696 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



health, and he was sent home to Pennsylvania 

 under sentence of death from consumption. 

 Fortunately he fell under the care of a very 

 able ph}-sician, who treated him for ner\'ous 

 disorder caused by overwork, instead of for 

 consumption, resulting in a cure in a few 

 months. 



As a patient he became interested in the 

 stud}' of medicine, and adopted it as a life 

 profession. For the next few years he was 

 engaged in teaching, in obtaining a collegiate 

 and medical education, and in extensive hos- 

 pital work, finally being graduated as " M. D." 

 at the Penn Medical University, of Phila- 

 delphia. 



In 1854 he was one of a limited number of 

 young American surgeons who entered the 

 Russian medical serA-ice during the Crimean 

 War. For the first few months he served in a 

 large hospital at Backsisaria. some 1"2 miles 

 north of Sebastopol; afterward in hospital No. 

 18 at Cherson, until the end of the war. This 

 removal to Cherson was a promotion with 

 much increased pay and privileges, and was 

 by direct order of the Czar himself. Soon 

 after Dr. Oren went on duty he and his supe- 

 rior, a German surgeon, had a controversy 

 on some point of practice, resulting in a bet, 

 and a victory for Dr. Oren. The idea of a 

 young American doctor worsting a veteran 

 German surgeon was too good to keep, and it 

 reached the ears of the Czar, who ordered him 

 given a present of 2-5 roubles and the above 

 promotion. At the end of his two-years' ser- 

 vice in Russia he returned to Philadelphia 

 with |.5000 in cash, and within ten days start- 

 ed for Iowa, where he first settled in what is 

 now North Liberty ; and in 18-58 removed to 

 Laporte City, Blackhawk Co., his present 

 home. Here he practiced his profession, 

 gradually becoming interested in farming, 

 bee-keeping, fine-stock raising, and banking, 

 in all of which he has been peculiarly suc- 

 cessful. 



About a dozen years ago he concluded to 

 try the South, and, as a resiilt, has spent his 

 winters ever since at Daytona, Fla., becoming 

 interested in the town financially. On ac- 

 count of ill health Dr. Oren has, within the 

 last four or five years, retiied from all active 

 business except such as is necessary in looking 

 after his financial interests in the bank and 

 elsewhere. When I visited him at his home 

 about 1.5 years ago he was living on his 1200- 

 acre farm, fully stocked with Clydesdale 

 horses and shorthorn cattle, his specialties, 

 and an apiary of about 300 colonies. The 

 farm and stock were cared for by hired labor ; 

 but the apiary work was all done by himself, 

 wife, and two daughters. 



He first became intere.sted in bees in 1858, 

 starting with six colonies which cost him |108. 

 In 1860 he bought from Mr. Mahan the first 

 Italian queen that ever crossed the Mississippi 

 River, for 122.50. In 1861 his apiary number- 

 ed 150 colonies, and has varied from 100 to 

 nearly oOO from then until he retired from 

 active work a short time ago. 



His specialty was comb honey, and his suc- 

 cess in both honey production and wintering 

 was phenomenal, excelling in both these 



respects any other bee-keeper I was personally 

 acquainted with in Iowa. Many of his meth- 

 ods, both in bee-keeping and stock-raising, 

 were original, and differed widely from an}- I 

 have seen practiced by any one else, and they 

 were peculiarly successful. His bees earned 

 him much of the money invested in other 

 lines, and in this respect he divides honors 

 with Adam Grinmi, and not second honors 

 either. 



As a friend I have found him to be such as 

 few men have the power and disposition to be. 

 He in his daily life fully lives up to his ideal. 

 He once said to me in words, ' ' What is the 

 use of a man living in this world if he can't 

 be helping somebody?" His success in this 

 line has been equal to his business success. 



Pioneers of improved American bee culture 

 yet alive who antedate Dr. Oren's commence- 

 ment of the business can probably be counted 

 on the fingers of one hand ; and I doubt 

 whether any of them have had as unique, in- 

 teresting, and successful all-round personal 

 history as he has. 



Dr. Oren has been president of the Iowa 

 State Kee-keepers' Society. 



vStuart, Fla., Aug. 10. 



HOUSE-APIARY AT NOTRE DAME, IND. 



Wintering in a Warm Room; some Interesting Ob- 

 senations. 



BY JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. 



One of the house-apiaries on the grounds of 

 the University of Notre Dame is a frame 

 building, in length about 60 feet, in width 

 about 9, in height about 10 from the floor to 

 the cone of the roof. It is built of matched 

 lumber throughout, being so tightly jointed 

 that mice and such small animals can not get 

 into it. A small platform on the floor, run- 

 ning the length of the building, is about 'A feet 

 wide and 3 inches high, sloping to the front 

 about flu inch, so that the moisture which 

 may collect at any time in the hive will readi- 

 ly run out. On this platform are small frames 

 about 2 '4 inches apart, inserted in the wall, 

 the exact size of the porticos of the hives, 

 against which the portico of the hive fits 

 tightly, forming another portico about 8 inch- 

 es high, 12 inches wide, and 11 inches deep, 

 thus making a secure place for the bees to 

 .sleep warm at night, especially when there is 

 a large quantity of brood and young bees in 

 the hive, which would make it very uncom- 

 fortable for the field bees. 



All these openings and hives are on one side 

 — the southeast side of the building — as are 

 also the windows, which are swung on hinges 

 as a matter of convenience. The porticos 

 have tight-fitting slides with ventilators, and 

 ma}' be closed and opened at will. This is 

 very convenient on cold bright windy days in 

 spring, or when bees are robbing, or when 

 looking through a hive in early spring or late 

 in the fall, when the slide and all the windows 

 can be closed, in which case there is no trou- 

 ble from robber bees. 



