1883 



JUVENILE GLEANINGS. 



425 



gencies, of every article we Ueep in our price list; 

 and then g-ood trained experienced clerks who won't 

 send the yrroug thing instead of the right one.] 



Inclosed is a selection from the Ymum Fulha' 

 Monthly, by Thomas Aird. I think it is very good. 

 You may have seen it before. I would read the last 

 line like this: "The safety of their Root-built cita- 

 dels." Herisert Langdon. 



East Constable, N. Y. 



But. let us see our bees, 

 Before we turn into our ivied porcVi, 

 The little honey-folk, how wiSe ure they! 

 Their polity, their inclustvy. thrir work; 

 The help they take from iii:ui, and what they give 

 Of fratrrant nectar, sea-i^rfeii, elear. and sweet, 

 Invest them almost with the diynitv 

 Of human m-iuliboilic.od witlioiit tlic invasion. 

 Coining and K"in;^', what a hum and stir! 

 The dewy morn they love, the sunny day. 

 Softened with showery drops, liquoi'lng the llowers, 

 In every vein and eye. But when the heavens 

 Grow cloudy, aiid the quick-engendered blasts 

 Darken and" whiten as they skip along 

 The niountain-toijs, till all the nearer air, 

 Seized with the k1"|>iu. is turljid. dense, and cold. 

 Back from their far-ott forawing, the bees • 

 In myriads, saddened into small black motes. 

 Strike throi:igh the troubled air, sharp past your head. 

 And almost hitting you, their lines of llight 

 Conveying, thickening as they draw near home; 

 So much they fear the storm, so much they love 

 The safety of their straw-built citadels. 



A NEW USE FOR THE FOLDING TENT. 



You might tell your juvenile readers a new use 

 for the mosquito-bar house, as described in August 

 Gleanings, 1889. page 369. 1 hived a swarm of bees; 

 and just as I finished, a lady called on me to put her 

 bees in a hive. I.iustset the frame over fhe new 

 swarm, and ran down and attended to her bees as 

 soon as possible. On returning I found the new 

 swarm had all swarmed out and clustered on the in- 

 side of the top of my little house. Again, a swarm 

 issued about one o'clock. Having just finished hiv- 

 ing a large swarm, the buzz of which was not yet 

 quiet, the last swarm was making for them. I just 

 clapped my frame over my first, when they cluster- 

 ed right on the end of the frame, and as near the 

 entrance as they could get. Yesterday a nice swarm 

 issued; and before I could get the frame about, they 

 went and joined a weaker swnrm close by. 



We are, in this part, hiving lots of swarming, and 

 swarming /(Mi; but up to this date we huve not a 

 pound of honey capped over. I think it a sorry OHt- 

 look for honey thus far. JRain, rain, rajn; cold 

 nights, and wind; suun.y one day, then rain; clear 

 up, and windy; and thus it i=. It makes my mouth 

 water to hear of the Inrge yields of honej' elsewhere. 

 But then, the cattle all have long horns a good way 

 oflf. C.S.Burke. 



Albion, N. Y., July 11, 188!. 



As you don't often hear from this corner of the 

 " vineynrd," you need not think wo have forgotten 

 you. Your name is almost a household word, and 

 you are spoken of betimes by the very endearing 

 name of "daddv" Hoot. I believe you are popular 

 enotigh in the ITnited States, to run for * * * 

 I for one will promise to support you, not knowing 

 your politics, but believing that you are more zeal- 

 ous in j'our religion than in politics, which is politics 

 enough for me, not ignoring the latter altogether. 

 But, I want to say a few things about hrc^ clinnging 

 sex of cyy.s — not that I can throw any light on the 

 subject, further than theory. Entomologists say, 

 "11 takes the most highly concentrated food to de- 

 velop the female in insects." Among bees we have 

 a subject for each degree of comparison. Do you 

 know of others that are not al>ni)rmaU I do not in- 

 fer from the above, that food produces the dilfereut 

 sexes, although some might. If I did, it would be, 

 drones, concentrated; workers, more, etc. It hard- 

 ly seems reasonable to snppose that a queen hmiws 

 what eggs will produce drones; for if she does, wc 

 should have to attribute to her as much or more 

 knowledge than to any other species of animated 

 nature. She may be actuated by instinct, but is no 

 tnore cognizant of the result, than a dog is of mak- 

 ing a better nest in straw by turning around several 

 times. But, if a knowledge of liow the drone is pro- 

 duced ii of any benefit in bee culture, and it can be 

 attained, let us devise some plan to have it done as 

 soon as possible. Jas. Somerville. 



Brady's Bend, Pa., Deo., 1883. 



