1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



123 



rubber. I think the impression was made 

 b}' setting up types made of ordinary type 

 metal. 



Information came in somewhere about 

 18h7of a comb-cmptj'intf m;ichine, and tr um 

 directions I ^ot from frieud Wnf?ner I soon 

 had a machine made, all of metal instead 

 of wood as the Germans made them. 

 Langstroth br efly described the German 

 machine in a ciicular put out in 18Ci7. 



While I was at work on comb foundation 

 and the hone.v-extractor, both Langstroth 

 and Wafi^ner encouraged me and gave me 

 all the informatinn they could obtain in re- 

 gard to the matter. Many of Wagner's let- 

 ters during those 5'ears seemed to me of 

 more value than the articles with which he 

 used to fill the pages of the American Bee 

 Journal. It seems to n-e unfortunate n iw 

 that I did not save them. Wagner {unlike 

 your humble servant) kept himself and his 

 personal afifairs verj' much out of sight in 

 his editorial work.* The pages of the old 

 American Bee Journal, away back, were 

 principally occupied by contributors. He 

 verj' seldom added a footnote, nor interfered 

 unless we got to bearing on each other a 

 little too hard. On one occasion he admin- 

 istered quite a sharp reproof to "Novice;" 

 but it was a little paragraph at the end of 

 mv communication that might have meant 

 mj'self or any or all of the rest of the cor- 

 respondents. When it cime to exposing 

 swindles Mr. Wagner came out pretty se- 

 verely and plainly. But there were only a 

 few occasions on which he did this. 



The American Bee Journal for March, 

 1872, announced the sudden death of our 

 beloved editor. The article was written by 

 father Langstroth, who was at the time 

 paying a visit to his old friend Mr. Wag- 

 ner. These two, Langstroth and Warner, 

 were a pair of God's noblemen. As I look 

 over the pages and recall the past, I fall 

 to wondering whether we have any, just 

 such as they were. left. May be not exact- 

 ly like them, but God forbid it should ever 

 be said truthfully that the good men — the 

 real nobleniev — are all dead and passed 

 away. — A. I. R. 



MRS. O. L. HKRSHISER. 



Those of us who had the pleasure of 

 stopping with Mr. and Mrs. Hershiser, at 

 their residence, 301 Huntington Ave., Buf- 

 falo, during the Exposition, will not soon 

 forget the hospitality extended to us by the 

 lady of the house. When she was first 

 married she knew nothing of bees, but took 

 up the work with a keenness and interest 

 seldom equaled by any good wife of the 

 home. At the time of the Exposition she 



* Our good f; iend Wagner was such an exceedingly 

 modest man thai he never had his picture taken al- 

 thoueh his friends often urged him \o do so. When 

 the hee-kteper>' medley was published I was .so anx- 

 ious to have Mr. Wagner among the crowd that my 

 good friend Lang^^troth said he could get me a picture 

 of a man who looked so much like Wagner thai his 

 best friends often got them mixed up; and this pic- 

 ture, with the above explanation, now appears in the 

 medley. 



knew all the bee-keepers far and wide, and 

 could talk bees and honey with the best of 

 them. Whenever her husband (who was 

 superintendent cf the apiarian exhibits at 

 the Pan Amtrican) was absent, she as- 

 sumed chartje; and those of us who attend- 

 ed that exposition will probably recall that 

 she was quite the equal of her other half in 

 demonstrating the practical workings of 

 the hive. 



It may be interesting to note that a prize 

 of $25 was oflered by Mr. Danzenbaker for 

 the best twenty sections of comb honey 

 stored in his hives, and $15 for the next 

 best. Mrs. H. secured the first prize, and 

 Mr. H. the second. More than half the col- 

 onies at work on the exposition grounds 

 were from her apiary, for it appears there 

 was an individual ownership and a pleas- 

 ant rivalry between them as to who should 



MKS. O. L. HERSHISRR. THK L.AUV WHO SKCURED THB 



$.'5.00 PKIZK FOR THE BEST COMB HONEY SHOWN 



AT THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION. 



produce the finer and better honey. At that 

 exposition she won out, taking first honors. 

 Her husband writes me that she has on oc- 

 casion opened a hive, and removed the comb 

 honey without gloves, veil, or smoke — 

 something that professionals usually do not 

 care to undertake. 



This seems like a late day to tell this 

 story; but the fact that at least some of the 

 points related did not reach me till a few 

 days ago will account for this, and there- 

 fore I am glad to introduce Mrs. Hershiser 

 to her old friends and acquaintances, and 

 to the many new friends who have not had 

 the pleasure of her queenly hospitality. 



