1907. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



133 



doorway the women of our family- 

 have seen their sons and husbands 

 go to five wars." 



From such stock sprang George W. 

 Adams. He was born in the house 

 in which he now lives — known as the 

 Old Garrison House — in eighteen 

 hundred and — well, never mind what, 

 for his age is not measured by years. 

 Sqmewhat past middle life he is yet 

 a young man, alert and active in all 

 the affairs of life. He received a 

 good education, and then devoted him- 

 self to the calling of his fathers — farm- 

 ing — being the seventh generation to 

 till those fields. It hardly needs be 

 said that he has always been active 

 in the public affairs of his town and 

 has served it long and well, par- 

 ticularly in educational affairs. 



Always interested in bees in a small 

 way, until about fifteen years ago, 

 when he began to make them a spec- 

 ial study and give to them that same 

 thoroughness of consideration which 

 characterizes all his work. With full 

 faith in the value of bee-keeping as 

 an adjunct of farming as carried on 

 in New England he has devoted him- 

 self to the development of a farmer's 

 system. He has been markedly suc- 

 cessful and has helped many persons 

 to put their bees on a paying basis. 

 As is to be expected, we find him a 

 champion of the interests of bee- 

 keepers and sturdily fighting subtle 

 methods of the supply interests which 

 he believes inimical to the best good 

 of the honey producers. He is a 

 power for good in all the walks of 

 life. Long may he live. 



This is the fourth in a series of 

 biographical sketches, the first of 

 which appeared in March together 

 with portraits of the gentlemen in- 

 cluded. — Editors. 



A LETTER FROM TEXAS. 



MRS. A. E. ST. LP:GER. 



THERE IS EVERY prospect of 

 an early crop of honey, in 

 this part of Texas. We have 

 had such a mild, defightful winter, 

 that there was not a week that the 

 bees could not work; two consecutive 

 days was the longest time that they 

 had to remain "at home." The light 

 frosts did not even hurt the tomato 



plants, which have borne all the sea- 

 son. 



Last spring I planted some castor 

 beans for shade, and this wjnter it 

 surprised me to see how the bees 

 worked on the blossoms. Now that 

 there are so many trees and flowers 

 in bloom, they have deserted them; 

 almost every tree is clothed in green, 

 the wild and tame plums bloomed 

 early in February, also some peaches. 

 Dewberry blossoms opened with the 

 New Year. As for strawberries, a 

 crate of ripe fruit was shipped Dec. 

 13th. Mulberries also are ripe, so 

 they bloomed early. The white 



XYLOCOPA VIRGINICA AND SCOLIA 

 PLUMIPES. 



clover commenced blooming about a 

 month ago, and now the little yellow 

 tiowers of the burr clover have open- 

 ed; So the bees are as busy as they 

 can be. They may be lazy, but I 

 cannot and do not like to think of 

 them as being so. When at work, 

 there is such a joyous, animated ac- 

 tivity about them, which reminds me 

 of those persons it does one good to 

 meet, full of life and enthusiasm, who 

 enter into their work with so much 

 spirit. I cannot think of them as 

 being lazy, for I know they are not. 



BEES FIGHTING. 



Last fall I noticed the bees were 

 fighting in front of a hive, and sus- 

 pected they were being robbed. I 

 could not attend to them immediately. 



