quite enthusiastic on the 

 matter of out-apiaries. 



" Why," said he, " last summer my bees 

 in the home yard had done little if any 

 thing. Things went on thus, even through 

 tbe summer. At my Bronson out apiary I 

 discovered that the bees were filling up on 

 something. This proved to be nectar from 

 the peavine clover, of which there were 

 large quantities in fields near by. They 

 not only filled up, but were actually storing 

 surplus. During this time my bees at home 

 were doing little if any thing." 



" How much of this peavine clover honey 

 did you secure from this apiary V" I asked. 



" Three thousand five hundred pounds, 

 nearly all of which was gathered after the 

 basswood season closed ; and it is the same 

 honey which you admired in the store when 

 we first met. I have noticed before," he 

 continued, t- that a difference of only a few 

 miles makes a considerable difference in 

 the secretion of nectar at times." 



The swarms in the Bronson apiary were 

 hived upon empty frames, and so far Mr. 

 Newman is pleased with the plan. 



After a pleasant chat with the family, I 

 left The following morning found me en 

 route for East Townsend, or, rather, Col- 

 lins, as the Railroad Guide has it. It seems 

 to me unfortunate that there should be one 

 name for the postoffice and another for the 



railroad, both designating the same place. 

 As Collins is only a short distance east, I 

 am soon at the station. Upon inquiry I 

 find that I must go directly south— follow- 

 ing that long walk southward I saw yonder. 

 After going but a short distance I inquired 

 of a bright-looking school-boy, with books 

 under his arm, where I might find the resi- 

 dence of H. R. Boardman. 



"Well, sir," said he, "you go straight 

 ahead until you come to the postoffice. 

 Then you turn to the right, and go down 

 that street until you find a whole lot of bee- 

 hives, and then you turn in." 



" Thank you," said I, with assurance. 

 " It is the man with a t whole lot of hives 1 

 whom I wish to see ; " and with such di- 

 rections I should certainly have no difficulty 

 in finding the place. A short walk brought 

 me to the postoffice ; and upon turning to 

 the right I saw a man who looked very 

 much like a bee-man I had seen a few times 

 at conventions. He was " the man who 

 never loses any bees." Although I had not 

 given my friend any warning of my expect- 

 ed visit, I could hardly have called upon 

 him at a more opportune time. He was on 

 his way to the postoffice, and, being a little 

 "under the weather," as he said, he was 

 rather yearning to see somebody to talk 

 with. On approaching his residence I 

 found no bee-hives, but a " whole lot of hive 

 bottoms." 



" Then you do leave those out the year 

 round V " said I, as we were entering' the 

 house. The morning was a little chilly, and 

 the warm base-burner fire, which greeted 

 me as I sat down in an easy-chair, was 

 cheerful indeed. 



Glancing about me while my host was dis- 

 posing of my coat and hat, I discovered 

 some beautiful specimens in taxidermy — 

 some 200 specimens I should guess. There 

 were stuffed birds and quadrupeds, as nat- 

 ural as life could be, from this and adjoin- 

 ing States. Among the number were some 

 quite rare specimens, all of which was the 

 work of friend Boardman during his spare 

 hours in winter or other times when his 

 bees did not demand his attention. He en- 

 joys it as a hobby, and well he may. He is, 

 without doubt, a close student of nature — 

 not only with the little busy bee, as I shall 

 presently try to show, but with all animate 

 creation. 



While we were talking I could not help 

 noticing the affiliation between a cat and a 

 dog, lying at our feet, the former sleeping 

 quietly across the dog's paws, as affection- 

 ately as a— couple of lovers, although the 

 dog, when he observed that our attention 

 was directed toward them, did not seem to 

 regard the intrusion of his feline friend 

 with favor. A low growl announced that 

 he was seemingly ashamed to be seen in 

 such company. The cat gave no particular 

 heed, but, on the contrary, rubbed against 

 her companion as though she understood 

 him. I did not fail to notice the intelli- 

 gence of all the dumb animals around friend 

 Boardman. Even the horses were bright, 

 and seemed to know their master. 



Continued April 15th, 



