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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Oct. 25, 1900. 



ment, which occupies about two-thirds of every 

 railroad coach. In every direction j'ou read the 

 words " raucher " and " nicht raucher," (smok- 

 ing and non-smoking). It would seem as if the 

 non-smoking people were rather the exception. 

 But there is no chewing. 



This does not look much like an account of 

 a bee-keeping trip, but the reader must remem- 

 ber that we can not find bee-keepers every- 

 where. We shall come across some of them by 

 and by. 



I can not leave the railroad question with- 

 out making a comparison between our Ameri- 

 can railways and those of Europe. Our railroad 

 coaches are far superior, in my mind, to any- 

 thing that exists in Europe, for in many instan- 

 ces their " wagons," as they call them, are par- 

 titioned off into compartments without any pas- 

 sages, so that when you are shut up in one of 

 them — ten persons in a compartment — you can 

 not get out, and have neither drinking water 

 nor water-closets, nor wash-stands, at your dis- 

 posal. The better class of coaches, and espe- 

 cially the international coaches, are now made 

 with a passage along one side of the car, and are 

 provided with these necessaries of travel, and 

 the Swiss cars are in this far ahead of the 

 French, tho still inferior to our United States 

 cars. 



The excuse the Europeans give for their slowness in 

 taking hold of the latest improvements, is the shortness of 

 their trips, as compared with ours, and it is true that in 

 four or five hours you can almost cross any of the European 

 States. But if their coaches are inferior to ours, they 

 make up some of the unpleasantness by the exquisite polite- 

 ness and affability of most of their railroad employees, the 

 excellence of their railroad beds, tracks, bridges, crossings, 

 and railway stations. The politeness of their officials 

 would perhaps be construed here as a useless waste of time 

 and words. In America, when the conductor calls the pas- 

 sengers, he rings out a dry, "All aboard." The European 

 conductor says, " Ladies and gentlemen passengers, come 

 aboard, if you please." He hustles about to seat his pas- 

 sengers conveniently, and save them trouble. He takes 

 your ticket with a bow and "Thank you," as tho you were 

 doing him a favor. 



Our American travelers seem to be everywhere. We 

 did not get into a single Swiss coach without hearing En- 

 glish spoken, and American English at that, tho the true 

 " Hinglishman " is also very conspicuous. The hotels, the 

 public roads, the mountains of Switzerland were swarming 

 with English-speaking people, and the little flower-girls 

 always addrest us in our own language. 



There are three classes on all railroad trains, except in- 

 ternational fast trains, which are usually composed only of 

 first and second class coaches. Second-class is good enough 

 for anybody, and third-class is used almost altogether by 

 the laboring people, or those who wish to travel very 

 cheaply. The difference between the classes is in the up- 

 holstering of the coaches and the softness of the springs, 

 but especially in the price, which varies from a little less 

 than two cents per mile to over three cents, first-class being 

 just about double third class prices. 



But the classes are not confined to railroad trains, you 

 find them in the waiting-rooms, and in the tramway-coaches, 

 and even in the railroad dining-rooms. The same piece of 

 butter sells for a higher price in the first-class dining-room 

 than in the third-class. 



We had been told that traveling in Switzerland was 

 very expensive. We did not find it so. The hotel fares 

 compare very favorably with the fares of America ; and as 

 to railway travel, we bought what they call an " abonne- 

 ment " — a subscription, or, in other words, a pass in sec- 

 ond-class—over all the railroads of Switzerland, for two 

 weeks, at a cost of $8.40. This does not include the in- 

 clined-plane railways that ascend the mountains, but it 

 covers the Brunig Pass incline, and. the lakes of Thun and 

 Brienz for boat travel. 



The American Fruit and Vegetable Journal is just 



what its name indicates. Tells all about growing fruits 



and vegetables. It is a fine monthly, at SO cents a year. 



We can mail you a free sample copy of it, if you ask for it. 



e club it with the.American Bee Journal— both for $1.10. 



Exterior View of a Belgian-Hare Shed. 



Belgian Hares and Bees as a Combination. 



BY JOHN R. SCHMIDT. 



BELGIAN hares in California, Belgian hares at home, 

 on the farm, in the city, everywhere, and we now read 

 of them in the newspapers 1 Never has a fad spread 

 with such great rapidity, or found such universal favor 

 among so large a number of people. The craze has invaded 

 Chicago, so says the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, and 

 the exorbitant prices now paid for blooded stock has 

 tempted many into the business, and rabbits are being bred 

 everywhere. Already a prominent society girl of Chicago 

 is raising them on an extensive scale, has realized a big 

 profit in the business, and proved in the early start that the 

 fair sex can not be left behind in this new adventure. 



The keeping of Belgian hares in connection with bees 

 now seems to be attracting universal attention among the 

 apiarists of this country, and already there is some talk of 

 establishing departments on this subject in the apicultural 

 journals. [But not in the American Bee Journal. — Editor.] 



It is not a bad idea for bee-keepers to have something 

 else besides the bees, which will afford an additional in- 

 come, but not all things will hitch with bee-keeping, and 

 " more bees," as has been suggested, does not always prove 

 to be the worst way to solve this ever-increasing question 

 of importance. Bees may be added until one finds his time 

 fully occupied during the busy season, then any additional 

 increase after this, in the hope of financial returns, would 

 be a very uncertain and unwise move for the hope of bet- 

 terment. What the bee-keeper is really looking for is some- 

 thing that will occupy his time during the winter months, 

 or when bees need no attention — not that which will in- 

 crease his work when he is most busy with his bees. This, 

 whatever it may be, will be discovered sooner or later, and 

 we can look forward to the time when our apicultural jour- 

 nals will be devoting space equally among two distinct pur- 

 suits, but perfectly adapted to the bee-keeper. At present 

 we are only guessing, and trying to discover what pursuit 

 will be best adapted to the wants of the modern apiarists. 

 Belgian hares have been suggested, and they now hold the 

 lead, with more points in their favor than anything else 

 heretofore tried, and stand a good chance of winning. 



Only a few bee-keepers at present keep Belgian hares 

 in connection with their bees, but it has been proven that 

 it will be profitable with at least many who will undertake 

 it. This number is rapidly increasing, not only among 

 bee-keepers, but in almost every rank of life, and in the 

 many different professions. To start right in anything is 

 half the battle, and to start right in the Belgian-hare busi- 

 ness is what we are just now seeking. Experience is 

 always the best teacher, and years of experience by a bee- 

 keeper in the Belgian hare and bee-keeping lines combined, 

 ought to be of some value to those bee-keepers who are 

 about to launch forth. 



Mr. Chas. Roebling, a bee-keeper, and also manager of 

 the Ohio Belgian Hare Farm, has kept about 35 colonies of 



