534 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



I take pride in seeing how neat T can keep the \arcl. 



sueh places I have cut rich trees and ob- 

 tained over 100 pounds of honey, and it is 

 so thick and rich in flavor as to excel any 

 T can find elsewhere in these qualities. The 

 fault is overcome here naturally that we 

 have to contend with in our extreme south- 

 ern section where it lacks a body. For years 

 I have been " pulling " my hives open in 



view of more ventilation. Plenty of fresh 

 cool air through the hives is the very best 

 thing: I can do toward the betterment of the 

 honey. Had I not learned this by actual 

 experience, the above would substantiate 

 the fact that bees need air and not heat in 

 a closed hive. 

 Cor dele, Ga. 



A FEW BEES AT THE CITY'S EDGE 



BY H. E. HESSLER 



Out of my 61 years I have kept bees 53 

 years. I believe that I was almost the first 

 person in Madison Co., N. Y., although 

 quite young, to purchase a Langstroth mov- 

 able-frame beehive. I have never been in 

 the bee business to make a living, but have 

 always kept bees, and by some have been 

 called a bee-fool. I would rather be called 

 a bee-fool than some other kind of fool. 



I have kept as many as 100 colonies and 

 a little more. For the past 37 years I have 

 been in the hardware and stove business at 

 my present location, but always hung on to 

 the bees. At one time I had thirty-five colo- 

 nies on the roof of my four-story building 

 where T am now doing business, and pro- 

 duced good crops of honey. 



T did not dare to do too much extracting 

 on aff^ount of being close to three churches, 

 and, ill fact, in a well-settled part of the 



city. I have kept bees on city lots and had 

 some little trouble now and then, but never 

 anything serious. Generally the present of 

 a little honey and good words settled up 

 the matter. In a few cases neighbors who 

 were ven^' much against bees became inter- 

 ested and became beekeepers themselves. 



At the px'esent time I own a farm of 

 about twenty-two acres, partly in the city 

 and partly outside — -that is, the city line 

 runs through the place, which is known as 

 Shady Side Farm. Here I have a very good 

 place for the bees. T am not in it very 

 hea%ih'. I run about fifty colonies and take 

 pride in seeing how neat and up-to-date I 

 can keep the yard. It is mowed twice a 

 week, and the lawn is as smooth as velvet. 



The bees do not do quite as well, I think, 

 as they would in poorer circumstances. I 

 believe the bees realize that the master does 



