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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



By some sort of oversight or misunderstand- 

 ing, the quotations of A. V. Bishop & Co., of 

 Milwaukee, Wis., have been omitted from the 

 Honey Column. They appear again as usual, 

 in this issue. 



There is little to add to what I gave in our 

 last issue regarding this season. It is later 

 than last year by two or three weeks, and it is 

 perhaps too early to get reports. I am safe in 

 saying that clover and ba&swood has been a 

 light crop over the country generally, and 

 prices should rule much higher for such hon- 

 ey. Those who have honey should avail them- 

 selves of a free advertisement of one insertion 

 in our Honey Column. 



EDITOR HOLTERMANN 'S LOSS. 



IT is with much regret that I learn of the 

 sudden death of the six-year-old son of- R. F. 

 Holtermann, editor of the Canadian Bee Jour- 

 nal. On the 12th of June the little fellow was 

 playing about as usual, as robust and healthy 

 as any child could be. His father, who was 

 resting at noon in the hammock, asked the 

 boy if he wished to go to a gospel meeting for 

 children. He said he did. The boy disap- 

 peared around the house, and soon after a 

 sharp cry was heard. The mother responded 

 to the call, and found the boy in convulsions. 

 Mr. Holtermann summoned a physician with- 

 in ten minutes, and in a few minutes more he 

 called another. " But all was over in about 

 half an hour." Death was attributed to sun- 

 stroke as the result of being bareheaded and 

 having the hair rather short. Mr. H. says it 

 has always been his custom to go with the 

 children to the barber's to see that the hair is 

 not cut too short ; but the last time he could 

 not go. However, Mr. H. sajs " that is the 

 human side of it." He recognizes in it God's 

 hand. " It has been for some wise purpose." 

 Gleanings extends its sincere sympathies. 

 Personally we of Rootville have not been call- 

 en on to go through such an affliction, but we 

 feel, nevertheless, for those who have. 



VERNON BURT, THE BEE-KEEPER WHO ALWAYS 

 HAS A CROP OF HONEY ; THE PLAIN- 

 SECTION AND FENCE SYSTEM 

 AS SEEN BY A. I. R. 



Yesterday, July 14, I wished to try a new 

 wheel, and Ernest told me to go over and get 

 a report from Vernon Burt in regard to his 

 honey crop. On reaching his home I found 

 he was three miles further at an out-apiary. 

 Before I reached this out-apiary my heart was 

 rejoiced by seeing great fields of red clover ; 

 in fact, I found out afterward that in that par- 

 ticular locality many farmers make a business 

 of raising clover seed. The fields were literally 

 red with clover-blossoms, and you could see 

 the red for a mile away. I found friend Burt 

 had just been taking off honey. There was 



not a bit of robbing anywhere, not a bee buzz- 

 ing around the honey-house, but they were 

 actually bringing in loads of honey, and fill- 

 ing sections. When he exhibited a dozen or 

 more of the handsomest sections it seemed to 

 me I ever saw in my life, I began to think 

 that these were some "extra selected;" but 

 after I picked sections out of different cases at 

 random, I uttered exclamations of surprise. 



"Why, look here, old friend, how is this? 

 These plain sections are just about as clean as 

 when they came out of our sandpapering- 

 machine ; and there has been no scraping, be- 

 cause this just came from the hive." 



" Well, Mr. Root, that is the great thing 

 about those plain sections and fences. Ernest 

 has got the thing rigged now so there is not a 

 chance for the bees to touch the outside or 

 edges of the section anywhere except a little 

 place on the bottom, and that is so trifling, 

 and so much out of sight, that I would not 

 give a cent to have my sections scraped and 

 sandpapered. In fact, I think they look nicer 

 just as they come from the hive, without be- 

 ing fussed with." 



Now, I suppose I ought to have been better 

 posted ; but this was indeed a revelation to 

 me. Twenty or thirty years ago, when I was 

 so full of enthusiasm about having eight sec- 

 tions of a size just fill a Langstroth frame, 

 with just one pound of honey in each, I do 

 not believe I ever dreamed of any thing as 

 perfect and handsome as these I had just been 

 looking at. The honey was not only beauti- 

 fully capped, but it was attached to the top, 

 bottom, and sides in such a way that there is 

 scarcely a possibility of its being broken out 

 with any sort of decent handling in shipment. 

 Mr. Burt remarked, "Yes, that is another 

 point. I never had any sections in my life so 

 well filled out, and so perfectly attached to 

 the section, as these built with those new 

 fences. You tell Ernest to come out here and 

 see what I have got to show him. And you 

 may say to him that he need not waste any 

 more time and breath in defending the plain 

 sections. If you folks keep up the kind of 

 workmanship you have given me this sum- 

 mer, this arrangement will talk for itself and 

 make its own way clear through the whole 

 bee keeping world." 



Now, to tell the truth, I have several times 

 felt there had been almost too much breath 

 wasted in defense of the fences. A good thing 

 does not need "boosting." Mr. Burt has al- 

 ready taken 72 just such sections from several 

 of his strongest hives; and even during this 

 poor season, when almost everybody is la- 

 menting, and talking about ' ' another failure, ' ' 

 Mr. Burt is going to have a nice crop of honey, 

 even if the bees should stop right where they 

 are, and go no further. He has something 

 like 150 colonies in his home apiary, and near- 

 ly as many in the out-apiary. He says he 

 thinks he could get more honey during a poor 

 season with 50 or 60 colonies in one place in- 

 stead of three times that number; but in a 

 very good season a large number would get 

 plenty, and it is ever so much less work to 

 care for a larger apiary all in one place. — 

 A. I. R. 



