BlOGKAl^IIIES OF NOTED BEE-KEEPERS. 



was so sufcessfiil tlierewitli that wliok' apiaries 

 passed tliroiiu'li tlie season witliout a sing-le swarm. 



In 18t>l, at liis country's call lie tqok up the life of 

 a soldier, abandoiiinji' wliat was then the most ex- 

 tensive hec-liusiness in the country. He enlisted as 

 a prixate in Compaii>' 1), 1st Rejiiment TJ. S. Shar|i- 

 shooters, and ad\'anced to the position of captain. 

 His record shows that the position was fairly and 

 honorably earned by his bravery. Three times he 

 was wounded, and in 1864 was discharged from ser- 

 vice on account of disability from his wounds. His 

 army life broke down his health so com])letely that, 

 for two years, the ijuestion of his life was one of 

 g'reat uncertainty. However, he took uij bee-keep- 

 ing- witli his old-time zest. Wide awake to tlie mat- 

 ter of improvements, always on the lookout for any- 

 thing- better, a trial of movable frames soon con- 

 vinced him they wei-e indispensable, the new Quiu- 

 by hive being- adopted. The i)roblem of preventing- 

 increase engaged his deepest attention. Every de- 

 vice heard of or thought of was tried, only to lie 

 condemned, until he settled down upon the ])lan of 

 removing- the queen at swarming time. 



After a good many years' experience with out- 

 door wintering, witli different hives, with and with- 

 out packing, he was forced to the conclusion that 

 I he severity of his winters made outdoor wintcriiij;- 

 a risky business, and he aliandoned it. Althoufih 

 more generally known as a producer of comb hon- 

 ey, he was one of the first to use the extractor, and 

 considers it a great boon to bee-keepers. He be- 

 lieves in producing honey of wliatever kind and in 

 whatever style the market demands. Two yeai-s be- 

 fore the date of Wagner's patent he began experi- 

 menting- with comb foundation, entering- into the 

 matter with great entliusiasm. To prevent the 

 foundation from sagging, lie tried, in turn, cloth, 

 paper, and wood, as bases. None of these were sat- 

 isfa(;tory. and finally, in 1875, he experimented with 

 wire. The ditticulty of impressing sheets of wax 

 with wire imbedded, without laying bai-e tlie wires in 

 some places, suggested to him the feasibility of hav- 

 ing the ba.se tlat instead of rhomboidal, as in natural 

 comb. Perhaps he was led to this partly fioni 1 he 

 fact that, several .years jjrevious, Mr. Quinli>- and he 

 liad made complete ct)nib of thin metal coated with 

 wax; and lie was the more ready to adoi)t this, be- 

 cause, in his experiments with metal combs, the bees 

 had used the cells with tlat base. Having- abstained 

 from the use of foundation in raising comb honey on 

 account of the objectionable "fishbone," he now 

 saw that, with flat-bottom foundation, he could keep 

 up his well-earned reputation for producing comb 

 honey of the finest quality; for witli such founda- 

 tion the finished product had a base even wore deli- 

 cate than that jii-oduced wliolly by the bees. Upon 

 tills invention the captain secured a patent, covering- 

 all kinds of wire supports for foundation, including 

 wired frames. He receives a royalty upon Hat-bot- 

 tom foundation from the manufacturers, Messrs, J, 

 Vandeusen & Sons; but the very valuable u.se of 

 wired frames is fi-eely given to the public; and for 

 this, grateful recognition should be cheerfully grant- 

 ed to the inventoi-. 



Captain Hethei-ington is an excellent mechanic, 

 making all his own supplies, extractors, box-making 

 inachines, etc., even to the dozen or more wlieelbar- 

 rows used in his diffeient ajjiaries. At the Centen- 

 nial, his exhibit took the first prize. Previous to 

 this he had made a large shipment of comb honey to 

 England — no such extensiv(> shijiment. f)i-obably. 



having been made before. His bees have t>een in- 

 crea.sed to al)out3tK)0 colonies, kept in some foui-teen 

 apiaries, from two to twelve miles distant from his 

 home. He hii-es the ground and takes all care of the 

 bees, \isiting them as often as nia.\' be necessary, 

 whethei- his \isits be two days or two weeks apart, 

 although in the busy season it is a rare thing that 

 i each apiary is not visited each week. In the fall, all 

 tlie bees are hauled home, weighc<l. e(iualized in 

 stores, and prei)ared foi- winter. 



Capt. H. was one of the founders of the New York 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association, at that time called 

 Northeastern, and, aftei- Mi-. Quinby's death, was its 

 president. He was one of the original members of 

 the National Society, and was one year elected presi- 

 dent, an honor which he declined, on account Of 

 poor health. 



CAPT. .1. E. HETHEKINOTON. 



The captain's ))ersoiial appearance is in keeping 

 with his titk', tall and ct)nimanding. He is an ear- 

 nest tenii)erance worker, an officer and worker in 

 the Sabbath-school, which his children— two boys 

 and a gii-1— attend, and is a regular attendant of the 

 Presbyt(>rian church, of which his wife is a member. 

 He has a dislike for notoriety-, and some have an im- 

 pression that, like a turtle in its shell, he holds him- 

 self .sullenly aloof, keeping valuable secrets to him- 

 self. Nothing can be furthei- from the fact. He is 

 remarkably genial and social, and has no secrets of 

 any kind pertaining- to bee culture that he would not 

 gladly g-ive to any one whom they might benefit. Tt 

 is to be regretted that so little is seen from his i)en. 

 Possessed of an easy and ))leasant style, and with an 

 experience exceptionally t^xtensive, whatever he 

 does write is of value, and it is to be hoped that he 

 may give fuller scope to his gift in that direction. 



