1887 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



54ij 



ber througli the Siiw, gnisp hold of the han- 

 dle of your wooden pistol. Should the saw 

 strike the push-stick, it will do no harm. If 

 you are handling small pieces, drive a wire 

 hail just back of the notch, so as to project 

 through. This nail will stick into lumber, 

 and draw the pieces back so you can take 

 off another slice. I omitted to say,'' he con- 

 tinued. " that the pistol needs to be made of 

 seven-eighths pine, and the handle should be 

 whittled and sandpapered so that no sharp 

 corners project, otherwise Tyour right hand 

 will become blistered and sore." Mr. (ireen 

 then left them to make their push-sticks. 



The boys waited three or four more days, 

 and anxiously watched Mr. Green's barorhe- 

 ter, to see whether the mercury were falling. 

 Mr. (ireen had told them, that when the 

 mercury drops quite perceptibly in a short 

 time, it indicates one of two things — 

 either wind or rain, and probably both. If 

 ever that mercurial column was watched by 

 two pairs of eager eyes it was during the 

 time that our two young mechanics were 

 waiting for wind. The boys watched until 

 it seemed as if there never was such a snm- 

 mer as that before. They argued, '' If we 

 don't get some rain pretty soon, the farms 

 will all dry up, and there won't be any hon- 

 ey, and then, of conrse, nobody will want to 

 buy hives of us." They felt almost inclined 

 to complain again at the Creator of all things 

 because he had not made a wind just when 

 two little boys wanted to have him do so. 



One evening, just before the boys sepa- 

 rated to go to their respective homes, they 

 noticed that the barometer indicated a 

 storm. Mr. (^reen said that it might 

 amount to something. The boys went to 

 bed with expectant hearts. Along in the 

 night, Sam heard his window-sliutters 

 rattle. He hastily put on his clothes, got 

 bis lantern, and started for the barn. On 

 the way thither he was overtaken by Jim- 

 mie and his lantern. As they clambered 

 up into the barn-loft, they said, "• Now we 

 will see if we can't make some hives ; for 

 if we don't take advantage of this wind we 

 shall not be able to make any hives at all.'' 



" Hark ! hear the big drops of rain i)at- 

 ter on the roof." 



Continued Aug. 15. 



JavENiiiE IiET^fer-Bbx. 



" A cMel's amang ye takin' notes : 

 An' faith, he'll prentlt." 



HOLLYHOCK AS A HONEY-PLANT. 



The bees are gathering a lot of honey now. They 

 make most of the honey from sumac and cotton- 

 bloom. The bees are making honej' from buck- 

 wheat too. How do you think hollyhock would do 

 as a honey-plant? Bees get quite a lot of honey 

 from it when in bloom. Eliza Martin, age 11. 



Hackett City, Ark., June 24, 1887. 



Although the hollyhock has not been test- 

 ed on a large scale, yet we are of the opinion 

 that it would not amoiuit to much as a hon- 

 ey-plant. We occasionally see a few bees 

 hovering around the blossoms, but it seems 

 to be the pollen they are after, rather than 



the nectar. Are you sui'e that your bees 

 gathered honey to any extent from holly- 

 hock V ■ 



.iohn's poetry. 

 1 saw in Gleanin(js several pieces of poetry 

 about bees, so I have written one. 

 I have a busy little swarm 



That works from morn till night. 

 And makes a person jump and scream 

 When they begin to bite, 

 llderton, Ont., Can. John G. Kicndall. 



HERMAN'S LETTER. 



My pa's bees did not do well last season. It was 

 too dry. Pa has an A B C book, and takes Glean- 

 ings. Ho likes it very much, especially the Home 

 talks. 1 am in a hurry to know how Sam and Jim 

 are getting along with their windmill. 



Herman Blaik, age II. 



Lockhart's, W. Va., Apr. 30, 1887. 



horses stung. 



Pa got ready to go to town last fall, and the team 

 was left a few minutes, when the horses got start- 

 ed and upset the bee-hive. The bees came out and 

 stung the horses. Papa ran out and ran them back 

 up the hill to get the bee.s off. Two neighbors 

 happened to be passing, and helped to get the bees 

 off. Rosa Naylor, age U. 



Lockhart, Jackson Co., W. Va., Apr. 5, 1887. 



GLEANINGS AN OLD FRIEND. 



Pa has 36 swarms, 10 new and 20 old ones. Pa told 

 my brother and me if we would hive the bees when 

 he was awa.v he would give me twenty cents and 

 my brother five cents. He went away, but no bees 

 swarmed. Wc like (Jleanings very u>uch. Pa 

 had not taken it in a long while; but when we took 

 it again it seemed like one of the family. 



Flint, Mich. Fanny Boston. 



A SWARM OF BUMBLE-BEES. 



Pa packs his bees with chatf and straw on sum- 

 mer stands. He makes his hives of rustic work, 

 with a shingle roof, and paints them red, white, and 

 blue. While clearing land my brother Howard and 

 1 found 4 bumble-bee nests. We hived them all in a 

 tin can, and got three queens. The fourth flew 

 awaj-. One of the queens killed the other two- 

 They are doing well, considering there were but a 

 few. I was stung on the finger while we were hiv- 

 ing them. George C. Allen, age 11. 



Snohomish, W. T. 



CHILLED BEES. 



Papa's bees made lots of honey last summer. 

 The most of it was nice and white, and it was in 

 one-pound sections. Papa traded some for butter, 

 pound for pound. He sells the white for 12V2 cts., 

 and dark for 10 cts., in the neighborhood. Papa 

 lost three stands of bees last winter, and mamma 

 lost one. Some bees came out late one evening in 

 the spring, and alighted on the peach-tree stump. 

 We did not see them until the next morning. They 

 looked as if they were dead. We brought them in 

 to the fire, and brother Wesley put them in a five- 

 pound cap with comb and honey, and the.>' soon 

 came to life, and they are the strongest hive on 

 the place. Last summer they swarmed once, and 

 filled 72 sections with honey, and had in the hive 

 enough to keep them through the winter. 



Daisy White. 



Broad Run Sta., Va. 



