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JUVENILE GLEANINGS. 



Aug. 



tions under which he could get away from 

 the poorhouse and earn his bread by the 

 sweat of his brew was, that he should give 

 up smoking ; for you know we do not allow 

 anybody to work here who uses tobacco in 

 any shape. I suppose he misses his pipe 

 sadly, and I have sometimes felt real bad 

 to think he must be deprived of it. Shall we 

 not remember him, children, when we sav 

 our prayers at night, and ask God to help 

 him to be strong m a good cause V There, I 

 have told you something about one of " my 

 neighbors," without thinking of doing it, 

 haven't 1 ? 



A NOVEIi METHOD OF FASTENING FUN. 

 INTO FRAMES. 



ALSO A HARPOON TO SPEAR WORMS WITH. 



MIGHT here in the midst of the honey harvest I 

 , must stop and tell you of two inventions 

 ' which we now use in our apiary. The first is 



a kind of spear which we use for picking drones 

 and wax-worms out of the comb. We flad it a very 

 handy tool. The other is for fastening fdn. into 

 frames, either wired or not wired. The spear is 

 made by besting a fish-hook, and straightening it 

 out; place this in a handle about four inches Img, 

 and it is cmpiete. The barb is left on the hook. 



The bees would not take the worms out, and we 

 had to. This pulls them out " quicker." The way 

 we fasten our fdn. in is the idea of " my pard," Mr. 

 W. R. Bates. We use ordinary cotton string for 

 fastening. I am a very poor hand at writing out 

 a description of any thing, but I think by the aid of 

 the accompanying sketch I can make it plain. I lay 



the frame flat, then put the fdn. in place; next I 

 take a piece of string long enough to go twice the 

 length of the frame, and tie; pass one end %indei- 

 the end-bar of frame over the fdn., and under the 

 other end-bar; now bring it back uver the end-bar 

 under the fdn., and over the first end-bar, and tie 

 tight. Two strings are enough for each sheet of fdn. 

 This puts the fdn. exactly in the middle of the 

 frame. Now, to bring it tight against the top-bar, 

 slip the string, indicated in the sketch, just a trifle 

 toward the top-bar, and the frame is finished. This, 

 of course, is not as good as wired frames; but when 

 one's work is walking right over him, it is a splendid 

 time-saver, and works just as well. 

 Harrington, R. I., May 23, 1883. A. C. Miller. 



Thank you, friend M. We have so few 

 worms in the combs in our apiary that we 

 would hardly lind use for your spear. When 

 we had many black bees I used to carry a 

 fine-pointed single-bladed penknife in my 

 vest-pocket. Your plan of fastening fdn. is 

 indeed ingenious and novel ; but we should 

 have no use for it here, because we have our 

 fdn. all put on wires. It may prove a val- 

 uable aid to those who use fdn. by hanging 



it by one edge ; but how about the expense 

 of so many strings? Do not the bees bite off 

 the strings so they can not very well be used 

 over again ? 



AN ABC SCHOLAR ONE MONTH OLD. 



A GREAT ADO ABOUT A DEAD QUEEN. 



W WONDER if you do not think that a 

 ^ pretty big " yarn," children. We have 

 ' had letters from children six years old, 

 five years old, and I do not know but that 

 we have had some letters from some 

 only four years old, and perhaps younger 

 still. Now here is one from a " child " only 

 one month old — in fact, not quite that ; and 

 if he is not a child in years, he certainly is 

 in bee culture. Just hear him, will you ? 



Friend Root: 



The sample copy of Gleanings sent me a few 

 days ago pleased me so well that I inclose $1.00 for a 

 year's subscription. Please commence with the 

 August number. 



It is only a month ago that I concluded to try my 

 hand at bee-keeping, and the manner in which my 

 enthusiasm was fired up is somewhat similar to 

 your own experience, related in your introduction 

 to ABC, differing only in that my interest was 

 first aroused by a dead queen being casually shown 

 me by a friend in my office. I asked him some ques- 

 tions, and then dropped the subject. About an 

 hour or so the spirit of that dead queen returned, 

 and, like Banquo's ghost, it would not " down." I 

 could not dispel the subject from my mind. I re- 

 sorted to my library, took down Appleton's and also 

 Chambers' Cyclopedias, and read the articles on 

 " Bees and Bee-Keeping." This little taste excited 

 my appetite for more. T consulted the Brittanica 

 and the German cyclopedias, reading with avidity 

 and interest what they had to say. Now, my further 

 search was stopped as far as my library was con- 

 cerned. I went to a bee-keeping friend, and pro- 

 cured Cook's Manual. I flew over its contents, and 

 re-read it carefully. I wanted more, and was told to 

 read ABC. I sent to Chicago; and when it came. I 

 read it through with pleasure. About this time my 

 fascination for bees was so great that I secured two 

 Italian nuclei, and set them to work, consulting 

 constantly my A B C, as to what to do in certain 

 cases. I have had them about two weeks, and every- 

 thing looks prosperous. 



Although a month ago I was entirely ignorant 

 about bees and their habits, yet by the most in- 

 cessant study I have obtained some little knowledge 

 of this wonderful insect family, the acquiring of 

 which gave me more pleasure than any thing I ever 

 sought after before. I am afraid that I did not 

 study law with such industry as I did bee-keeping. 



I am not much given to hobbies; but this hobby 

 is one which I am determined to stick to for better 

 or for worse; and although I have been severely 

 stung, I consoled myself with the Irishman's so- 

 liloquy, "Goodness ! ain't his foot hot?" and put a 

 good face on the matter, when my wife gravely in- 

 quired why I was blowing my finger. 



There are about 1000 colonies of bees kept in this 

 city, and I doubt if more than three bee-keepers un- 

 derstand the proper handling of bees. A bee-keep- 

 ers' association has been formed, and It is the object 

 to bring about better results. As far as my own ef- 

 forts are_concemed, I will try to disseminate bee 



