AMERICAN BEK JOURNAL. 



345 



Hf~ Do not write anything for publication 

 on the same sheet of paper witn business 

 matters, unless it can be torn apart without 

 interfering with either part of the letter. 



The "Water Route" for Skunks. 



As it seems in order to devise some odor- 

 less way to catch skunks, I would suggest 

 that Mrs. Atchley plant a barrel level with 

 the ground, and partly fill it with water. 

 Then fasten some dainty morsel on a cover 

 that will tip from the center. His skunk- 

 ship will soon take the " water route " if he 

 decides to nibble; and the self-adjusting 

 lid lekves the way clear for another to fol- 

 low. A. B. Baied. 



Belle Vernon, Pa. 



Had Deep Snow in Kansas. 



Our winter was very nice until about 

 Jan. 24th, when there was a very cold snap 

 which lasted four days; about Feb. 11th it 

 snowed hard all day, and the high wind 

 drifted the snow badly, so that bees on the 

 summer stands had to be dug out after sev- 

 eral days. Drifts 6 to 8 feet deep were not 

 uncommon. The snow was 8 inches to a 

 foot deep on the level. This winter had 

 been splendid for every day flights up to 

 the middle of January. Last fall we had a 

 good honey season, and the bees on the 

 summer stands have wintered well. 



F. M. HOGAN. 



Elk Falls, Kans., Feb. 32. 



Roburs 'nd Robin'. 



Eye wuz lukin' at mi be-yord too da, and 

 with sirprize saw won of my best hives wuz 

 gon. It had disapered. i got mi be buk 2 

 se wat eye kud due. furst aye luked in Mis- 

 tur Rute's "Abe See," and sene the heding, 

 "howtootel wer the roburs belong." It 

 says: " ifE yew or a be huntur & etc." 

 now, that dident doo mee mutch gud, be- 

 kause i wos know be hutur ; sumbodi was 

 huntun mi bese. 



Then i sene anuthur heding — "howe 2 

 stop roburs," & etc. mi stors! says i, if i 

 hat a gun I wood a stoped them roburs. 



Anuther heding says, " wat hapins if 

 robing is knot stoped." Now enybodi nose 

 that.. Aye doant c wat hee says that far, 

 kause we awl know if wee doant stoppem, 

 they goe off with the holeshutenmatch. 



Still a litle firther on Mr. rute says, undur 

 anuther heding, "wurking with bese buy 



lamplite, wen roburs or trubelsum during 

 the da." now, they wasent eny robers 

 around hear inn the da, and i no they did- 

 ent have know lamplite atnite; they dun 

 the wurk by darck. hoo kan tel me wat 

 too due ? i am tyred ; sow i aint a going 

 too f ule with that subjeckt enymohr tunite. 



if aye wood a had Mister Rute's "Abe 

 See " buk, i woodent made know mistake, 

 wen i sewed mi bockweat a felow toled me 

 too sew it inn the darck of the mune, and 

 we like a fule sowed it inn the ground. 

 Well, hearaftur I wish me gud luck. 



Ima Spellub. 



Grammer Mills, Indyana. 



P. S. — i thot i fargot too tel yew about 

 sewin' bockweat, butt up on reeding ovur 

 mi letur, i. c. i. didunt. I. S. 



A Bee-Keeper's Ear-Muff. 



It seems absurd to think of taking pre- 

 caution against bees getting into one's 

 ears, but I can easily imagine that if one 

 should once make an entrance there I 

 should always be in terror afterward when 

 one buzzed about my head. 



A few years ago ear-muffs were quite 

 fashionable in this part of the country to 

 protect the ears in winter. As nearly as I 

 can now tell, they were made of cloth so as 

 to cover the entire ear, a piece of wire be- 

 ing sewed around the opening, so that 

 when the ear was crowded into the muff, 

 the wire was small enough to hold it on. 

 Of course there was plenty of room in the 

 muff so the ear was not crowded after it 

 was in, only as it was crowded through the 

 wire. Some of them had a piece of wire- 

 cloth opposite the orifice of the ear, so as 

 not to interfere with the hearing. Some- 

 thing in this line might answer the query 

 of J. H. Andre, on page 59. 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



Package for Extracted Honey, Etc. 



I have " caught on " to a good package 

 for extracted honey that does better for 

 my home market than anything I have 

 ever seen. It is a cheap wooden pail, made 

 for candy or jelly, not painted on the in- 

 side, but I wax it with white wax on the in- 

 side ; it is already painted on the outside. 

 It has a bail and cover, and will hold 10 to 

 15 pounds. It costs, at the factory in 

 Keene, N. H., .$1.00 per dozen. I fill the 

 pail with honey, put on an oiled paper, and 

 nail on the cover slightly, and it will keep 

 very nicely for years, as well as a shorter 

 time. It seems to be an attractive package 

 invariably. 



When showing one on the road, or in a 

 house where they like honey, and have 

 money to pay, I seldom fail to sell. 1 sell 

 white at 12}.2 cents, and amber at 10 cents, 

 and call the pail the same as a pound of 

 honey. They weigh about 1}4 pounds each. 

 I get the lard pails for $1.20 per dozen, and 

 they hold 25 pounds each, which I prepare 

 in the same way, but they do not sell as 

 well as the smaller sizes. The 25-pound 

 pails weigh 2 pounds each. Now, in view 



