1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



697 



plant by the acre. It seems from the above, 

 and from what others liave Avritten in regard 

 to it, tliat a different treatment will be nec- 

 essary from that given to ordinary cnltivated 

 plants. 



A VISIT TO OLIVER FOSTER'S APIARY. 



FRIEND BRUBAKKH CilVKS US .\ PEN SKETCH OK IT. 



"Up FTBR two iiioiitlis of foiistaiit woi-k in the 

 9l^ apiary I was tlioroun'iiy tired. The dry 

 j^B' weather put a sudden stop to the honey-flow. 

 ■^^^ After Lasswood lilooni, and while the bees 

 were tattiufi- a little rest, I eonehided to take 

 a little iiliiy. I had written friend Foster a line, 

 stating' 1 was jidins' to the east part of the State; 

 and as I would pass within a few miles of his apiary, 

 if agreeable 1 should like to stop olf and visit him 

 and sec his methods, etc. He not only informed 

 me, by Icttei-, that he would be pleast^d to have me 

 call, but also said he would meet me at the depot. 



On the2!tth of July 1 took the train at Ma.vwell, 

 and was soon speeding eastwardly over the fertile 

 prairies of our beautiful State. The effects of our 

 all-summer's drought were visible on all sides. 

 The pastures, instead of wearing a nuintle of green, 

 as is usual for this season of year, were all dried, 

 and " brown and seer." The dry beds of brooks and 

 streams, the wilted corn, the dried-up appearance 

 of gardens, and the many fires all along the ViO 

 miles I traveled, which had originated from sparks 

 from the engines igniting the dry grass, all plainly 

 told of the serious effects of the i)rotracted drought. 



Reaching Mt. Vernon at 10 r. .M. 1 took lodging at 

 the hotel, instead of going to friend Foster's. Aft- 

 er a sound sleep 1 was up at five, ready for a walk; 

 but the little city was all silent in sluuiber at this 

 early hour. Naught but the sound of the melan- 

 choly katydid, and a few low notes of birds were 

 heard to break the silence. A few minutes' walk 

 brought me to a point on the shady street where a 

 pleasant landscape was presented to the sight. 

 Nestling flown in a small valley in the midst of a 

 shady clump of trees, stood a cosy little house. To 

 the south, near bj-, stood a large number of hives, 

 arranged in blocks aixd alleys. Close by were the 

 work-shop and honey-house, all neatly iiainted. 1 

 recognized this at once as being " the place." 



On entering the apiary the first object that espe- 

 cially attracted my attention was a little girl-babi', 

 about two years old, standing nesir the corner of 

 the house, with little curls reaching down over her 

 little forehead, calling for ijaiui. 1 felt somewhat 

 disappointed when the timid little darling refused to 

 shake hands or enter into any conversation. It 

 was only a few seconds after when 1 introduced 

 myself to the " boss of the ranch," whom I found 

 in the shop, and in a very short time we were talk- 

 ing bees and honey and fl.xtures as if we had always 

 been accpiaintod. Mr. Foster is a young man, 2!', 

 full of vim, and a lover of his chosen occui)ation; 

 and, .iudging from the number and character of his 

 apiarian fixtures that he has invented, it is lasily 

 seen that he is possessed of more than ordinary in- 

 ventive genius. He has in his home a])iary :,';J,j col- 

 onies; and located about .5 miles north are 100 more 

 —in all, about ;J:i.5. Vp to date he had extracted 

 lO,tKIO lbs., and taken lOUO lbs. of comb honey; but, 

 like some more of us, he lost considerable honey by 

 not UavJHg every tliinw in rgadiuess (jujly curly 



enough. He has also sold and shipped 1»'6 nuclei, at 

 an average of #0.4:!, besides quite a good number of 

 queens by mail. After figuring up his profits men- 

 tally for a few moments, I was almost ready to be- 

 lieve what the landlord at the hotel had told me the 

 evening before, when, on inquiry as to whether he 

 knew a bee-keeper by the name of Foster, in the 

 town, " Yes," said he; " I knew him when he start- 

 ed in the business ten years ago, a poor boy, and 

 now he is making more clear money, I think, than 

 any other man in town." 



Whether this is strictly a fact or not, a glance at 

 his premises tells of prcsperity ; and while he works 

 hard to make it win, I was led to think, while in his 

 little home, "No wonder his business is i)rosper- 

 ing." WMien, at the beginning of the day's labor, 

 though a very busy time, the Uible, that best of 

 books, was taksn from the stand, and from its holy 

 pages a chai)ler was read, and an humble invoca- 

 tion asked of the Dispenser of all blessings. How 

 coulll it well be otherwise than that, with hard woi-k 

 and the blessin^isof Heaven, a man should prosper':* 

 1 think I never saw so numy colonies together, 

 where all were so uniformly a fl?ie type of Italians. 

 I left, much bcnetited by my visit, and ahniist miss- 

 ed my train in the evening for having been absorb- 

 ed in conversation with friend F. 



I nuist quit now, short off. 1 hope no one will 

 think hard for my giving my friend such a friendly 

 notice. 



So far as 1 have been able to learn, honey is sell- 

 ing at about 10 cents for extracted, and 12'2tol.5 

 cents for line pound section honey. 



Ma.vwell, Iowa, Aug. U, ISSO. D. E. IJutJBAKER. 



^laiiy thanks, friend B. We have enjoyed 

 every word of your account of your visit, 

 from tlie ciirly-iipaded little girl to the time 

 yon almost missed tlie train; and especially 

 that pari of your talk wlieie you mention 

 friend Foster's taking down the Bible at the 

 beginning of eacli day's work. 



EOUL EROOD, AND ITS MANAGEMENT. 



UIKECTIONS FHO.M I'UOE. M' LAIN, OF THE U. S. 

 APICULTURAL, STATION. 



K. E. R. ROOT:-Your father told me last 

 week that you were having some trouble 

 with foul brood. I told him that 1 would 

 send a prescription for the cure of foul 

 brood, and also a prescription for use as a 

 preventive. 



Take of soft water, o pints; vi dairy salt, one pint. 

 Use an earthen vessel. Raise the temperature to 

 80° F. Do not exceed m\ Stir till the salt is thor- 

 oughly dissolvctl. Now add one pint of warm soft 

 water in which has been thoroughly dissolved four 

 tablespoonfuls of bicarbonate of soda (use the crys- 

 tal). Stir thoroughly. Add to this mixture suffi- 

 cient sugar or hon(!y to sweeten it, but not enough 

 to perceptibly thicken it. Now add '4 oz. salicylic 

 acid. Merritt & Co., of Cincinnati, nuike a pure sal- 

 icylic acid from the oil of wiiUergreen (Ivonk's 

 solution of salicylic acid No. 1). Mi.v thoroughly. 

 Let this mixture stand for two hours, when it be- 

 comes settled and clear. 



Tri:atiiwiit.—i?\mkv the bees from the combs, and 

 exti-act as clean as i)ossible. Now thoroughly 

 atpiuize the combs, visiug the mixture and a large 



