458 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15. 



The washings may be done on rainy or dark 

 days, when the bees choose to stay at home. 

 The underclothes, sheets, and towels may be 

 used without ironing, rather than overwork, or 

 rather than let the bees go to the woods or 

 swarra when thei'e is no one to care for them; 

 for if one keeps bees it pays to take care of them 

 in the proper time. It takes the beauty all out 

 of the pursuit to make it work that is looked 

 after only when all other work is done. 



If you give the children a penny or more 

 every time they get stung while helping with 

 the bees, most of them will be I'eady to run the 

 risk of stings, especially if they are carefully 

 protected against them. My little adopted girl 

 used to make a great fuss over a sting; but 

 when 1 give her a penny for each one she re- 

 fuses to have her hands covered, as she says she 

 can work easier without the covering. But it 

 is the pennies she cares foi- more than the 

 amount of work done. Children, like grown 

 folks, like money of their own. and it is better 

 for them to earn it than to give it to them. If 

 they are paid 10 cents oi' more for every swarm 

 they detect coming out when no one else is 

 watching, they will be quite attentive in watch- 

 ing for swarms. 



The bread may be set in the evening, so that 

 it may be baked before swarming time next 

 day. Many prefer setting the bread at night, 

 thinking it makes better bread. 



FOOD FOR THE OTJT-APTAKY. 



Much of this may be cooked while getting 

 breakfast. .Just cook a little more — a little 

 more coffee, a few mon^ potatoes, to make into 

 potato-balls by running them through the 

 potato-masher advertised in Gleanings; sea- 

 son them with a little sugar, pepper, butter, 

 and salt. They are nice cold, rolled into balls 

 for the out-apiary dinner, or slowly fried in a 

 little butter or fat for the home dinner. Eggs 

 and meat may be boiled the evening before, 

 which will answer just as well for the home 

 dinner as for the out-apiary. 



When much extra work is expected, as swarm- 

 ing or harvesting, it pays to bi' libei'al with the 

 pennies for the children, to induce them to save 

 steps for their parents, and thus tide them 

 over the hard places, rather than for either 

 of the parents to overwork: for if either gets 

 sick just then it makes it hard all around, be- 

 sides the great loss sometimes sustained. Leave 

 as little to be done in the mornings as possible. 

 If there is time in the evening, pick the berries. 

 Take the children along, and. if they can't be 

 induced in any other way, reward them a little 

 for picking. Some object to paying children 

 for work done. Perhaps it is not best to do so, 

 except to get as much help as possible in these 

 special times of extra labor. 



Sweeping and dusting spare rooms, scrubbing 

 porches and walks, may be done in the even- 

 ings, if there is spare time; if not. they had bet- 

 ter be left undone than to ov{>rwork. It is very 

 little our walks getscrulihed in swarming time, 

 except with honey. Such work can better be 

 neglected than cooking, for it helps one to be 

 good-natured to have appetizing food; and of 

 all limes when I appreciate good dinners.it is 

 when I have been wearied and worried catching 

 swarms. It helps to settle the nerves, which 

 helps to keep cool-headed. And yet one had 

 better live very plainly than to overwork, espe- 

 cially during swarming time, remembei-ing 

 that swarming comes only once in three or four 

 years, or at most for three weeks once in a year, 

 unless it be a year like 18S:,>, when we had one 

 or more swarms every day from the first of June 

 to the middle of September, except about a 

 week in the first of August. 

 How every thing goes wrong if one allows 



himself or herself to get worried and excited, or 

 out of patience! It would seem that all the 

 bees were intending to come out of the hives at 

 once, and to have things their own w-ay. Of all 

 places in the world, it seems to work the worst 

 to lose one's patience with the bees. I remem- 

 ber watching one of our helpers as he was 

 working alone with the bees. As they flew at 

 him he would strike at them with the smoker. 

 The more he struck at them, the more enraged 

 they became. I don't know how it would have 

 turned out had I not told him that would ruin 

 any colony, and proceeded to help him finish 

 the colony and close the hive. After that I 

 never trusted him alone with a hive of bees. 



A hammock or two in each apiary, or, what I 

 like better, a bench with a raised head-board 

 and a quilt folded and spread over it, on which 

 to rest whenever there is time, is a great com- 

 fort, as has been spoken of before in the bee- 

 journals. Mrs. L. C. Axtell. 



Roseville, Illinois. 



EMPTY COMBS. 



HOW TO CAKE FOR THEM WHEN NOT IN USE. 



We are especially interested this year in tak- 

 ing care of an unusual number of extra combs — 

 those that are thrown on our hands to care for 

 by having so many colonies die, and it is no 

 small task. We have considerably more than a 

 thousand to so care for. Heretofore we have 

 given our extra combs to the b^es to take care 

 of. Filling a hive with these cf)mbs. we placed 

 them under a strong colony, and the bees would 

 take the best of care of them. Sometimes one 

 colony would take care of several hives of combs 

 placed under, and I know of no better way to 

 care for them, providing you have plenty of 

 bees. But taking care of such a number of ex- 

 tra combs must be some detriment to the bees, 

 as it gives them just so much extra work. This 

 year we are very anxious to make the most we 

 can of what bees we have lef', so we are going 

 to try to take care of some of the combs our- 

 selves. 



In the shop cellar we nailed lath on each side 

 of the joists, near the lower edge. On this lath 

 we hung the frames. There not being room to 

 hang them straight across, they were hung on 

 a slant. About an inch space was left between 

 them. If there was to be any great amount of 

 jarring they might not be very secure, as they 

 have only the thickness of the lath, about % of 

 an inch, to hang on; and. being hung on a 

 slant, they will be more easily knocked down. 

 There are several advantages in having them 

 hung u[) in this way. There is not so much 

 danger of their being injured by mice; they are 

 entirely out of the way, as they do not take up 

 any available room, and are very easily got at 

 when wanted. With a free circulation of air, 

 and the coolness of the cellar, the worms will 

 not get at them so early nor work so rapidly. 

 They are in such condition that they are easily 

 examined, and we will keep close watch of 

 them; and the first trace of worms that we see 

 we will be on hand with brimstone, as they are 

 in excellent shape to fumigate. It is important 

 to take them when the worms are small; for 

 after they are full grown they will stand an im- 

 mense amount of brimstone without seeming 

 injury. But there is one objection. The combs 

 will not be nearly so nice and sweet as when 

 kept by the bees, and, with any reasonable pro- 

 portion between the bees and combs, I would 

 much rather leave them to the tender mercies 

 of the bees. Emma Wilson. 



Marengo, 111., June 2. 