[" Every man to his trade," friend S. ; and if I fit 

 myplace, and mj' place fits me, I think 1 am all right 

 where I am, thanking you for your kind words at 



the same time, even though they are so fearfully 

 extravagant. There is a large field for experiment 

 and study in this matter of queens, drones, and 

 workers; and the more one tries to conjecture on 

 that he does not know, the more I conclude that I 

 don't know.] 



THE RE.iSON WHY WE CAN NOT SEND THE JUVENILE 

 ALONE, ETC. 



My little six-year-old boy says. "Pa, I want you to 

 write to Novice to send me a bee- journal." The words 

 are quoted correctlj*. He puts in the same plea 

 morning, noon, and night, and will take no denial or 

 substitute. He must have Juvenile Gleanings 

 addressed to him, and he pays for it with his own 

 money. He has one colony from which he sold f.o.tiO 

 worth of honey. He has just been in my room dur- 

 ing recess to see if [ am going to write to-day. Can 

 you appreciate my feelings when I tell you 1 am 

 anxious to have my boys become enthusiastic bee- 

 keepers before 1 am gone, that they may be pre- 

 pared to commence where I left off? And do you 

 think the juveniles would understand if I should 

 record a wink as 1 inclose the stamps, as this little 

 boy so much desires? And can you imagine the 

 knowing glances that will be exchanged by his pa 

 and ma when they see him in possession of a copy 

 of his own Juvenile Gleanings? 



Mt. Zion, 111. J. S. Hughes. 



LFrlend H., your kind letter has a world of truth 

 in it. One might almost be tempted now to think 

 that this Juvenile is a sharp trick of mine to get 

 subscribers; but when I started it, my only thought 

 was, to help lead those little ones in wisdom's ways. 

 The reason why we can not send the Juvenile by 

 itself is, that it would necessitate another expensive 

 subscription list, and an extra set of clerks to man- 

 age it. Only a very few among our 5O0O subscribers 

 have objected to the JuvtENILe; and 1 believe they 

 took back their objections when told it cost them 

 nothing, not even a penny for postage. Tell your 

 little six-year-old that Uncle Amos sends his best 

 respects, and rejoices to know that he is already it 

 prosperous "bee-m an." 



I don't know but I am intruding in the company 

 of bee-keepers, as I am only a railroad man; but 1 

 claim relationship to yourself on other grounds, and 

 I write because 1 want to give in my testimony. 

 Some months ago a friend of mine here who keeps 

 bees loaned me the 1879 volume of Gleanings. I 

 wanted to study up on bees a little, as 1 have always 

 been somewhat interested in them; but I was very 

 much surprised to find something in Gleanings 

 that helped me so much in my Christian life that I 

 am constrained to write this letter, and let Bro. Koot 

 know that there is one railroad man, at least, who is 

 praying that God will continue to use him, and 

 make him a blessing in the future as he has done in 

 the past. 1 refer to the Home Papers, which, it 

 seems to me, are the grand feature of the book. 

 How good it is to have a business, and run it in the 

 interest of Christ and his cauge! I have been a. 

 Christian since Dec. 3,187(5, and now I am encouraged 

 to be a more faithful soldier of Jesus Christ. There 

 is that in Beo. Hoot's writings that helps us business 

 men to carry our religion into our business. They 

 are ver.v practical, and that is just what we want. 



My friend J. J. Ochsner has over 100 hives of bees, 

 and I have one, which I bought of him this spring 

 to experiment on. The bees are doing well. The 

 spring was very cold and backward here; and when 

 the dandelions first began to display their gold, 

 many hives had not a pound of honey in them; but 

 since white clover began, every thing has been very 

 favorable, and now the hives are as full of bees and 

 honey as they can stick, and a good surplus is being 

 stored. Owing to abundance of rain, the white- 

 clover season will last at least two weeks longer 

 than usual, and we think will continue fully until 

 basswood, which is almost ready. 1 hope soon to 

 join your ABC class, and become one of the family; 

 and if I am not disappointed, I expect to spend my 

 vacation next month at my father's farm in Ohio; 

 and then, if 1 can slip away from mother for a few 

 days, I will visit Bro. Root's bee-farm, and attend 

 the noon prayer-meeting. Harry L.itqrop. 



Prairie du Sac, Wis., July 9, 1883. 



[Many thanks for your kind words, friend L. ; and 

 when you call to see us, be sure to let us know that 

 you are the man who wrote that lettei- for the Juve- 

 nile, and then we shall be sure to know you. Thank 

 God that there are at least a feiv railroad men who 

 are in the army of the Lord.] 



