66 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Jan. 25 19C6 



TON TONSON" AND HIS MUSICAL DAUGHTERS. 



Translated into ordinary English, this is 

 what "Ton Yonson" wrote us about the 

 above picture : 



"Mae, the oldest daughter (16), plays the 

 piano, and Stella (14) plays the mandolin. 

 Minnie is the youngest (12), and plays the 

 second violin. ' Yon ' plays the first fiddle, 

 or any of the other instruments. We try to 

 enjoy life as we go. We don't play for dances, 

 but sometimes play for literary meetings. 



" We are all lover6 of music, and think that 

 home is not complete without music and 

 singing. Good music and singing make both 

 parents and children happier and better, and 

 smooth out many of the rough places in life. 

 My wife is modest, and preferred to operate 

 the camera, so she is not in the picture. The 

 two little 'Tons,' 6 and 8 years old, do not 

 play any of the instruments yet, but sing 

 some. They could not keep from giggling, 

 so were sent outdoors." 



Yon Yonson's Trip to the Moon in Search of New 

 Races of Bees 



Vel, for long time ay hant vos bean rite to 

 •das Merican Bee-paper, but ay just bean to 

 das big N. B.-K. A. meeting in Chicago, so ay 

 goan to tell bout my perience. Maw, she say 

 she hoap ay hav good luck, cause she is kind 

 of fraid da train might tip over, or some- 

 ting 



Vel, it vos som plenty big crowd, an dom 

 mak plenty big talking bout bees an bissness, 

 an of course dom say lots of tings vot vos 

 smart, but dom don't vos forgot to say some- 

 tings bad bout each odder, too. Dom say 

 about So percent of goot, an 5 percent of 

 awful bad, an da odder 10 persent dident 

 mount to so very much, but ay feel veil paid 

 for dat S5 percent of good. 



Vel, ay stay tree days an den ay start for 

 home on da fast night express. Ay felt kind 

 of tierd and sleepy, but da train go awful fast, 

 an first ting ay know ay vos sitting rite over 

 da track, an ay don't kin hear or see anyting 

 of da train, but a awful nice old man come to 

 me, an he 6ay, " Hello, Yon Yonson ! Don't 

 you vont to take some ride on my new air- 

 ship." 



" Vot is your name?" ay say. 



" A. I. Gleanings," he say. 



"All rite," ay say. 



So ay git in da air-ship vid Mr. Gleanings, 

 an he tak holt of da leaver, an up ve go. 



" Veryou bound for?" ay say. 



"Ay yust com from Cuba, an ay goan to da 

 Nort Pole, an mebby to da Moon," he say; 

 " to git some new race of bees vot got toungs 

 long as your arm, an den ay goan to start big 

 ■quveen yard in Cuba," he say. 



"Vel," ay say, "if you git bees vot got 

 toungs as long as your arm, den mebby dom 

 be abe! to lick da foul brood in Cuba," ay say. 



Vel, in about 45 minit ve landed at da Nort 

 Pole, an den ve put on ours overcoat an mit- 

 tens, an go out to tak a look at da Pole. 



Da Pole is made of sickamore, an is hollow 

 on da inside, an da i6s a big not-hole about 6 

 feet up. Mr. Gleanings he say he tank it vos 

 som bees inside, an den he go to da tool-box 



an git a Clark's cold-blast smoker an puff 

 som smoke in da not-hole. An party soon ve 

 hear somebody sneeze, an ven ve look up ve 

 see Mr. Santa Clans sitting on top of da Pole, 

 an he look kine of mad, an he say, " Vy for 

 you mak so big smoking?" 



Den Mr. Gleanings he say he is " lookin for 

 some new kine of bees, an he tank mebby da 

 Nort Pole va6 a bee-tree " 



Mr. Santa Claus say he don't kept bees any 

 more, cause bee-supplies is gittin' so high, an 

 he is fraid Mrs. Santa Claus might git a bee 

 in her bonnet; an Christmas trade is so big 

 dat he all time bussy making yumpin jacks 

 an all kine of toys for da kids, so he git all 

 his honey from da Man in da Moon. 



Den he say dat Mrs. Santa Claus got da 

 tooth-ake, so its better ve not stan too close 

 to da not-hole, or she mite give us some les- 

 son on shake swarming. 



So ve vish Santa an his family a Merry 

 Christmas, an git in da air ship agin an start 

 for da Moon. 



Veil, it tak 5 hours an 40 minit to git to da 

 Moon, so ve land at Knicklasburg, da capital 

 of da Moon, about :80 in da morning. 



Da Man in da Moon vas gone to Jupiter on 

 a vacation, but his private secretary say he 

 be glad to show us around. 



Mr. Gleanings asked, " Kin you show us 

 some bees?" 



" Yes, dom have several apiaries," da secre- 

 tary say, " but dom is about 500 miles apart, 

 cause in da Moon da bees Hy bout 250 miles 

 for honey." 



Den ve asked, " Does da Man in da Moon 

 have a home apiary?" 



"Yes, da home apiary vas about 50 miles 

 out of town." 



