BIOGEAPIIIES OF NOTED BEE-KEEPERS. 



Vvliolc ten ico to one of tlie diftcrent apiarii's oacli 

 (lay, mukinfi- a sort of pii-iiic, and I'rturniug- at niglit. 

 Mr. F. lias not written iniieli for the press; but what 

 he has written lieais the marks of ripe exiierienee. 



PHILW HKNBY ELWOOD. 



IMiilip lleni-y Hlwood is a jiood illustration of I lie 

 liealtlifniness of hi'e-Ueepiuf<- as a \ oeation. At tlie 

 as'e of ;J;? he was aih ised liy his physicians to abaii- 

 <lon a eolleji'e eonise and choose some outdoor oeen- 

 pation, and now }'. 11. KIwood the hee-keeper is 



i>. H. Kr.wooi). 



known as a man who tips tlie scales at 2:ih llis. Soon 

 after leaA'inji' school he w;is offered a (U'siralile posi- 

 tion as teaelier of natural sciences in a. iiifih school 

 in Micliifian, but the otter was refused. In 1872, at 

 iheaH'e ol r.'r>, he commenced 1 tee-keeping' as a part- 

 ner of Captain Flelhei'ington. This part nershiii w .i-~ 

 lu'ofitalily continued for five years, wIkmi he re^^o^ell 

 a distance of ten miles to Starkville, Herkimer Co., 

 N. Y., where lie has since remained, to'carry on tlie 

 business of raising honey. He was hapiiily miirried 

 in ISVit. j\lr. E. is a conservative bee-keeper, little in 

 (•lined to rush after new things simply because tlie\ 

 ai-c new, and is sometimes accused of IxMiigat fault 

 in not i)laeing sulHeient contidence in the recom- 

 mendations of others. He cares more to he sure 

 lliHl his jilans and implements are such as experi- 

 (»nce proves tlie best, th:iii to be constantl.v trying to 

 invent something new. He us(>s the small Qiiinby 

 hive, and, after gi\ing a thorough trial to outdoor 

 winlering, he wiiUers exclusi\-ely in cellars. The 

 larger i)art of his comb honey is put uj) in two-pound 

 glassed boxes, and it was his honey that took the 

 first premium at the I'aris World's Exiiosition, ex- 

 hibited in the same packing-cases in which it was 

 shipiied from his apiary. He iirefers Italian hy- 

 brids, and keeps ;ibout KO:i colonies. 



Conservative in most tilings, he was the first mail 

 in his county to cast a Prohibition vote, and in 1887 

 was run for memtier of the Assembly. However 

 earnest he maybe in other things, he believes that 

 t he i)reparat ion for the life to cimie is of infinitely 

 more importance than any thing else in this life. 



(ilLBKRT M. DOOLITTLE. 

 Gilbert M. Doolittle was born Apr. U. IK+ti, in 

 Onondaga Co., N. Y.. not far from the home of his 

 later years at Borodino, N. Y. During his childhood 

 he often did duty bj watc-hing swarms from 10 to 3 

 o'clock, and at the age of eight was given a second 

 swarm for the hiving. A thief, however, emptied 

 the hive of its contents; and as foul brood prevailed 

 in that region during several of the succeeding 

 years it was not till the spring of 1869 he laid the 

 foundation of his present apiary by purchasing two 

 colonies of liees. Like many others he connnenced 

 with great enthusiasm, diligently studying all the 

 books and papers obtainable, but, unlike many 

 others, he has ntver allowed his enthusiasm to die 

 out, and is to-day a diligent student of the ways of 

 the busy bee. It is rare to find any one so familiar 

 with what has been done and written relative to 

 liee-keeping. As a business, Mr. D. has made bee- 

 keeping a success, although he has never kept a 

 large number of colonies, principally if not w holly 

 because he prefers to keep no more than he can 

 manage without outside heli>. In 1886 he wrote in 

 the Amfrican Brr .lounKil, "From less than .')0 colo- 

 nies of liees (spiing count) I have cleared over *1(KMI 



(!. M. DOOI.ITTI.K. 



each year lor t he i)ast i:^ years, taken as an avera.ge. 

 I ha\e not hired III days' labor in that time in the 

 apiary, nor had any apprentices ov students to do 

 the work for me, although I have had many applica- 

 tions from those who wished'to spendja season with 

 me. Besides my labor with the bees, 1 take care ot 



