812 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



G. A. Barbisch, the beekeeper who can not walk, and a part of his apiary. 



and there is no ultimate authority on 

 the matter as to what is best? Then 

 when it is the best, is it modest and becom- 

 ing to say so? Many may laugh at me for 

 speaking or writing of business modesty, 

 and yet tliere are such things. The policy 

 of some of the most successful business men 

 has been to show forth the merit of their 

 own goods, and not to pick holes in the 

 other man's goods; and I can think back to 

 purchases I have made from such people, 

 and with my m.oney went my profound re- 

 spect and resolve to put in their way what 

 I could. Tliis line of " blowing " has, per- 

 haps, wrought out its own destruction. They 

 are read but not believed ; they are no long- 

 er eft'ectual in influencing thinking people. 

 Besides, the superlative in description has 

 long been reached, and we can no longer 

 outdo the other in language. 



But this is not the reason why I have 

 opened up this subject. Let us be honest, 

 and ask ourselves who makes any pretense 

 of telling the truth. The honest answer is, 

 " The person who in description does not 

 go beyond fact." T have watched the gi-ow- 

 ing habit of children of going beyond the 

 tiiith, and, once begun, it grows until I have 

 thought or said, " What will you do when 

 you iiave reached the limit of language or 

 imagination ?" When a pei-son tells me that 

 he has seen some " great big " article, or 

 writes of " gi'eat big fellows like you, with 

 strength to burn " (see first item. Stray 

 Straws, Oct. 15th), I say to myself that he 

 js already digressing. 



Tliis is recorded as no jest ; but many of 

 us have heard of a lady who told the late 

 D. L. Moody she did not know how to over- 

 come her habit of exaggeration. Mr. Moody 

 said, " Call them lies, madam ; call them 

 lies." This is putting the matter in its true 

 light. If we examine our lives we must 

 bear record to this, that, as we conscien- 

 tiously value the truth, we become careful 

 not to overstate. We may bear false witness 

 by misrepresentation ; and misrepresenta- 

 tion may be accomplished by telling only 

 one side of a story. I have often had to 

 remember the passage of scripture, " In the 

 multitude of words there wanteth not sin." 

 I never have perfect confidence in a person's 

 truthfulness and reliability when he goes 

 beyond the truth in telling a story. 



Brantford, Canada. 



WORKING WITH BEES FROM A WHEEL CHAIR 



BY G. A. BARBISCH 



The picture shown includes part of our 

 apiary of 70 colonies, my daughter, and 

 myself. I am sitting in a wheel chair. I 

 hurt my spine some years ago, and can not 

 walk; but that does not hinder me from 

 keeping bees. I often work all day long 

 with the bees from my wheel chair. Of 

 course, my wife helps me all she can, and 

 we get along well with our pets. 



This season, about the middle of July, 

 we extracted over 3000 lbs. of the finest 

 clover honey we ever had. This locality had 



