MAY 15, 1916 



399 



ingly unfolded the story of the queen, 

 drone, and workers ; of the brood-nest, eggs, 

 larv33, and pupae, and explained that the 

 half -depth boxes were to bold tlie surplus 

 honey, and he showed me an empty hive 

 and section-super. 



He then started a fire in a queer-looking 

 little furnace, the smoker, and invited me to 

 go along and see the bees and queen. I 

 pointed to a bee-veil near by and asked him 

 if we did not need it, for I was vei-y much 

 afraid of getting stung. He replied that 

 lie seldom used a veil, and promised that, if 

 I did what lie told me, I should not receive 

 a single sting, so I decided to take the risk 

 and follow along. 



He singled out a hive, gave two or three 

 slight puffs of smoke at the entrance, and 

 gradually pried the cover up, puffing some 

 smoke under it at one side as it came up. 

 He told me to stand perfectly still, and not 

 to make any quick moves. I expected to 

 see probably a handful of bees; but as he 

 lifted the cover there was a great roar, and 

 I saw the inside of a strong colony for the 

 first time. I thought there must be millions 

 of bees. They gave me a sort of crawly 

 sensation, and I would gladly have run 

 HAvay, but was afraid to stir. 



My uncle tlien removed the division-board 

 and the three combs next to it, one by one, 

 each comb literally crowded with bees. He 

 told me not to blow my breath against the 

 bees, and then shoved a comb in front of 

 my face and pointed out the larvae which I 

 thought resembled the little white worms 

 found in rotten wood. He then pointed out 

 cells with eggs in, and, tho I could not see 

 the eggs, I nodded my head and made be- 

 lieve T did, for T was afraid I would Jiave 

 to breathe, and I didn't know what those 

 bees might do if I breathed. After he had 

 removed tliree frames on one side of the 

 hive, he pried all the frames over a little, 

 and removed the frame next to the opposite 

 side of the hive. 



"There she is!" he exclaimed, and then 

 pointed out the queen. I noticed that she 

 liad no stripes like the other bees. He then 

 slowly replaced the frames. Only once did 



a bee threaten me. Tt came up and poised 

 within a few inches of my nose and stayed 

 there for a second. I stood as straight as 

 I could and held ray breath, and I felt cross- 

 eyed for about a week from keeping both 

 eyes on it. But the bee left, and I was glad 

 it did, for I was beginning to think serious- 

 ly of leaving in a hurry. So I got off with- 

 out a sting, as my uncle had promised. 



After I got the hive home, my first wish 

 was to get some bees. Happily a friend 

 who kept bees, mostly in the old-fashioned 

 way, knowing that I had a hive, and wanted 

 some bees, promised me the first swarm he 

 should have. I procured foundation from 

 a supply-dealer and made my hive ready 

 for the bees; and a swarm was given to me 

 on Saturday, June 15, 1912. They built up 

 rapidly, despite the fact that I inspected 

 them at least once and sometimes twice each 

 week day, handling each frame. There is 

 no doubt in my mind now that those bees 

 were glad to see Sunday come. Some time 

 in July they swarmed, and T put the swarm 

 in a standard hive which I had bought in 

 flat and put together. The new swarm built 

 up into a strong colony before winter, and 

 the old colony gathered about twenty-five 

 pounds of surplus. 



To prepare these colonies for winter I 

 placed them side by side, put a super filled 

 with chaff on top of each one, and then put 

 some rough boards around them and banked 

 up with dirt. I happened to have a large 

 box about one foot deep which telescoped 

 nicely over both hives. 



The next season I ran my bees, together 

 with some others, on shares. But about this 

 time I got a position in an office and was 

 unable to give them enough attention. I 

 started to work about 8:00 a. m. and quit at 

 5:00 P.M., and liad my bees to bardie and 

 other tasks to perform besides. Thus T was 

 unable to do anything well, and the bees 

 were greatly neglected. However, I got a 

 good crop of honey, mostly extracted- T 

 was enabled to increase my own two colo- 

 nies to fourteen, and get about fifty pounds 

 of surplus extracted honey. 



Osceola Mills, Pa. 



CLERGYMEN AS BEEKEEPERS 



BY THE I^EV. HERMAN W. WATJEN 



Some time ago a noted clergyman, speak- 

 ing in the city of Boston to a large gather- 

 ing of ministers, mostly from country par- 

 ishes, said, "Brethren, keep hens; they are 

 profitable, and will add materially to your 

 income." Had the good preacher known 



anything about bees I am sure he would 

 have changed that statement. He would 

 doubtless have said, "Brethren, keep bees; 

 they are more profitable than liens and re- 

 quire less care; they lake up little room and 

 make no noise; they can be kept almost 



