1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



719 



your own neighbors, please believe your old 

 friend when he tells you not to think of 

 overcoming evil with evil ; but please bear 

 in mind that it is a thousand times better in 

 every way, shape, and manner, to " over- 

 come evil with good." 



NOTES OF THAVEL. 



A. I. KOOT AMONG THE BEE-MEN OK WISCONSIN. 



f EH. II A PS I was in a happy frame of 

 mind that afternoon when 1 came into 

 the town of Boscobel. I had just been 

 exhorting my friend the stage-driver 

 to have more faith in humanity and in 

 Christianity ; and I do not know but that 

 this made me feel happy. Besides, Bosco- 

 bel is a very pretty place. Before we fairly 

 got inside of the corporation we saw a very 

 pretty group of bee-hives ; but as my time 

 was limited I did not stop. I had in my 

 memorandum the name of Edwin Pike, and 

 we soon found that he was near the center 

 of the town. When we were pretty near 

 where we were directed, I told my compan- 

 ion that he might drop me before the gate 

 of a very pretty little residence, with hives 

 orderly arranged, and painted in tasty col- 

 ors. Bight near was also a very pretty gar- 

 den, and some thrifty young strawberries 

 just taking root. I took it for granted that 

 this was friend Pike's ; but I soon fouud out 

 that it belonged to Benjamin Rice. Friend 

 Rice was at work with a helper, among the 

 bees. They stopped extracting, however, 

 when they found that A. I. Root was their 

 visitor. Friend Pike's place w r as only the 

 second house from where we were talking. 

 I suggested that we go over and find him, 

 as I had only about an hour before train- 

 time. Now, I felt pretty sine, when I look- 

 ed over friend Rice's apiary, that 1 should 

 not find another so neat and so pretty, in 

 the whole town of Boscobel ; but friend 

 Pike was not one whit behind. Why, it is 

 really funny to see two such very nice men 

 with such wonderfully nice homes so close 

 together. I wonder if they ever have any 

 trouble about cutting under prices in the 

 sale of honey. I did not have much chance 

 to get acquainted with their wives and 

 children ; but I felt glad to find myself a 

 welcome visitor among such really intelli- 

 gent, progressive people. Well, I soon 

 learned there was a Mr. Dexter, not half a 

 mile away, who kept a great lot of bees. 

 Two or three hundred, if I recollect right, 

 were in one locality ; and when I told them 

 how soon 1 must leave, they managed to 

 enable me to have a few minutes' call on 

 friend Dexter. Friend I)., too, had been 

 extracting ; in fact, he was pretty well tired 

 out when I came there. When I went to 

 look at his apiary 1 expressed surprise that 

 so many bees would do well so close togeth- 

 er. 



tk VVhy, Mr. Root," said my new friend, 

 l ' it would not make any difference if I had 

 500 instead of UUO right here in this yard. 1 ' 



I suggested that perhaps that was an ex- 

 tra good season. 

 " No, it is not," said he. " We have sea- 



sons like this right along— that is, when the 

 basswood is in bloom." 1 



There were such exceedingly great clus- 

 ters of bees hanging to the front of his 

 hives that I asked him if he was sure they 

 all had room inside. He replied : 



•• Why, I am perfectly sure they have not 

 all the room inside. See here. Do you see 

 along that row of hives? Well, you notice 

 that at one particular point the great clus- 

 ters on the outside suddenly cease, and the 

 hives are comparatively clean." 



I nodded. 



" Well,"' resumed he, " we got just so far 

 in that row with extracting, and every hive 

 was crammed full as fast as we came to it." 



I suggested that, if they were my bees, I 

 should keep on extracting until dark, any 

 way ; but he shook his head, and said that 

 he had already done hard work enough for 

 one day. His friends told me afterward 

 that he was one of the sort of men who do 

 not worry themselves greatly, no matter 

 how much honey is goiug to waste ; and 

 very likely there are extremes both ways in 

 this matter; but I think there are quite a 

 few among our readers who would not only 

 extract till dark, but possibly till midnight 

 or later, rather than let the bees hang by 

 the bushel on the outside of the hive? for 

 want of room. It was about train time. 

 As I started for the buggy I told friend D. 

 that, if it would not make too much trou- 

 ble, I should like to shake hands with the 

 women folks, even if I did no more. Did it 

 ever occur to you, dear reader, that there 

 are lots of happy and pleasant homes in this 

 wide world of ours ? It is true, there are 

 some contrary and difficult people to get 

 along with ; but I tell you there are ever 

 and ever so many good people also ; yes, and 

 even among the bad ones there is a good 

 side to almost everybody. I guess I was in 

 a mood that day of catching hold of the 

 good, and not seeiug the other, if there was 

 any ; but I shall always remember Boscobel 

 as a very nice place with mauy nice people 

 in it. I told you, in Our Homes for last is- 

 sue, about my visit that same evening with 

 friend Snyder. With your permission we 

 will just skip along until I step from the 

 buggy and say good-by to Mr. Fiddler and 

 his wife. This was just before the residence 

 of Mr. Pickard, at Richland Center. Mr. P. 

 had just got on his mowing-machine to cut 

 some grass. He saw me come down the 

 lane with my Kodak strapped across my 

 shoulder ; but he remarked to his hired man 

 that he thought I must be some book-agent, 

 and so he drove to the other end of the lot 

 just as fast as he could, indicating that he 

 was very busy. I wonder if there are any 

 book-agents among my readers. If so, this 

 gives you something of an idea of how peo- 

 ple, many of them, feel when they see you 

 coming. ' Well, I did not bother friend P. 

 just then. The young ladies at the house 

 told me their mother was in the apiary ; but 

 before I got there my attention was called 

 in another direction by a babbling brook 

 that came forth from a beautiful little 

 spring that just poured out of the ground on 

 one side of the spring-house. A little way 

 off from the spring I found a very bright, 



