1S97 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



51 



deep growl. I knew the cat was coming out, 

 and there was hardly room for it to pass 

 my head. I had my right hand on the gun- 

 lock. I raiised my head and gave the cat a 

 "snapshot." The ball struck it in the breast 

 and killed it. But in her spring to get out she 

 landed on my left shoulder, bleeding like a 

 stuck hog. My dog, always at my heels, 

 bounded up and grasped the cat, and also got 

 my coat collar in his mouth. Being a heavy 

 dog, and stout, he took cat and huuter down 

 the steep bank on to the ice, and tore half my 

 coat off. There we were, hunter and dog, cat 

 and gun, all whirling around in the light snow. 

 The blood from the cat was all over in the fresh 

 snow. My partner was terribly scared. He 

 got hold of me as soon as he could, and helped 

 me up. He did not stop to see that the cat was 

 dead. He thought I had shot myself, or that 

 the cat had hurt me. He thought all the blood 

 was coming from me. I just looked and laugh- 

 ed, and examined myself, and found that I was 

 not hurt. 



" Well," said my partner, " if that is the way 

 to capture wildcats, you can have all the fun to 

 yourself. I don't want any." 



The wild cat is a pretty savage chap if you 

 get it cornered, but usually very shy, and will 

 keep out of your sight if it can. If caught in a 

 trap it is ready to fight if you give it a chance. 

 Walk up to one in a trap, an 1 it will come to- 

 ward you as far as the trap-chain will reach, 

 and stand ready to fight, and growl like a big 

 dog. I take my hatchet in hand, go up as near 

 as I can and be out of reach of its paws, then 

 make a few false blows near it, with the hatch- 

 et, as soon as it will let you do that without 

 striking back at you, then reach a little further, 

 and hit it on the head. It is not hard to kill. 

 A quite small blow will drop him. 



I once saw one that was tamed. It was taken 

 when very young. It was four years old when 

 I saw it. It was a great pet, and appeared to 

 be as safe a playfellow as any other cat. There 

 was a four-year-old boy in the family, and boy 

 and cat were great friends, and played together, 

 rolling and tumbling about the floor, sometimes 

 the boy on top and sometimes the cat. The 

 boy would pull the cat's legs, an^ get his hands 

 in its mouth, but the cat did not bite or scratch 

 him. But let a strange dog come around the 

 house, and ihe cat would bounce on to him and 

 comb his hide in good shape. Very few dogs 

 can whip a wildcat. 



My story is getting almost too long. I was 

 intending to write up some of my adventures 

 with wolves in Wisconsin, but will leave that 

 for another chapter. 

 Platteville, Wis. 



[Some time ago our friend Mr. France wrote 

 us, asking if a wolf-story or two, drawn from 

 his own experience, would be acceptable for 

 Gleanings. I replied that it would, that vari- 

 ety was the spice of life. He is one of the old 



pioneers, and one at whose feet it is a pleasure 

 to sit and listen. As I k now by experience when 

 I visited him. he is full of the experiences of 

 pioneer days; and if what he says does not 

 relate to bee /ccepi7ig, it is a bee /ceeper of no 

 mean order who is telling the story. If our 

 readers do not, like such "diversions" let them 

 speak out.— Ed.] 



A NEW SYSTEM OF TAKING COMB HONEY. 



HOW TO GET THE BKES TO FILL THE OUTSIDE 



SECTIONS AS QUICKLY AND AS NICELY AS 



THOSE IN THE CENTER OF THE SUPER ; 



A VALUABLE ARTICLE. 



By S. T. Pettit. 



Doubtless all close-observing comb - honey 

 producers have noticed that the bees generally 

 commence work at or near the center of the 

 super, and that the work extends outward, the 

 front generally being reached and finished first. 

 From this we can readily understand that, while 

 the center and front sections are ready to receive 

 another super under them, they must wait until 

 more work is done upon the side and back sec- 

 tions. 



Now, as the bees come in they generally go 

 up somewhere near the center; and as they find 

 the sections advanced well nigh to completion, 

 the honey must go beyond. Bees pass slowly 

 and reluctantly over well-filled combs or cap- 

 ped honey in search of store room. It is obvi- 

 ous that this causes delay and loss of time, and 

 is a strain upon their energy and industry. In 

 course of time another super is given, and a 

 similar process, though in a less marked degree, 

 is repeated. 



If by some simple means not distasteful to 

 the bees we can cause them, as they come in 

 from the fields, to separate and distribute them- 

 selves to the sides and back end of the super, 

 work at these points will generally commence 

 and keep pace with the work at the center. 



Right here I may be allowed to say that my 

 new system accomplishes this desirable feature 

 most admirably, and I will now proceed to give 

 it. 



I get out two wedge-shaped pieces of pine or 

 basswood for each hive I expect to use during 

 the season. These are one inch square at one 

 end and one inch wide at the other end, which 

 is brought down to a feather edge, and of the 

 same length as that of the hive. Now, when 

 the bees begin to suffer with heat and for want 

 of more air, with a suitable lever, after giving 

 the bees a whiff or two of smoke, I pry up the 

 front of the hive and slip under each side of it 

 one of these wedges; this gives an entrance 1^ 

 inches by the width of the hive. This large 

 entrance and elevated hive, by supplying lots 

 of air and ample roominess, comforts the bees 

 and retards swarming. 



But the particular point to which I desire to 

 draw attention, consists in the trick played up- 

 on the bees, which causes them to distribute 



