22 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



tact with many more, as I was bee-inspector of Mesa 

 Co. at ihat time, which gave me an opportunity to see 

 the re.'-ults under diffe.ent conditions and manage- 

 ment. 



My conclusions were the.se : That there are three 

 essentials in the use of the fence system. 



1. All .starters must be perfect. They should reach 

 (practically) clear across the section, with no ragged 

 edge at the bottom, no little bits hanging crosswise, 

 nor corners turned out. 



2. With these narrower combs it is absolutely neces- 

 sary that the hives be level from side to side. 



3.' The manipulator must see to it that colonies never 

 become overcrowded for room during a heavy flow or 

 while comb-building is being actively carried on ; better 

 h,-ive a little too much room than not enough. 



In my opinion, if the above conditions are carried 

 out, there is no sy.'^tem for comb honey that will give 

 so great a percent oi perfect section as the fence-sep- 

 arator system. M. A. Gill, 



Boulder, Col., Dec. 23. 



Right in this connection, before we dismiss 

 this subject of supplies, I should like to say 

 that we, the Root Co., and for that matter I 

 believe any supply-manufacturer, are always 

 glad to receive suggestions — yes, even criti- 

 cisms. Personally I consider, as I said, all 

 such as friendly acts, and really a proof of 

 friendship, providing that tho.se criticisms are 

 offered in the spirit of friendship, and those 

 offered at Denver were of this sort. 



OUR 

 HOMES, 



BY A.I. BOOT. 



He that sosvtth to hi.s flesh shall of the flesh reap 

 corruption ; but he that soweth to the .Spirit shall of 

 the .Spirit reap life everlasting. — Gal. 0:8. 



Our friends will remember my talk in our 

 Dec. 1st issue in regard to expectorating on 

 the streets, and in closets and other places. 

 Well, I am happy to tell all who maybe inter- 

 ested in the matter that that little talk of mine 

 effectually cured the whole business on our 

 premises ; that is, there has been none of it in 

 our closets since then. We had them scrubbed 

 up nicely, the baseboards, blinds, and pipes 

 neatly painted, some boxes of sawdust pro- 

 vided in the way of spittoons, and up to this 

 writing I have not seen a trace of any thing 

 filthy on the floor, and not very much of any 

 thing in the boxes of sawdust. There has 

 been such a complete reform that I almost 

 felt as if I had been more severe in my talk 

 than I needed to have been. 



But even if we did win one victory, there 

 are still other evils to fight. Several times of 

 late I have been told that the small boys of 

 our establishment are tising tobacco to an 

 alarming extent. When the matter was first 

 made known to me I concluded my informant 

 must have overstated it, because I thought I 

 knew of so many of the boys who stirely 

 would not touch tobacco in any shape or man- 

 ner. But I was reminded again of the matter, 

 and was told that there were several under the 

 age prescribed by the laws of our State, in 

 regard to giving or selling the narcotic. I de- 

 cided to talk to the boys one at a time when- 

 ever opportunity offered, where I could see 

 them alone, and I did some talking. Finally, 



some one who had an opportunity of know- 

 ing said lie feared every boy in a certain large 

 department was not only chewing, but the 

 most of them were smoking also. He said they 

 did not smoke on our premises (our insurance 

 policies forbid it); but that if I would watch 

 them when they went home nights I might 

 see a great lot of boys pulling pipes out of 

 their pockets, lighting them, and going 

 througti the town puffing away in order to 

 advertise the fact, as it would seem, that The 

 A. I. Root Co. had " let up " on its stringent 

 rules of former years in regard to the use of 

 tobacco. I confess I was a great deal troubled 

 by this report, and I said, " Why, I am sure 

 there are several boys in the room you mention 

 who do not use tobacco in any shape or man- 

 ner." 



" Will you please name one such ? " 

 I mentioned a boy of whom I felt about as 

 sure as I would of our own boy Huber. He 

 is just about Huber's age. To my astonish- 

 ment, my informant replied : 



" Mr, Root, you can not feel any more pain- 

 ed than I do when I tell you that this very 

 boy," calling him byname, "has been puffing 

 a pipe on the streets with the rest of them. 

 My impression is that he has been ' bullied ' 

 into it. They have got a going to such an ex- 

 tent that, if there is one boy in their room 

 who hangs back, they torment him until he 

 smokes a whiff or two, so that they will let 

 him alone. In fact, there seems to be a sort 

 of concerted plan among the boys to make all 

 the good boys join in, so there will be more of 

 them to be reproved when their employers un- 

 dertake to do something about it." 



In order to be sure I was not mistaken I ask- 

 ed several of the older people in our employ 

 (those who " love righteousness ") in regard 

 to the matter, and the report every time was 

 that the statement made me was pretty nearly 

 correct. 



Very soon afterward I stated the matter to 

 the younger members of our firm, remarking 

 that something should certainly be done ; and 

 I think I suggested myself that I did not think 

 we should be very severe on the boys if we de- 

 cided not to keep any boy under age who con- 

 tinued to use tobacco. Well, every member 

 of our firm indorsed what I said, and some of 

 them did so rather emphatically. Then I 

 made haste to say, "All right, boys; but we 

 will not adopt any such severe measures as 

 this before we have tried gentle means." 

 Then Ernest immediately suggested that cast- 

 iron rules were to be avoided in all matters of 

 this kind unless no other means would accom- 

 plish the result. Then I petitioned to have 

 the matter left in my hands. God knows it 

 has never been in my heart to dismiss any boy, 

 even for the use of tobacco. If, however, we 

 have a boy in our employ who can not be dis- 

 suaded from trying to entice others, especially 

 other boys younger than himself, into the to- 

 bacco habit, then we shall certainly have to 

 dismiss him. At the present writing I have 

 met and talked with a good many of the boys; 

 and while several of them have admitted that 

 the statement made to me was pretty nearly 

 true, I am sure I have a good many of them 



