1888 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



639 



GEO. E. HILTON. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY MBS. HILTON. 



K. GEO. E. HILTON was boru In Bedford- 

 shire, England, Aug. 25, 1840. His parents 

 came to America in Oct., 18.51, and lived for 

 two years in Medina Co., O., in the towns 

 of Brunswick and Medina, and Royalton, 

 Cuyahoga Co. In 18.53 they moved to Berta, and 

 lived there until the fall of 1856, when they moved 

 to Hillsdale Co., Mich., and settled on a new farm 

 where his father and mother are still living- com- 

 fortably in their old age. 



Mr. Hilton did not like farm life, and at the age of 

 17 commenced to learn the building- business, com- 

 pleting his apprenticeship at 31. Long before this 

 he was attracted to bees, and found many swarms 

 in the woods of Southern Michigan, and always said 

 that, when he had a home of his own, he would have 

 "tame bees." 



GEO. E. HILTON. 



In the fall of 1870 he went to Missoviri, remauiing 

 5 years in Missouri and Kansas, except one summer 

 in Illinois, always following the business of con- 

 tracting and building. Aug. 16, 1876, found him at 

 Fremont, Mich., to superintend the building of the 

 union schoolhouse. In this town he married and 

 settled. His wife, learning- of his desire to keep 

 bees, made him a present of his first colony. He 

 bought another, and that was the " nucleus " of the 

 Red, White, and Blue Apiary. During the past few 

 years he has made rapid strides in bee culture, and 

 there is no one he gives more credit to for his success 

 than his friends A. I. Root and Prof. A. J. Cook. 



He now owns and has the raanagementof 235 colo- 

 nies of bees; and while he was not attracted to the 

 farm, he has always taken an interest in rural in- 

 dustries, having written for different agricultural 

 papers, and organized and is secretary of the " Ne- 



wago Co. Farmers' and Bee-keepers' Association" 

 of 70 members, and is president of the " Fremont 

 Progressive Bee-keepers' Association;" is also serv- 

 ing his second term as president of the Michigan 

 State Bee-keepers' Association. 



His mechanical abilities led him into the supply- 

 business until he finally gave up building, now 

 making bee-keeping and its auxiliaries a specialty; 

 but there is nothing pleases him more than conven- 

 tion work, believing it to be one of the best means 

 of receiving and imparting knowledge. Heisespe- 

 cially interested in bee-keeping for women, and is 

 this year contributing a series of articles, "The 

 First Year of Bee-keeping-," to the Housekeeper, 

 published at Minneapolis, Minn. 



Mrs. Lizzie Hilton. 



Fremont, Mich., July 5, 1888. 



I have so recently given sketches of friend 

 Hilton that I think it will not be necessary 

 to add any comments here, more than to 

 refer you to page 954 of our issue for Decem- 

 ber 15, 1.^87, and also to page oKi, April 1, of 

 the present year. The latter contains the 

 letter from friend Hilton after he had chosen 

 Christ Jesus for his leader and guide. In 

 this latter decision, we are glad to know 

 that his wife stands with him, and will stand, 

 without donbt, while they flght life's battles 

 till the shining shore shall welcome them. 



REMOVING SUKPLUS HONEY. 



what time of day is best? blowing smoke in 

 the entrances; is it necessary? 



HAT time of day is best for removing- surplus 

 from the hive? In the middle of the day, 

 when the bees are at work, does it make 

 any difference? If it does, as I have but 

 a few I will try to accommodate them. In 

 using- a smoker, should the smoke be introduced at 

 the entrance of the hive, or only at the top? I nev- 

 er saw more than one man handle bees in what I 

 suppose was a scientific manner, and that was the 

 man of the " Golden " bee-hive. He always smoked 

 (when I saw him) at the entrance, but I have thought 

 it aroused them unnecessarily. I never have notic- 

 ed any opinion on these points expressed in the A 

 B C or Gleanings. Those minor matters are often 

 useful to beginners. Tho.mas A. Maskkll. 



Haimersvillo, N. J., July 20, 1S88. 



As to the best time for removing honey 

 during the day, it depends somewhat on the 

 time of year you propose doing it. If nec- 

 tar is coming in fast enough to prevent 

 robbing, the surplus may be removed any 

 time during the tlay when it is most conven- 

 ient. If it is left in the hive J/ill the honey- 

 rtow has stopped, and, as a consequence, the 

 bees are disposed to rob, it would be better 

 for beginners to remove the honey just about 

 dark— that is, when the bees have stopped 

 flying. It can be done early in the morning 

 if the apiarist gets up early enough ; but as 

 bees are pretty early risers, the evening is 

 better. If the honey season is over, and the 

 hives have not been examined, or the bees 

 have not had an opportunity to get at sweets 

 recently, a considerable quantity of surplus 

 may be removed before they know any thing 

 about it, providing care is used in placing it 

 all under cover immediately. 



