1.50 



GLEANINGS IN Bk^ dULTUttE. 



t'^ft. 



Two seasons in succession have been too poor for 

 honey here. Grandpa tried to double np some by 

 setting one hive on top of another, but they would 

 not g-o down nor up; so after two weeks he set 

 them off where they belonged, then they were glad, 

 and came out as nsual. 



T like to read the young folks' letters in Glean- 

 TNOS, so T thought 1 would tell you about our bees, 

 and may be it would not be thrown into the waste- 

 basket. Grandpa Avants me to ask you to explain, 

 if you will, just how engraving-plates are made, so 

 you can make a picture of any thing you want; 

 but if there is any secret about the art, let it go. 

 Grandpa doesn't use tobacco any more since he got 

 the smoker you sent him. 



Maudip; May Mfnx, age 10. 



Pine Grove, Gallia Co., Ohio. 



You ask liow our engi-avings are made. 

 We lirst take a piece of boxwood or maple, 

 the depth of the type (nearly an inch), and 

 the size of the picture desired. Upon tliis 

 tlie engraver draws with a pencil the object 

 he wishes to represent, atul then retouches 

 with India ink. The face of the boxwood is 

 very hard and smooth ; and when the pic- 

 ture is done, it looks like any pencil-drawing. 

 Next the engraver uses several sharp keen- 

 edged tools with which he carves the block, 

 leaving only the black lines of the pencil. 

 The shading is represented by parallel lines 

 —the darker the shading, the heavier and 

 more compact the lines. When this is done 

 we have a raised picture which prints the 

 lines and delicateshadings just like the types 

 you see in a prlntlng-otlice. If you notice 

 closely any of the engravings that appear in 

 Gleanings you will see what I have explain- 

 ed. Nice engraving is one of the tine arts, 

 and good engravers get high wages — live, 

 ten, or even more dollars per day.— In regard 

 to doubling up, you do not say anywhere 

 that one of the queens was taken away be- 

 fore uniting. From this, and your descrip- 

 tion of the colonies, we infer that both had a 

 queen after they were doubled up. This 

 might account for their not uniting; though, 

 as is sometimes the case, two colonies are 

 united regardless of queens, when one will 

 be killed by the bees. I should judge that 

 both your grandfather's colonies remained 

 entirely by themselves, not interfering Avith 

 each other's queen. Ernest. 



Dear Maudie, do you wantm to know what 

 part of your letter rejoiced my heart more 

 than any thing else V It is, that your grand- 

 pa does "not use any more tobacco, and that 

 it is his little grandchild who is telling it to 

 the readers of Gleanings, and rejoices in 

 her little heart that he is purer in mind, pur- 

 er in body, and, I am sure, purer in heart, 

 for the sacrifice he has made for his little 

 grandchild's sake, for our sakes, and for the 

 dear Savior's sake. May God bless him, and 

 help him ; and may he be cheered by reading 

 in that good old Bible, " Blessed are the 

 pure in heart, for they shall see God." 



A DONKEY GETS INTO TROUBLE WITH THE BEES, 



WHEREUPON HE"BRAI)E;" PEKIN DUCKS, AND 



THEIR VALUE IN AN APIARY. 



As there is something so original in Jo- 

 seph's letter we insert it just about as he 

 wrote it, spelling and all. 



My "intelligence" is so little, i do not no of anj* 

 thing to Avrite that will interest, hut you must ex- 

 cuse this one, as it is the first. 1 like to help pa 

 work with the bees except such a one as that cross 

 hi'brid stock that stung Pa so much threw his 

 Briches and run him off to the springand me under 

 the tiore. They drove the young mule colt that 

 was ISO feet away, and made him kick and snort; his 

 hare was long, and they tangled in it, but he soon 

 Hew a way and"brade"as he run. Pa says the 

 holy land Hee.s Will suck :i Hours while the Italians 

 will suck 2; he says they do not fool time away in 

 Ruzing a Round as the Italians do. We keep saw- 

 dust ;i or 4 in. deep in our apiary; the antsand frogs 

 will not work in it, the frogs have no place to hide 

 as the dust keeps the weeds down; atrogwilleat 

 .'iO bees, if he can get them, so much for sawdust. 

 The Pecan Ducks has a good chance to ketch the 

 moth millerbetween sundown and dark. Theducks 

 go among the hives every evening and ketch every 

 miller that flies ; no grass in thear way, so they always 

 lit on Pekins, every one that fiy. These ducks is worth 

 keeping for this alone; be sids each duck will lay 200 

 large egs every year, then they weigh 15 lbs. to pare of 

 3. The feathers is beautiful and white, and the meat 

 is as nice as chicken. So come and see us and wee 

 will have a big fat one for dinner. Joseph S. G. 



So it is a donkey this time, and not a horse 

 that meets with "a mishap among the bees. 

 No wonder the poor fellow '' brade " when a 

 lot of hybrids got after him. I think we 

 shall have to conclude that it is never safe to 

 have our domestic animals anywhere near 

 the bees.— I have sometimes thought that 

 the Holy Lands seemed more industrious 

 than the Italians ; but for some reason they 

 never seem to have veiy much honey in the 

 hive. Perhaps it is their disposition to 

 breed so heavily that keeps their supply of 

 honey low. — An apiary with sawdust tiiree 

 or four inches deep makes a very pretty ap- 

 pearance; but in time, according to our ex- 

 perience, the weeds will come. As to toads, 

 I suppose the sawdust answers very well. 

 You say a toad will eat 50 bees. Did you 

 ever count the number V Last month a lit- 

 tle girl told us of a toad eating, by actual 

 count, 150 flies, so I presume it would be no 

 very great task for Mr. Toad to eat 50 bees. 

 That being the case, they are not very profit- 

 able in the apiary.— We are glad to know 

 that Pekin ducks are valuable in the apiary, 

 for getting rid of moths. We have a pair of 

 them in our poultry-yard, tuid I don't doubt 

 but that they wouht render very good ser- 

 vice, providing it were something to eat, for 

 they are big eaters. — You have given us so 

 many good points that I think you are en- 

 titled to a chromo. Lknest. 



Friend Joseph, I want to add a word to 

 what Ernest has said in regard to your little 

 letter. It is full of original thoiights, and 

 shows a progressive spirit for one so young 

 —at least, we suppose you are quite a small 

 boy, although you do not give us your age ; 

 and in regard to the spelling, you have prob- 

 ably done tiptop for so smtill a boy. We 

 give your letter just as it was written, so the 

 juveniles can exercise their talents in the 

 line of proof-reading by correcting all the 

 mistakes made. Now, then, who will count 

 up and see how many ernus there are in 

 Joseph's letter of 27 lines? 



