416 



JUV-ENILE GLEANINGS. 



July 



do not want to mash the bees when Vv'e put 

 the sections back in the hive. The nicest 

 way would be to have some folded tins tack- 

 ed to the bottom, jubt the riglit distance 

 apart. These Avould act like the metal rab- 

 bets themselves. The bees could not well 

 gum them to^^ether. The hive to hold tliese 

 two sections (or perhaps three would be bet- 

 ter) is simply a little box with an entrance 

 in one side, and a loose cover. Jf tlie sec- 

 tions are those with closed toj^s, no cloth or 

 enamel sheet would be needed over them ; 

 for the hive could be made to lit so closely 

 to the sections that no bees could get up to 

 glue the cover down. If a little brood were 

 In one of the sections, it would'hold the bees 

 from going away, very much better; but 

 oftentimes they will cluster about a queen- 

 cell, if one is given them. Plenty of bees to 

 stock these little hives can be had by brush- 

 ing them off from tlie sections, or getting 

 young bees from a comb of brood. It there 

 is not more than about a teacupful,they will 

 not be very apt to sting. The principal ob- 

 jection to this little hive, or, hi fact, to all 

 little hives, is, that if not closely watched, 

 the queen will fill all her combs with eggs, 

 and then they will all swarm out. You see, 

 she would lay all her combs full of eggs 

 about the first day she commenced laying ; 

 and then if she were not sold, or used iiume- 

 diately, there would be swarming out. ]>ut 

 notwithstanding all of these objections, I 

 believe such little hives would be splendid 

 playthings for the children ; and the expense 

 is so little, even if neglected or lost, it would 

 be only a small item. 



A " CONVENTION " REPORT. 



NOT A BEE CONVENTION, BUT A " COW " CONVEN- 

 TION. 



fT may not be uninteresting to tell the little folks 

 how our people celehratcdone of theirmonthly 

 horticultural meetings. They met at the home 

 of a wealthy farmer who owns quite a lot of Jersey 

 cattle, which proved one of the principal attractions 

 — especially so after partaking of the ice-cream, 

 of which there was thirty gallonp, and some of it 

 made from pure Jersey cream. There were about 

 two hundred and fifty present, and five large tables 

 were loaded with every thing good to eat, in their 

 large clean barn. 



After the eating, came the seeing of fruits, veg- 

 etables, etc., on the exhibition table. Among other 

 things was a basket ortiamented with llowcrs, which, 

 on being opened, was found to contain a four-leg- 

 ged chicken. Children who like chicken-legs would 

 no doubt be pleased with such a pert. 



In the afternoon the meeting was called to order 

 by the president; and after the preliminary exercis- 

 es, the host, a most genial gentleman, road an essay 

 on the cow, and he spoke from practical experience, 

 being rich in Jersey cattle. After this followed a 

 lengthy discussion on cows in general, ladies as well 

 as gentlemen taking part. 



Strawberry culture was next introduced, after 

 which the meeting adjourned to meet in four weeks. 



There seemed to be but one thing lacking, and 

 that was honey; but I promise myself there will be 

 at least one pound of white-clover honey next time. 

 Honey is quite plentiful now; and for once, persons 



can take their choice or chance of more bees or 

 more honey. We like the one-pound sections here, 

 and find the ones that fold, very easy to make, but 

 not so generally inclined to stand square as the 

 ones made of four pieces. E. M. 



Anderson, Ind., July 7, 18S3. 



I am sure I can not say, my good friend, 

 how much the little folks are interested in 

 such conventions ; but I am inclined to 

 think you must liave had plenty of them on 

 hand. I guess, too, they went "home rejoic- 

 ing. The ice-cream part, I am sure, they 

 were interested in; and I think it quite 

 likely that many of the children, as well as 

 the women, were interested in the Jersey 

 cattle. ]5y the way, did 1 ever tell you that 

 we have a little Jersey heifer V Her name is 

 Lena. 



— •Bi ^ — 



IS THE FIRST"GATIIERED LINDEN 



HONEY SUPERIOR? 



AN IDEA SUGGESTED BY A LITTLE GIHL. 



W N regard to linden hqney, we think the honey 

 M gathered in the latter part of the season, when 

 """ the flowers begin to fade, is not nearly so good 

 as that which is gathered first; and if it is all mixed 

 together, it will spoil the flavor. We keep ours 

 separate, and sell that which was gathered last, at a 

 much reduced rate. We have a pond, 114 by 75 ft., 

 and about 5 ft. deep. There are two pipes leading 

 from it; the one goes through the dam into the side 

 of a trough, so that the water in the trough is leve* 

 with that in the pond, and the other is so we can let 

 the water off when required. What kind of fish do 

 you think would be best to put in the pond? 



Esther Pettit, ago 13. 

 Belmont. Ont., Can., June 28, 1883. 



My little friend Esther, I am inclined to 

 think you have struck on something very 

 important. It is true, a little further obser- 

 vation may be needed to verify the matter ; 

 but at first glance I believe you are at least 

 partly in the right. When the basswood 

 first blossoms, the flowers have a bright, 

 fresh, sparkling look; and who has not ad- 

 mired the bright flashing honey, looking like 

 thousands of dewdrops sparkling from the 

 snowy petals ? ^V' elJ, this honey from the 

 freshly opened blossoms, according to my 

 theory, would be the purest nectar. To-day 

 is the 12th of .July, and last night, toward 

 dnsk, I took a look through the apiary, to see 

 if the boys and girls had given room in all 

 the hives. The first hive I opened I found 

 crammed full to repletion ; not only was 

 every little cranny between the combs filled 

 up, but little fins of snow-white comb appear- 

 ed about the ends of almost all the frames. 

 These bits of new comb were filled with 

 bright sparkling basswood honey that seem- 

 ed to me, as I put the little chunks in my 

 mouth ( just to get them out of the way, you 

 linow), about as near the definition of nec- 

 tar as any thing I know of. It was the first 

 basswood honey! Well, now, if you look at 

 a basswood-tree just at the close of the bass- 

 wood season, you have perhaps noticed that 

 the flowers look old tmd dull; all sorts of 

 bees, bugs, and flies buzz over them, and the 

 bees scattered over the tree have a sort of 

 sorry look, compared with those that came 



