3tK) 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1. 



OUR SHANE YARD. 



Wk arc just about t(t put 50 001011108 in our 

 out-apiary 'oil tlie HotTiiian franii's. We have 

 been getting togcthor the hives and frames, 

 and in a day o.r two we expect to transfer that 

 whole yard of loose frames to fixed frames. 

 Thei'e are a good many hybi-ids among the lot; 

 and, judging from tlie looks of the old hives in 

 which they now are. they are adepts at smear- 

 ing propolis over every thing. 



HOFFMAN FRAMES. 



For the last few days we have been trying the 

 Hoffman frames in our home yard. We had a 

 few colonies transferred to them last summer. 

 If the dav is cold, the propolis will come apart 

 with a little snap, and make the bees a little 

 '• touchy." i5ut we are not supposed to handle 

 bees on "cold days, usually. If the day is warm, 

 they pry apart very easily. In fact, the most 

 of them we could push apart with our fingers, 

 without any screwdriver or wedge, and these 

 have been used about a year now. We tind Hoff- 

 man frames will kill bees if handled improperly. 

 By using a little caution it can be avoided. 



Perhaps we should say right here, while we are 

 transferring into Hoffman frames to a consider- 

 able extent, w(> would not advise others to do it 

 to an equal (Wtent. We can afford to carry on 

 experiments on a lai'ger scale than many of the 

 bee-keepers who have no bee- journal in whose 

 interest such experiments are made. 



SELLING SECRETS, ETC. 



The fi'iends of Dr. Hall urge that he has 

 as good a right to charge H.OO for his little 

 pamphlet as a physician has to charge .W.OO 

 or $.5.00. or even ffO.OO. tor simply a pre- 

 scription. It seems to me that a good many 

 have some very loose ideas in this matter. 

 A physician who has spent years in study, 

 and, after that, still more years in the prac- 

 tice of surgery, acquires a knowledge that 

 enables him to determine from long experience 

 just what surgery or medicine may do for a pa- 

 tient. But he miist see the patient personally, 

 and give the case a careful personal examina- 

 tion; and his directions and decision to one 

 patient would by no manner of means answer 

 for even tivo patients, let alone several hundred 

 era thousand. It may be worth ^4.01) or ^lo.oi) 

 for an expert to give his undivided attention to 

 a single patient for one hour or even half an 

 hour. But suppose he should undertake to 

 print a little circular, which he hands to the 

 patient who sought his skill, and then pretend 

 that such printed directions would answer the 

 purpose, and was worth ■'?4.00. The thing would 

 be impossible. A great hook on surgery or med- 

 icine can be bought for ^4.00; so can a great 

 book on almost any subject whereon mankind 

 wishes information, for a like amount of money. 

 Books have a market value, as well as a load 

 of wood or a load of coal; and he who pays a 

 dollar should get a fair-sized book: and when- 

 ever one asks several dollars or one dollar, or 

 even fifty rents, for what can b<' printer! on a 

 single sheet of paper, you can put him down as 

 a humbug and a fraud. Valuable discoveries 

 that come up suddenly, before the particulars 

 have had time to get into books, will always be 

 found in our papers and periodicals devoted to 

 the suliject in question. I know I have been 

 over this ground again and again: but I pro- 

 pose to keep going over it so long as there is so 

 much blundering and fraud. If there is any 

 secret of general value that can not be obtained 

 without the payment of several dollars, bi'ing it 

 to my notice and I will furnish the money, and 

 then we shall all reap the benefit of it together. 



SHALL WE FORGIVE AS WE HOPE TO BE 

 FORGIVEN? 



After reading friend Easy's joke, on page 

 380. a shadow fell unconsciously aci'oss my spir- 

 its. For a little time I groped mentally to rec- 

 ollect- what caused it. Finally I recalled a 

 clipping I had seen fiom a newspaper. Here 

 it is: 



"CHARLES! FORGIVE ME." 



THE PENITENT WIFE WKlTliS HKK FORSAKEN OTHER 

 HALF. 



Under date ot Ai>iil 20. the Hcistoii HciakJ has tlie 

 following;' eoiivsiiondence fioni [>e\viston. relative to 

 tlie .sensational eh>iiement case, the pai'tli's of which 

 reside at Mechanic Falls: 



Mr. C. H. Cotton, of Mechanic Falls, who has re- 

 cently moved to the city, has received a letter from 

 his wife, dated Los Angeles, Cal. In the letter she 

 says : 



'• Charies;— Please forg-ive me. Please don't hate 

 me; but I won't ask you to love meauain. I don't 

 deserve love or any thing'. I am an undone person. 

 Oh how I wish I could see you to-iilght and liave a 

 talk with you I I do want to see you dreadful bad, 

 but 1 never expect to see you again. It seems as if 

 I ne\'er could stand it. From your wife, 



Amanda." 



Mrs. Cotton, it will be remembered, left her hus- 

 band December 2'i, and fled with her little daughtei- 

 to Boston, wliere she is supposed to have joined 

 Editor Mason, of the Ber-KKcprrs' Advance, who was 

 visiting in Boston witli his wife at the time. Mason 

 disappeared from Boston the same day, and has not 

 been heard from by his wife or family since. Mr. 

 Cotton fet'lssure that the couple are living- together 

 in California. 



Mr. Cotton has his son with him in Lewiston, and 

 would like to have his daughter, but says his wife 

 can get back the same way she went. The Mason 

 property will probably be settled in the coming- 

 term of court. 



Now, it is more than likely that all the par- 

 ties concerned will see Gleanings, and may be 

 the little plea I put in for these two deluded 

 friends has been the means of bringing both to 

 penitence: if so, may God in his intinite good- 

 ness and mercy graiit that Gleanings may be 

 listened to again. I do not know what is cus- 

 tomary in such circumstances: but my advice 

 is this: Let all parties concerned go back like 

 the prodigal son. Friend C. is evidently willing 

 that his wife should come back, if she has a 

 mind to. For God's sake, dear sister, come 

 back. If you have not already done so, sep- 

 arate yourself this minute from your guilty 

 partner, and thus help him as far as possible to 

 come back too. The thing is bad — terribly bad 

 and wicked as it stands now; but it is never too 

 late to mend. Forgive us our debts as we for- 

 give our debtors. And let me entreat the bee- 

 keeping world to drop it all and forget the past, 

 that those two pi^ople who have been entrapped 

 by Satan may repent and come back to their 

 homes. Friend i\Iason, if this meets your eye I 

 entreat you to come back at once and undo, 

 while life lasts, the wrong you have done. I 

 am sure, from what I know of you, that no hap- 

 piness nor peace has come from this terrible 

 thing. Last evening a friend of mine was ex- 

 amined with the view of being taken into our 

 church. Some unfortunate things had occurred 

 in his past life. During the past year, how- 

 ever, he has been a most exemplary Christian 

 man, constant in attendance at the church, and 

 exhibiting all the Christian grac(\s toward those 

 all around him. Our good pastor suggested 

 that, in view of this, we need not stir up the 

 past. Any man or woman who has done their 

 duty welTand faithfully a whole year, and is 

 still ready to do well and faithfully every thing 

 in their power, should l)e admitted to the 

 church, in my opinion — that is. of coarse, pro- 

 viding such parties subscribe to the creed, or 

 general system of tenets, held by such society. 

 Very likelv the ivorld objects to letting bygones 



