602 



GLEANINGvS IN I5EE CULTURE. 



Aug. !•'). 



But," said Fred, sadly, "not even this place 

 will ever equal the bee-keeping paradise that 

 was in the beautiful valley." 



There was a quiet wedding at the Buell resi- 

 dence one day; and, after a feast of good 

 things, a boat gaily decked with flowers and 

 streamers carried the bride and groom lo their 

 new home. A few weeks after the man'iage a 

 letter arrived, addressed to Alfaretta. It was 

 postmarked "City of Mexico;" and upon 

 opening it there was found a card inscribed, 

 " Wedding-present from Uncle Ralph." With 

 the card was a draft for 15000. 



" Dear Uncle Ralph!" said Alfaretta; "and 

 what a generous gift! and what a strange man! 

 I never could really understand him." 



Fred thought that he might enlighten her; 

 but, no — the secret of her parentage must be 

 kept. 



Fred devoted much of his ranch to fruit; 

 and between that and the increase of his 

 apiary he gave employment to several men. 

 Gimp Dawson became so expert with the bees 

 that he was given entire charge of the apiary 

 during a portion of the year. The little church 

 not far away called the people together everj' 

 Sunday. Fred and Alfaretta became promi- 

 nent factors again in the exercises, and were 

 always at their posts of duty. Mr. Buell con- 

 tinued to minister to the spiritual needs of the 

 people, and the little chiirch was known as 

 the " Goodwill Union Church." 



Fred Anderson, in all of his past losses and 

 disappointments, looked beyond the clouds 

 to the silver lining beyond; and now when 

 the clouds had rolled away, and he was living 

 in the sunshine of prosperity and a happy 

 home he did not forget the source whence all 

 blessings come; and, having a fellow-sympathy 

 for those in trouble, he ever held out the help- 

 ing hand to them. The home that was now 

 builded here was in marked contrast to the 

 former unhappy Dawson home. 



As the seasons progress, there is the seed 

 time and harvest; there is the gathering of 

 the fruit and the grain and the honey; and so, 

 too, in progress of time, there is a wail of an 

 infant beneath the roof. 



Mrs. Ghering comes down to congratulate 

 the happy parents. " I s'pose, Mr. Anderson," 

 said she, "that's what you meant when you 

 said you'd rejuvenileate the old place; an' 

 what'r ye goin' to name the boy ? " 



" Ralph Hayden Anderson," said Alfaretta. 



"What a purty name, to be sure!" replied 

 Mrs. Ghering; " may long life and joy rest on 

 all of you." 



The tourist passing up the river never fails 

 to notice the neat rose-covered cottage and its 

 well-kept grounds. The Anderson place is 

 one of the beauty spots of the Upper Sacra- 

 mento; and should he pass in the evening, a 

 child may be seen tumbling on the lawn, 

 while on the vine-covered veranda the happy 

 parents, with guitar and voice, wake the echoes 

 across the river with many familiar songs. 



When about to close their evening exercise 

 Fred will commence to thrum a well-known 

 prelude. Alfaretta smiles toward him, and 

 with both sad and pleasant memories of the 

 past she sings that old song: 



The night is stormy and dark, 



Jly lover is on the sea; 

 I<et me to the night winds hark, 



And hear what they saj' to me. 



THE END. 



From the best information I can get, glean- 

 ed from a good many letters, basswood has 

 been generally a failitre throughottt the coun- 

 trv, althottgh in some sections it has been 

 unusually good. A wet cool spring, very fa- 

 vorable for clover and grasses, was ' ' a little too 

 mtich of a good thing " for basswoods. 



I WOULD call special attention to a valuable 

 article by J. A. Buchanan, in another column. 

 He has given us a little food for thotight. It 

 should not be true that honey can be bought 

 at a connnission house cheaper than it can 

 be from the producer; neither ought it to be 

 tnie that many bee-keepers make no effort to 

 develop their own home market. 



In otir last isstie I confessed that I had 

 changed my niind on the subject of clipping 

 qtieens' wings. Mr. E. U. Parshall, of Coop- 

 erstown, N. Y., the old tramping-grottnd of 

 J. Fenimore Cooper, writes: " I tliink yoti 

 will enjoy bees better since you changed your 

 mind. I could not keep mine where I do did 

 I not clip my queens." 



Mr. Parshall also writes that basswood has 

 been a failure, and that it was his opinion 

 that a good many supplies would be left over. 



In the July Reviezi\ Mr. E. E. Hasty said 

 that he believed friend Hutchinson needed 

 less alteration to make him a model bee-editor 

 than any other editor we have. Bro. York, of 

 the Aiiierican Bee Journal, in commenting on 

 this, says: "Well, Editor Root (E. R.), that 

 settles it so far as you are concerned. You 

 might as well stop trying to be a ' model edit- 

 or.' Need too nnich alteration." I have been 

 puzzling my head to know whether Bro. York 

 was trying to hit me or to hit the other fellows 

 over my head. Let it fly. Seriously, I've 

 only tried to be myself. 



I OMiTTKD to mention in our last issue that 

 Mr. W. A. Selser, the branch manager at our 

 Philadelphia office, 10 Vine St., had for his 

 object, in his recent visit to the West, the se- 

 cviring control of a ntunber of apiaries that 

 produce strictly pure white-clover honey. His 

 plan of operation among the bee-keepers, I 

 think, is a very admirable one. While he 

 represents us at Philadelphia the honey busi- 

 ness is his own venture. 



I remember of once asking him a question 

 regarding the matter of buying honey on com- 

 mission. Said he, "I can not answer. I al- 



