1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



503 



guess, so ril tell you. They made just as straight for the 

 bee-yard as their feet could carry them. My! my! but didn't 

 we have a time. After finally getting them away from the 

 bee-yard or apiary, with my father's assistance, we two man- 

 aged to keep them away until the two colored women moved 

 the pen about 100 yards from its former location, then we 

 finally managed to get them in, as it was then about feeding 

 time, so we persuaded them to go into the pen with corn. 

 Night soon coming on, the bees quieted down, and by the next 

 morning were all right. The hogs, however, showed where 

 they had been stung for quite awhile, although there didn't 

 appear to be any unfavorable results occurring after the ex- 

 citement was all over. 



At another time in my early experience, wanting some 

 eggs from which to rear fine queens, I went to a colony of 

 very fine Italians for this purpose, hoping to find some in the 

 top or upper story. Not finding them, I replaced all the 

 frames, then removed the top story entire, and proceeded to 

 go through the brood-nest frame by frame, looking closely all 

 the while for the fresh-laid eggs. The last frame rewarded 

 my search, for on it was not only the eggs, but the queen as 

 well, thus showing that they were the ones most to be desired. 

 After removing this frame and replacing most of the others, 

 by some awkwardness of mine I dropped a frame with adher- 

 ing bees. This angered them terribly, so at me they came to 

 have their revenge. You may be sure they had it, too. This 

 occurred about 2 o'clock p.m. Off and on until 10 that night, 

 I tried to replace those few frames and close the hive, but all 

 to no purpose. Every time they could get sight of me, here 

 they came, still bent on revenge. So I will acknowledge I was 

 defeated. 



I was up by daylight the next morning. The first thing 

 on the program was to replace those frames and close that 

 hive. But if you will believe it, it looked as if the whole col- 

 ony was ready for battle. At me they came. I went to my 

 son's room, woke him, and told him if he would get up imme- 

 diately and close that hive of bees for me I would give him a 

 silver dollar. Out of bed he bounced, dressed, putting his 

 pants' legs inside his boots, put on a rather heavy coat, bee- 

 hat, veil, gloves, etc. I tied his gauntlets tightly around his 

 coat-sleeves. In a word, he was bee-sting proof. With 

 smoker in hand he went and closed it all up nicely in less than 

 five minutes. Of course he got his dollar. He still enjoys 

 telling this on me, and laughs about how easily he made that 

 dollar. 



One other bee-episode and I will then be through along 

 this line: About two years ago, my brother, who was a col- 

 porteur for the American Bible and Tract Society, came to 

 see me. He owned aud was driving a very large Norman and 

 Clydesdale horse. After spending a day and night with me, 

 he had occasion to go back the way he had come for a few 

 miles, and wanting to make a good drive that afternoon, I 

 prevailed on him just to take my horse and phaeton rather 

 than his hack, and let his horse rest. To this proposition he 

 readily agreed. 



The horse was in an adjoining lot to whore I had my bees. 

 There were two gates open so he could go through another lot 

 into a pasture. I never knew just where he was, or just how 

 it happened (I mean just in exactly what part of the lot), but 

 a bee stung hira. Of all the rearing, snorting and pitching, I 

 certainly never saw anything to compare with it. He seemed 

 perfectly frantic. He was like a maniac. The terrible part 

 of it was he seemed determined to break down the fence and 

 come into the yard amongst the bees. There was no one to 

 help me. The only thing I could get hold of was a calf rope 

 with which to keep him from breaking down the fence — I on 

 one side and he on the other ! Here we had it up and down 

 that fence, the great monster, as he was, throwing himself, so 

 to speak, up in the air, be looked to my frightened eyes as 



big as a camel. He would just rear upon his hind feet, and 

 then kick up his heels, looking for all the world as if he was 

 going to turn a summersault backwards. 



My ! my ! what a time we did have, both the horse and I. 

 I don't believe I was ever scared so badly in ray life. I am 

 quite sure I never wanted to see a man come as badly as just 

 then, but come they would not. The only human being I 

 could see was a frail little woman who kept hollowing for me 

 to open the gate so as to let him into another pasture. This I 

 finally succeeded in doing, but failed to get the infuriated ani- 

 mal to see it. He finally, however, did see both the other 

 gates open, and through them he went. Instead of going 

 farther, he ran around this time, being nearer the bees than 

 at first, but I finally succeeded in getting him away. 



I was indeed glad when brother came. I told him of the 

 terrible episode through which I had just passed, his horse 

 being the chief actor in the scene. I told him that we had 

 had a regular circus with only one spectator, and she at a dis- 

 tance. He just laughed heartily, which vexed me, for I knew 

 he didn't realize the great danger I was in. I am now satisfied 

 that not more than three bees had stung the horse — at least 

 that was all we could find any sign of. 



Bell County, Tex. 

 [To be continued.! 



Causes of IvO-w Price of Honey.— Skylark, in 

 Gleanings for July 1, has the following to say about the 

 causes of the present low price of honey: 



There are five causes apparent to me for the low price of 

 honey : 



1. The stoppage of the wheels of industry, and the conse- 

 quent inability of the poor man to buy any luxury. 



2. The glutting of the large city markets, which rule the 

 prices. 



8. The perfect helplessness of large producers who are 

 entirely at the mercy of the commission men. 



4. The entire lack of union or combination among bee- 

 keepers. 



5. Adulteration, that has disgusted people with honey, 

 or, rather, with the foul imitation. 



Four of these causes of low prices can all be removed by 

 union among bee-keepers — a national union and exchange. 

 Let it be broad in its scope of defense and protection to bee- 

 keepers. Let defense and protection mean from anything 

 that will injure a bee-keeper's interests in his calling. Make 

 it representative, with annual or semi-annual meetings, the 

 commercial or exchange part of it to be run by a board of 

 directors and a manager. Organize unions or exchanges iu 

 each State, on the same plan, to be subordinate to the Na- 

 tional, »and send representatives thereto. Each State ex- 

 change should prosecute adulterators and protect bee-keepers 

 within its own borders, the National Union standing ready to 

 help any State exchange in case of any extraordinary outlay, 

 such as carrying a case up to the SupremeCourt of the United 

 States. Each State should distribute its own honey through- 

 out its own borders, and send its surplus wherever the Na- 

 tional might direct. This plan would preserve the social 

 character of the meetings, protect bee-keepers from al! wrong, 

 kill adulteration, distriljute the honey properly over the coun- 

 try, and give large producers as good a chance to sell as small 



ones. 



*-—^ 



The Student's Standard.— The "Student's Stan- 

 dard Dictionary," now in preparation by Funk & Wagnalls 

 Company, will contain upward of 50,000 words, and from 

 800 to 900 pages. 



The volume, which will be issued under the supervision of 

 Prof. F. A. March, has been edited by the Rev. James C. 

 Fernald, editor of the dppartment of Synonyms, Antonyms, 

 and Prepositions of the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, 

 assisted by a staff of skilled workers formerly engaged on the 

 same undertaking. 



The chief feature, one not attempted in any school dic- 

 tionary, is the incorporation in the " Students' Standard" of 

 the meanings of every word used in the sixty volumes of En- 

 glish Classics, selected by the Commission of Colleges for study 

 preparatory to admission to the chief colleges of the United 

 States. 



The type is clean cut and clear, the paper will be of 

 superior quality, and the binding attractive and durable. 



