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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Dkcembbs, 1921 



I especially admired the rock and cement 

 work. On our own ' ' Eichland Avenue ' ' 

 there had been no new structures for some 

 years, but now there are four, and one of 

 them with its work of arches of native rock 

 and cement, makes me want to stop and 

 shout, every time I see it. 



Well, the residences are not all. Eight in 

 the heart of the "city," where used to be 

 a fine brick edifice, in fact right where 

 Ernest and I used to get our nice dinners 

 only a year ago, there are now only great 

 heaps of sand, brick, crushed stone, etc. 

 When I asked, in surprise, what had become 

 of the fine structure, with its "plate glass 

 windows," etc., the reply was: 



"Moved to yonder place." 



"What? Moved that great brick build- 

 ing?" 



Sure enough, there it stood, without so 

 much as a crack or blemish, so far as I 

 could see. Do you wonder that I thought 

 of my second text, about moving mountains, 

 and it was faith that did it in both cases. 

 And, my good friends, it was this same 

 faith that has enabled our country to re- 

 move the demon of intemperance, and it is 

 finally going to be pushed off, with war and 

 its resulting famine, from the whole of the 

 great wide world. 



Bradentown is a busy place. No "great 

 army of unemployed" about here. Not 

 much. Shall I tell you how I know? Well, 

 we have just had a "Tropical Hurricane" 

 It did not blow over my windmills, but it 

 blew the rubber belts off, blew off one wing 

 or sail and "twisted both tails." But thanks 

 to my big, stout "long-time friend," Kaiser, 

 we were out of "juice" for only a few 

 hours. Our home didn't fare so well. It 

 gave the house such a shaking up that 

 about a yard square of plaster came down 

 from overhead in our best room. Of course 

 I sent for a plasterer to repair the damage, 

 but he had so many jobs I could never find 

 him at home. The next man had promised 

 all he could do until January. Everybody 

 is busy, and from the way they all seem to 

 be rushing things, it made me think of my 

 last text, especially where I see them clean- 

 ing up and building new homes, away out 

 in the pine woods and among the scrub 

 palmettoes. I want to live and die among 

 busy people. See first text. 



We reached here Friday. By Saturday 

 night I had planted peas, beans, radishes, 

 turnips, spinach, curled cress, and last but 

 by no means least, Hubam clover. If you 

 want to know about this last read the bee 

 journals and the great agricultural periodic- 

 als. It is the plant that is going to make 

 the great world a "land flowing with (both) 

 milk and honey." Well, the Hubam was up 

 BO you could see the rows in only two and 

 three-fourths days. It has made a growth 

 of seven or eight feet in less than four 

 months here during our Florida winters and 

 has been called by bee and cattle men a bet- 

 ter feed than even alfalfa. 



"Treasures in Heaven" as Well as on Eartli. 



I found the following on my table one 

 morning when I came to work. After hav- 

 ing read it I uttered a loud "amen." After 

 you have read it do likewise, and then turn 

 in and help. 



Wellesley Hills, Mass., April 19, 1921. 

 As the great life insurance companies are spend- 

 ing huge sums on doctors, scientific investigations, 

 and district nurses to improve the health of the 

 nation, so we business men should spend huge sums 

 to develop those fundamental religious qualities of 

 integrity, industry, faith, and service, vchich make 

 for true prosperity. I repeat, the need of the hour 

 is — not more factories or materials, not more rail- 

 roads or steamships, not more armies or navies — 

 but rather more Christian education. This is not 

 the time to reduce investments in schools and co>l- 

 leges at home, or in Y. M. C. A. and similar vrork 

 in China, Japan, Russia, or South America. This 

 is the time of all times to increase such subscrip- 

 tions. Roger W. Babson. 



Requeening^ and Something About "Spot- 

 ting Robbers." 



I have been quite successful growing queens. I 

 have requeened 50 colonies — two of which are at 

 home, and so "ambitious" that I have got to carry 

 them to an outyard. They watch me and stand 

 ready to jump into any hive I open. This morning 

 they went after a new nucleus which had only a 

 few young bees. I opened up the hive, and they 

 went on a rampage until I covered the hive with a 

 blanket, when they soon quieted down. When I un- 

 covered the hive, they were soon at it as bad as 

 ever. I laid a frame of honey down, and had Mrs. 

 Abbott sprinkle them with flour so I could see where 

 tliey went. On watching the yard I could easily 

 see that two colonies were doing all the mischief. 

 In the morning I will carry them off and drop them 

 like a "stray cat." D. W. Abbott. 



Bradentown, Fla., Sept. 3, 1921. 



In regard to spotting robbers and taking 

 them away by sprinkling them with flour, 

 my impression is that it is an old idea; but 

 nevertheless it is a good one. It just now 

 occurs to me that another kind of robbers 

 of a recent date, especially in our great 

 cities, when caught red-handed, make for a 

 crowd; and when the policeman finally 

 grabs him he declares he is not the man — a 

 mistake has been made. Could we not man- 

 age in some ingenious way to sprinkle these 

 chaps so we could tell better "who is who?" 



My long-time friend, I am glad to hear 

 of your success in raising queens; but if I 

 understand you correctly you have re- 

 queened 50 colonies during the past sum- 

 mer. I am aware that much has been said 

 about requeening all our colonies every sea- 

 son; and I think Ernest tells me that in 

 California, some beekeepers keep their 

 queens only about six months. I may be, 

 in my old age, a little behind the times; but 

 I do not think I would destroy any queen 

 that seemed to be "making good" unless 

 she were at least two or three years old. 

 See clipping below: 



It may be of interest to know that the queen pur- 

 chased three years ago from you as "untested" 

 proved the most valuable queen I have ever owned 

 — proved to be a breeder of highest order, and is 

 still on the job. This, her third summer, her colony 

 made a good crop of honey for the year, and all my 

 queens are being raised from graftings from her 

 cells. Big two dollars' worth! We have dubbed 

 her "Lady Root." A. J. Reamy, Jr. 



Quitman, Ga., July 9, 1921. 



