1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



403 



EAMBLE NO. 16. 



THE RAMBLER TELLS SOME CURIOUS THINGS; US- 

 ING A VIOLIN TO liRING DOWN SWARMS. 



fS HE inauguration of a new president, and the 

 I)" retirement of President Cleveland, reminds 

 i the Rambler of a very pleasant visit with 

 Mr. David Cleveland, of Pawlet, Vt., a dis- 

 tant relative of the ex-president. A large 

 transferring job was to be done; the Rambler's aid 

 was solicited, and iu ;i day of lively work nearly 30 

 swarms were changed from old box hives to the 

 regular Langstroth, and Bro. Cleveland was made 

 happy. Mr. C.'s apiary is located among the splen- 

 did hills where a never-failing supply of honey is 

 sure to be secreted. We found him to be a man on 

 the shady side of 60, and a mason by trade. The 

 usual hardships of life had given him a stooping 

 form and a more aged appearance than he rightly 

 should assume. We found that one of his crosses 

 was a bed-ridden daughter, who seemed to be a 

 counterpart of Anna Quillin. Miss Cleveland had 

 not been from her bed for several years. Physi- 

 cians said her disease was incurable; but the advo- 

 cates of the Faith cure gave him hope again, and, 

 behold, in due time she arose and walked the earth 

 again. All hoped that she would become perma- 

 nently strong; but, like the most of such cures (?) 

 that have come to the Rambler's notice, it was not 

 permanent; and after a few weeks of freedom she 

 was again doomed to the narrow limits of a bed. 



We here first learned of the existence of a "shut-iu 

 society," or a society of invalids who keep up a sys- 

 tem of correspondence and exchanges. We were 

 surprised to find specimens of rare plants from the 

 tropics, and many things curious and instructive 

 from remote parts of the country. We rejoiced 

 with the invalid for that splendid institution, Uncle 

 Sam's mail-hags. 



Mr. C. gave us interesting facts in relation to oth- 

 er bee-keepers in his vicinity; and thinking a holi- 

 day among them would recreate him as well as in- 

 terest the Rambler, later in the season we called 

 upon Mr. C. It was at the twilight hour, and we 

 found him mounting guard % A portion of his 

 grounds are set out to grapevines. The boys from 



NIGHT VIGIL AT THE GRAPEVINES. 



a neighboring village are so immoral as to steal our 

 friend's grapes. To protect them while ripening, 

 for several nights he guards thetn with shot-gun in 

 hand. His intentions, however, were not blood- 

 thirsty, as he meant only to scare the intruder. 

 The next day we called upon several bee-keepers, 



and among the most extensive was Mr. Cross Lin- 

 coln, of Rupert, Vt. The first thing we noticed 

 about Mr. L. was his very pleasant appearance, 

 giving a direct contradiction to those who have 

 given him the name Cross. It beats all what mis- 

 nomers people will tack on to a fellow sometimes. 

 At the time of our visit, Mr. L. had nearly 300 colo- 

 nies, and his honey-house was filled with as nice an 

 exhibit of comb honey as the eye of a bee-keeper 

 could look upon. Here for the first and only time 

 in our life we saw :S000 lbs. of comb honey in half- 

 pound sections, all crated and ready to ship to the 

 Boston market. Mr. L. claimed that just as much 

 honey could be obtained in these small sections as 

 in larger ones, and that 2 cents per lb. more could 

 be obtained for honey in this shape. They looked 

 so fascinating that the Rambler wanted toget right 

 home and prepare to run all of his colonies for 

 half-pounds; but in correspondence with Mr. L. 

 since, our ardor is dampened somewhat by his say- 

 ing that he will return to the use of one-pound sec- 

 tions. Mr. L. combines potato-buying with bee- 

 keeping. The potato-trade coming in the fall and 

 spring, it does not interfere with the bee-business. 

 His bees are wintered in a small cellar. The space 

 is packed as full as it will hold, and the tempera- 

 ture must necessarily be very high. The only ven- 

 tilation is a tube through the cellar window. 



It seems to run in the Lincoln family to keep bees. 

 An older brother, we believe Mr. Homer L., has the 

 honor to belong to the fraternity, and his combina- 

 tion of other business is quite novel. Besides bees 

 he gives his attention to fox-hunting and fiddling. 

 During the winter months his violin is heard upon 

 many a festive occasion, far and near. During the 

 swarming season, when the bees are upon his mind, 

 his violin, we are credibly informed, is used to a 

 great extent. It is said, that with a violin you can 

 strike a key-note that will vibrate down an iron 

 bridge. It is also said that 

 the walls of Jericho fell from 

 this striking of a key-note 

 between the rams' horns and 

 the wall. So in this case, 

 Mr. L. with his violin strikes 

 the key-note of the swarm, 

 and every bee drops to the 

 ground. It is better, howev- 

 er, not to bring them all 

 down at once. Some slow 

 tune like " Old Dan Tucker," 

 where the key-note is often 

 struck, will cause them to 

 alight in short order; and 

 Mr. L. loses no swarms by 

 absconding, so he says. The 

 Rambler never saw Mr. L. do 

 this wonderful feat; but if striking the key- 

 any violinist has doubts note of a swarm. 

 about it, let him try it next swarming time. 



After a very pleasant day, which Mr. Cleveland 

 also seemed to greatly enjoy, the Rambler set his 

 face toward the spot where the sun went down; 

 and after a few hours' drive he arrived at the Resi- 

 dence of Stephen Carpenter, the Quaker giant bee- 

 keeper of Granville. The Rambler. 



Friend R., please have plenty of charity 

 for the advocates of the Faith cure. The 

 inspiration and excitement attendant upon 

 almost any thing which is novel, especially 

 if it arouses the interest and enthusiasm of 



