666 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



doing- well, he ses ho is a going to got a uothcr ital- 

 ion queen. Er.,izzEBUTH. 



Tliank you, '' elizzebuth." lam sure no 

 one will doubt that you were an eye-witness, 

 as wo cull them, ot all that you report for 

 the press. I will say for your encourage- 

 ment, that your letter is no worse than the 

 average juvenile letters. With our present 

 system of spelling it is a wonder that the 

 little folks do as well as they do. Ernest. 



JAPANESE BOYS AND GIRLS. 



IIV ONE WHO HAS BEEN AMONG THEM. 



R. KOOT:— After eonsidoruble wandering wo 

 have settled down to a quiet country homo 

 in a small town. The seminary which I at- 

 tended in Reading will be removed hero 

 next autumn, when 1 shall attend it ag-ain. 



Since coming- here my brother thought ho would 

 like to keep bees; but as ho has had no experience 

 whatever in that line, could you please recommend 

 a book for him to i-ead, or give him a little advice 

 how to go about starting? Ho is very anxious to 

 keep bees, but I don't think he has over been in an 

 apiary or seen much about bees. 



My thoughts often revert to Japan, and I think 

 of the .jolly times the boys and girls there are hav- 

 ing during- this season. About a montli ag-o was the 

 time for their temple festivities; and though June 

 is the month for general wot weather, regardless of 

 rain they celebrate their religious holidays with 

 great zeal. Great carts drawn by oxen, and some- 

 times men, are festooned with various paper doco- 

 i-ations in the form of fringes and scenery; and 

 Japanese idols, with hideous faces, are taken 

 through the streets. A band with drums, bamboo 

 flfes, and violins, is usually found on the cart, and 

 by its music (?) draws crowds of eager children wlio 

 shout at the top of their voices, all tog-ether niaking- 

 a very noisy procession. Hug-e casks of wine, jn-o- 

 fusely decorated, or small temples arc borne on 

 men's shoulders through the streets, preceded by 

 priest.:,, who ask alms as they pass. Everj' one, in 

 whatever circumstances he may he, is expected to 

 contribute something-, and also to be dressed in a 

 new suit of clothes. The Christians often got into 

 difflculty in that way, and the house of one of our 

 converts was damaged considerably because he did 

 not give any money to the priests.* The little boys 

 pi-ocure smaller casks, and carry them about in a 

 wild manner, trying as best they can to imitate their 

 drunken seniors by loud talking and foolish ges- 

 tures. • 



Large, fierce-looking wooden dragon-heads, with 

 long draperies of coarse g-reen cotton, are some- 

 times taken through the city. They, tof), are fol- 

 lowed by long- processions of men, women, and 

 children, some of the latter Ijnding employment in 

 fanning- the "dragons" witli paper fans or tufts 

 of feathers or hair. Von can imagine that the 

 youngsters enjoy these exciting- times. But a far 

 pleasanter way, to us, is practiced aliout the middle 

 of July, on the evening of the second Saturday aft- 

 er the Fourth, when the government has public 

 fireworks displayed on the river S running- 

 through Tokio. On this occasion many boats full 

 of people assemble on the river; other persons 

 watch'the works from the tea-houses on its banks, 

 while the streets are crowded with the poorer classes. 



The fireworks are well worth expending a little 

 money on. They appear in various beautiful shapes, 

 and are l)rilliantly illumined. The lookers-on 8eem 

 to appreciate them fully, for loud shouts of ap- 

 plause, which can be heard for several miles, follow 

 every especially attractive form. 



Ada M. Krecker. 



Fredericksburg, Pa., July 30, 188(5. 



Every boy or grirl, under 15 



years of upe, who writes a 



letter for this tlepartiiient, containing 



SOME VALUABLE FACT, NOT GENERALLY 

 KNOWN. ON BEES OR OTHER MATTERS, 

 will receive one of David Cook's excel- 

 lent 'five- cent Sunday-school books. 

 Many of these books contain the same mat- 

 ter that you find in Sunday-school hooks 

 costing from 81.00 to 81. .lO. If you have had 

 one or more boolcs, give us the names that we 

 may not send the same twice. We liave now 

 in stoclc si.\ ditt'erent books, as follows; viz.: 

 Slieei- Off, The Giant - Killer, The Roby 

 Family, Rescued from Egypt, and Ten Nights in 

 a Bar-Room. We have also Our Homes, Part I., and 

 Our Homes, Part II. Besides the above boolcs, you may have a 

 photograph of our old house apiary, taken a great many years 

 ago. In it is a picture of myself. Blue Eyes, and Caddy, and a 

 glimpse of Ernest. We have also some pretty little colored 

 pictures of birds, fruits, (lowers, etc., suitable for framing. 

 You can have your choice of anyone of the above pictures 

 or books for every letter tliat gives us some valualjle piece of 

 information. 



" A chlel's amang ye takin' notes; 

 An' faith, he'Jlprentit." 



fllE last time. I told you how a bee talks 

 and scolds folkr. ; but how do you sup- 

 pose they talk to each otherV This is 

 a question that big folks have tried to 

 solve, and I don't think they really 

 know to a certainty yet. But bees do talk 

 among themselves somehow or other — per- 

 haps not talk, exactly, but they make them- 

 selves understood. For instance, a bee has 

 just found a great chunk of honey in the 

 kitchen. After tilling himself up full he 

 goes home ; and when he comes back he will 

 bring a lot of others, and these others in 

 turn will tell the rest of the bees, until by 

 and by the whole colony, if there is honey 

 enough, will become wild, and iinally the 

 whole apiary. Now, how do tlie bees tell 

 each other that there is something awful 

 nice over there in Jones's kitchen, and that 

 they can get the ill-gotten sweets without 

 the sweat of their little browsV I want you 

 little folks to tell me how they manage to 

 tell eacli other. Some of the big folks say 

 that tliey cross their feelers (those kind o' 

 horn-like things that stick out of the liee's 

 head), and that, having done that, they 

 seem to understand. iJid you ever see a 

 young bee come in the hive with his lirst 

 load of pollen or honeyV How he will wag 

 his little body in the center of a circle of 

 bees! lie acts just as though he \Vere tick- 

 led all over, like your little puppy dog when 

 he wags liistail so hard as to shake his whole 



