1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTDEE. 



275 



made. Your way it would be so easy for the 

 boys to get in for a taste; but my plan makes 

 it pretty hard to open the jug without letting 

 folks know it. Don't you see V 



THE SWARM OF YELLOW BEES THAT ELLA AND HER 



PAPA AND MAMMA FOUND WHILE GOING TO 



CHURCH. 



We have six colonies of bees. We were going to 

 church one Sunday last summer. About a mile from 

 home we found a swarm of bees clustering on a limb 

 of an oak-tree, right above the road, so we had to 

 stop. Papa went home and got a hive and hived 

 them. They are yellow bees, and are doing well. 

 Papa likes his hive quite well that he got of you. 



Meadville, Pa., Mar. 24, 1884. Ella M. Kebort. 



You see, Ella, if you hadn't been going to 

 church that Sunday morning you wouldn't 

 have found those bees. I hope you started 

 early enough so that taking care of the bees 

 didn't make you very late for church. 



SUBSTITUTE FOR THE HILL DEVICE. 



My papa has 30 colonies of bees. Most of them 

 are in chaff hives. He did not pack them for win- 

 ter until it began to get cold, and then he neglected 

 to put on most of them the Hill device. Some time 

 afterward, on a mild day, he took out the Hill de- 

 vice to put them on, but he found that the bees had 

 built numerous little wax props, which held the 

 packing off the top of the frames, thus affording 

 ample winter passages, so he did not have to put on 

 the Hill device. Minnie Davidson. 



Friend Minnie, I have often seen the quilts 

 or pieces of old carpet raised up in the way 

 you mention ; where that is the case, I think 

 it will do just as well as the Hill device. 



HOW ELLA WROTE THE BEST ESSAY OF THE TERM. 



Every two weeks at school we write essays, and 

 one time I wrote on bees, and the superintendent 

 said it was the best production he ever read in that 

 room. Last summer mamma saw a swarm of bees 

 going by, and Frank threw dirt at them, and made 

 them settle, and papa hived them. Papa extracted 

 about 1000 lbs. of honey last season. Papa raises 

 queens every year for sale. A sting does not swell 

 much on me; but one made my sister very siek. I 

 help papa make foundation. 1 trimmed the edges 

 of the sheets while he made more. I used to help 

 him extract honey also. Ella EdmIston, age 10. 



Adrian, Mich., March 23, 188t. 



A couple of letters from THE FARIS CHILDREN. 



Grandpa has about 100 colonies; he has some 

 American hives, but doesn't like them as well as 

 some of his own invention. He thinks they are bet- 

 ter than any he ever saw. He is experimenting 

 with reversible frames. If he is successful, you 

 may hear from him, as he gets some of his supplies 

 from you. Ona Faris. 



Carroll ton, Md., March 29, 1884. 



1 should like to see you, and see your machinery 

 at work. I am afraid of bees, but like honey. 1 like 

 to see grandpa at work with his bees, but I don't 

 know much about them; but I should like to ride 

 your baby In my wagon. E. M. Faris. 



Carrollton, Md., March 19, 1884. 

 Friend E. M.. Huber has got a little red 

 wagon of his own, and on the front of it is 

 painted "Hubie." He has also a carriage 

 to ride in, but he likes the wagon better, 

 even if it does jolt and make his little teeth 

 rattle, what there is of them. If any of the 

 family will just say, " Go ride, ride, in wag- 

 gle V" you will see him jump up in a minute, 

 and it will be all mamma can do to hold him 

 quiet long enough to put on his things. It 

 does not make any difference whether it is 

 night or day, or whether it rains or shines, 

 he is just as happy to go out and ride. 



HOW TO seal up MAPLE MOLASSES. 



This is my first letter. My pa has 7 hives of bees. 

 He did not lose any this winter. I have been help- 

 ing him in the sugar-camp. I will tell you how we 

 seal our molasses. We put it in jugs, and dip the 

 corks in molasses, and it keeps just as well as if it 

 were sealed with wax. Charley Grate. 



Yale, Portage Co., O., Mar. 20, 1884. 



Friend Charley, it seems to me the syrup 

 that would stick to the cork would do pretty 

 well. However, I do not think it would be 

 as serviceable as good stout cement put 

 around the cork when the molasses is first 



GOLDENROD HONEY. 



My brother bought a swarm of bees last winter, 

 and got five swarms from it. We teok up two 

 swarms, as they did not have enough honey to keep 

 them through the winter. The bees make a good 

 deal of honey from the goldenrod, which we think is 

 better than any other honey they make. Mamma 

 wants to know the best way to make wax. 



Mary L. Stillman. 



Hornellsville, N. Y., March 20, 1b84. 



Now, Mary, we think goldenrod is the 

 poorest honey, or, at least, our folks won't 

 buy it when it is a cent a pound cheaper 

 than the other. I suppose your ma wants to 

 know how to render wax. I think the wax- 

 extractors described in our price list are the 

 best things to use. 



jeannie's Plea for kindness instead of smoke. 



My father is a bee-keeper on a small scale. He 

 thinks he owes you very much for what he knows 

 about bees, through Gleanings. He has always 

 been very successful with his bees, getting larger 

 returns without loss, the hardest winters. He pack- 

 ed his bees under a shed, in dry sawdust and chaff. 



My father went into winter quarters the 2d of last 

 Nov., with ten swarms; hasten at this date. They 

 are all the product of one swarm since the first day 

 of May, 1883. We extracted from our bees last sum- 

 mer about 3 barrels of delicious honey, and left 

 plenty in hives to winter on; 30 lbs. left to the hive. 

 We use a Novice extractor, purchased at your man- 

 ufactory in 1881. It is just as good as ever, and has 

 given the best of satisfaction; besides, it was al- 

 most one-half cheaper than my pa could buy one for, 

 any place else. He got a Bingham smoker at the 

 same time, but we seldom ever use It. It is a good 

 one, but it makes the bees mad and cross. We pre- 

 fer to use gentleness and kindness. We think our 

 little pets appreciate kindness just as much as 

 people do, and we can not afford to ill treat such in- 

 dustrious and profitable little slaves as they are for 

 us. My pa says he got more stings the summer he 

 used the smoker than he ever did before or since. 

 I think it is a hard-hearted man who will kill and 

 tantalize his bees with smoke when kindness and 

 gentleness will do just as well, and cost nothing. 

 We keep the beautiful Italians, and they are by na- 

 ture kind and gentle themselves. Pa thinks I am 

 the best helper he has with his bees. 



Napoleon, O. Jeannie Fisher. 



