1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



317 



was against the rules to stand upon the seats; but I 

 made up my mind to risk smashing the seat, and, if 

 it fell with me, buy a new one. I'm pretty close 

 and saving- with my nickels; but when it comes to a 

 choice between smotherins' to death or paying- five 

 dollars for a new seat, the five dollars has got to go. 

 But when I stood up my feet had to suffer; they 

 not only had to bear up my own weight, but the 

 weight of various other people; for though my 

 rising loosened me from one set of leaners, a new 

 one surrounded me and leaned more heavily than 

 the others had done, and the " heavy girl" trod on 

 my toes and set my biggest corn to thumping, and 

 the cold wind striking my face gave me the dancing 

 toothache. The boys and girls with blackened faces 

 were singing "Every day will be Sunday by and 

 by," and I felt that every day would be Monday 

 with me pi'etty soon if I did not get out of that. 

 But there was no getting out. 



Then they had tableaux, real nice ones, "Night 

 and Morning," the " Rock of Ages," and a little 

 fairy with long crinkly hair, and at each scene they 

 burned colored lights and filled the house with a 

 cloud of smoke; but at last, when the last dialogue 

 had been acted, the last declamation spoken, and 

 the last song sung, the crowd began to unpack it- 

 self. And when the "heavy girl " got off me, and 

 the young man who weighed a ton took himoClf off 

 my left shoulder, and the " fat woman " got off my 

 polonaise, and the three "school m.arms"in front 

 had taken their feet otf my right foot, and the old 

 lady in the black hood had released my other foot, I 

 worked myself loose from the rest of them, and 

 came home a sadder and a wiser Avoman. 



Mahala B. Chaddock. 



Vermont, 111., March, 1886. 



BEES OF OUR OWN. 



MItS. HAUIUSON TALKS TO THE CHILLIREN ON 

 H(JW TO START IN THE BEE-UUSINESS. 



tOYS and girls, I am glad to know that so many 

 of you have bees of your own. It is said, 

 that a person who owns his home is a much 

 better citizen than one who rents — takes 

 more interest in the prosperity of his neigh- 

 borhood, as to roads, schools, etc. 



Why, all of you who own bees are l)ee keepers. You 

 are adding to the wealth of our own, our native 

 land. It makes me feel good all over to think of it. 

 Have you made any money in the business? Vet- 

 eran bee-keepers are discussing whether it pays to 

 keep bees. Who among you will solve the prob- 

 lem? J wish you all had money in jour pockets. 

 Did you ever hear of its burning a hole in them? 



Now I want to ask a favor of you all. It is spring 

 now. Take an inventory of your stock— how many 

 colonies you have, what they are worth; keep an 

 account of your expenses — hives, sections, etc.; 

 and when you have sold your honey, see how much 

 you sold it for, and how many pounds you had. If 

 you would sell your honey as Mr. Root told in last 

 Gleanings how to sell lettuce and radishes, I 

 should exiieet to hear that your bees paid, and that 

 you all have money in your i>ockcts, and shouting 

 to yo\n- mates, " I've got money! I made it myself 

 from my bees." Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, III., March, 1886. 



Many thanks, Mrs. II. Vour remarks are 

 just to the point, and I can heartily second 



all you say. We will try to put your sug- 

 gestions into effect. Will the juveniles 

 please take notice? At tlie close of tliis 

 season, to any little girl or boy who can send 

 in a good report as the proceeds of his own 

 work and ]i!s own bees, we will send one of 

 our large i)anpl chromos, and they are beau- 

 ties too. Now, some of the little folks have 

 no bees of their own, so I hope the parents 

 will help such by giving them a pound of 

 bees or a whole swarm, thereby cultivating 

 habits of enterprise and business at the 

 start. If the father has several children 

 interested in bees, let there be a stock com- 

 pany whose capital shall be a swarm of 

 bees. This will be something like the com- 

 pany of Jane Meek I't Brother, of whom 

 we read in Glkaninos. At the close of the 

 season, when one or more swarms have been 

 cast, the children can pay back the borrowed 

 capital, and, very likely, have enough bees 

 and honey left to fully pay them for their 

 season's work. 



Now, little friends, if you will tend right 

 up to business it will not be long before you 

 can say, "• I've got money, and I made it my- 

 self from my own bees." Yon will then rec- 

 ognize the value of this money, if you ever 

 did, and put it to some very good use. How 

 many young enterprising bee-keepers shall 

 we have? Who knows but that you may 

 outrival some of the best reports of the old- 

 er ones? Ernest. 



THE MOHAWK VALLEY. 



HOW TO MAKE HONEY CAKE. 



SAVING left my bees to the care of friends, 

 that I might spend the winter in this histor- 

 ic Mohawk Valley, I have thought the juve- 

 niles might be interested in hearing of this 

 part of the country. 

 Do you know that, thirty-nine miles from Albany, 

 is a cave culled Howe's Cave, a place of considera- 

 ble interest? The temperature inside is always ivy°. 

 This valley isquite remarkable as a great thorough- 

 fare between the East and the West. Many people, 

 and quantities of merchandise, i)ass through it dai- 

 ly. On either side arc the steep hills, covered with 

 evergreens and other trees, with bare rocks peei>- 

 ing out here and there. Following the road as it 

 winds up the hill we have a fine view of the valley 

 and the distant hills. At the left is the village of S. 

 Below is the wagon-road, and just beside it are the 

 double tracks of the West Shore R. R. Next is the 

 famous old Erie canal, along which, all summer, 

 maybe seen the horses dragging the odd-looking 

 boats through the water. 



On the decks nuiy be seen men, women, and chil- 

 dren, and sometimes the family washing is hung 

 out to dry as they go. In the winter the canal fur- 

 nishes skating and sleighing. Beyond the canal are 

 the flats, the rivci-, the four tracks of the N. Y. C. 

 R. R., where you can see a train at almost any time; 

 another wagon-road, and then the hills again; and 

 down these hills the streams leap and rush as 

 though they were, indeed, hurrying to the sea. 



The juveniles would find these streams, with their 

 rocky bottoms and i)retty falls, delightful places 

 for play. 



Back among the hills, and surrounded by them, is 

 a fall of water over ledges of rocks. Near by are 



