IS'.i-' 



GLEANIN(;S IN BEE CULTURE. 



e\r,[\ 



ill vour life: ;uui slioiild ihc tluM-iiionio.t<>r go 

 down as low as '.W to .15" below, if tlu' door and 

 vontilatois liavo hocn sen- nrdy shut the potatoes 

 will not fn-i'/t'. altlioiisjh I he meivuiy seldom 

 or never soes down that low in this eliMial(\ 



Altlionjrh 1 iiave prohahly omitted some small 

 ilenis concerning potato culture by irrlsalion. I 

 thinl< 1 liave jjiven enonph to make it clear to 

 the average n^ader about the way w(> go at it 

 to raise tliose great big crops of spuds. 



(Jreelev. Col.. June U, TiiKo. V. .Ikssit. 



L. L. LANGSTROTH'S EXPERIENCE WITH THE 

 LONDON EAR-TRUMPET. 



HKI.I' FOK DEFIOf'TIVK UKAHINO. 



Perhaps very few of my read"rs realize how 

 Tiiucli more comfortable it is to be old in theso 

 days than it was some two or three liundred 

 years ago. liefore the invention of '^l)ectacles. 

 how often a man. still in the very prime of life, 

 must have found himself no longer tit for nice 

 work, through the failing of his eyesightl Now 

 we have sp(>ctacles. for the i-elief of such in- 

 ability, and also for seeing objects at a distance, 

 such, for instance, as the pebbles on the road- 

 side or the cherries on th' trees, almost if not 

 quite as well as the young. It is true, that de- 

 fective teeth were not so commcju in the olden 

 times as they now are. but still we know that 

 they were so comtnon that specimens of how 

 this intii-mity was remedied have been found in 

 old skeletons, almost as perfect as the modern 

 invention. 



But what can be done to relieve those who 

 are liard of hearing? Few can be persuaded to 

 use the huge old-fashioned ear-trumpet or the 

 long rubber tube; and yet when one becomes so 

 hard of hearing as not to hear the preacher or 

 the orator, or even the ordinary conversation of 

 the social circle, it does not take long to realize 

 what a great misfortune has befallen him. 

 Such an unfortunate soon perceives that the 

 world is too busy to try to make a deaf man 

 hear, and gradually ceases to attempt to hear 

 any spoken words, except such as are directed 

 to himself personally. vSlowly but surely he 

 drops out of social intercourse with his fellow- 

 men, and life has lost a very large part ofcits 

 charms. 



oi'.Ai'iroxE. oi: i.ondox ear-trlmpet. 



About two months ago a friend who is very 

 hard of hearing told me how he remedi(id it by 

 pressing the thin surface of a patented inven- 

 tion against his teeth: but as I had none but 

 artificial teeth it was of no use to me. He then 

 gave me a little ear-trumpet, known as the 

 London trumpet, or oraphone. I was so de- 

 lighted with it that I took it to bed the first 

 night to have the pleasure of hearing the clock 



tick when I awoke. Sjx'akingof it todiffen-nt 

 friends I found that there wasadcnuand for it; 

 l)ut whil(> it helned many, others seemed to get 

 no important relief from its use. I'^inding that, 

 by helping jxior deaf humanity. I can at the 

 same time iielp myself. I am prepareti to sell 

 thi'S(> trumiM'ls at thi' usual retail price. .*4.. 50, 

 to any of your r(^aders who are bard of heacing 

 or have friends or acquaintances who may be 

 so unfortunate. 



This cut represents its ap|)('ara,nce: three 

 and a half inches long, and two and on(!-eighth 

 inrlies in diameter, is the si/.(> usually preferrecJ. 

 On receipt by mail of a money order or check 

 for .^4..5() I will mail one prepaid to any address. 

 It may be kept on trial for two weeks; and if 

 not found serviceabUi it may then be remailed 

 to me in the original package (postage only ."> 

 cts.). and the check or money order sent mi- \\ ill 

 be returned. L. L. Laxostrotii. 



120 Ford St., Dayton, O. 



[Perhaps some of the friends may think that 

 the above is somewhat in the nature of a free 

 advertisement: but we should rememeer that 

 friend Langstroth takes the chances of sending 

 them out broadcast, on trial; and. judging from 

 some experience of my own in a similar line. I 

 fear he will have considerable trouble in col- 

 lecting them all in promptly or the pay. And 

 may I be permitted to urge that all who get one 

 on trial will try hard to return the instrument 

 promptly, or else the price, $4.50, say inside of a 

 week ? I hope there is no one, among the bee- 

 keepers at least, who would annoy, or allow his 

 friends to annoy, one who has all his life been 

 such a benefactor to bee-keepers as our good 

 friend L. L. Langstroth.] 



LADIES' Conversazione. 



ANOTHER POOR HONEY YEAR AT MARENGO. 



smokers and smoker fuel. 



This spring our bees were not in very good 

 condition when taken from the cellar to begin 

 with. Then the disastrous weather that fol- 

 lowed made sad havoc with them. We put 289 

 colonies in the cellar last fall. Dr. Miller had 

 concluded we had too many bees for two to take 

 care of comfortably witii what else we had to 

 do, and that he would double up and reduce the 

 number to 200 colonies. 



Well, they saved him the trouble by doubling 

 themselves up, only they did the work on a 

 little more extensive scale than he intended 

 doing, as they reduced themselves to 128 colo- 

 nies to commence the season with. We bent 

 all our energies to get them in good condition 

 for the harvest. AVe fed Ww.m lil)erally, and 

 yet about the 5th of .July some of them were 

 almost in a starving condition. 



Dthers began to report wonderful floods of 

 honey, so we kept our courage; up. expecting 

 our turn would come next. VVhen our bees be- 

 gan storing in sections we felt very much en- 

 couraged. The honey shook out of the l)rood- 

 frames readily, and yet robbers bothered at 

 times even then. The expected flood has not 

 yet come. With a few exceptions, work in the 

 supers is irregular, sealing i)eing commenced 

 on the center sections before the outer ones are 

 half filled, even in supers that are overflowing 

 with bees. 



In a few cases we thought we were justified 

 in giving second supers. It begins to look now 

 as if we were hardly wise in doing so, as by that 



