1258 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



FIG. 3. — UNDER WAY. 



tween the entrance and the screen, made possi- 

 ble by the portico, seems to be a splendid ar- 

 rangement, for the bees have a chance to get out 

 of the hive and get fresh air through the large 

 screen. On four hay-racks the bees were taken 

 to the station, where they were loaded in a cat- 

 tle-car. Close attention was paid to the condi- 

 tion of every hive, and where bees in large num- 

 bers were playing with their antenns through 

 the screen, water was poured against it, cooling 

 them. 



The next morning we left for Lake Erie; but 

 our freight train was so 

 slow that we could not 

 get the first lot of bees 

 moved over to Long Point 

 until about two o'clock in 

 the morning, then, after 

 placing the hives in the 

 high grass on the shore, the 

 water became so rough that 

 it was impossible to take 

 the rest of the hives over. 

 Our boatman brought us 

 back to the shore, but did 

 not dare risk loading up 

 again. He could not wait 

 for us, either, and we were, 

 therefore, compelled to 

 seek another vessel. A 

 little steamboat was finally 

 hired, and the following 

 morning the other lot of 

 bees was taken 12 miles to 

 the island. These bees had 

 been confined 68 hours, 

 and were still in an excel- 

 lent condition, although 

 they had been thoroughly 



watered every hour, at least during the day, 

 when the hot sun was shining on the shore. 

 Two hives, in which the bees were suffering, we 

 gave a flight in the evening. It seems to be very 

 important, not only to throw water against the 

 screens, but to throw it all over the hives. 



The hives were brought from the shore to the 

 steamboat on hay-racks, on account of the shal- 

 low water; and from the steamboat to the shore 

 of Long Point they were brought in a little row 

 boat, about 15 at a time. 



Two weeks later the honey was extracted, and 

 the bees brought back to the shore and placed 

 ready for buckwheat. 



Brantford, Ont. 



[Mr. Mickwitz is from Helsingfors, Finland, 

 Russia, and by arrangement before leaving there 

 he is spending a season in Canada with Mr. R. F. 

 Holtermann. It is his intention to spend anoth- 

 er year in the United States, and then return to 

 his native land to engage in bee-keeping. Before 

 going to Mr. Holtermann's, Mr. Mickwitz spent 

 one winter with The A. I. Root Co., familiariz- 

 ing himself with the various styles of bee-keep- 

 ers' supplies and other details of manufacture. 

 He was not unfamiliar with the general subject 

 of bee-keeping when he came to this country; 

 but when he arrived here he knew practically no 

 English; but in the short time that he has been 

 here he has acquired a remarkable command of 

 our language. His letter, which we publish, is 

 a model of idiomatic English — not a misspelled 

 word nor an ungrammatical expression. 



It is with peculiar pride that we observe that the 

 bright and progressive young bee-keepers of Eu- 

 rope have come and are coming to America to 

 study modern American bee culture. It is these 

 young bloods who, in the near future, will be 

 largely instrumental in setting aside the old 

 straw skep and the box hive, and introducing the 

 modern movable frame of the Langstroth type. 

 There are movable frames of the Dzierzon style 

 in Europe; but they have nothing of the conven- 



FIG. 4. UNLOA 



Reading from left to right, 

 Mr. Holtermann's eldest son ; 



DING THE BOAT AFTER THE RETURN TRIP. 



those on the boat are — Walter Bailey, a local bee keeper ; Ivar, 



; and Mr. Secord.'ol St.' Williams. 



