182 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Grace Allen 



THE DIXIE BEE 



Nashville, Tenn. 



I am glad to note Mr. Crane's 

 success with kerosene to keep off 

 rubbers. We have used carbolic 

 acid, but should jDrefer kerosene. 



ous ways 



That cabinet for Hoffman 



frames, i^age 122, Feb. 1, is a 



delight to look at, and probably more than 



that to possess. When we were feeding last 



fall, we realized that 



we needed some con- „,,_,,,,,^^ „„:..„„„, „„. „„,„. 



venient contrivance 

 for holding the 

 frames that were re- 

 moved from the su- 

 pers for feeding. 

 This looks admira- 

 bly suited to the pur- 

 pose, at least for a 

 small apiary. In 

 large yards, if much 

 feeding were done in 

 supers the surplus 

 frames of comb must 

 require careful hau- 

 ling. There are oth- 

 er times, too, when 

 the bees are not oc- 

 cupying all the 

 frames, and combs 

 are awkwardly frag- 

 ile things to stack up 

 carelessly. Mr. Doo- 

 little's overhead plan 

 would take care of a 

 generous surplus. 



MARCH 



This mad young March! with the sting 

 of his laughter 

 Flung back like a dare as he roars 

 thru the days, 

 While troops of wild winds, reeling 

 recklessly after, 

 Dance round with delight at his riot- 



Who cares what rough unrest he brings? 

 He's doing things! He's doing things! 



He lashes the trees till 'their sap is 

 atingle, 

 He teases the grasses and bullies the 

 birds, 

 He rowdies around with the shutter and 

 shingle, 

 And shouts without rhythm unmusic- 

 al words! 



Who cares what savage song he sings? 

 He's waking things! He's waking 

 things! 



Thev 



DonH we have 

 good-looking covers? 

 i cannot resist say- 

 ing how I appreciate 

 them and enjoy 

 them. The Florida 

 view on the cover of 

 January 1 is exeeed- 

 ingly interesting, 

 with the white hives 

 under the drapery of 

 picturesque Spanish 



moss, and then the little lake beyond. If 

 ever I get to Florida again I shall certainly 

 go looking up some apiaries, just as, if ever 

 I get across the water, I shall go hunting 

 out some of those rare and wondrous hon- 

 eys described so fascinatingly on page 995. 

 Dec. 1, and shall never be quite content till 

 I have tasted the lioney of Narbonne and 

 that of Bourbon. 



The hives by the fence as with gossip 

 are humming — 

 "We know him, the rogue!" Aye, 

 they know him, those bees! 

 And swift thru his winds they are go- 

 ing and coming 

 To plunge in the pollen of feathery 

 trees. 



I feel like raising my voice in profound 

 gratitude when I read any protest against 

 division-boards. They are the one thing I 

 despise, and the effort to pull them out is 

 dangerous to my disposition. " I don't see 

 a bit of sense in them — not a bit," I have 

 declared over and over again to Mr. Allen, 

 yet I might never have dared speak right 

 out in meeting, as I supposed everybody 

 else must be devoted 



^^^ , , , , „„„„ to them and utterly 



dependent upon 

 them. But now I am 

 pleased to add my 

 word. Somebody had 

 persuaded us, when 

 I once threatened 

 never to use one 

 again, that they were 

 necessary to the 

 building of straight 

 combs, so for a while 

 we slavishly used 

 them when there was 

 a lot of foundation 

 to be drawn ; but 

 when the hive or su- 

 per once got filled 

 with combs, out with 

 a swisli came my pet 

 aversion. They are 

 all right and conven- 

 ient when youl-e 

 making a nucleus or 

 contracting a colony, 

 but in a full hive — 

 no, thank you. 



mood whose courage 



chide no 

 flings 

 The bonds from waking hearts of things 



Aren't all those 

 articles about this 

 new bee dissase 

 creepy"? Whether we 

 like the thought or 

 not, war does not 

 seem to be confined 

 to the human race 

 alone. Nature stages 



"" ' '""""" ' ■"" a perpetual war. 



Germs, insects, 

 plants, and animals are at war against 

 one another. See what the bees alone have 

 to fight. Even with the hel^D of man's in- 

 telligence it is a hard battle against moths 

 and sj^iders, ants, and birds, even robber 

 bees, and, worst of all, against the diseases, 

 germ or otherwise, that sometimes wipe 

 them out by the thousands and hundred 

 thousands. 



