70-2 



GLEANII^GS IN I3P:E CULTURE. 



Sept. 



ly g-oofl health helps to make yood dispositions and 

 happy homes. I thhik something- as Mrs. A. does 

 about these daughters who sit in tiie parlor with 

 folded hands, or jierhaps employed with a little 

 Iciney-work. Help mother do up the Avork, and 

 then she ean iind time to sit down as woU as j'oii, 

 or perhaps she ean leax'e her work and wateli the 

 bees. It will do lier good, and you too; for do we 

 not receive a blessing in doing- good to others, and 

 trying- to make them hapjiy? Go about thy Mas- 

 ter's business; find something- to do. It may not 

 be in the kitchen, it may not be among- the bees; 

 but God has something- lor each one of us to do. 

 He is calling- thee; arise, and g-o forth, trusting- in 

 his word. 



IIUW TO PUT UP EXTUACTED HONEY. 



After reading- friend Tweed's experiments with 

 candied honey, on page 017, 1 must tell how 1- put 

 up honey to have it keep. My way is pretty much 

 the same as the one laid down iu the ABC book. 

 Sometimes I use bottles, but 1 prefer cans. When I 

 use bottles I have the corks tig-ht, and i)aste on 

 paper over the cork, letting- it come down over the 

 bottle i)retty avcH. I get my honey hot, but think 

 it is better not to boil it. I have kept honey in 

 this way from one to two years. I have put up 

 honey in this way for over ten years, and I never 

 fail to have good luck. Now as to the kind of hon- 

 ey; I did not know that it made any difference. I 

 have put up several kinds. Last year I put up 

 linden and I do not see why that was not as nice as 

 the other. Perhaps there way be, but I have never 

 put up any but that kept all right. 1 am inclined 

 to think it is more the way it is put up than in the 

 honey. Mas. Jennie M.Johnson. 



Rex ford's Flats, N. Y., Aug. U, ISSG. 



AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM AN 

 ABC SCHOLAR. 



A REMINISCENCE FKOM ONE WHO IS ACCUSTOMED 

 TO HOLD THE EDITOKIAL, HELM. 



§OME men i)refer to become somewhat ac(iuaint- 

 cd before I'eceiving an introduction; but I 

 shall proceed to introduce myself to your 

 many readers without further formality; and 

 after T g-et through the ceremony they will be 

 surprised to learn that so bright a light has been 

 concealed under so small a bushel for so long a time 

 without being- discovered. 



Some men were born great; others were born in 

 Ohio, and to the latter class I belong. Nearly forty- 

 five years ago I began to make trouble in this world 

 by being born in a log cabin, situated in the town- 

 ship of Hanover, Ashland County. At the age of 

 ten years my home was transferred to the broad 

 prairies of Illinois. I have made repeated visits to 

 the old farm, and of that particular locality the 

 poet expresses my feelings in the following lines: 

 I love thy rocks and rills. 

 Thy woods and tenii'led hills. 

 Y'es, indeed, I shall ever cherish the place of my 

 birth, and hold in sacred remembrance the hardy 

 pioneers who made that wilderness to become pro- 

 ductive, and a desirable place of residence. In 

 fact, I sometimes feel as if I could adopt the lan- 

 guage of the Habylonian captives when they ex- 

 pressed their deep longings to be released from 

 bondage and return to their beloved Zion. 



Was my father a beekeeper? Of course, he was. 

 Ani X a bee-kecpcr'i' Of course, I am. There, now, 



you have the secret at last, and can judge at once 

 what has constrained me to pen you these lines. 

 Uox hives were quite fashionable forty years ago, 

 with variations in style and size. My father made 

 a cupboard-shaped hive and put a swarm into it. 

 The colony clustered in one corner, built lots of 

 combs, but never swarmed, and never stored more 

 honey than they seemed to need for housekeeping. 

 Coming- to Illinois he adopted the new system, took 

 Gleanings, and ordered one of the first extractors 

 of you ever introduced into this community. 



In the course of time I caught the idea tliat I 

 could keep bees; but having a wholesome dread of 

 stings 1 delayed the attempt till some Ave or six 

 years ago. I then bought a colony in a chaff hive, 

 and have wintered a swarm in it successfully ever 

 since. The first season 1 attempted to secure comb 

 honey without putting- starters in the sections, 1 

 failed of course. I learned better, and now I be- 

 lieve I can run a small apiary as well as the next 

 man. But it re(4uircs study, experience, patience, 

 diligence, and a perfect knowledge of the charac- 

 ter, strength, and condition of every colonj', as well 

 as the nature of the season. I studied your A B C 

 book morning, noon, and night; I read all the bee- 

 literature I could get hold of, and I made personal 

 tests of ncai-ly every feature connected with the 

 art of bee-keeping. I became infatuated with my 

 bees— as much so as I was Avith telegraphy while ac- 

 quiring a knowledge of that mysterious mode of 

 communication; and even at this day, when the 

 novelty of tlie occupation has worn off, I am thor- 

 oughly imi)reg-nated with enthusiasm during the 

 honey season. 



I keep l)ees simply for exercise, recreation, and— 

 honey. This season I i)ut in my best licks on a 

 small scale. I had IT •olonies; worked them for all 

 they were worth, and realized my most sanguine 

 e.xpcctatious in comb and extracted honey. Besides 

 my own, 1 took care of the bees of a neighbor who 

 can not be at home; and between the two I was 

 kept more than busy during the swarming season; 

 for, perhaps, in the middle of a "heavy" editorial 

 the little boy would rush into the sanctum with 

 the pleasing announcement, " Bees are swarming!" 



Having ac(iuired the art of beekeeping and hon- 

 cy-i-aising, I am now engaged in working up a mar- 

 ket for the necttir, and am succeeding quite well. 

 In the first place, I advertise "judieiouslj'." But, 

 what is "judicious advertising- "■:r' some one may 

 ask. Well, in my ease it means to advertise in mij 

 paper. For bee-keepers, as a general rule, it may 

 mean to advertise in Gleanings; and so you see 

 every publisher of an advertising- medium might 

 feel inclined to define the meaning- of that phrase 

 so as to take in his own i)aper. 



He who with bees would thrive 

 Will either bust or advertise. 



Having advertised, results will follow in due sea- 

 son. Then give good weight and a i^urc article. 

 Strange it is, tliatso much prejudice exists against 

 honey. One customer said she wanted none made 

 of sugar; another would buy only one section be- 

 cause it might sour. It may require some time to 

 disabuse the people of these erroneous notions, but 

 I generally succeed after one fair trial. 



I Aveary your patience and croAvd your si)ace Avith 

 what may interest nobody, therefore I bid you God- 

 speed in your endeavors to benefit mankind by 

 sweetening- their lives physically and spiritually. 



NaperviUe, ll}., Aug. 6, im. D. B. Givler, 



