694 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



packed with straw, which are carried into the 

 clamp, straw 'and all. As bee-keepers well 

 know. Mr. D. uses the Gallup frame: and all 

 his manipulations, either in raising comb honey, 

 extracted honey, or queen-rearing, are per- 

 formed with this frame. He has '• become used 

 to this management," likes it, and advocates it, 

 and it is evidently none of the Rambler's busi- 

 ness if he sticks to it. Still, I believe there are 

 ji^st as good and less cumbersonje ways to ac- 

 complish the same ends. 



Bro. D.'s avoirdupois is about 280 lbs. ; still, 

 he does not have the appearance of an un- 

 Avieldy and clumsy man. It is, however, some 

 labor to carry himself around; but thei'e is 

 steam enough in the system to do the business, 

 with a surplus to spare. In personal appear- 

 ance he is of average height, full florid com- 

 plexion, sandy hair and beard, blue eyes, and, 

 on the whole, a sanguine temperament. The 

 queen of the household has the same general 

 make-up as the head, only less in degree. Mrs. 

 D. gets around to her daily cares with a per- 

 ceptible limp, which is a cross patiently borne. 



Mr. D. does not live in a mansion; but his 

 home was erected Under his own supervision, 

 and is one of those modest American homes 

 built according to present needs and means, and 

 under the roof of which there is more real hap- 

 piness and enjoyment than can be found in 

 palace halls. 



If, as some writer has said, refinement can be 



of the heavens without becoming a broad and 

 liberal thinker. 

 Another hobby is an annual season of hunt- 



SITTING AT THE FEET OF DOOLITTLE. 



judged from the books and papers found in a 

 house, then we can judge Mr. D. well up, for 

 the latest and best magazines and papers are in 

 profusion, while of bee-publications there are 

 files of all for several years past. 



While many mount their hobbies with so 

 much noise that all the world knows it, Mr. I), 

 very quietly gets upon his, and no doubt enjoys 

 them just as well. It may surprise many of 

 your readers to learn that he is an amateur as- 

 tronomer, and has a fine telescope that will 

 show the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, 

 double stars, and many other wonders of the 

 heavens. Still, he thinks his glass but an ag- 

 gravation, as there is so much beyond he de- 

 sires to fathom. In the study of this noble sci- 

 ence we see where Bro. D. gets his breadth of 

 thought, for no man can look into the wonders 



DOOLITTLE AND HIS HOBBIES. 



ing and fishing. The beautiful Skaneateles 

 Lake is a fine field for the exercise of the hook 

 and rod; but from the contour of the coantrv, 

 and the apparent scarcity of large forests, I 

 should judge the kind of game mostly pui'sued 

 was targets. That this game was pursued with 

 energy was proved by a fine stand of three tele- 

 scopic rifles. 



The little oiifice had the general tidy appear- 

 ance of the house; and the cosy corner where 

 the Hammond type- writer is used is surround- 

 ed with other literary conveniences. 



Mr. Doolittle is a useful man in the commu- 

 nity in which he lives; is an active worker in 

 the church, lives near his Maker by a daily 

 study of his word and a daily communing witli 

 him in prayer; and in his conversation about 

 those around him, and about the bee-keeping 

 fraternity in general, I found him a man pos- 

 sessed of charity for all and malice toward none. 



I have a lurking suspicion that Bro. Doolittle 

 is not altogether suited with his locality. As a 

 successful queen-breeder with an extensive pat- 

 I'onage, he is aware that his season can be 

 lengthened by a move further south. But for 

 various reasons Borodino will be his home for 

 some time yet. 



In the early morning I took the stage for the 

 busy outer world, and the pleasant home of Bro. 

 D. will ever be cherished in the thoughts of the 



Ramblek. 



[Your visit at Mr. Doolittle's I have read with 

 much interest, as it revives many pleasant rec- 

 ollections of my recent visit there. I believe we 

 have never before had an engraving of Doolit- 

 tle's apiary, as much as it has been prominently 

 before the bee-world during the last fifteen or 

 twenty years. I took a Kodak view of it, but 

 it was not large enough to reproduce in Gean- 

 INGS with any effect. His hives and frames did 

 not strike me as being as easy to manipulate as 

 some, but then, as you say, he has got \ised to 

 it. I can't help but think he would do as well 

 with the L. frame and hive.— He lives in a beau- 

 tiful section of country. His home and apiary 

 is midway between t\vo of the prettiest lakes in 

 the world, only about a mile from each, I be- 

 lieve. I enjoyed my bicycle trip in this region; 

 and if our friend only had good long seasons for 

 queen-rearing I don't believe he would ever 

 tliink of moving.] E. R. 



