188(1 



GLEANINGS IN ME CULtUIlE. 



268 



He said the binnblo-becs in Scotland are different 

 from the bumblchees in this ctiuntry, in that their 

 nests contain much more lioney. In his boyhood 

 he had spent many years herding sheep and cattle 

 on the hills, and had found and robbed many nests 

 of these bees. He claimed that he learned to tell a 

 bee laden with honey, from one with an empty 

 honey-sack, from the sound made as it flew by. 

 When a laden bee passed him he followed it to its 

 nest, if he could. He then marked the place so he 

 could find it again. These nests were left until 

 autumn, and, when well stored with honey, a num- 

 ber of i7crd-boys would go together some bright 

 moonlight night, visit all the nests, rob them, and 

 share the honey. He said, " I have been stung in a 

 most terrible manner on those nights." 



Mr. Meek asked, "Would you receive enough 

 honey to pay for the stings?" 



He replied "We were all poor boys, receiving only 

 very plain food— no sweets at all, and we felt richly 

 repaid. Each nest contained (luiteaniee mess of 

 honey. Of course it was nothing like the honey we 

 have just been eating; but I assure you it tasted 

 much better to me then than this honey does now. 

 After a night's robbing of nests we had honey for 

 several days, which made quite an addition to the 

 scanty dinners we carried to the hills. Each shep- 

 herd boy was accompanied by a dog, with which he 

 shared his dinner. I remember my dog was very 

 fond of this honey." 



The conversation turned to other things, the 

 meal was finished, and the children were led by 

 Jane and Tommy to the barn, where they played 

 many rrierry games until the friends departed for 

 their homes. 



To he continued Maij 1st. 



REPORT FROM MRS. JENNIE GULP. 



ALSO snMKTIlING ABOUT WOMEN'S WANTS AND 



wo.mi:n's wohk. 



fHE March No. of Gi-eaninos is just received 

 ■ and contents examined. I find two things 

 in it especially interesting to me just now. 

 First is the statement, "E.xamine the bees, 

 and, if needing stores, feed them or give seal- 

 ed honey." Now, suppose you have no scaled honey 

 (which is the case with me for the first time since 1 

 liave been in the business). Would you give them 

 sugar syrup, candy, or more maple sugar in the 

 cake? Circumstances over which I had no control 

 prevented my feeding as much as Avas necessary 

 last fall to carry them through until fruit-bloom, 

 and I find some of them are getting short this early. 

 In answer, do not refer me to the A IJ C, for I sent 

 that to a dear friend .'';0 miles distant, last year, and 

 lent Prof. Cook's Manual to another friend in Dela- 

 ware, Ohio, and Langstroth and Quinby are also on 

 the wing; and, by the way, do not foi'gct to send me 

 another copy ot the ABC. I do not feel as if I 

 could "keep house" successfully without it. 1 

 have had four already; but somehow they do not 

 stay with me. 



THE PICTL'HE OF THE WHEELUAIUtOW. 



It just strikes my fancy. I certainly must have 

 one, and a lawn-mower too, if a lady can use it. I 

 will let you into the secret why I want them, Hro. 

 Kcot. I have a kind of mania for having things 

 look tidy; and having depended on "uncles and 



cousins" for four years, my little stock of patience 

 is well nigh exhausted. When I ask to have my yard 

 mowed, I am invariably met with the reply, " (^h I 

 it does not need it yet;" and if I insist on its being 

 done, telling them I am willing to pay well for hav- 

 ing it done noil', they just act as if— "well, it does not 

 need it a bit, but T suppose I shall have to humor 

 you." Now, that takes all the vim out of me, and, 

 with your assistance in furnishing me tools, I will 

 try "paddling my own canoe." 



Last fall I wanted my chaff hive remodeled so as 

 not to have to unpack in the spring. T got the idea 

 how it could be done by using your chaff hives, 

 when I visited you (and, by the wa.v, I visited ten 

 apiaries in that little trip; yours was the banner 

 apiary. Mine the second— not in numbers, but in 

 uniformity of hive and neatness. I have been 

 feasting on the pleasure of that little trip ever 

 since). I sent for a carpenter to come and do the 

 work forme, telling what I wanted done; he sent 

 back word he could not come. Not willing to be 

 put off, I then went myself; he not being at home, I 

 inquired of the "gudo wife" the reason. "Oh!" 

 said she, "he said it was just one of your whims, 

 and he would not humor you. The hives your hus- 

 band made are good enough for anybody, without 

 any change." 



I tell you that " riled" me, to think he would not 

 even come and look at my proposed improvement, 

 but set it down as a whim, simply because it was a 

 woman's idea. 



Well, the result of it was, I vowed a vow, and it 

 was this: That if the Lord would give me the 

 strength I would show some of the opposite sex 

 that a woman can " paddle her own canoe " pretty 

 successfully, without their assistance. Was that 

 wicked? The rtrength is coming, and, one by one, 

 I am gathering up the tools for the work. I have 

 one hive fixed, and the remaining .55 will (Provi- 

 dence premitting) follow suit as soon as the weath- 

 er permits. 



Now, Mr. Editor, Ernest, and friends generally, 

 for fear you will think me masculine in writing 

 this way, I will tell you I am a little woman, not 

 weighing over 100 lbs.; and if there is any thing I 

 dislike, it is a masculine looking and acting woman. 

 This I am trying to guard against. 



Mrs. Francis E. Willard, President of the Wom- 

 en's Christian Temperance Union, says: " There is 

 not one thing that men ought to do; there is not 

 one thing that ought to bo done, which a woman 

 ought not to be encouraged to do, if she has the ca- 

 pacity to do it," and that is my sentiment exactly. 



I have been slow in sending mj' report for 1885, 

 not knowing in just what department to place mj-- 

 self. I am not discouraged, although my honey 

 crop was an entire failure as far as surplus is con- 

 cerned. 



If what (HI 1- president said at the bee-keepers' con- 

 vention at the Ohio State Fair be true (he thought 

 it was the fault of the bee-keepers if they failed to 

 get a crop of honey), then you will ha\e to put me 

 down as a failure. I5ut with due respect to him 

 and his opinion, I must beg leave to differ with him. 

 I think I am prone to be diligent in business, and 

 left nothing undone to secure a crop of honey. 

 The long-continued drought of the summer and 

 fall before, and the very severe winter following, 

 destroyed the white clover, from which we get our 

 l)rincipal crop in this locality. 



