292 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



S HALF A CET 



ItV WILLIAM P. HENDERSON 



Before I arrived at roan hood I dreamed I 

 would have a home of my own, with plenty 

 of milk and honey — two articles of diet I 

 was fond of. So, soon after my marriage 

 a small place was purchased ; then a cow 

 and calf, and a hive of bees. But knowing 

 nothing about bees, except that they make 

 honey, and can sting, I learned from the 

 farmer of whom a hive of bees was pur- 

 chased, that at a certain time of the year, 

 " corn-tasseling " time, after dark I was to 

 tie a bed-sheet around the bottom of the 

 hive to make a bag, pry otf the top of the 

 g^um, and cut out the honey down to the 

 cross-sticks in the middle of the hive, hav- 

 ing pre^aously prepared rolls of old cotton 

 rags with which to smoke the bees otf the 

 comb. 



About this time, which was more than 

 fifty years ago, in looking over a catalog of 

 books for sale my eyes fell upon " The 

 Mysteries of Beekeeping Explained " by 

 M. Quinby, St. Johnsviile, N. Y. Up to 

 that time, if my memory serves me, I was 

 ignorant of any literature on the subject of 

 the management of bees. 



" Mysteries of Beekeeping Explained " 

 - — tliat's what I want to learn. It is all a 

 mystery to me, except what was told me by 



some old bee-owners whose advice and the- 

 ories, as I afterward learned, were upset by 

 Mr. Quinby. 



The book was ordered, received, read and 

 reread, and frequently referred to after- 

 ward for directions in manipulating my 

 bees. 



The work of Mr. Huish, F. R. S., an 

 English author (full of errors), and other 

 books on bees were afterward purchased ; 

 but in a practical way they were not the 

 equal of that of Mr. Quinby's. 



From that time on I went far ahead of 

 the old timers in the production of honey 

 and growth in numbers of my colonies. 



Tampa, Fla. 



[In the late 70's and early 80's, Mr. W. 

 P. Henderson, then of Murfreesboro, Tenn., 

 was one of the most prominent queen-breed- 

 ers of the country, and, incidentally, a spicy 

 writer along his line of work. He made 

 one of the best collections of old bee-books 

 ever known in America, being second, prob- 

 ably, only to that of Thomas Wm. Cowan in 

 London. These books were transferred to 

 us in 1892, and were reviewed in detail the 

 loUowing year. Any thing from his pen 

 is Avorth reading. — Ed.] 



A„ L MOOT 



BY GRACE ALLEN 



Alone I sing so slight a song, I'm like a single bee, 



Her humming all unnoticed in the blossoms of the tree; 



But when the petals quiver and the fragrant air is stirred 



By murmurs of a thousand bees, ah! then the song is heard. 



So, beemen near and beenien far, come swell my simple song. 



And let it surge from sea to sea and echo true and long: 



"The world will be a fairer, cleaner, better place for all 



When more men live like A. I. Eoot and let their souls grow tall.'' 



Through all his years he's stood for right, for honesty and truth, 



And see him now, in autumn time, as eager as a youth 



To fight the evils of to-day, and in this pulsing Now 



To meet new issues and new hopes with forward-fronting hrow. 



So, beemen near and beemen far, come join in my refrain, 



And sweep the hearty echoes over mountain-top and ])lain: 



"The world will be more like the place to which our dreams have clung 



When men grow old like A. I. Eoot by simply staying young. ' ' 



We love his little stories and the happy life they mean. 



That first stray swarm, the windmill days, the chickens and dasheen, 



The faith and works, the lesson learned, the earnest, hopeful prayer. 



And how he helped one brother here, another brother there. 



So join with me, O beefolk all, and let the echoes ring-— 



We're standing upright through the land as from our hearts we sing: 



"The world is finer, sweeter, and God's Kingdom seems more near. 



Because a man named A. T, Root is living with us here. ' ' 



