422 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 



late, thinking- she could feed them through the win- 

 ter if they hadn't enough ; but the poor little fellows 

 didn't like her food, and they all starved. She fed 

 them on syrup and sugar. Pa always makes syrup 

 of the best white sugar to feed his bees; but she 

 thought she would make hers cat sale syi-up. Pa 

 fed his bees a great deal of rye flour this spring 

 when he first set them out; he said that it would 

 keep the strong swarms from robbing the weak 

 ones. Alta Bisbee. 



Lyle, Minn., May 3, 1884. 



Pretty good, my little friend Alta. I guess 

 we shall have to get you little folks to keep 

 up the column of Blasted Hopes for us. 



HOW CARL AND HIS PAPA GOT THEIR FIRST SWARM 

 OF BEES. 



June 16, 1883, while papa and I were plowing corn, 

 we saw a swarm of bees coming toward us. Wo 

 threw dirt, and shouted until we got them settled, 

 and then got some hives that papa had made a year 

 or two before, and hived them. Papa can just 

 scrape them off with his hands, and pick them up 

 with his fingers, and not get stung, but I can't. The 

 next winter we had three swarms, but one died dur- 

 ing the winter. In the fall of 1883 we had seven 

 swarms, but now have but five. We keep our bees 

 in the milk-room in the barn. Papa is a dairyman. 

 C. Carl Osbukn, age 12. 



Irvington, Ind., May 13, 1884. 



" POLLY COLOGNE" AND "ARISTOTLE." 



My papa has 5 swarms of Italian bees. Two 

 swarms were destroyed by the rats during the win- 

 ter. I wish we had more bees. I like to help tend 

 to them. Bees do not like any one who smokes or 

 chews; but my papa is strictly temperance, and 

 likes bees, so they like him. He has a smoker and 

 nice hives, so he doesn't often get stung. I have a 

 pet kittie named Polly Cologne, and 1 had a chicken, 

 "Aristotle," but a hawk flew down one day and 

 took it away. My brother Carl and I have a straw- 

 berry patch and some raspberry bushes. I am the 

 youngest of the family, and am seven years old. 

 M. Grace Osburn. 



Now, Grace, that was really too bad that a 

 hawk should have the audacity to comedown 

 and fly away with Aristotle. By the way, 

 what beautiful handwriting you two children 

 give us ! I suppose ('arl, who wrote the 

 lirst letter, furnished the penmanship for 

 both, did he not? 



STAYING AWAY FROM SCHOOL TO CATCH QUEENS. 



Well, Uncle, as I had to stay at home from school 

 to-da.-s' to help catch queens, I thought I would 

 trouble you with another letter, and tell you about 

 jniffing the smoke down in the hive, and driving the 

 (luccn out. She arose and flew as far as I could see 

 her. In about ten minutes she returned to the hive. 



Well, I have just got home from DeKalb Co., on a 

 visit to see my brother and sister-in-law, and their 

 little baby. I guess I can brag some too, as well as 

 you about Huber. This baby is a somewhat rosy- 

 posy, double-dimpled fellow. I would pinch him on 

 the chin, and he would open his mouth like a young 

 bird when its mother comes to feed it, and laugh at 

 me. JosiE Davidson. 



Pisgah, Ala., May 23, 1884. 



Now, Josie, I do not know whether that 

 is just the thing to do, or not. Here in the 

 factory, almost every day some boy or girl 



wants to stay out of school to work for me ; 

 but, no matter how badly I need a boy or 

 girl, and no matter liow badly they want to 

 work, I always It'll them I can not do it, for 

 I never could feel like asking God to bless 

 our place of business, if it took boys and 

 girls away from school. Don't let any thing 

 stand in the way of your education, little 

 friends. Remember what the good Book 

 says: 



Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wis- 

 dom; and with all thy getting, get understanding. 



SWARMING-TIME. 



We started this spring with three stands, a brown 

 hive and two white ones. I was at our grindstone, 

 and heard a low roaring noise. I looked up, and 

 saw the bees coming out in a cloud, and I knew they 

 were swarming. I put on my hat, and went and 

 told pa, and he came home, and fixed the bees in a 

 hive. That was the 0th of May. The next came on 

 the 17th. Pa did not put oil cloth on the frames to 

 confine the bees below, and so they bunched up in 

 one corner of the hive at the top. After a while, 

 when I went into the garden, just as I got before 

 the hive, the bees all came pouring out in a cloud, 

 and I went upstairs and told pa they were running 

 away. He came down, and had considei-able trouble 

 getting them back in the hive. He made a cage for 

 the queen, but he didn't catch her, for they saw her 

 disappear through the door of the hive. Pa put a 

 piece of oil cloth on the frames the last time. He 

 said he thought that swarm would be pretty cross, 

 for one bee stung him over the eye, and it swelled 

 shut, and the other eye nearly shut. This morning 

 the swelling commenced going down, and now it has 

 opened enough for him to see pretty well. He has 

 got a hive ready for the next swarm. 



Herbert Bowers, age 12. 



New Ross, Ind., May 18, 1884. 



SWARMING ON SUNDAY. 



All the rest of the family had gone to Sabbath- 

 school, and left the baby and me at home. Papa is 

 superintendent of the school. I was to give the 

 alarm of the bees swai'ming. The signal was to 

 blow an alto band-horn. I sat upstairs writing and 

 reading, and now and then looking out to see if the 

 bees were swarming. At last they came. The sig- 

 nal was given, but unheard at Sabbath-school. So 

 I went to work settling them and looking for papa 

 every minute. After a while they began to settle 

 on a sassafras bush. I went for a sheet; but before 

 I returned it was weighted to the ground. I put the 

 sheet up close, set the hive on it, and fixed it ready 

 for the bees. By this time almost all of the bees had 

 settled. The next thing was to shake oft' the bees, 

 Avhich was done nicely, and they began to go in. I 

 was proud as I ever was in mj' life. At last the 

 children and mamma came, but all the bees were in 

 but about a pint, and they were going in. Papa 

 had stayed at church. The bees have gone to work, 

 and seem as well contented as any of the new col- 

 onies. Frank W. Hunt, age 13. 



Chattanooga, Hamilton Co., Tenn., May 22, 1884. 



Friend Frank, I have heard it said that 

 bees take particular pains to swarm on Sun- 

 day, in preference to any other day. Of 

 course, that is only a notion ; but some way 

 it seems soiiictimes as if the bees had a fond- 

 ness for swarming Sundays, and that, too. 

 Just about churcli time, 



