492 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



and he knew there would now be joy in the 

 Buell home where there had been sadness 

 before. Their exuberance of spirits found ex- 

 pression in snatches of song; and around the 

 campfire that night a veritable concert was 

 enjoyed, Sam contribuWng an important ele- 

 ment to it with his plantation songs. 



The next day, in his conversation with Alfa- 

 retta, the doctor dwelt much upon filial love, 

 and said: 



"Alfaretta, I suppose that, after your recov- 

 ery now, you feel the same love for your parents 

 as before." 



"Love them!" said Alfaretta. "Ah, doctor! 

 It seems that I should love them more and more. 

 Dear mamma and papa, always so tender, so 

 kind, and the agony they must have endured 

 these five long years!" and she brushed away a 

 tear. 



Again the doctor rode a long time in the rear. 



He called Sam to his side, and their conversa- 

 tion was earnest and long. That evening the 

 doctor was quite jovial, furnishing his quota of 

 entertainment with reminiscences of his South 

 American travels. 



When Alfaretta retired to the little tent and 

 cot provided for her, the doctor took her by the 

 hand and bade her good-night. 



For a long time Dr. Hayden sat gazing into 

 the campfire. Fred addressed him a couple of 

 times, but he seemed as abstracted as when 

 Alfaretta first entered the valley. Fred, realiz- 

 ing his mood, rolled himself in his blanket and 

 was soon sound asleep. 



It was past midnight when Fred was aroused 

 by a gentle shake. Upon opening his eyes Sam 

 Johnson was kneeling beside him. In an un- 

 dertone he said, " Fred, de doctor wants to see 

 you jess beyond de sycamore-trees yonder. I 

 have suffin' to say to you." 



Look out for irresponsible or new commission 

 houses. They will offer big inducements and 

 talk big about their ratings. They are still 

 abroad in the land, and are waiting to rope 

 you in if they can. 



It is reported that the glucose factories have 

 formed a trust aggregating two millions of dol- 

 lars. We bee-keepers hope this trust will put 

 the price of the stuff up so high that it will not 

 pay to use it in honey. Sometimes a trust is a 

 good thing. Perhaps this will be an example. 



The convention of bee-keepers which is to be 

 held in Buffalo, Aug. 24-26, will be a big one, 

 from present prospects. The unusually heavy 

 flow from clover throughout the country, and 

 the very low rates of travel (one cent a mile) 

 are two of the elements that will contribute to 

 make the next meeting of the United States 

 Bee-keepers' Union a grand success. Plan to 

 go if you possibly can. 



The following clipping was sent to us by 

 some unknown person. It is a gratifying piece 

 of legislation, and we hope it will be conta- 

 gious in our different legislatures until they all 

 "catch" it as severely as the law-makers in 

 Vermont did. It is just what we need: 



One of the shortest laws we have seen is the fol- 

 lowing-, which was passed by the last Vermont leg- 

 islature, and approved Nov. 20, 1896: 



Section 1. If a person sprays or causes to be 

 sprayed, or puts or causes to be put, any Paris 

 green, London purple, or other poisonous substance 

 upon fruit-trees while in blossom, he shall be fined 

 not more than $40 and not less than $10. 



Sec. 2. This act shall take effect from its passage. 



This law was passed at the request of the Vermont 

 Bee-keepeis' Association, which asserted that honey- 

 bees may be poisoned by visiting trees that are 

 sprayed when in bloom. This assertion is, doubt- 

 less, correct; and since it is not necessary to spray 

 fruit-trees when in bloom, this law will not prove 

 injurious to fruit-growers. The best advice now is 

 to spray after the blossoms fall, since we can then 

 do most injury to the insects. 



This goes to show that State and National 

 associations will be heard if only the right 

 methods are employed. 



Judging from present prospects It looks as if 

 there were going to be an enormous crop of 

 honey from white clover. The tendency on the 

 part of a good many will be to rush their honey 

 off to the cities, and, of course, this will make a 

 glut on the market. Bee-keepers ought to 

 make every effort possible to dispose of their 

 honey around home. Create a home demand. 

 Make it as attractive as possible, and help the 

 grocers to sell for you. In the next issue I will 

 tell you about how to draw a crowd around a 

 grocery window. I would tell you now; but 

 the boss printer says, "N o more room." 



OUR BASSWOOD OUT-TABD. 



It has been a very noticeable fact, during 

 the white-clover year, that our home-yard has 

 been much overstocked. During those seasons 

 when we have a flow from basswood, the differ- 

 ence is very much less. Notwithstanding there 

 is only a couple of trees in our whole orchard 

 that has any buds on it, it seemed wise to "re- 

 lieve the pressure " in the home yard by remov- 

 ing some of our best colonies there. The wis- 

 dom of this move was almost instantly appar- 

 ent. Those same colonies at the home yard 

 were gathering honey very slowly; but almost 

 on the first day in the new location they began 

 to pile in the honey. In four days they almost 

 completely filled full -sized eight-frame sets of 



