THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



469 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



A Dar With Mr. Heddmi. 



WM. F. CLAKKK. 



Thursday July 6tli, was a red letter 

 day in my diary. It was at once the 

 longest and shortest day of the year, 

 lasting from 6 a. m. until 1:30 the 

 following morning. In fact, like an 

 old-fashioned New England Sunday, 

 it began on the p'-evious evening. 

 Crowded full of bee and other talk, 

 the hours were all too few, and too 

 quick in their flight. It was a great 

 mi.stake to appropriate only one day, 

 however lengthened at both ends, for 

 a visit with Mr. Ileddon. I left 

 Dowagiac feeling like the darkey 

 preacher who had taken a hearty 

 meal of dried apples, full to bursting. 

 And the trouble now is to give, with- 

 in any tolerable dimensions, an ac- 

 count of my visit. 



Mr. Ileddon is respectfully re- 

 quested not to read the paragraph I 

 am about to write, because truth and 

 justice compel a strain of eulogy 

 which may prove too large a dose of 

 dried apples for his good. ^V^elcome 

 more cordial, and hospitality more 

 hearty could not have been extended 

 to me if I had been an own brother or 

 first cousin. The glimpses of family 

 life were very pleasant. Mr. Ileddon 

 writes well but he talks better. He 

 is indeed a lively, entertaining, and 

 instructive companion. During all 

 those quick-Hitting hours, the con- 

 versation never flagged, and when the 

 engine let off its two toots for a start, 

 the regret was that so much was left 

 unsaid. I wish Mr. Heddon believed 

 as I do in another life, l*cause then 

 there would be on his part, as there is 

 on mine, a prospect of some time or 

 other having a full chance of discuss- 

 ing to our heart's content, the many 

 themes on which it was a delight to 

 converse. I have set the question 

 pump on many a human fountain in 

 my time, but do not remember ever 

 linding one so full and apparently in- 

 exhaustible as Mr. II. He has thought 

 out every subject for himself— looked 

 at its many bearings— and you can 

 hardly suggest a phase of it which 

 has not already occured to his own 

 mind, been thoroughly canvassed, 

 and assigned its due weight. In re- 

 gard to bee-keeping, he is a living 

 encyclopiedia. What he doesn't know 

 about it, IS hardly worth knowing. 

 Even when you cannot subscribe to 

 his opinions, you are forced to admire 

 the reasoning on which they are 

 based, and the air of sincere convic- 

 tion with which they are advocated. 

 I felt it highly flattering to myself 

 that we differed so little. X. B.— We 

 did not discuss the pollen theory, hav- 

 ing already done ample justice to 

 that in the Bee Journal, and find- 

 ing so many other more pressing mat- 

 ters to talk about. 



After an early breakfast, we pro- 

 ceeded to the apiary, which is located 

 about a mile from Mr. Ileddon's 

 residence. It was a lovely summer 

 day, and just in the thick of swarm- 

 ing-time. Mr. II., after full trial of 

 all the methods of artificial division, 

 has returned to natural swarming, as 

 most sensible and experienced bee- 

 keepers have done, or are doing. You 

 get the most industrious colonies, the 

 finest queens, and the best results 

 generally on this plan. In a large 

 apiary, it is less trouble than any 

 known artificial method. W'here only 

 two or three, or some half dozen colo- 

 nies are kept, it does not pay to watch 

 all the live-long day for a solitary 

 swarm. But in this, as in many other 

 respects, amateur bee-keeping is a 

 vastly different affair from bee-keep- 

 ing as a business. The idea that if 

 natural swarming is permitted there 

 is danger of the bees going otT to the 

 woods, is contradicted Dy actual trial 

 and experience. With trees, and 

 especially evergreens, adjacent to the 

 apiary, the bees are pretty sure to 

 cluster close by. Mr. Heddon has an 

 orchard on one side of his apiary, and 

 a grove of "grubs" (dwarfish oak 

 brush), on the other. The bee-yard 

 proper is entirely clear of trees. 

