492 



GLEANINGS TN BEE CULTURE 



An outdoor colony in the top of a turpentine tree. Photographed by W. H 

 Nixon, Manning River. From V. J. Everingham. 



ed, put out the team, and went to supper. 

 During supijer some one over town called 

 him up on the phone and asked to see him 

 on a matter of business. Mr. Collins met 

 the appointment, and did not return until 

 about eleven-thirty, when he thought of that 

 load of honey still on the wagon, and that 

 another load must be brought in on the 

 morrow. So he began carrying in the hon- 

 ey. An elderly widow living close by saw 

 dimly in the faint moonlight a figure going 

 in and out of the honey-house. Thinking 

 that a thief was at work she called np po- 

 lice headquarters. Two patrol men came 

 down and caught the thief with the goods 

 on, hustled him otf to headquarters, waving 

 aside his protestations as ridiculous that he 

 was the owner liimself. 



An amusing and 

 common sight to 

 Boulder residents is 

 that of Mr. Collins, 

 clad in white coat, 

 shirt, and trousers 

 ( his regular apiary 

 togs) riding home on 

 his bicycle with the 

 smoker strapped to 

 the handle-bars, puff- 

 ing away as if it 

 were the motive pow- 

 er. The rest of us 

 beemen here in Boul- 

 der are so common m 

 appearance and ac- 

 tions that we are un- 

 noticed; so Bro. Col- 

 lins in the people's 

 mind is the king-bee 

 of the vicinity. When 

 he loads a car of 

 honey the papers say, 

 "W. P. Collins, the 

 bee-wizard, is load- 

 ing a car of honey," 

 or " Collins, the bee- 

 man, reports heavy 

 losses of bees," or 

 " has had a good 

 crojj," etc. He is the 

 tyi^e for the public- 

 ity man. That's the 

 reason I am writing 

 about him. 



President Collins 

 operates about 700 

 colonies of bees at 

 Boulder, and is in- 

 terested in 400 colo- 

 nies more at Rifle. 

 on the western slope, 

 300 miles distant. He 

 harvested 400 cases 

 this season from these western-slope bees, 

 and made but two trips to do it. That's 

 going some, but Collins always " goes." 



As a presiding officer President Collins 

 is unexcelled. No time is wasted at the 

 sessions of conventions when he is in the 

 cliair. He has been president of our Colo- 

 rado Association for six or seven years. 



Brother Collins is a great joker; and if 

 there is any thing above socialism and bees 

 to engross his interest it is just plain 

 " josh." He is generous, kind-hearted, and 

 liberal. He will not quibble over micro- 

 scopical points, but is ready with wit and 

 cutting invective when he lets himself loose 

 on some question he deems important. There 

 is nothing selfish in his makeup, and he is 

 a good neighbor, loaning any thing he has 



