366 



GLEANINGS iN 13EE CtlLtURi). 



July 



of my own shop. Nearly all of the bees were pure 

 Italian; and gentler, better-behaved bees it has 

 seldom been my lot to handle. Bin then, I don't 

 wonder they are amiable, as they are handled more 

 gently than many women handle their babies. 



NAMING QUEENS. 



Whan these ladies bought their first colony they 

 very appropriately and romantically named the queen 

 Eve, and they have continued this pretty habit ever 

 since. Of course, I smiled when they first told me 

 this; and when I saw that the smiles did not offend 

 them, I laughed; and as name after name was given, 

 the cuteness of some of them was such that I had to 

 sit down and laugh out loud. When 1 tell you that a 

 peep into their bookcase showed rows of bound 

 volumes of the .l(ta»((fc Jf(>(!t7(/;y, a copy of Shakes- 

 peare, standard volumes of poetry, etc , and that 

 upon their table were copies of the Century, Harper's, 

 American AuricaUmM, N. Y. Trihunc, Gleanings, 

 and A. B. J., you can easily imagine that the queens 

 were well named. To myself was accorded the hon- 

 or of naming a young laying queen: and, as they 

 already had a "Nora" and a ' Cora," I named her 

 " Jvy," after our baby. Had I not been so hurried to 

 get the bees ready, and get them to the train, I 

 should have taken pains to mark the name of each 

 queen upon her hive, given the list of names here, 

 and then customers could have ordered queens by 

 name. Well, joking aside, there are some advantages 

 in naming queens; as, if a queen is named, she 

 possesses more of an individuality; and, if she or her 

 bees show any peculiarities, they are more easily re- 

 membered, and reference is very easily made to any 

 particular swarm, by simply naming the queen. 



When I gazed at the magnificent sugar-maples that 

 skirted "Our Clearing" just back of the apiary, I 

 did not wonder that there was some disappointment 

 because they did not blossom this year. I also un- 

 derstood why it was so dilHcult to stay at home and 

 prepare the bees for winter when these same maples 

 sent out their thousands of gaily colored cards of in- 

 vitation in the autumn. 



Please let me say to Mrs. Harrison, that Cyula and 

 her sister were liberal with their help; as Cyula 

 said: "If five dollars a week isn't liberal, what is?" 

 Neither was it lack of kindness that deprived them 

 of their help; but circumstances entirely beyond 

 their control. From reading the last Juvenile, I 

 should judge that you, friend Root, have had a little 

 experience in the same line, and it was not from 

 "using too much economy" cither. 



Reader, did you ever prepare any bees for ship- 

 ment? If you haven't, perhaps you have but little 

 idea what a task it is, especially when some of the 

 frames have metal corners, and the hives metal rab- 

 bets, and the frames have all to be nailed fast, wire 

 cloth tacked over the hive, then the hive turned up- 

 side down, and the bottom-board fastened on with 

 screws. Well, we worked faithfully all day until 9 

 p. M., and were up at it again the next mwrning at 

 four o'clock. Eight o'clock A. m. found us saj Ing 

 good-by and It o'clock found us and the bees all 

 aboard an express train bound for home. 



Whatever may be said f^r or against bee-keeping 

 for women, one thing is certain: Cyula Linswlk and 

 her sister have made a financial success of bee-keep- 

 ing, and I presume the readers of Gleanings will 

 be glad to know that this success is to be continued, 

 as there are between 30 and 40 colonies yet left at 

 " Our Clearing." 



By pathetic appeals to express. agents, I so man- 



aged tbat the bees were not delayed at transfer 

 points, and had the bees saftly deposited in my own 

 apiary by 9 o'clock P. m., the Same day that I started 

 with them. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, were 

 spent in tiansferrifag them, and Sunday three of 

 them swarmed, and Monday morning, while I was 

 going to the P. O., one of the newly hived swarms 

 came out and cut sticks for the woods. My brother 

 " went for them " with the fountain pump, and sue-' 

 ceeded in driving them back into the yard; then his 

 pail of water gave out; and while he was after an- 

 other pailful Ihey said "good-by." Had I been on 

 hand to have kept him supplied with water, we 

 probably should have saved them. This is my first 

 loss from absconding. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Rogersville, Genesee Co., Mich., June 23, 1883. 



And you did another good thing, friend 

 II., in making that visit to " Our Clearing," 

 even if it was more a business visit than other- 

 Avise . Well do I remember the old log-house 

 you describe so vividly, and a very pleasant 

 visit I had, not only in the old log-house, but 

 out among the bees as well. Like yourself, 

 I, too, got well enough acquainted so that we 

 had some very hearty laughs. The different 

 queens had different names then as now, 

 and one was called " Medina," if I am cor- 

 rect. The sisters told me of the new home 

 that was in prospect, and where it was to be 

 built. But I laughingly told them that per- 

 haps they would never see as much real en- 

 joyment in the new as in the old. — Now, 

 friend II., you have let the little folks know 

 the name of that new baby. And that re- 

 minds me that I have not said a word as yet 

 about a new baby at our house. He is blue- 

 eyed, of course; and although nearly six 

 weeks old, is as yet without a name. — You 

 talk about the trouble of fixing frames with 

 the metal corners for transportation. Had 

 you provided yours with some of the spac- 

 ing-boards we describe and illustrate in our 

 price list, you would have found it a very 

 simple matter indeed. — I am very glad to 

 know that the sisters have made the bees a 

 success. And I feel like protesting once 

 more against theif giving up the business.— 

 In regard to help : If I am not mistaken, in 

 a little time good help in the shape of boys 

 and girls will be coming and asking for some 

 work to do. We have here now over 140, 

 and new juveniles are coming daily with the 

 old question, " Mr. Root, haven't you some- 

 thing for me to do ? " May (Jod's blessing 

 rest over " Our Clearing." 



C;OOD NEWS FOR BEE-KEEPFRS. 



A LETTER FnO]\f OUK OLD FRIEND, L. L. LANGS- 

 TROTH. 



ij^EAU FRIEND: -After almost two years of 

 Jtyj lj suffering from my old head trouble, I am 

 once more so much improved in health that I 

 can take some interest in bee matters. Let me first 

 thank you for the volumes of Gleanings which you 

 sent me last winter. I can assure you that I have 

 read them with very much interest. 



DRONES FROM WORKER EGGS— NOT A NEW IDEA 

 AFTER ALL. 



On page 56 of my work you will see that I noticed 

 In 1853 ( as I see from niy journal, and not 1854), 

 drones reared under the same circumstances, so fre- 



