1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



3-19 



ALICE S REPORT. 



I have two bee-hives. I had one swarm to-ilay, 

 and that made me two. We have l.'i. Mamma has 8, 

 and grandma has 5. The bees feed here first on the 

 water-elm, which opens in Feb. After the water- 

 elm come the redbud, the eonimon willow, and the 

 plum. Our bees have been at work ever sinee Feb., 

 when the weather was so they could jcet out. Papa 

 is afraid of the bees. Sonu'times they make him 

 step around i)retty briskly-. We have now in bloom 

 some beautiful roses. We have the Simjilieity liive. 

 Grandma has had two swarms this year. 



Alice Robkuts, ajjc i:{. 



Brandon. Hill ( O., Texas, April ™'fi, ISS4. 



A COrPl.K OK LETTEKS FKOM WALTEH A.M> t LAltA. 



We have a honey-e.xtraetor, and I help turn it; 

 and when we take up honey, I carry in the frames. 

 My papa used to take rotten elm to smoke the bees, 

 but he once set a hive on tire by the sparks. We 

 had two swarms last fall, but two died this winter. 

 Walter A. Smith, age ft. 



1 stayed home fiom school to-day, and mamma 

 said I might write you a letter. We have 60 swarms 

 of bees, some Italians and some blacks. Papa likes 

 the black bees best. We have a wax-extractor, and 

 Mr. Hunt works up our beeswax into foundation. 

 We have sold 860 lbs. of honey, and we have 250 lbs. 

 left, and we eat honey every day. We have a large 

 hive that contains four swarms. We smoke the 

 bees with cotton rags soaked in saltpeter. We have 

 a baby that is two mouths old. We call him Elmer. 

 Is my letter good? Did you say >'esV Please send 

 me Ten Nights in a Bar-Room. 



(LAR.i L. Smith, age 8. 



Greenfield, Mich., March 10. 1884. 



I guess I (lid say yes, friend Clara, for we 

 sent the books some time ago, and here is 

 your letter in print. 



ANNA TELLS IS HOW HEH PA CIUCIMVENTEU THE 

 MICE. 



We keej) our bees on an east hill-side, neai' the 

 creek. They are sheltered from the storm and wind 

 by timber on the west side of thouL We don't use 

 an extractor. We get all our honey in one-pound 

 sections. Pa thinks from 40 to 60 lbs. per colony is 

 a very good yield for this part of the country. The 

 mice got into four of our hives; and if pa had not 

 seen where they got in they would have destroyed 

 them before we knew it; but he ojjened up the 

 hives the first warm day, and drove them out and 

 killed one of the mice, and stopped up all the hives 

 with strips of tin, nailed across the entrance so close 

 to the bottom-board that a mouse could not get 

 through. Anna B. McGkew. 



Milnersville, O.. March 7, 1884. 



GKACE S STOHV. 



It was in the fall when we were hanking the 

 house. I stood looking out of the window, and I 

 saw a little ball of fur on my brother's shawl. He 

 brought it in. I took it in my hand, wmidering what 

 it could be. Carley (that's my brother's name) told 

 me to put it under a fly-screen, in the warmth of 

 the stove. As I stood watching it I saw it unroll 

 its tail; pretty soon it put out one little foot, then 

 another, and another, until four little soft silk.v 

 paws came in sight. Then out came a little red 

 nose, and there were two little black eyes looking 

 around in wonder, thinking spring had come too 

 soon. He had little gray cars standing upright, and 



in all it made a pretty little mouse— a deer-mouse, 

 my mother told me. Then he began to be lively, 

 playing his little tricks, trying to get out from un- 

 der the screen. We fed him some bread crumbs, 

 thinking he might be hungry. After we had played 

 with him long enough, Carley put him out in the 

 cold again, and he rolled himself up again, winding 

 his tail around him like winding yarn around a ball. 

 After a while we placed him in cotton batting and 

 put him in a hollow tree. After two or three weeks 

 we dug into the tree to see what had become of our 

 strange pet. There had been a few warm days, and 

 he had crawle<l out. thinking spring had surely come 

 tliis lime. 1 regret to say we have lost him entirely. 

 (iUA< E |{. Wires. 

 Soutli\ ille. March '.», ]S,S4. 



WILL IJEES WOIUC IN DAVLKiHT/ 



1 am reading the children's letters. I see that 

 Andrew Holzer, page 12.">, has made a mistake where 

 he says that bees will not work in the light. Now, 

 this is a grand mistake, for we had an observatory- 

 hive sitting in our windows for about three months 

 last summer, with glass on either side, and they 

 worked as well as any bees. We could see the 

 queen in the act of laying, and could see the young 

 bees crawling out of the cells. I would advise all 

 who think that bees will not work in the light, to 

 make an observatory-hive. 



J. A. Sheneman, age 11. 



Pharisburg. Union Co., O. 



Do not be in too great haste to censure, 

 friend 8. Although bees can be taught to 

 work in the light, they often show a strong 

 disposition to wax up apertures, and even to 

 cover sheets of glass so as to exclude the 

 light : so we have good reasons to tliink they 

 prefer darkness to light; but I guess it is 

 not because their deeds are evil, as it is witli 

 the human family. 1 am glad to know you 

 succeeded so weU'with your observatorv-liive. 



AUnCT THE BABV ()( TAVIA, ETC. 



We have got Octaxia's (our baby's) pictures taken. 

 I wish you would j)ut your baby's i>icture in the 

 children's department of Gleaninos. My papa re- 

 ceived his goods from you yesterday. He is un- 

 packing them to-day. This is not a good season for 

 bees; it is too rainy and cold. Papa has 40 hives of 

 bees. I help him all I can. 1 am 8 years old; broth- 

 er Dale is 5, and little Octavia is 'Z. Mamma says I 

 have not si>elled some of the words right; but 1 will 

 try to learn to spell better before 1 write again. 

 Mamma told me some of the big words. 



M. EuiTH Keenev. 



Quercus Grove, Switz. Co., Ind., April 28, 1884. 



8o, Edith, your baby's name is Octavia, is 

 it? 1 should be glad t() have Iluber's picture; 

 but you see, there isn't anybody in the world 

 smait enough to make a baby's picture just 

 as nice as the baby is himself. Did you ever 

 see a picture as nice as your V)aby V 1 am 

 glad your mamma is taking such pains to 

 have "you learn to spell. 



GEOHGIA AND THE SKIPS OF BEES. 



Pa has 17 skips of bees. 1 see they like to sip the 

 honey from the sunflowers and other plants. I have 

 one brother, and he has 10 skips of bees; he has just 

 begun to keeji bees. He is going to give me a skip 

 of bees. Ge(jkgia M.w Williamson. 



Covert, Seneca Co., N. Y., March 17, 1884. 



How funny it is, (Jeorgia, that people Imve 



