634 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



A JUVENILE invention; USING THE WHITE OP AN 

 EGG IN MAKING FDN. 



Our tOGS are working nicely. Papa got a Holy- 

 Land queen last week. It is doing well. Papa and 

 mamma made our first foundation last winter, and 

 it would stick in spite of all we could do. We tried 

 all that was mentioned. I was helping them ; and as 

 it kept sticking, I proposed to try the white of an 

 egg, and it worked well. Elbert A. Froscher. 



La Grange, Fla., Aug. 18, 188-t. 



Thank yon, my friend, for your valnable 

 hints and sup;gestions.— We are glad to liear 

 about the tree that bears cabbages. No 

 doul)t the wliite of an egg diluted witli wa- 

 ter will be found an excellent lubricator to 

 keep the wax from sticking to the founda- 

 tion-rolls. I am afraid it will take an awful 

 lot of eggs, however, in our establishment. 

 We use two or three barrels of starch a 

 year. Your suggestion, friend Elbert, was 

 a good one, and I am glad to hear it got you 

 out of yonr trouble. 



ALICE'S DESCRIPTION OF HIVING A 

 SWARM. 



WHAT THEY DID, AND WHAT THE BEES DID. 



f^ HERE was a good deal of fun about it. Not a 

 Bf great deal of fun either, but it was fun after 

 ^ all was over. We had all been raspben-ying; 

 and when we came home papa went out to 

 "our apiary" to see if all was well, and, to 

 his surprise, he found that No. 3 had swarmed. We 

 had just had a slight shower, and in looking around 

 he saw them in a large ball on a limb of a tall oak- 

 tree. Papa called me, and we all set about to hive 

 it. Papa climbed the tree, and my sister and I fixed 

 the hive and sheet. No sooner had the sawing com- 

 menced than the stinging began too. I was not 

 paying attention as I ought, and the shaking of the 

 limb, caused by the sawing, shook a good many bees 

 from the cluster, that came down right over my 

 shoulders. I didn't mind it just then, for the whole 

 limb came tumbling down on the sheet, and papa 

 came hurrying down the tree, and he, with mam- 

 ma's help, managed to get the bees out from his 

 shoes and from luider his hat. Contrary bees, that 

 they were! No sooner had we them in the hive 

 than they came right out and clustered on a small 

 branch suspended from a very large oue. Papa had 

 a ladder made by this time, and we attached a smok- 

 ing rag to the end of a long pole. Papa climbed the 

 ladder, and we smoked him well. Do tell us how 

 much your smokers are. We need one, I'm sure. 

 All went well this time, and we soon had those 

 naughty bees safely housed in their place. 



There are a few things which mamma wants me 

 to speak about especially. First, about our bees 

 fighting. They seem to fight together, members of 

 the same hive. Sometimes the alighting-board and 

 a good way around is almost covered with dead 

 bees. What is the cause? 



Basswood is not very good this year; at least, it 

 didn't bloom very well. 



Our cellar is not good. We were intending to 

 build this fall, but circumstances will not permit. 

 Papa wishes to know if you would think it advisa- 

 ble to build some sort of a little shed outside, and 

 put a couple of loads of straw on it, and ventilate it 

 well for the cold winters of Minnesota. 



Alice E. Redoute. 

 Alexandria, Minn., Aug. 10, 1884. 



I can not tell you why members of the 

 same hive should tight, Alice. xYie not the 

 hives so close together that the bees from 

 some other hive get in there by mistake?— I 

 would not advise any small structure for 

 wintering bees. Unless it is large enough to 

 hold forty or lifty swarms, they would prob- 

 ably be worse olf than outdoors, where they 

 would get some Ijenetit from the sun. Be- 

 sides, houses l)uilt outdoors, unless made 

 large, and at considerable expense, do not 

 do as well as cellars. See what the ABC 

 book has to say in this matter. 



A HEAVY LOAD TO CARRY. 



A NICKEL'S AVORTH OF HONEY. 



/^HILDREN, I have no money to-day, except a 

 1^ a nickel, and that has a history. Two boys 

 ^1 came yesterday four times for a nickel's 

 ^^ worth of honey. Now, there is neither profit 

 nor pleasure in selling a nickel's worth of 

 honey, except seeingthem enjoy eating it. They sit 

 down on the sidewalk under a shade-tree, dividing 

 it carefully, and smack their lips over it with such 

 keen relish. I went out to the honey-house for the 

 honey, and the boys went along. One of them called 

 out that the bees were after him, and ran into the 

 house. When I came into the house, and went to 

 put up the nickel, my porte-monnaie Avas gone. 

 These boys belonged in St. Louis, and probably took 

 a train immediately for there, soon after taking my 

 money. But, they took a load with them that they 

 will never be able to get clear of —not the porte- 

 monnaie, for they can throw that away, and spend 

 the money, but the load of a guilty conscience. 



I've been sorry for those poor boys all day, and 

 ))ray God to show them the error of their ways. 

 I've thought a great deal about bad boys lately. 

 Not my own, for I have none, but some boys that I 

 know, whose mother is in her grave. I expect to 

 pass through this world but once, and I must do my 

 duty while I am on the way, for I can not return to 

 perform what is undone. Cain said, " Am I my 

 brother's keeper?" And others say, " Let their 

 fathers take care of them." But if I do not make 

 an efl'ort, at least, to put them where they will be 

 taught what is right, Avill not God hold me respon- 

 sible? 



A dear friend of mine, Avhose children are all 

 grown, said to me lately, "I made a great mistake 

 in educating my children; and if it were to do over 

 again, I would do very difterently. I would edu- 

 cate the hand and head together. This thing of 

 giving the whole attention to books, and not doing 

 any real work until thi-ough school, is all wrong." 



Yeai's ago a boy was rich who owned a jack-knife; 

 and if he wanted a top, kite, or sled, he made it, and 

 enjoyed making such things much more than play- 

 ing with them. Now they are bought ready made. 

 Boys, when you have money enough to buy a sled, 

 invest it in a kit of tools, and make your own play- 

 things. If you Avant a swarm of bees, make a hive, 

 movable frames and all, and pick up potatoes, ordo 

 some kind of Avork, to earn a swarm to put in it. 

 And if you are going to use the honey at home, 

 make your own surplus boxes. You can do it if you 

 try. 



Mr. Root Avants Avork for the boys and girls of 

 Medina, Ohio, and Ave Avant Avork for the boys and 

 girls all over the United States. Do not run away 



