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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Auo. 



God. Very soon after they had become 

 rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus, it be- 

 came evident that God was calling his dear 

 companion and the mother of his children 

 to a home beyond. But cheerfully and 

 peacefully she went down through the dark 

 valley; and now that his loved companion 

 is on the other shore, it is not strange 

 that friend Snyder feels all the more drawn 

 to the work of laying up treasures in 

 heaven, as well as doing what he can to 

 make proper provision for the motherless 

 ones in his home. I planned to take a view 

 of the river after sunrise in the morning, 

 and also to visit the bluff mentioned in his 

 letter, before taking my departure; but, 

 alas for human plans ! in the morning it 

 was so foggy that getting a photograph of 

 the river was out of the question; I did 

 manage to get a couple of views of his ex- 

 ceedingly neat and pretty apiary, although 

 I had to get it without direct sunshine, 

 which is especially needed for the Kodak. 

 A picture of the apiary will be given in a 

 future numher. In the morning, while we 

 were talking, friend Snyder's oldest boy, 

 who helps him with the bees, came in to say 

 that a certain colony, calling it by number, 

 was " hanging out." 



" Well, what if they do hang out, my 

 young friend ; what do you do about it? " 



He replied that his papa did not allow his 

 bees to do that way. 



"Ah, indeed," said I. "Well, friend 

 Snyder, if you have a plan for keeping bees 

 from hanging out, I should be glad to see 

 it." 



He smilingly replied, that, if he remem- 

 bered correctly, it was a plan he learned of 

 A. I. Root. His hives have movable bot- 

 toms, and in a minute or two a little block 

 was put under each of the four corners. 

 Then the lid of the hive was raised a little 

 so as to let a draft of air through. It did 

 the business. In a little time the bees that 

 were on the front had all gone inside. In 

 this way our friend manages so as to keep 

 all of his bees in the hives ; and I am inclin- 

 ed to think that he accomplishes a good 

 thing by so doing; for when the bees com- 

 mence to go out in the morning, no clusters 

 are observed hanging about on the fronts of 

 the hives while the others are at work. In 

 other apiaries during my visit, many and 

 many a time could I see bees, almost by the 

 bushel, hanging idly on the outsides of the 

 hives, even while the basswood flow was at 

 its height. I am firmly convinced that tons 

 of honey are lost by letting bees loaf when 

 they should be at work. The shop and ex- 

 tracting-room were as neat as a pin. Great 

 broad doors/could be swung open>t both 

 ends of the buibling, so as to get any 

 amount of air during the extracting time; 

 and when the bees become troublesome, 

 wire-cloth doors; takeithe'place of the ordi- 

 nary ones. 



Another attraction to me was thejbeauti- 

 ful springs that bubbled forth at the base 

 of the rivei\bank near the water. There are 

 beautiful fish in "the Wisconsin Biver, and 

 the way they keep fish for sale is to keep 

 them alive in a basin made by one of these 

 springs ; then when you want a fish, instead 



of going to a meat-market you j ust go and 

 weigh up a live one, picked out of this 

 spring, with the hands, and there it is, all 

 ready to be dressed. 



Some years ago the Wisconsin Biver was 

 navigable for steamboats ; but the Govern- 

 ment, in attempting to improve the channel 

 by means of some costly experiments, run- 

 ning up to something like half a million of 

 dollars, did the very opposite of what they 

 intended to do ; that is, the theory of the 

 plans did not work, and the river was made 

 entirely unfit for steamers, while it an- 

 swered very well before they did any thing 

 to it. It is bad enough for individuals to 

 make blunders with their own property ; 

 but what shall we say when such blunders 

 as the above are made? 



Now, dear friends, I waut to tell you that 

 a peculiar tender relation always exists, or 

 at least always should exist, between the 

 one who has been led to Jesus and him who 

 did the leading. There are doubtless many 

 friendships in the world like the friendship 

 of David and Jonathan ; but there ought to 

 be a hundred times more of them. Jona- 

 than's father was David's most bitter ene- 

 my ; but although his persecution and in- 

 justice were perhaps as great as any other 

 man ever bore, David would not, even to 

 save himself from harm, touch a hair of 

 Saul's head, or, in his own words, " The 

 Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my 

 hands against the Lord's anointed." His 

 wife was Saul's daughter, and his best 

 friend on earth was Saul's son. No wonder 

 that his forbearance stands out like a land- 

 mark to encourage and cheer generation 

 after generation not to become weary in 

 well doing. Sometimes in going over our 

 ledgers the clerks tell me that a certain one 

 is behind in making his payments. When I 

 glance at the name, old recollections come 

 up. Perhaps the one in question was led to 

 Christ years ago by the Home Tapers. My 

 directions are at once, " No, no ; do not 

 trouble him." 



" But," replies the book-keeper, " we have 

 waited a long while." 



But my reply is, " Never mind ; he will 

 surely pay if it is a possible thing for him to 

 do so ; and if he is not, I am willing to lose 

 it." 



You see, after the letters that have passed 

 between us we have learned to know each 

 other, and a faith has come up that nothing 

 can dim or diminish. I know this friend 

 will pay me when he can. without taking 

 the trouble to write to him at all. What a 

 pleasant thing it is to have such a faith in 

 your fellow-men ! 



And now, dear friends, we who are mem- 

 bers of the different churches, or. if you 

 choose, we who are followers of Christ, 

 should have just such confidence in each 

 other. We should be of one family, and 

 there should be an especial bond or tie be- 

 tween us, that should say in our hearts, if 

 not in words, " No, no; you must not speak 

 nor write harshly nor unkindly to that 

 man." Sacred and solemn ties make you 

 of one kinship and one .blood,. "We be 

 brethren." 



