JUNE 15, 1913 



The following from J. G. Gilstrap shows 

 the class of helpers that many ranchers have 

 to depend upon in an emergency, and this 

 condition, of course, influences the wage 

 paid for help in general. — Ed.] 



AN ANSWER TO "SUBSCRIBER," PAGE 58 



BY J. G. GILSTRAP 



We are glad that Gleanings conducts an 

 " experience " meeting. "Subscriber" gives 

 his experience in California. I have had 

 nearly thirty-seven years " experience " in 

 California, and about twenty-five of that 

 has been devoted to apiculture. There is 

 nothing strange nor startling about Sub- 

 scriber's experience when one knows the 

 conditions here. The climate here, warmer 

 than exists in most of the States, induces 

 thousands of the hobo class to come. They 

 are usually found counting ties along the 

 railroads or else in squads or bunches of 

 half a dozen or a dozen at the hobo camps 

 along the railroads cooking their mulligan 

 stew in an old can. Not infrequently these 

 pestiferous fellows have in their stew a 

 chicken from the much-hated rancher's hen- 

 house, together with potatoes and other edi- 

 bles gathered at random from the fields, and 

 that, with a chance loaf of bread begged 

 from the good lady of the near-by farm, 

 gives a feast for the " squad." 



These hoboes may justly be classed into 

 two lots — professionals and blanket men. 

 The professionals have reduced the system 

 to such a science that they rarely " sleep 

 out." As a rule they are the smooth fellows 

 who try to keep up a better appearance, and 

 get a bed furnished if they can, in some 

 bunk house about the large farms where 

 many men are employed. They do not 

 earr^' a bed except in the winter season, 

 and sometimes not then. These profession- 

 als are divided into two classes — those who 

 work part of the time, and those who never 

 work. 



Well, the blanket men are usually a better 

 set to have around than the professionals, 

 but the same danger exists in contact with 

 either. I speak from sad experience. My 

 friends, too, have often had the experience 

 of having been stocked up with vermin (we 

 always just call them lice or graybacks), 

 from the hoboes. It has come to pass that 

 here in California not one of them will be 

 hired by any self-respecting apiarist or 

 farmer except for a short time when an ex- 

 treme emergency demands help. 



The class of apiarists that Subscriber tells 

 about working for, however, has a hard 

 time generally in keeping or securing decent 

 help, so they have to take what comes, and 



too often it is dear help then even though 

 the pay be only $30 a month. I hope to see 

 the day when the State law will regulate the 

 premises of the beeman as thoroughly as 

 does the present State dairy law the prem- 

 ises of the dairyman. Make them clean up, 

 if they have not enough pride and self-re- 

 spect to clean up themselves. 



I have kept bees in several counties in 

 this State, and have worked for a number 

 of apiarists; and a cleaner, more refined 

 lot of men I never met as a class than the 

 California apiarists. Most of them are 

 Christian men. Many apiarists pay $1.50 

 l^er day and board when they hire help. 



Ceres, Cal. 



THE TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES ON A BEE- 

 RANCH. 



I notice a communication, " The Other 

 Side." Jan. 15, page 58, under the above 

 caption. Will you please allow me to refute, 

 at least in part, a portion of the statements 

 made, and to give some facts on the other 

 side? My brother and I run 800 colonies 

 for The J. W. George Bee Co., and receive 

 as wages $65 a month each through the sea- 

 son (eight to ten months). We have access 

 to a grocery store, and have every thing we 

 wish to live on — good camps and rigs are 

 furnished us to go to our outyards. Mr. 

 George takes us to Sunday-school, and Mrs. 

 George comes out and cleans up for us 

 sometimes, and cooks us a nice dinner. I 

 do not think good and woi'thy labor ever 

 goes begging in California. 



Imperial, Cal. Thomas Y. Atchley. 



A Paper-hanger's Tools for the Apiary; Fountain 

 Pen Filler for a Foundation Fastener 



Being a paper-hanger by trade I have been using 

 some of my paper-hanging tools to good advantage 

 in my apiary. Among them is the clipped-point 

 wall-scraper, three inches wide, which I use in scrap- 

 ing hives, bottom-boards, for prying, etc., the point 

 being clipped in such a way as to reach in corners 

 better than the regular scraper or putty-knife. 



I also use my 16-inch smoothing-brush in brush- 

 ing the bees off the combs, which takes them off at 

 one sweep. 



Another little tool I am using to advantage is a 

 fountain-pen filler, or eye-dropper, as a wax tube. I 

 have a can about two or three inches deep, the top 

 being narrow enough to prevent the tube, when 

 standing upright in the wa.\, from falling over. This 

 can, about two-thirds full of wax, is placed over a 

 lamp which can be kept at the proper temperature 

 for flowing freely by regulating the blaze. By using 

 a small tube of this kind I can do very neat work 

 in fastening foundation. 



I have read that some beekeepers are having trou- 

 ble with the spur wire-imbedder weakening the 

 foundation so that it breaks at the wire under the 

 weight of the bees. I have overcome this trouble 

 with my little wax tube, with which I can run so 

 small a stream of wax down the crease over the 

 wire, strengthening the foundation verj' materially. 



Bedford, Iowa, May 17. Tom Parker. 



