ISOT 



GLKANINGS IN Hl-H CUI/rURI-:. 



849 



^vht■ro liie money to ])urchasc Urmii was to 

 conic from. So Uicv called a mcctin.ij anil in- 

 structed the clerk to write to all tlie book 

 firms wliose address he could find, for lowest 

 prices on fifty books; then he adjourned the 

 meeting for two weeks till a reply could be got- 

 ten. At the appointed time they came to- 

 gether to hear the result, which was that oO 

 cents eacli, or .'>2'>.00 for the lot, was the l)est 

 that could be done, with one exception. That 

 exception olTered them the books for five cents 

 each, or S'J.AO for the lot of fifty books pro- 

 viding they would take books having a few 

 advertisements in them. The matter was 

 talked over, and ii was thought that a few 

 advertisemenis in the back part of the book 

 (as we often see on the covers of our Sunday- 

 school lesson-helps) would do no particular 

 hai m, so the}- instructed the clerk to order the 

 five-cent books. He did so. It so happened 

 that Christmas came on Sundav that year, and 

 the hymn-books arrived late vSalurday night. 

 The sexton carried them to the church, and 

 hurriedly distril)uted them among the pews, 

 having no time to look at them. The congre- 

 gation arrived; and the pastor, arising in the 

 pulpit, said that, as it was Christmas morning, 

 it would be appropriate to begin their sabbath 

 worship by singing the hymn commencing 

 with "Hark! the herald angels sing, " etc., 

 and read the firs: line to the hymn from his 

 own book, and sat down. The chorister struck 

 up, and their surprise and consternation can 

 be imagined when they found themselves sing- 

 ing: 



Hark ! the herakl angels sing ! 



Beechams pills are ju.-t the thing ; 



Always sure and very mild. 



Two tor man and one for child. 



So with some people who would instruct 

 along the line of bee-keeping pursuits: they 

 suppose they are singing the truth, when after- 

 ward it proves to be only advenising for them- 

 selves, or idle vaporings of their imagination, 

 or something they have heard in the gossip at 

 the " corner grocery." 



[.\t the time I called on friend Doolittle, 

 and just before leaving, I said to him that I 

 wished he would sprinkle some of the good 

 stories, that he had given us in his convention 

 talks, into his regular articles for print. He 

 hesitated somewhat, saying that he could feel 

 the pulse of an audience, but could not deter- 

 mine the mood of readeis, whom he could not 

 see, and for that reason he was afraid to 

 venture. I told him to have no fears on that 

 score — to sprinkle in the salt and spice just 

 the same whenever they would flavor a dish of 

 dry facts. He did not give me a decided an- 

 swer that day; but a few days ago he sent the 

 article above, and along with it a private note, 

 in which he .said, referring to the anecdote, 

 " When it is written on cold paper it seems 

 stale, and unworthy of a place in a sober arti- 

 cle on bees; sol leave it to } on to put it in 

 print or to leave it out, as it seems good in 

 your sight. If you publish it, and it takes, I 

 can give more." Yes, indeed give us more, 

 friend D. Our Borodino bee-keeper speaks in 

 a clear, strong voice ; he is a large man ( large 

 in two senses) and the enthusiasm that he 



throws into his talks is accompanied by a cap- 

 tivating sparkle of the eyes and this sort of 

 personality may, in some cases, make some 

 of his .stories sound better than they read, but 

 I have no doubt that thev will all read well.— 

 Kd.] 



%//ecich^/^raii^\.y. 



-)pjfj;^£/v^''^ 



I live in Richmond, Va. I don't suppose 

 we have as strong a honey-harvest as our broth- 

 ers further north, and not so long a one as our 

 brothers in the far South, so I should like to 

 ask a few questions : 



1. Do you think it will pay to run the busi- 

 ness near this place? 



2. Will bees store as much honey in large 

 one-story hives as in two story? 



3. Can a strong colony of bees store enough 

 in a one-story eight- frame hive to carry them 

 through the win.er and raise brood enough to 

 keep strong ? 



4. Can I keep a queen all winter with a pint 

 of bees, on three frames of combs, and raise 

 a large colony it I feed well ? and nmst I give 

 them any thing else except syrup? If so, 

 what else ? Must I feed any thing for pollen ? 

 If so what ? 



5. What is the best way to winter queens? 



6. Can you winter two queens in one hive 

 with a queen excluder between them ? 



7. Can you extract honey from brood-frames 

 without hurting the young brood ? 



S. Will the extra-light section foundation 

 work all right in brood-frames it wired? 



9. Will bees work as well with frames cross- 

 wise a-i they will from front t . back? 



Virginia. 



[ 1. I think it would. 



2. Not as a general rule. In loc tlities where 

 the season is short and the flow moderate, the 

 single-s.ory hive would probably give better 

 results- that is to say, secure all the honey at 

 less expense than the two story; but in locali- 

 ties where there is a long honey-flow, the two- 

 story would do Letter for a ceitain length of 

 time. 



.3. Yes, if they do not use it up in the fall, 

 before winter sets in. If you have a late flow 

 from buckwheat or some other good source, 

 then if the colony rills its hive it will have a 

 great plenty for winter. But an eight-frame 

 hive full of honey by the middle of July, with 

 no further honey- flows, would require to he 

 fed, probably, in the fall in order to give the 

 requisite amount of stores. 



4. Yes, if you are skillful enough ; but do 

 not give thtm any thing but good granulated- 

 sugar .syrup. 



h. The best way to winter queens is in strong 

 colonies, in hives properly ^upplied with 

 stores, and, if outdoors, in d< uble-walled 

 hives packed with chaff, planer-shavings, or 

 sawdust. 



(). Nv t as a general rule. I should expect 