So ve git in da air-Bhip, an da secretary git 

 in da front seat vid Mr. Gleanings, an in bout 

 tree minit ve come to da home apiary. 



Veil, da home apiary vos only von big hive, 

 but it is yust 'bout so bigger as Montgomery 

 Ward's big store in Chicago. An had a big 

 elevator on da front side. Da bees vos yust 



bout so bigger as a yearling calf, and had 14 

 yellow bands, but dom don't got any vings a 

 tall, but each bee got a little air-ship of his 

 own, an a 5-gallon can an a dipper, an dom 

 yust sail over to da basswood timber, 'bout 

 200 miles avay, an dip da honey rite out of da 

 blossoms, an fill da can, an den pull for home. 



Ven dom got home dom yust exchange da 

 full can for a empty von, an go agin. 



Da nurse-bees dom yust set buut 40 cans in 

 da elevator, an den pull on a 6tring, an up 

 she go. Dom store all ders honey in cans, 

 and don't build comb cept for brood-rearing. 



Ven ve vos dare dom yust begin to fill da 

 17th story, but som time dom stop da eleva- 

 tor at secont floor an leave 2 or 3 duzzen cans 

 for brood-rearing. 



Veil, of course ay vos surprised, an ven ay 

 seen som bees vid big packs on deirs back, ay 

 asked vot for da bees carried dom big bundles. 



Da secretary he say dat vos pollen. 



Den I ask, " Ven did dom tack off der 

 honey?" An he 6ay dom never steal da honey 

 from da bees, but ven da bees bad any honey 

 to spare, dom yust call up da Man in da Moon, 

 an he come in his air-ship, an da bees carry 

 out so many cans of honey dom kin spare, 

 and put in da air-ship, an he tak it home an 

 store it in da vare house. Da people in da 

 Moon eat only honey, cause dat iss Nature's 

 own food, an ven dom git da cans empty dom 

 have to bring dom back. 



In da Moon dom don't have vinter an sum- 

 mer like ve have, but ven it is Full Moon den 

 it is summer, an ven it is New Moon den it is 

 vinter. Dom have daylite all summer, an 

 dark all vinter, so dom have 14 days daylite 

 summer, an den 14 nites all winter. Ay tank 

 dat komes purty handy. 



Da bee6 don't have any stings, an dom don't 

 never fite or rob each odder, an dom mak 

 deirs own cans and supplies — hive an every 

 ting — an all da Mans in da Moon have to do 

 is to go in da air-ship an git da honey an bring 

 back da empty cans. 



Dom never have but von hive in da apiary, 

 an dom don't never svarm, but ven da quveen 

 vant to send out new colony she yust lay von 

 quveen egg, an in about tree years it hatch, 

 an ven da young quveens is 4 years old she 

 yust tak half of every ting— cans, honey, air- 

 ships, an ever ting — an half of da bees, an go 

 an hunt for new home. Ven da quven raises 

 a young quven dom raise von young drone, 

 too, an dis young drone go avay mit his sister 

 an by an by he trade sisters vid some odder 

 drone from vay off ; but da drone have to 

 move, an da quveens 6tay in deirs own home. 

 It never is but von drone in a hive, an he is 

 da boss of da can factory an yeneral 6uper- 

 tendant of da air-ship department. Da quvens 

 and drones liv fur bout 200 years, an is alvays 

 hapy, an da mans never rob da bees, but da 

 bees give da mans all dom have to spare. 



Da Man in da Moon tank lots of his bees, 

 an da bees is in love vid da mans in di Moon. 

 Den ay tank meself how different iss da Moon 

 from da United State. Here da bees rob each 

 odder, an da mans rob da bees, an da bees 

 sting da mans, and da bee-mans quvarl an 

 talk bad bout each odder. Den ay tank 'bout 

 da Honey-Producers' League, vat try to help 

 da bee-keepers, an da bee-keepers don't pre- 

 date deir kindness, but call dom bad names, 

 so dom have to feel bad; an ven dom offer to 

 give all da League's money to da N. B.-K. A. 

 da N. B.-K. A. vote to tak all deirs money, 

 an not give anyting in return but hard vords, 

 an dom don't even say " lank you." 



Den ay tank meself if all da members could 

 lurn some lessons from da Man in da Moon an 

 his bees, mebby dom vould lak each odder 

 better, an do lots of good in das vorld. 



Den ay say to Mr. A. I. Gleanings, " I be- 

 lieve its better ve not try to git bees vid longer 

 tongues; but if da bee-keepers yust had a 

 little shorter tongues; da common Italians is 

 good nuff." 



Den ve all git in daair-ship agin an go back 

 to Nicklasburg, an ve shake hans and tank da 

 secretary, an he say ve moste com agin som 

 time, an ve say ve shal be muchy glad to 

 come. 



Ay felt lak ay should lak to invite da Man 

 in da Moon to come to ours next N. B.-K. A. 

 meeting, but ay vas 'fraid mebby he might 

 not feel to home, so ve say good-by, an Mr. 



