1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



the sunlig-ht stream in. I can hardly get her to 

 open up the pai-lor as much, in the summer time; 

 but then we do not sit in there a great deal. If I 

 remember rightly, your house is built on something- 

 the plan of mine, so as to give as great a chance as 

 possible for light in each rot)m. ]f I count correct- 

 ly, the carpenter had IS corners to tuin in boarding 

 around the outside of the lower stoi'y of our house. 

 This costs more than a more square style; but it 

 can be made more healthj- and pleasant. We like 

 shrubs and flowers in abundance, but will have no 

 trees where they will keep the sun from any win- 

 dow. We have blinds on them all, but we try not to 

 make a bad use of them. One need not live directly 

 in the rays of the sun. It is enough if the sunlight 

 comes into the room freely during at least a part 

 of every pleasant day. 



Seeing you pi'css me, friend Root, for my opinion 

 about gasoline-stoves for kitchen use, I must say 

 that I think there is some risk in their use; very 

 little, perhaps, if they are always properly used; 

 but there is the rub. "To err is human." A good 

 lady living in my town wrote to her insurance com- 

 pany once for permission to use gasoline in her 

 house. The reply was, "If you wish to take the 

 chances of becoming an angel suddenly, we do not 

 object." One thing is certain: There are accidents 

 from their use almost daily, while such an oil-stove 

 as the Monitor I believe to be perfectly safe in any 

 hands, if a high grade of oil is used. The manufac- 

 turers assured me they had never known of a single 

 explosion, although they have sold hundreds of thou- 

 sands during the last 13 years. From the make-up 

 of the stove one can readily believe this. There- 

 fore I bought a Monitor oil-stove instead of a gaso- 

 line. It is a very little more trouble, as one has 

 wicks to see to; but it docs its work well. And then 

 we all want oil in the house any way, to burn in 

 lamps, and it's an unnecessary trouble and expense 

 to have two kinds of bnrning fluid. I presume you 

 keep them to sell, friend K., and so would not think 

 of this. With me it would make quite a dllference. 

 In all probability you will never have any acci- 

 dent from the use of gasoline; but you mny have, 

 and I think you are more likely to have than from 

 the use of oil. But perhaps I am over careful. 



Hudson, Ohio, Sept., 1886. T. B. Tkiirv. 



Friend T., your suggestions in regard to 

 sunlight bring to lifind my recent hobby of 

 greenhouses, cold frames, etc. For several 

 years back, for .some reason unknown to 

 myself, I have craved sunshine. When I 

 am reading or writing 1 am never so iiappy 

 us when the sini happens tt) strike on my 

 bald head; and ^^hen 1 felt so strongly 

 drawn toward the sid)ject of greenliouses a 

 year or two ago I could not explain it, only 1 

 knew that I felt happy on a winter's day to 

 get right under the full blaze of God's great 

 luminary. Is it not true, that Nature her- 

 self often prompts us to tliese queer likes 

 and dislike.sV I want to l)e in the sunshine 

 witli my coat off — yes, hat olf too ; and if it 

 were not for the appearance I shoulil make 

 in public I do not know but that I would go 

 bareheaded a great part of the time in sum- 

 mer when outdoors.— In regard to the many 

 angles which yon speak of in our houses, I 

 used to object to it, often quite vehemently ; 

 but since your suggestion, that these angles 

 give us more windows ior each room, and 

 windows facing toward the dillerent points 



of the compass, that we may liave more air 

 and more sunlight, I begin to feel quite rec- 

 onciled to the idea. There are live differ- 

 ent openings in our bed-room, for Ihetn- 

 tranceof fresh air ; and air is i)assiiig in and 

 out of all these openings the greater part of 

 the year. My wife, like your wife, throws 

 the bed-clothing open totlie breeze and sun- 

 light every morning of the year; and the 

 unusually good health enjoyed by tlie liouse- 

 hold demonstrates that tlie practice is cer- 

 tainly not an injurious one. — In regard to 

 coal oil and gasoline, I thank you tor having 

 presented the subject to us. With my 

 wife's management I have no fear at all of 

 any explosion ; but Iluber lias ventured to 

 undeitake to inanii)ulate our gasoline-stove 

 a good many times. Once lie turned tlie 

 faucet of the large can that holds our supply 

 of gasoline ; but it was kept in a small stone 

 room on purpose to avoid accidents, so of 

 cotirse he did not do much harm. lie has, 

 however, once or twice turned the gasoline 

 on when the stove was not lighted ; and had 

 we not opened the doors and windows of the 

 room where the machine is placed, until the 

 fluid could evaporate and blow out, we 

 might liave liad a serious explosion. I begin 

 to tliink. from what you say we had Itetter 

 make a change at once in our household. 



MR. THOMAS HOKN. 



WHAT HE IS DOINO, AND A WORD OF ENCOUnAOE- 

 MKNT rOK niS CREDITORS. 



T PRESUME most of the sufferers by the 

 M above-named gentleman are aware tliat 

 W he does not answer letters, make any 

 '*' r( ply, nor do any thing, unless he is ab- 

 solutely obliged to. Well, the friend 

 who writes below suggests a means of mak- 

 ing him (and not only ]Mr. Horn but every- 

 one else who goes into a like " speculatitsn") 

 attend to business. 



Fn'oui Roo(:— As I wrote you some time since in 

 regard to my transactions with Thomas Horn, I 

 will now finish it after receiving so manj- promises 

 but no bees. I made a sight draft on Mr. Horn, and 

 inclosed the same with all of his letters to nie, and 

 sent them to an attorney in Sherburne. I also 

 wrote Mr. II., that, if he did not pay my draft or 

 send the bees, I woukl report him to the postofflce 

 authorities. He at once sent 6 frames of empty 

 comb. Thej'may have had some brood in when he 

 started them, but none when I received them. 

 There were about two pounds of live bees when 

 they arrived, and one pound of dead ones. He sent 

 one queen and four queen cells about ready to 

 hatch. T put them in two hives and gave a frame of 

 brood and honey to each, and have fed ever since. 

 That was August 1st. Now I have two fair swarms 

 that I think I can winter; they are finely marked 

 Italians. If Mr. Horn had sent in May, when he 

 cojitracted to, I think all would have been satisfac- 

 tory. M. McD.uNiKi.. 



Ft. Recovery, ()., Sept. ai, 1880. 



I did know tliat, under certain ciiciira- 

 stances, the U. S. postal authorities would 

 refuse to deliver mail to ])arties when en- 

 gaged in swindling (operations : but it didiTt 

 occur to me until ju.st now tliat we could 



