900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1. 



was proved in this case by the condition of the 

 apiary, which loomed up in fine style in box 

 hives. 



It was just my luck, as I entered the capa- 

 cious front yard, to have three rotund women 

 enter ahead of me, and completely surround and 

 take the attention of the cemetery cultivator. 

 His wife was, however, at hand, and with pal- 

 pitating gall I addressed her. 



" Madam, can I buy some honey of you?" 



"No," says she, "ve haf none. Dose pees 

 makes no honeys dees yahr. Odher yahrs ve 

 haf so much." 



" How many hives have you '? " 



"Ve haf a goot many hifes; may pe thirdy; 

 may pe thirdy-vive. Ve haf so much honeys 

 last yahr. Ve haf more as much hives and 

 honeys as anypodies all ofer dees goundry." 



" From what source do your bees gather hon- 

 ey?" 



'•Vat zorse? zorse? Mein craciousl de pees 

 don'd vork on zorse. You tink pees, like flise, 

 vork on zorse? No, mein craciousl zorse! Our 

 pees vork flowers, posies, roses. Ve haf flow- 

 ers, posies, roses, for pees to vork on from von 

 ent of de yahr to de odher ent. Zorse! Mein 

 craciousl" 



I apprehended that the good lady had misun- 

 derstood my question ; and as I find it no use to 

 argue with a woman I proceeded with the next 

 question. Said I: 



" Ma'am, do you secure your honey by means 

 of sections, or do you Hhruschka it?" 



'* Vat is dat you means? You means ve visky 

 it? — visky dose nice gomb honeys? No ! Vat 

 you dinks ve run a peer-garten, a visky-zaloon? 

 No, mein cracious! Vat you dinks! Mein hus- 

 pant, who vorks on de cemetery all day, viskies 

 his honeys! No, mein cracious! Vat vas you, 

 anyvays?— von of dose demberance granks vat 

 sees visky in de moon, in de stars, in de deep 

 veil of vater, in our honeys?" 



She raised her voice and shouted to her hus- 

 band, "Hans Blinkenhoffer, gome here! here 

 vas a visky grank." 



Hans was, however, still surrounded, and I 

 bade a hasty good-night and retreated in good 

 order, resolving not again to interview foreign 

 people too closely in relation to the honey busi- 

 ness when they are so far behind the times in 

 their knowledge of it. To turn his little crank 

 on posted people will hereafter be the duty of 



the Rambler. 



■ — » — ■ 



A CHAT ON EUROPEAN MATTERS. 



SOMETHING GLEANED PROM FOREIGN BEE- 

 JOURNALS CONCERNING THE .JOURNALS 

 THEMSELVES. 



Bii CharUn Norman. 



[We may explain to our readers, that the 

 ollowing articles by Mr. Norman are of the 

 nature of Dr. Miller's Stray Straws, being com- 

 piled from La Revxie Internationale from Jan- 

 uary to June inclusive. We believe they will 



be found to be of great interest as showing 

 what is going on in that portion of the world- 

 France and Switzerland. Mr. Norman is thor- 

 oughfy informed on all that has been printed in 

 the French language relating to our pursuit, 

 and is, we have every reason to think, a care- 

 ful and judicious observer. Two more articles 

 will follow this. — Ed.] 



La Revue Internationale cV Apiculture [The 

 International Review of Apiculture) is a month- 

 ly, written in French, and edited by Mr. Ed- 

 ouard Bertrand at Nyon, a city in the French 

 part of Switzerland. It is not confined, though, 

 to the latter section or province, but circulates 

 wherever the French language is spoken or 

 read — in France, Belgium, Alsace, Lorraine, 

 Italy, Canada. It has some subscribers even in 

 Chili, India, Cochin-China, Australia; a cor- 

 respondent from Merrylands, N. S. W., is quite 

 happy that his attention has been directed to 

 the Revue, and writes: " Hitherto I had not 

 read any but English bee-papers — Gleanings 

 and The Bee-keepers' Review— two excellent 

 journals; but how I longed to read my favorite 

 subject, apiculture, in French!" The Revue is 

 also well patronized by Swiss, French, Italian, 

 Austrian, and German advertisers. Among 

 them I notice the name of one of your corres- 

 pondents, Mr. Ph. J. Baldensperger, who now 

 resides at Nice, France. There is an adver- 

 tisement by a French ladies' firm who evidently 

 mean business, for they make this quite timely 

 remark: " Letters not accompanied by a stamp 

 will not be answered." 



The Revue well deserves all this patronage, 

 for the leading articles are interesting and well 

 chosen, as Mr. Bertrand understands both Eng- 

 lish and Italian; and as some of his contrib- 

 utors understand German, the foreign bee- 

 literature receives due attention. The editorial 

 remarks regarding bee-matters are fully up to 

 the times. A good many reports and condensed 

 correspondences are given; the readers are kept 

 posted concerning bee-keepers' meetings, etc. 



The French, you know — the better class of 

 them — have very pleasant manners, and 

 " French politeness" is a word that tells a good 

 deal. Well, the Revue is in full harmony with 

 that tone, and there is hardly a page of the 

 same but shows it more or less. Now. by this I 

 do not, of course, mean that our American bee- 

 writers lack courtesy. On the contrary, the 

 great majority of them are all right in this 

 particular; but are there not a few— just a few 

 —with whom it is no pleasure to differ, and 

 who, in their fancied infallibility, come down 

 on every opponent as if he were a most despis- 

 able fool who could not be castigated enough? 



Mr. Bertrand has also written a book, " La 

 Conduite du Rucher " (The Management of the 

 Apiary), which, to judge by a few excerpts that 

 are cited in the iieoite, must be quite a thor- 

 ough and commendable work. It has reached 

 its seventh edition. In fact, there is no want of 

 French bee- literature; and any Frenchman 



