1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



653 



that old bone of contention again — the clean- 

 ing of fences and separators. I very much 

 doubt whether the fences will have to be 

 cleaned as often as the plain separators. In 

 fact, we have a letter in hand now from a cor- 

 respondent who says less propoUs is deposited 

 on the edges of plain sections and fences than 

 on the separators and bee-way sections. He 

 does not give the reason; but I assume that, 

 inasmuch as there is freer communication 

 from side to side and from section to section, 

 the bees do not seem to have the notion that 

 they must seal each individual honey-box 

 into a compartment b}' itself. If they would 

 once begin the process of plugging in glue, 

 they would have a job on their hands. Now, 

 please do not put me down as saying that this 

 is a positive fact. I do not know that this 

 would be true in all cases. 



BEE-KEEPING IN "MERRIE ENGLAND. 



Apiary of C. N. White. 



Our bee-garden picture shows the apiary of 

 Mr. C. N. White, and is situate in the village 

 of Somersham, Hunts., in which place he has 

 resided for the past eighteen years. In re- 

 sponse to our request for a few particulars re- 

 garding himself and his work to go along 

 with the picture, Mr. White says: 



" My first lessons in bee-keeping were taken 

 from my old friend and schoolmaster, Mr. 

 Winter, of Caistor, Lines., with whom I lived 

 while apprenticed as pupil-teacher. Here, 

 twenty-eight years ago, I first saw bees kept 

 on a humane principle, for my bee-master 

 (though hardly progressive or scientific 

 enough to fairly give him a claim to that dis- 



APIARY OF C. N. WHITE. — FROM BRITISH BEE JOURNAI,. 



But to get back to the original question, let 

 us assume that the fence will be glued up as 

 much as the separator. If it costs you S2.00 a 

 thousand or more to clean the old - style 

 separators, I would employ some girl or boy 

 to do it by the piece. Suppose the boy were 

 given a rate whereby he could earn eight or 

 ten cents an hour; I would guarantee that he 

 would clean your fences for a good deal less 

 than ?2.00 a thousand if he did it by the piece 

 or by the thousand. But let us assume that 

 it would cost just as much to clean plain 

 fences as separators. The only difference 

 would be the difference in first cost of fences 

 over separators. 



But I suspect that we had both better wait 

 until we have an opportunity to test the clean- 

 ing of separators and fences. — Ed.] 



tinctive title) preferred an economical as well 

 as humane system of bee-keeping. From 1875, 

 when I left college, to '79. when I settled at 

 Somersham, I was gleaning information on 

 bees, and learned nmch from Mr. W\ B. Jev- 

 ons, of Market Rasen, who was then an ex- 

 pert bee-keeper. Here, then, I formed the 

 nucleus of an apiary that eventually became 

 my pride, and did not lack the admiration of 

 friends. The work and worry inseparable 

 from scholastic duties in a rural school of 2-50 

 children at first prevented me from doing very 

 much with the bees ; but since I have been 

 able to turn to the hobby in grim earnest, I 

 have by practical work and by the use of my 

 pen endeavored to show other rurals that bee- 

 keeping is a source of interest and profit, and 

 tends to promote good health and the power 



