1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



733 



remedied by the makers already. The 

 packing- we got at the hardware stores was 

 not suitable for standing- such a degree of 

 heat, so we had to replace it at Pittsford. 

 Both of our bee-keeping friends seemeJ to 

 be well pleased at having us make a long- 

 er stop. 



I might mention here that the first time 

 we put in new packing we made nearly 

 half a day's job of it. The next time we 

 did it in about an hour, and I think we 

 could do it now in considerably less time 

 than that. When we got to the factory at 

 Lansing we found that thry had recently 

 got hold of a packing that would stand the 

 heat better, even if the w^ater did get out. 



Friend Jeflferson is in many respects a 

 remarkable man, and, in fact, I don't know 

 but I might saj' that of almost all the bee- 

 keepers. They are progressive, well-in- 

 formed men, and, almost without exception, 

 men of good habits. 



As we were over Sunday at Pittsford, I 

 talked to the children briefly about the 

 missionary work in Cuba, or, rather, the 

 vast held for missionarj' work, and closed 

 with one verse from "What a Friend we 

 have in Jesus," in Spanish. For such a 

 small town the church was remarkably 

 well filled, and we were favored with a 

 sermon far beyond what we might expect 

 in such a little country town. 



At Hudson, Mich., we called briefly on 

 Mr. E. E. Smith. Mrs. Smith is not quite 

 so much of an enthusiast on bee-keeping as 

 her husband; and when I suggested that 

 bees, like berries, were one of Uod's gifts, 

 she ventured the remark that, while God 

 gives the berries, without doubt, sometimes 

 she was inclined to think that he didn't 

 have any thing to do with bees. She prob- 

 ably referred to the stings. After Huber 

 had taken her for a short ride on the auto- 

 mobile I think she was inclined to agree 

 with me that it was certainly one of God's 

 latest gifts. 



We made a short call on our afflicted 

 veteran in bee culture, H. D. Cutting, at 

 Tecumseh. Mich., who is at present en- 

 tirely blind. Even with this great afflic- 

 tion, however, he has his old genial hearty 

 wa}', and seems comparatively happy and 

 contented; and if any thing could atone for 

 his loss of sight he has it in a large de- 

 gree in his beautiful home, and wife and 

 children. When I asked him how he kept 

 busy he showed me his garden, and espe- 

 cially his peach-trees that he is caring for. 

 It made me think of my own peach-orchard 

 where I love to work so much around the 

 cabin in the woods; but may God help me 

 if I ever have to bear such a cross as does 

 friend Cutting. 



Charles S. Foote, of Kidgeway, near Te- 

 cumseh, has also a most beautiful home 

 and family; and although he is holding 

 one or more public offices he is quite a suc- 

 cessful bee-keeper. He is successor to his 

 wife's father, the late John T. Temple. 



Milan, Mich., the home of Mr. M. Vin- 

 cent, is quite a pretty little country town. 



Down near the river they have artesian 

 wells that elevate the water eight or ten 

 feet above the surface of the river. By the 

 use of hydraulic rams the water is raised 

 into tanks to supply the town. In passing 

 through his very pretty garden and apiary 

 Huber was stung on the neck. This would 

 be a very small matter were it not for the 

 fact that, whenever he is stung, the poison 

 almost always threatens to interfere with 

 his breathing apparatus. Perhaps I might 

 explain here that, while bee-stings have for 

 years troubled me less than mosquito-bites, 

 Mrs. Root has never yet in all the years 

 past, while we have had so much to do 

 with bees, become so immune to the effects 

 of the poison but that a single sting gen- 

 erally makes her sick. While I still think 

 she might in time, by repeated stings, get 

 so that it would not aftect her, we have for 

 years thought best to prevent her being 

 stung as much as possible. Ernest had 

 a similar experience when he first began 

 working with bees, but now they seldom 

 trouble him more than they do myself. 

 Huber seems to take after his mother; and 

 since the experience at friend Vincent's I 

 have thought best to have him keep away 

 from the bees unless well protected by a 

 veil. When the effects of the sting seem to 

 interfere with the breathing I think it's 

 best to use caution, and I presume every 

 one should know that several deaths have 

 occurred from being stung on the neck in 

 such a way that the swelling closes the air- 

 passages. Huber was in such distress for 

 a time that we were glad to call in a doc- 

 tor whose office was only next door. Per- 

 haps as much was due to the kind motherly 

 offices of Mrs. Vincent as to the doctor. 



We had a very pleasant visit at the old 

 home of our Mr. Arthur L. Boyden, Secre- 

 tary of The A. I. Root Co , and joint part- 

 ner with Blue Eyes in possessing the two 

 youngest grandsons that I told you about. 

 We spent the night at Mr. Ralph Boyden's, 

 Chelsea, Mich. Mr. B. has a flowing well 

 that fills a barrel in just 20 seconds. It 

 will send this volume of water 8 feet above 

 the surface. When they were talking about 

 piping it to the barn across the road, the 

 man who drilled the well said he would 

 sink another well over by the barn for less 

 than the pipe would cost that would carry 

 it across, and he did so. These two wells 

 are on an elevation perhaps twelve or fif- 

 teen feet higher than a muck swamp where 

 onions are grown very successfully; and I 

 was surprised to learn that no thrips, smut, 

 rot, nor any other disease or insect enemy 

 has ever prevented them from u^etting a fine 

 crop. The onion land in this vicinity, it 

 seems to me, offers wonderful facilities to 

 onion-growcs. 



At Grass Lake, Jackson Co., we were 

 right in the midst of the huckleberry har- 

 vest. We were told that, the day before, 

 50 bushels had been gathered and shipped. 

 I might add here that the huckleberry in- 

 dustry flourishes more or less almost all 

 over Michigan. It gives employment to 



