tU1& BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



155 



about bees and honey, and the wise 

 old men told us how "the bees carried 

 honey on their legs." I had always 

 had a notion I should like some bees, 

 but I had been severelj' stung- b}' horn- 

 ets when small, and was afraid of 

 anything- that would sting. Well, the 

 teacher, who is now Dr. C. L. Parker, 

 of Syracuse, N. Y., wanted me to 

 work for him the next summer. I told 

 him I was afraid of the bees; and, to 

 quiet my fear he said that after I had 

 been stung a few times it wouldn't 

 swell. As it was the hurting part, 

 and not the swelling part, that I was 

 thinking of, I thought he meant it 

 wouldn't /tiiii. The firm was Ross 

 cSe; Parker, and they had 400 colonies 

 in three yards. Mr. Ross didnt 

 work any with the bees; and it was a 

 great mystery to me, and to every one 

 else in that school district, to know 

 what Mr. Parker wanted to hire any 

 one for. We supposed there was no 

 zvork with the bees, except to /i ive them. 

 I shall never forget the morning in 

 April, when I went into the bee-house 

 for the first time. My! The smell of 

 the honey and wax was grand. 



Mr. Parker set me to nailing up 

 sections, and said that there were 

 16,000 of them to nail, so I began to 

 see there was something to do besides 

 hiving swarms. 



That afternoon I looked through 

 the window and saw Mr. Parker 

 wearing a veil with half a dozen holes 

 in it, and shaking robber bees ofi' 

 the combs where colonies had died. I 

 couldn't understand why he didn't 

 run, as there were millions of them 

 around him; but, as he didn't get hurt, 

 I took courage. 



Mr. Parker took the American Bee 

 Journal, and gave me a copy to read. 

 Well, it was all about "Queen-cells," 

 "Drone-traps," and other things of 

 which I had never heard. I tried to 

 study it out but it was pretty dry 

 work. The next week was the same; 

 but, after that I worked out in the 

 yard, and then things became inter- 



esting—so interesting that when, in 

 July, I saw an jidvertisment of the 

 Review, I subscribed for it and have 

 every number that has been issued. 

 In the fall I subscribed for Gleanings, 

 and borrowed several bee books. 



I worked two summers for Ross & 

 Parker; and then, thinking I could 

 learn more by seeing how other bee- 

 keepers managed, I worked, for sev- 

 eral seasons, for different bee-keepers; 

 always trying to get with the most ex- 

 perienced man possible. 



IMPORTANCE OF SPECIALTY AND OF 

 HAVING THINGS HANDY. 



I think any man going into the bee 

 business should make it his only 

 business, and learn all he possibly 

 can about it. The majority of bee- 

 keepers try farming, or something 

 else, with the result that the bees are 

 neglected. When I worked for P. H. 

 Elwood, he and I, and another man, 

 took care of over 1,050 colonies, run 

 for comb honey, and located in ten 

 difi^erent yards. 



[Right here, friend Kinyon, let me 

 suggest, there is material for an ex- 

 cellent article. Please tell us exactly 

 how you and Mr. Elwood and the 

 other man, handled 10 apiaries man- 

 aged for comb honey — it would be in- 

 teresting and instructive. — Editor.] 



Right here is a point I wish to 

 bring out: Mr. Elwood's hives, su- 

 pers, bee-wagons, and everything, were 

 made handy, and it took less help to 

 take, care of the 1,050 colonies than it 

 did for 400 for another man that I once 

 worked for. What we want is a hive 

 that will allow us to get the bees in 

 the best condition for storing honey, 

 and, at the same time, be easy to 

 handle. You know they say of Ver- 

 non Burt, of Mallet Creek, O., "he al- 

 ways has honey," and he has nearly 

 all his bees is two-story, old-fashioned, 

 Root, chaff-hives. That has been m^' 

 experience from observation, in 

 about 15 yards. The colonies in these 

 hives always get more honey than those 

 in other hives in the same yard. Now, I 



