188S 



JUVENILE GLEANINGS. 



283 



Now just, make this mark and then write the word, 

 and you will realize how slow our common writing 

 is. These marks represent sounds, and not letters, 

 and some stand for words. But t !i > oddest thing is, 

 that some words are expressed by uot writing them 

 at all. This reminds one of the Irishman who told 

 the conductor to stop, as he had a passenger aboard 

 who was left behind. 



A knowledge of short-hand is getting to be quite 

 common, and those using it get very fair wages. It 

 is used in newspaper and telegraph offices, courts, in 

 churches, and many other places. Even if not used 

 in reporting speeches, it is convenient to write your 

 diary with, and for correspondence with others who 

 use it. Many people waste enough time to learn 

 this art; and if you wish to pursue a pleasant and 

 profitable study, let me advise you to get a book on 

 this subject, and go ahead. W. P. R. 



Medina, Apr. 30, 1883. 



THE lilTTLE BEE-BO^ , 



THE WAY THEY KNOW WHEN THE BEES ARE SWARM- 

 ING AT johnny's HOUSE. 



fOHNNY'S father has bought him a new 

 5-cent tin horn. You see, Johnny is to 

 have 5 cents for every swarm of bees he 

 sees, so he takes his seat on the end of a board 

 that sticks through the fence, with tlie horn 

 all ready, and when a swarm comes out of 

 any one of his father's 100 colonies of bees, 

 he is ready to give the alarm promptly. 

 Don't you think Johnny will have a good 

 time V The Bible says, that he that is faith- 

 ful in few things shall be made ruler over 

 many things. Now, if Johnny keeps his 

 eyes right on the bees, and doesn't forget, 

 and run off to play — that 

 is, until his papa comes 

 home again, for you don't 

 expect a small boy like 

 him to watch too many 

 hours without a little rest 

 or i)lay spell — if he does 

 all that faithfully, he will 

 likely some time be entrust- 

 ed with some greater work. 

 AVouldn't you like to be 

 there when the first swarm ' 

 comes out, and hear him toot 



toot! toot? 



THE BEE-EATEK-MEKOVS APIASTER. 



A LETTER FOR THE JUVENILES FROM OUR GOOD 

 FRIEND FRANK BENTON. 



Vfl^ltlEND HASTY, who has given us (you 

 JHI want you to count me among the •' juv 



know I 

 juveniles") 

 a good letter in the Jan. number of Juvenile 

 Gleanings, did not tell about the " bee-eater" men- 

 tioned In the part of the FourthGeorgic published on 

 p. 145, so I'll add a note to his. This bee-eater is prob- 

 ably the green and gold plumaged bird known by 

 the Latin name of Mc/ops aYjiastct\ and is common 

 in all Mediterranean countries. The Greeks call it 

 melissophaaos (which means bee-eater), and the Ger- 

 mans and French have names of similar meaning. 

 The Arabs in Syria call it, however, something like 

 ioor-r-ral{, from the sound of its voice. They come 

 nearly always in flocks— often in large flocks, and 

 circle about the apiary, taking iu multitudes of bees 



on the wing. Their flight is peculiar. They rise 

 high in the air, generally at an angle of about forty- 

 flve degrees, uttering all the while their strange cry, 

 usually repeated twice in rapid succession: wor-r- 

 rak, ivor-r-rak; then suddenly turning in a very 

 sharp angle, the long fan-like tail spread out, they 

 swoop down toward the bee-hives with widely opened 

 beaks, taking in every hapless bee that is found in 

 their way. I have counted sometimes as many as 

 twenty workers in the stomach of one of these birds 

 brought to me, but for all that I do not regard them 

 as the worst enemies we have in these countries. 

 There are many kinds of lizards, wax-moth larvEe, 

 and, worst of all, great hornets that swarm about in 

 thousands, and fiercely besiege the bees at the en- 

 trances of their hives— at times, if no action is taken 

 against them, snapping up nearlij every bee Uiat dares 

 to venture out. But whenever the bee-eater calls out 

 his wor-r-rak, wor-r-rak, the natives are ready, gun 

 in hand, especially as they regard his flesh as a tid- 

 bit. Great numbers of them are caught alive and 

 sold in the bazaars for extremely low prices. One I 

 bought in Cyprus for about two cents was given a 

 perch in a large room, and stayed there for some 

 weeks, his wing-feathers having been clipped. I 

 used to give him daily a few drone bees, but it seems 

 he preferred workers; so when I found crippled 

 workers in front of the hives I used to gratify him 

 with them. I was enabled to examine him closely, 

 and learn some of his ways. The bee-eater Is about 

 the size of a robin, and has bright green plumage on 

 the back, shading off into beautiful purple and blue, 

 and on the breast and under side, lemon yellow. 

 The legs are slim; the beak like that of a snipe- 

 slender, and about two inches long, giving a wide 

 gap when open. The tail is like that of the jay-bird, 

 and they may be likened to this bird iu disposition, 

 being rather quarrelsome and surly. I did not suc- 

 ceed in taming my specimen, although we had at 

 the same time a jackdaw as tame as a pet lamb, and 

 that got very jealous of the bee-eater. (Mrs. Ben- 

 ton has promised me she would tell the little folks 

 in Juvenile all about "Dickey," the jackdaw who 

 helped us in our work.) 



The manner employed by the natives In catching 

 the bee-eaters alive is peculiar. I have never seen 

 it practiced except in Cyprus and Syria. Straight 

 whips cut from trees are tied together to form a 

 bundle about the size of a man's arm, and this, after 

 having been daubed with a gelatinous, sticky sub- 

 stance, is put among the branches of a tree, or in 

 open places where the birds come. As the color of 

 the substance is either green or gray, according to 

 the place it is to be used in, the birds are not afraid 

 of it, but come and perch upon it, and stick fast by 

 their feet, whereupon they are captured by the 

 peasants. I am very much vexed with my memory 

 for having played me a trick it does not often do; 

 for it has failed to keep for me the explanation of 

 how these funny bird-catchers are prepared. I re- 

 member asking all about them, but the information 

 given me on this point seems to have gone out of 

 my mind. But if anybody wants to know about 

 them, I know just who can tell all about it, and that 

 is Philip Baldensperger, of Jerusalem, who wrote 

 the interesting and accurate letter about " the moth 

 that squeaks," published on page 70 of Feb. Glean- 

 ings. Frank Benton. 



Athens, Greece, March 17, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend B. By all means, 

 have your good wife tell ris "children" 



