1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



769 



pared the bees in his several yards for winter, 

 he makes his headquarters in Chicago, where 

 he markets his honey. When that is all sold 

 he makes a general business of buying and 

 selling. Said I, " Mr. Walker, you come as 

 near being a specialist bee-keeper as any man 

 we have in our ranks." 



" I guess that is true," he replied. 



It is too bad that Mr. Walker is so busy a 

 man — so busy, in fact, that he scarcely finds 

 time to eat and sleep, much less to write for 

 bee-papers ; but very fortunately, W. Z. 

 Hutchinson has already paid him a visit, and 

 has begun to tell in the Jxericzc something 

 about this rusher of a bee-keeper, who always 

 gets a honey crop. Said Mr. Walker, as he 

 boarded the train, "Now don't go and write 

 me up." I didn't exactly promise; and while 

 I haven't told some things, also to his credit, I 

 couldn't forbear saying what I have said above. 



THE A. I. ROOT CO.'S EXHIBIT IN THE APICUI,- 



TURAI, BUILDING OF THE OMAHA 



EXPOSITION. 



Ei^SEWHERE in this issue will be found an 

 illustration of our exhibit as it appeared in the 

 Apiculttiral Building at Omaha. It stands 

 very near the center of the building, and sur- 

 mounting the whole is a large sign made after 

 the pattern of our trademark. Within the 

 inclosure are represented samples of nearly 

 every thing we make in the line of apicultural 

 supplies. At the left, and hanging to one of 

 the posts, is a handsome water-color picture 

 showing our factory and the general manu- 

 facturing plant. Just behind the post, in the 

 foreground, stands one of our four-frame ball- 

 bearing Cowan extractors. This is the third 

 ball-bearing extractor we ever made ; and the 

 results are so satisfactory from the ease of 

 running that we have decided to make our 

 18U9 machines ball-bearing — that is, the main 

 bearing that supports the reel. From some 

 careful tests we have made, putting two ma- 

 chines of the same capacity and style side by 

 side, and giving the handle of each machine 

 an equal impetus, we found that the machine 

 with the ball bearings would give just about 

 twice as many turns when left to expend its 

 force as the same machine, identically, with- 

 out the ball bearings. 



Close to the post on the right is a No. 15 

 two-frame Cowan and Dadant uncapping-can. 

 The center of the exhibit is made up of various 

 styles of hives, perforated zinc, smokers, solar 

 wax-extractors, foundation, swarm-catchers, 

 and a dozen and one other things that we 

 make, too numerous to mention. Our thanks 

 are due to Messrs. Whitcomb and Stilson for 

 the very neat and tasty arrangement of the 

 exhibit. When A. I. R. and myself came 

 into the building we felt proud of our exhibit. 



because she could work faster, partly because 

 she didn't like the stings, but mostly because 

 .she could not stand the nasty, sticky stuff 

 (propolis) on her fingers. She finally brought 

 out her gloves with their long sleeves. These 

 gloves were made of hogskin — "horrible- 

 smelling things," she said, when new; but 

 after they had been used for a time they lost 

 their porcine odor. On the greaves of the 

 gloves are sewn long sleeves, the opposite 

 ends of which, when put on, are fastened to 

 the shoulders. 



"Why," said I, "how can you pick up 

 queens ? " 



"I don't do it," said she. "I call Dr. Mil- 

 ler after I find the queen. He comes, picks 

 her off the frame, clips her wings, and puts 

 her into the hive again." 



" But, aren't those gloves awkward ? " 



" Not when one gets used to them. Why, 

 I don't care how cross the bees are; I can work 

 right along just the same." 



" But, aren't the gloves filled full of stings ? " 



"Why, yes, I suppose they are." Then 

 she produced her old pair for my inspection, 

 but I did not see the evidence of many stings. 

 "But," she continued, "I would rather have 

 stings in my gloves than in my fingers." 



I told her I had half a notion to try the 

 same sort of gloves when I got home, just to 

 see if it were awkward to handle frames with 

 them. 



I have always had a sort of pity for timid 

 ones who find it necessary to wear gloves 

 among the bees; but fear of stings, I am now 

 convinced, is not the only reason why they 

 are used, unless it is in the case of the Cogg- 

 shalls. I would pity the man who did jwf 

 wear them in i/ieir yards as they work them, 

 especially when La Mar Coggshall gives a 

 hive one of those famous kicks of his as illus- 

 trated in another column. 



GLOVES IN A BEE-YARD. 



While visiting at Dr. Miller's I had several 

 little chats with " Em," his sister and helper 

 in the bee-yard. In one of these interviews I 

 mentioned incidentally the great amount of 

 propolis I found in their hives ; and then she 

 explained that she always wore gloves, partly 



COGGSHALL AND HIS FAMOUS KICK-OFF- 

 SUPER ACT. 



A YEAR or SO ago I told you something 

 about how Mr. W. L. Coggshall saves time by 

 kicking his hive-supers and hive-bodies off 

 the brood-nest. At two or three of the con- 

 ventions where I have told of this acrobatic 

 feat, there have been quite a number of ques- 

 tions asked. One man increduously asked, 

 "Why, do you mean he actually kicks the 

 hive-body off from the brood-nest ? ' ' He 

 seemed to think that I was either stretching 

 the truth or that I meant Mr. Coggshall did it 

 metaphorically. Well, to show that he liter- 

 ally and truly does that thing, I take pleasure 

 in presenting an engraving in another column. 



You have all heard about " kickers;" but 

 here is a man who has done another kind of 

 kicking — kicked off more hive-supers, I will 

 venture to say, than any man living; and he 

 does it in such away as not to rack the hive- 

 body nor to make the bees more than stinging 

 cross. But what cares he if it does stir the 

 bees up a little ? Any man who would dare to 

 throw a whole hive of live mad bees upon a 

 charging bull would not be afraid to take a 

 few stings himself. The drawing elsewhere, 

 showing Coggshall, the bees, and the bull, is 



