AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



237 



Robert Pierce, died in a few months 

 after reaching his Western home. G. 

 R. was too young to retain any recollec- 

 tion of him. His mother afterward 

 married Mr. Thomas J. Evans, also 

 from Wales, who proved to be a father 

 de facto as well as de jure to young 

 Pierce. 



In the early days of its settlement, 

 the present site and vicinity of Racine 

 was covered with a heavy growth of 

 oak, maple, beecb, basswood, etc. As 



G. R. PIERCE. 



the settlers cleared the land about their 

 cabins, they planted fruit trees, and in a 

 few years apples, plums, peaches, etc., 

 were to be found at nearly every home- 

 stead. Mr. Pierce has often seen large, 

 luscious peaches, just picked from the 

 trees, sold in the streets of Racine for 

 25 cents per bushel ! Now all this fruit 

 is brought from Michigan. 



Bees were not kept as now by special- 

 ists, but nearly every settler who was 

 not afraid to handle the frisky insects, 

 kept enough colonies to supply the home 

 wants, and if there was a surplus it was 

 usually taken to town in a tub or churn. 



Mr. Pierce's first recollection of bees 

 was when his step-father bought three 

 colonies from Mr. Cram, one of the first 

 settlers in Racine. As the abundant 

 flora of forest and field furnished an 

 abundance of nectar, these colonies soon 

 increased so that their owners, in a few 

 years, had more bees and honey than 

 any one else in the vicinity. His experi- 

 ence with bees in Wisconsin ended in 

 1861, when he enlisted in the 9th Bat- 

 tery, Wisconsin Volunteers, with which 

 he served until January, ] 865. 



After his discharge from the army, 

 Mr. P. attended the University of Wis- 

 consin for three years at Madison, spend- 

 ing his vacations in Minnesota, to which 

 State his parents moved ; here also they 

 kept a large number of colonies, and one 

 of his brothers, Thomas C. Evans, is still 

 engaged in bee-keeping near the old 

 home at Brownsville, Minn. His father 

 and mother, after a residence of several 

 years in Minnesota, moved to the old 

 homestead at Racine, where they now 

 live and still enjoy keeping a few colo- 

 nies. 



During the past 20 years Mr. Pierce 

 has lived at Blairstown, Iowa. He is a 

 pharmacist by profession, but at present 

 he is engaged solely in bee-keeping. He 

 has devoted much time to the study of 

 the cause, or causes, of bee-mortality in 

 winter, the results of which are set forth 

 in his book, entitled, "The Winter Prob- 

 lem in Bee-Keeping, " mentioned on page 

 227 of this number of the Bee Journal. 



Mr. Pierce was married in 1877, to 

 Miss Elizabeth French, and they have 

 three children — Robbie, Ira and Llywel- 

 lyn. 



The Amateur Bee-Keeper, 



is the name of a neat little pamphlet 

 designed for the class its name indicates 

 — amateurs and beginners in bee-keep- 

 ing. It is written by Mr. J. W. Rouse, 

 of Missouri, a practical apiarist and 

 helpful writer. It contains over 60 

 pages, and we will send it postpaid for 

 25 cents ; or club it with the Bee Jour- 

 nal for one year — both for only $1.15. 



