948 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



with the honey-bees, and I am proud to tell you 

 that my son Charlie proves to be a " chip off of the 

 old block," for he is running the apiary as success- 

 fully, to all appearances, as I did; and I am still 

 more pleased to find he is training up his two little 

 " chips " in the business. Henry, past seven years 

 old, took the smoker last summer, went down into 

 the apiary, opened up a nucleus hive, took out the 

 cards, and found the queen; and Harry (five years 

 old) would amuse himself by playing he was A. I. 

 Root shipping queens. He would take a tin cup, 

 pair of scissors, and an old queen-cage, sit down by 

 a bee-hive, and catch the bees by their wings, clip 

 them, letting them fall into his cup until he had 

 enough to select his queen from, stir them arcund 

 with his little fingers, seldom getting stung. Now, 

 while I would not allow that to be done a second 

 time after I found it out, it certainly did please me 

 to think I had a little grandson so courageous; and 

 it gives me encouragement to think the children 

 and grandchildren, in all probability, will take care 

 of grandma's bees from this out; but they will re- 

 main mine, I think, while I live. They are a source 

 of comfort to me, even if they are 900 miles away. 

 Living in the very heart of the city as we are, I 

 have to deny myself the pleasure of keeping bees. 

 Mrs. Jennie Culp Williamson. 

 Omaha, Neb., Oct. 23, 1889. 



We are glad to hear from you, dear friend ; 

 but it seems a little sad that you can keep 

 bees no longer. Can't you have a few hives 

 on the roof of the house, even if you are in 

 a city, as friend Muth is? Most people who 

 have once had a real love for the bees will 

 return to the pursuit, sooner or later ; and 

 we rather expect to hear that you are keep- 

 ing bees again, before many years. I should 

 have been exceedingly glad to make a call 

 on you. 



A GLIMPSE AT THE FACES OF THE 

 OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION. 



A SHORT SKETCH 



OF THE SECRETARY 

 N. A. B. K. A. 



TT is with pleasure that I give our read- 

 dp ers a view of our energetic and efficient 

 it secretarv of the North American Bee- 

 -*■ keepers'Association. Richard Ferdinand 

 Holtermann was born in the city of Ham- 

 burg, Germany, June 14, 1N60. Two years 

 later, the parents, with their £on and two 

 daughters, emigrated to Canada, settling in 

 the county of Renfrew, Out. Here, at the 

 age of twelve or thirteen, young Holtermann 

 received a portion of his education from a 

 governess. Later he was sent to a private 

 school, and shortly afterward he attended 

 the Ottawa Collegiate Institute at Ottawa. 

 Here his mind wandered, he says, in the 

 direction of boating, cricketing, swimming, 

 etc. , rather than toward study. When about 

 fourteen his father moved to Toronto, and 

 then sent his son to the Upper Canada Col- 

 lege, and subsequently to Hay's Commercial 

 College, where he received the "1A diplo- 

 ma." He then decided to go on the farm. 

 Shortly afterward he attended the Ontario 

 Agricultural College. Here he graduated 

 with honors, being only 70 marks out of 

 4000 behind the first medalist. It was in 

 this school, in the capacity of librarian, that 



the subject of apiculture was opened up to 

 him through the medium of the ABC and 

 Cook's Manual. The next season was spent 

 as a student with D. A. Jones, in the apiary. 

 He next made the great mistake, he says, of 

 embarking in apiculture a little too soon. 

 The result was, he learned many severe les- 

 sons. With his apiary of 79 colonies he 

 underwent the trying ordeal of a bad season 

 to begin with. However, he secured enough 

 alsike honey to enable him to secure the 

 second premium at the Toronto Industrial 

 Exhibition. 



R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



Later he entered into some speculations, 

 and came out nearly $ 1000 in debt ; but, un- 

 like a good many young men, he was not 

 discouraged, went to work again, and paid 

 100 cents on the dollar, instead of trying to 

 get out, as he could have done, by paying a 

 few cents on the dollar. He entered the em- 

 ploy of E. L. Goold & Co., of Brantford, 

 commencing at 85 cents a day, and left as 

 manager of the supply-business, and editor 

 of the Canadian Honey Producer. He mar- 

 ried, May 17, 1887, Lois, daughter of S. T. 

 Pettit, whom he met at the last meeting of 

 the N. A. B. K. A., held at Rochester, N. Y. 

 They have one son and a daughter ; 

 and in their home they seek to have God's 

 will their own. As might be expected, Mr. 

 Holtermann uses neither tobacco nor liquor. 



Mr. Holtermann has made bee-keeping 

 pay, and he has averaged, he says, latterly 

 $8.00 per colony income. He thinks anybody 

 can do as well in a fair locality, providing 

 they start with one or two colonies. 



Mr. Holtermann has been active in bee- 

 associations, in which he has held various 

 offices. At the late meeting held in Colum- 

 bus his name was proposed several times for 