 There was a lively time of swarming 

 all the forenoon, but, invariably, the 

 bees either betook themselves to the 

 orchard or to the " grubs." If two or 

 more swarms rose at the same time, 

 a Whitman fountain pump was used 

 to keep them separate. The mimic 

 shower diverted the swarms, and 

 kept them from uniting. Hives be- 

 ing all in perfect readiness, the work 

 of gathering and hiving was quickly 

 done. Mr. Heddon uses no hiving 

 poles, bags, or other ingenious de- 

 vices. The bees are allowed to cluster 

 naturally ; shaken into a large and 

 lijjht willow basket lined with burlap 

 with a cover attached also of burlap, 

 which is quickly thrown over the 

 basket full of bees ; carried to the 

 hive, and poured out in front of it ; a 

 board about 2x4 feet having a spread 

 of burlap on it. being laid flat on the 

 ground in front of the hive. A turkey 

 feather and a big iron spoon are used 

 to direct the bees toward the entrance, 

 and presto, the grand procession is 

 formed for their future home. Let 

 me commend the use of that big iron 

 spoon. It works well, better I think 

 than the feather, where the bees are 

 clustered thick, as it does not tickle 

 and irritate. Of course, it must be 

 handled gently. 



Mr. Ileddon's hives are prepared 

 for swarms merely by being 

 thoroughly cleaned, and filled with 

 frames provided with wired comb 

 foundation. Mr. II. uses the Given 

 press for making his foundation, and 

 it certainly does most excellent work 

 both for brood frames and section 

 boxes. He is a strong advocate for 

 wiring, and I saw ample proof in 

 his apiary that the bees do not object 

 to it. With every sheet of comb 

 foundation securely fastened in this 

 way, there is no further anxiety wlien 

 a swarm is hived, and no need to go 

 through the newly formed colonies in 

 a day or two to see if any of the foun- 



dation has broken down. I looked at 

 hive after hive of bees that had been 

 at work for a few days or a week, and 

 prettier cards of comb I do not wish 

 to see. But Mr. H. uses the finest of 

 wire, and it is put in so skillfully, 

 that the bees do not seem to know it is 

 there. This is almost the only point 

 in which Mr. II. departs from nature^ 

 in the nianagemeiit of his apiary, and 

 certainly the results appear to justify 

 his practice. There are many bee- 

 keepers who seem to take a pride in- 

 forcing novelties on their bees, but 

 Mr. H. is not one of these. It is his^ 

 constant aim to find out natural law^ 

 and harmonize with it as closely as 

 possible. 



Swarming is an O-be-joyful process, 

 and it seems too bad that the bees- 

 should be deprived of the fun of it. 

 They work prodigiously hard most of 

 the time, can they not have one glad 

 holiday in the season V With what a 

 zest and a vim they settle down ta 

 housekeeping when their little shindy 

 is over ' I know no plan of artificial 

 division which they accejit cheerfully. 

 They are glum, confused, sullen, and 

 morose-like ; slowly and reluctantly 

 accepting the situation, and going to 

 work at the bidding of a stern neces- 

 sity, rather than under the prompt- 

 ing of a happy and satisfied energy. 

 As Mr. Ileddon watched the glee of 

 the merry little creatures, listened to 

 their joyous hum, and saw them set- 

 tle down contentedly in their new and 

 nicely furnished homes ; he recognized 

 the fulfillment of a natural law ; 

 while I, beyond this, recognized the 

 wisdom and goodness of their and my 

 Creator. We didn't quarrel over it^ 

 but I suppose each of us thought we 

 had the best of it ; I am sure I did. 



Mr. Heddon uses the Langstrotb 

 hive for two reasons : 1st, he likes it 

 best ; and 2d. it is the most popular, 

 consequently the most likely to suit 

 purchasers. " He runs his apiary 

 mostly for comb honey, using the ex- 

 tractor in the rush of the season, as a 

 supplementary affair. He thinks this 

 plan lessens the labor of the bee- 

 keeper, or rather spreads it over more 

 time, as the section boxes can all he 

 prepared before "the busy season 

 comes on. He is of the opinion that 

 this method does not lesson the bee- 

 keeper's profits. I think he has got 

 the matter of section boxes down to a 

 fine point. His plan, as all attentive- 

 readers of the Bee Journal know, 

 is to have tiers of single section bo.x 

 cases. His sections are ly inches 

 square. The cases are put on one at 

 a time. As soon as the bees are fairly 

 at work in one case, a second and then 

 a tliird is put under it. His gridiron 

 rack between the body of the hive 

 and the cases work well. The bees 

 fasten that, while the case is leff 

 readily movable. Mr. Ileddon's 

 principle is to let the bees do the heft 

 of the work, while he superintends 

 and regulates their industry. I think 

 lie is right. Many bee-keepers encum- 

 ber themselves with a lot of needlfss 

 i work, which the bees are able and 

 j willing to do for them. 

 I One of the chief points of my 

 ] curiosity was that of seeing the 

 . leather-colored queens and workers "f 



