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GLEANIKGS IN 13EE CULTURE. 



July 



to send for yom' ABC book, as she don't know any 

 thin^ about bees. I have a little brother; bethinks 

 he can help, but he is too little. He is only five 

 years old. If you have forgotten to send my book, 

 will you please send it? Anne Spencer. 



Hockingpoi-t, O , June C, 1881. 



"Why, I am real sorry, friend Annie ; and 

 to make up for your disappointmeiit, we 

 send you two l)o6ks this time. Tell your 

 little brother he is all right, and he can help 

 too. If you all try you will be sure to suc- 

 ceed; and I know you will find lots of work 

 that your five-year old brother can do. You 

 didn't tell me what his name is. I have lots 

 of boys and girls and men, and women too, 

 to work for me; and when I find one who 

 Trcntii in lidjj, he is often worth more than 

 some who are " great big," who do not want 

 to help very much. 



I am 11 years old. I go to school, and read in the 

 Fourth Reader, and study Second Part of Arithme- 

 tic, and Geographj". I have got three head- marks 

 and 28 perfect marks. I go to Sabbath-school, and I 

 got a Bible for learning my catechism, and repeat- 

 ing it to Mr. Cleland, the pastor. 1 have learned the 

 23d Psalm. Grace McCkory. 



Winchester, Adams Co., O., June 15, 1881. 



Well done, (^racie. Even if your letter 

 isn"t about bees, it is a good one, and as it 

 don't take much room we put it in. Stick 

 to that -:3d Psalm, and you will be good to 

 take care of bees or any thing else when you 

 grow up. 



I am a little girl 8 years old. My pa takes Glean- 

 ings, and I like to hear it read. I like your car- 

 toons too. I found a swarm of bees on the hedge a 

 year ago, and in the spring pa bought C more. AV^e 

 have got 41 colonies now, mostly Italians. My two 

 brothers take care of the bees, and I help them 

 some. I M'ot stung on the hand once, and you may 

 guess I had a fat hand; but it didn't hurt much. I 

 am my mamma's baby. My papa's name is A. B. 

 Kirk. My pa is a preacher. I like to go to Sunday- 

 school. I like to go to school too. I read in the 

 Fourth Reader, and I spell and write. I am in an 

 arithmetic class too. Emma Kirk. 



Columbus, Cherokee Co., Kan , May 13, 1881. 



AVhy, Emma, th^it is a first-rate letter for 

 an eight-year old ''chicken," and I should 

 think you were getting along pretty well in 

 your studies too. ]3e sure you do not neg- 

 lect your health in studying so much. Lit- 

 tle girls eight years old need lots of air and 

 sunshine to make their little bodies grow; 

 and helping their papas among the bees 

 will many times do them more good than 

 studying ai'ithmetic. Our girl Maude has 

 been to school so much, that the doctor 

 said she was in danger of consumption. So 

 you see we took her out of school, and she 

 goes with her uncle (" neighbor 11. ") down to 

 his apiary by the river. lie makes her drive 

 "Patsy," and away they go like the wind. 

 She says she won't drive any more, as it 

 makes her arms ache so. When they get 

 back, "Lu" gives them a lunch of slraw- 

 ])erries and sandwiches from the lunch room, 

 and then jNIaude writes cards and letters to 

 the folks who send for queens and things; 

 but Ave don't let her write very long at a 

 time. We hope she will get well and strong 



again, so she can goto school some more; 

 don't you hope so too? 



Seeing so many nice letters written by little girls 

 and boys, I thought I would write one too. Papa 

 takes Gleanings, and likes it very much. I like to 

 read the letters from the little folks, and Mr. Merry- 

 banks. My papa keeps bees; he lost all but one 

 swarm, but he has sent for more. 1 had one swarm 

 that I found last year, and that died too. My cous- 

 in had a nice swarm come out last Sunday, and they 

 went to the woods. He did not like it very well. I 

 go to school. Our school is out in two weeks, and 

 then we will have a good long vacation. We have a 

 new schoolhouse. It is the nicest one around here. 

 It is called Medina Center schoolhouse. I go to Sun- 

 daj'-school too. 1 am eight years old. My brother 

 and I have a pet lamb; he likes to nibble the rasp- 

 berries. I help mamma raise chickens. We have 

 115 now. Lillian Ray. 



Morenci, Lenawee Co., Mich., June 14, 1881. 



Isn't that funny, that your schoolhouse is 

 called "Medina" Center schoolhouse? I 

 haven't got Ho chickens, but I set one old 

 hen on l-") eggs, and she hatched lo chickens, 

 and has got them all now, with their new 

 feathers on. Isn't that pretty well done, 

 friend 1 Jllian ? 



lam a little girl 11 years old. My father takes 

 Gleanings, I i-ead it, and I like the cartoons. My 

 father put 172 colonies of bees into the cellar. This 

 spring, aboxit 75 colonies were alive. My father nev- 

 er puts his bees in a cellar where vegetables are 

 kept, because vegetables draw moisture. I hived a 

 swarm of bees, and my father gave thena to me. I 

 put a hive under the tree, and shook the limb on 

 which they had alighted, and they all fell into the 

 hive. I would like bees better if they did not have 

 stings. My mother makes viaegar out of the water 

 in which she washes the comb. I go to church and 

 Sundaj'-sehool. I like to go very much. 



Eva Amery. 



St. Croix Falls, Polk Co., Wis., Jane 13, 188L 



Well, that is a very instructive and in- 

 teresting letter, Eva, and I think you did 

 pretty well in hiving a swarm of bees at on- 

 ly 11 years old. Your remarks about liking 

 bees "better if they had no stings, seems a 

 little suggestive, especially as they follow so 

 close on your account of hiving the swarm. 

 So your papa lost almost a hundred colonies? 

 You see, we get at some truths from the 

 children which the grown-up folks might 

 not think best to tell us. 



MRS. LUCIND.4 HARRISON'S TALK TO THE JUVENILES. 



In reading the Juvenile Department for June we 

 are not only amused, but encouraged and instruct- 

 ed. One little girl, 11 years old, says, "I plant 

 flowers and every thing I can that is good for them." 

 My dear, if bee-keepers, both great and small, the 

 world over, would follow your e.xample, what a beau- 

 tiful world we would soon have I Then " the wilder- 

 ness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; 

 and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the 

 rose." 



My dear young friends, you can increase the hon- 

 ey flow in many ways. A gentleman in Iowa sent 

 me some seed of the Rockj'-Mountain bee-plant, say- 

 ing that " some soldiers brought home the seed from 

 the Rockies, because they thought it was a pretty 



