1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



427 



THE EXPERIENCE OF A NOVICE IN BEE 

 CU1.TITRE. 



CHAPTER I., 



IN wniCII HE TELLS HOW HE FIRST CAME TO KEEP 



BEES, ETC. 



^Ijpl^EAR FRIEND NOVICE:— I have often thought 

 f\jy j of writing you a letter, telling- you of my suc- 



cess as a bee-keeper, and how I CDmracnced. 



I should have done so before, but thought to give 

 the field to those more learned and experienced in 

 the business. I was born and brought up upon a 

 small farm in the town of Berne, Albany Co., N. Y. 

 My parents were poor, and, living some way from 

 a schoolhouse, I got but a very little education. 

 When I was twelve j^ears old I left the paternal 

 rcrof and went out into the worlii to do for myself. I 

 worked out by the month for a few years, and so my 

 wages was not very high. I merely earned enough 

 to supply myself with the necessaries of life. When 

 I was ~1 I got married, and worked a small place of 

 about 60 acres of land for one-third, the owner find- 

 ing tools. This business I carried on for three years, 

 and at the end 1 was no better off than at the com- 

 mencement; but in reality 1 was money out of 

 pocket. At the end of three years I engaged to 

 work a large farm in Schoharie Co. (where I now re- 

 side), belonging to a cousin; and after working hard, 

 myself and wife, at the end of the year we were 

 really money out of pocket. I concluded that there 

 was n(j show for a poor man in the farming line, so 

 concluded to try some thing else. 



In the spring of 1877, the same year that I com- 

 menced to work the last place above mentioned, I 

 saw an advertisement in some paper (I have forgot- 

 ten the name of the paper now, but I think it was 

 in the American Aoyicfd'uriiit;) the advertisement 

 read like the following:— 



I>ear Friend;— If you are interested in Bees or Honey, we will 

 with pleabiiie send you a sample copy of (Jleaninus ix Bek 

 Cl'LTiRE. Siniplv solid your name, plainly written on a postal 

 card, to A. I. KOOT, Medina, Ohio. 



Now, I had been interested in the little honey-bees 

 all my life. I used to watch them hour after hour 

 as they came, loaded down with wax and honey, as I 

 termed it then, for my brother-in-law, who used to 

 keep a few bees in box hives, informed me that it 

 was wax that they carried on their logs, and of 

 course I thought the same; how should I know bet- 

 ter then? but I know better now. Well, as I have 

 said before, I was interested, and so sent my name 

 to you, and in a few days received a copy of Glean- 

 ings. But I was much surprised when I got it; of 

 course, my first thoughts were, after reading about 

 frame hives and artificial combs, and machines to 

 extract the honey out of the combs without injury 

 to them, and about artificial swarming and queen- 

 rearing, and all of this and that, that it was a hum- 

 bug, and so I laid it aside; but every time I came 

 into the house my mind was drawn to that "hum- 

 bugging book," as I termed it, and the more I read 

 it the more uneasy I got; and at last I concluded to 

 purchase a colony of bees if I could. So in a few 

 days I had some business to attend to in the further 

 part of the town, and in coming home I noticed an 

 old man carrying bees out of his celljir. As he had 

 a good many swarms, I thought perhaps he might 

 sell me one or two colonies; and so in a few days I 

 had occasion to pass that way again. The old man 

 was out among his bees. I drove my horses up near 

 the fence, and, after fastening them, I opened a con- 

 versation with him in regard to his bees. After 



passing a few remarks in regard to them, I asked 

 him if he would sell me a couple of swarms. He 

 said that he would. I asked him his price, and he 

 replied that he had some that he would sell for $4.00 

 a swarm, and some that he would not sell at all. I 

 asked him to show me some of his four-dollar 

 swarms. As the price through the country for 

 black bees in box hives was five dollars a swarm, I 

 thought perhaps here was a chance to get some bees 

 at a lower price. The old gentleman turned up his 

 hives, one after another, and I discovered at once 

 that they were the culls of his yard; for so I learned 

 afterward, that, in carrying them out of his cellar, 

 when he came to one that was moldy, or a young 

 swarm that had not the combs built down even to 

 the bottom, or was light in bees, he had carried them 

 all to this row. I told the old gentleman that the 

 bees did not suit me, and that I would rather pay a 

 larger price and get better bees. His reply was, 

 that if those bees were not good enough for me, I 

 might go without. So he finally left me, and went 

 about his work. After he had left me, I took the 

 privilege of examining some of his other colonies. 

 I found them to be full of bees, and good bright 

 combs, and looked as if they might be first-class 

 stocks, although I knew nothing about bees. I 

 looked at about all the rest of his colonies, and aft- 

 er making a careful examination I marked my name 

 on two hives, then went where he was, and told him 

 what I had done, and that I would give him eleven 

 dollars for these two stands of bees, providing he 

 would trust me for that amount until I could sell 

 some farm produce. He said he thought that I did 

 not want any bees, for thej' might sting me; sol 

 left him and went my way. 



In the course of a week or so the old gentleman 

 sent word to me, that if I wanted those bees I might 

 have them, and that I must come and get them that 

 very day, or I should not have them at all; and at 

 the same time I must give him security for the 

 amount. As I wanted the bees very much, I of 

 course went and complied with the old man's re- 

 quest. After getting them put up and into the wag- 

 on, he gave me some instructions in regard to their 

 management. But, friend Novice, those instruc- 

 tions were never put in practice; for if they had, I 

 never would have been the happy fellow I now am, 

 for I found better instructions from a different 

 source. It was from that little pamphlet that came 

 from you — the one that I thought must be a hum- 

 bug. May God bless you, friend Root, for sending it 

 to mo ! 



Well, what was the result of my purchase, and 

 what did I do with the bees? Did I make bee-keep- 

 ing a failure, and should I be put into Blasted 

 Hopes? I will leave it for you to .iudge. I got my 

 bees safely home, and placed where they could be 

 seen by my wife while she was about her work, lor 

 she had to do the watching of them while I was 

 away in the field at work. The 38th day of May, one 

 of the colonies cast a large swarm, and in a few 

 da j's the other followed suit, and the old man of 

 whom I bought them did not have a swarm until the 

 6th of June; and in the fall I had 9 fine colonies in 

 good condition for winter, and eleven dollars' worth 

 of honey. So you see that my bees had not only paid 

 for themselves, but I had for my work good colo- 

 nies of bees. The old gentleman now began to be a 

 frequent visitor at my house. He told the story of 

 my success to every one he met. He began to ask 

 me questions concerning bees, when, in fact, 1 



