GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



One of J. H. Warner & Sun' 

 hens eaeli. 



poultry-houses accommodating 250 



light box with open top 30 inches square, 

 6 inches deep, mounted on legs 12 inches 

 long; a loose-fitting frame, covered with 

 inch-mesh netting, acts as a follower as long- 

 as the feed lasts, and the biddies soon be- 

 come disgusted with hooking beak and toe- 

 nails upon intervening wires in a vain at- 

 tempt to explore its contents. 



CHOOSING THE BREED. 



We would not select a Percheron horse 

 for a trotter, and for the same reason we 

 should not select any of the general-utility 

 breeds for exclusive egg jDroduction. While 

 single indix-iduals of these breeds may equal 

 the best Leghorns as egg-producers, the fact 

 remains that the Leghorns stand pre-eminent 

 among all breeds as walking egg-machines; 

 hence the name " Leghorn " is a synonym 

 of efficiency and utility in egg-production. 

 The white vai'iety is conspicuous on account 

 of her queenly form and gi-aceful carriage, 

 as well as her beautifully drooping crimson 

 comb and the exceedingly large size of her 

 snow-white eggs. Undoubtedly the Leghorn 

 as a breed will stand high-pressure feeding 

 for commercial egg production better than 

 any other. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



BEES AND POULTRY IN THE YEARS GONE BY 



BY L. G. GARY 

 PouUry Judge 



This subject will bring out some good 

 articles, no doubt, written by those capable 

 of writing interesting articles; but as for 

 myself, I have had experience that, if I had 

 talent to relate in an interesting and proper 

 manner, I might have an article worth read- 

 ing. However, it is plain talk tbat we like 



to have, and facts that 

 will do us some good. 

 I have been a poul- 

 ti-y lover all my life, 

 and can not remember 

 the time I did not have 

 my few thoroughbred 

 birds. When a boy of 

 eight years I owned 

 some grand pit games 

 and raised them for an 

 uncle of mine who was 

 a great fancier, and 

 paid some fancy prices 

 for them. He kept me 

 in stock, and I certain- 

 ly sj^ent many a happy 

 hour with my favorite 

 birds. I almost lived 

 with them, when I had 

 time from running 

 errands for my mother 

 or helping my father around the farm. 

 Boys began helping earlier those days than 

 they do now, it seems to me. 



At the age of forty I can look back to 

 those days of my childhood and readily 

 understand why it is that I can not help 

 raising i^oultry, and, furthermore, why I am 

 interested in the production of thorough- 

 bred birds. It seems to me I am a bigger 

 crank than ever about all kinds of poultry. 

 I will say that I have found my poultry 

 work very pleasant, and, of course, interest- 

 ing and also profitable. 



I also remember back in those barefoot 

 days, when I was taking my first lessons in 

 poultry culture my father, who was very 

 fond of honey (I might as well include my- 

 self in this fondness for honey) got the 

 notion that he would raise some bees. At 

 that time we knew little of the Italians or 

 any particular breed of bees. We just 

 thought bees were bees, and that was all 

 there was to it, and that any kind of box 

 was a hive. I do not remember where he 

 got his first start, but I think he bought 

 them at a sale. Anyhow, we had some bees, 

 and in the spring more bees, as they swarm- 

 ed often. 



How well I remember what a turmoil 

 there was on the little farm when the bees 

 swarmed ! My father and I out in the corn- 

 field were startled to hear the dinner-bell 

 begin to ring about nine in the morning; 

 but we had no more than started for the 

 house when we were assured that no greater 

 calamity had happened than the bees swarm- 

 ing, as we could hear the din and rattle that 

 mother and the other children were making 

 to get the bees to settle. We thought if we 

 would beat on tin pans and make a furious 



