228 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



BEES LIVING ON COMBS BUILT IN THE 

 OPEN AIR. 



BY DELE COLLINS. 



A man living near here told me about 

 some bees that had a nest in the open air, 

 and I accordingly went out to see him. 

 With a kindness characteristic of woodsmen 

 he went with us to see the bee- tree. We 

 drove half a mile through an old log road in 

 the woods, when he suddenly pointed almost 

 straight above his head and said, "There 

 they are." And, sure enough, they were 

 there, fully fifty feet above us, and out near 

 the end of a long limb of a great hickory- 

 tree. They had been there more than two 

 months. I got out of the carriage, took off 

 my coat and vest, and lighted my smoker. 



After climbing up to the bees I whit- 

 tled at the limb until it swung down be- 

 side the trunk of the tree. Then I trimmed 

 out the small branches beyond where the 

 bee s were, cut off the limb close to the bees 

 on the trunk side, and took it down. We 

 got home all right, without one sting from 

 the beginning of our operations to the end. 



I sawed the limb the length of a brood- 

 frame, notched the ends, and placed my bees 

 in a Langstroth hive, where, with five well- 

 filled frames from other colonies, I am hop- 

 ing that they will stand the winter. There 

 are four combs fastened to the limb, two 



large ones in the center, and one small one 

 on each side. Three show in the picture. 

 Danville, Pa., Nov. 6. 



A BLIND BEE-KEEPER. 



A Man who Hives Swarms Without the Use of 

 His Eyes. 



BY HENRY STEWART. 



It may be of interest to the readers of 

 Gleanings to know what a blind man can 

 do with ard for the bees. The accompanying 

 photograph will introduce to you Mr. Steve 

 Hill, of Hillsdale, 111., a bee-keeper 'who is 

 totally blind. In front of him will be seen 

 a Daisy foundation-fastener, and he is in the 

 act of fastening foundation in sections with it. 



A few years ago Mr. Hill was known as a 

 crack shot by those who handle a gun; and 

 while hunting he was accidentally shot by a 

 companion hunter, and thus deprived of his 

 eyesight. 



For several years he has kept a few colo- 

 nies of bees. Originally he did everything, 

 including securing and taking off the honey. 

 I now look after the honey-producing, that 

 is, the putting on and taking off of supers 

 for him. He does the rest. 



With saw, and hammer he'cuts upTlumber 

 and makes his own hives. The one under 



A BLIND BEE-KEEPER USING A DAISY FOUNDATION- FASTENER. 



