.lANUAKY, 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULT U R E 



S9 



HEADS OF GRAIN U ?pQMM DIFFERENT_FIElM 



('((iniiiy bee-hat do for the beekeeperette 



what her crisp, starcliy uniform has done 

 for the trained nurse. 



"Ventura, Calif. Flora Mclntyre. 



Clipping on the In clipping queens on 



Comb Not so Awful, the comb, authorities 

 say that practice is 

 everything. I can not say that. When I 

 purchased mv first hive of bees, a book came 

 with them— the ABC and X Y Z of Bee 

 Culture. The first thing I saw when looking 

 it over was a picture of a man making a 

 dive at a queen with a pair of si. ears while 

 she was on the comb. The thought of all 

 that might happen to the bees as well as the 

 queen made my blood run cold, and I never 

 could think of doing anything like that. But 

 when spring came, and the bees were at 

 work full blast, I found that something must 

 be done. So I opened up the hive and took 

 out the second frame. There on the comb 

 was the queen. She was walking about with 

 her head down and her wings pointing up- 

 ward as much as to say, "Why don't you 

 clip me?" I held my hand near her just to 

 see how she would like it, and to see what 

 sort of shears I would need for the business. 

 I pictured in my mind 's eye a long and 

 slender pair of scissors. Then the thought 

 struck me, "Why not get a pair and do it 



now?" I soon had the queen clipped, tak- 

 ing off a bit at a time, even trimming up 

 both wings on each side till I had them look- 

 ing just right. The following spring I had 

 six queens to clip, and I w'as even mor& 

 artistic, for I thought they seemed to enjoy 

 it. The third year gave me 28; and when 

 I was thru with this bunch I felt as if I 

 was quite a hand in "dolling" up queens in 

 short dresses. Frank M. Clark. 



Reading, Mass. 



An Old-time Do you know of an 



Patent Hive. older patent hive than 



this? I bought it with 

 other colonies this spring. I asked the man 

 how long he had owned this hive, and he 

 said it had been on the place ever since he 

 could remember, and he is 45 years old. The 

 hive belonged to his father, and in the 

 memory of the son has never been without 

 bees. It has never been protected against 

 the weather and has never been repainted. 

 The paint is all gone, but the printed words 

 are very plain and stand a sixteenth of an 

 inch above the wood. The bees are the 

 blackest I have ever seen, but not crosser 

 than our Italians. I think this hive will be 

 of some interest to the old-time beekeepers. 

 Conneaut, Pa. C. Klabuhn. 



Dreams.— By Bill Mellvir 



(With apologies to Walt Mason) 



Sometimes I dream I'm living where June 

 is always here, and sunny days are giving 

 to life the utmost cheer; where flowers are 

 always springing rich 

 nectar by the tank 

 and bees are always 

 bringing it in to fill the 

 bank. I dream that I 

 am owning beej'ards 

 on every hill, where 

 honey tanks are groan- 

 ing and more tanks 

 yet to fill. I have a 

 dozen flivers to haul 

 my honey home; the 

 stuff my coin delivers 

 inflates my noble 

 dome. I live in gaudy 

 splendor while chas- 

 ing latest fads; I have 

 the legal tender, I'm 

 shelling out the scads. 

 But when I wake 

 next morning I find 

 my dream a fake; no 

 mansion I'm adorning, 

 I 'm just a country 

 Jake. Instead of hcavv 



working the bees just try to rob, and trou- 

 ble 's always lurking unless I 'm on the 

 job. Whene 'er I dream of nectar just oozing 

 like a flood, I 'm due 

 for some dejector to 

 cool my ardent blood. 

 But when I dream of 

 robbing I know it 's 

 really true, for trou- 

 ble 's always bobbing 

 where fine air castles 

 grew. For dreams can 

 not be trusted when 

 of too florid hue, and 

 many folks go busted 

 from thinking such 

 <lreams true. Now when 

 I count my chickens 

 I wait till they are 

 hatched, for don't it 

 beat the dickens how 

 ilay-dreanis must be 

 patched? So don't 

 weigh up your honey 

 until it's in the tank, 

 and don 't check out 

 your money before it 's 

 in the bank. 



