1883 



JUVENILE GLEANII^GS. 



491 



1 made some 100 for her some years ago, and bhe 

 made the rest herself after that; but she is now in 

 Florida. 



If I can find any more soon, I will let you know. 



Centralia, 111., May 11, 1883. Alexis Fiddes. 



Friend Fiddes, we bee-keepers surely owe 

 you a vote of thanks for your invention. I 

 presume your letter which was given in our 

 journal was what turned the attention of so 

 many to this subject ; and as it appeared so 

 long ago in public print no one can very 

 well say the matter was not fully under- 

 stood by bee-keepers generally ; and for one 

 I feel like saying, " Many thanks." 



We have also, in addition to the above, 

 the following from friend McGonnell : 



Friend Root :— I hsi.\e not heard from my brother 

 yet; he is in the oil regions somewhere, and hard to 

 reach ; but the latter part of the year after I sent 

 him the plank, his shop burned down, and the com- 

 ing winter he lost all of his bees, so it is doubtful if 

 he ever made any of the one-piece sections. From 

 what I can understand from your letter, Forncrook 

 claims cutting the entrance in the plank before 

 ripping up. Now, if that is the case, I think we 

 have something of some value. I made sections in 

 the spring of 1875, and I always cut the entrances in 

 the plank before ripping up. I followed that plan 

 up to the spring of 1879. I have the bits that I cut 

 the grooves with yet, and I think I can furnish some 

 pieces of the sections that I cut eight years ago. I 

 have some that I cut 6 years ago, which I will send 

 you. The pieces that I send you were on a hive 

 that I had at the Pennsylvania State Agricultural 

 Fair at Brie, in 1877. You ask me how much you 

 would have to pay me besides my expenses to come 

 and make deposition to what I know about the case, 

 to which I shall say, nothing besides expenses, 

 which would include railroad fare and board while 

 there. I would not ask that if I could afford it. If 

 what 1 know is of any value to you, let me know, 

 and I will do all I can for you. J. McGonnelIj. 



Waterford, Pa., Aug. 13, 1883. 



Many thanks, friend M., for the facts you 

 give, and also for the kind offer of services 

 without any charge for your time. Should 

 we need you, I will most gladly avail myself 

 of your offer. Mr. Forncrook does not claim 

 any thing in particular ; but it is the com- 

 bination ; and the entrances for the bees 

 without being cut clear across the bottom- 

 piece is one of the special things enumerated. 



MRS. ]:iTJC]^DA HARRISON. 



TAKING BEES TO CHURCH; HER TRIP TO NEAV YORK 

 CITY, AND WHAT SHE SAW. 



^n^KO. ROOT:— I never take my bees to church 

 Ji[n^ with me; but I certainly should if I left them 

 during the swarming time, with no one to 

 care for them. I know a bee-keeper in a small 

 town who persists in going, aud the services are 

 hardly commenced before some of his neighbors 

 come in and inform him that his " bees are swarm- 

 ing." The congregation nudge one another, and 

 with knowing looks whisper, " His bees are swarm- 

 ing." This disturbs and diverts the attention of the 

 audience; and would it not be as well for him to re- 

 main at home four or five Sabbaths, or take turns 

 with other members of his family? 



A minister came to me last summer saying, " I'm 

 afraid I shall lose my bees while we are away at 

 church; we all go, and I'm not willing that any one 

 shall stay and watch them." I told him to get Jones's 

 queen-guards, and put them on while they were at 

 church, as he had but five colonies. He did so, and 

 told me since that he lost none. 



I'm in New York City, and all the way here 1 was 

 watching for bee-flowers, and did not see enough to 

 make a bouquet until I reached New York State, 

 where goldenrod is blooming plentifully. There is 

 a drought all the way, and the corn is small, some 

 not more than a foot high, while again it is in tassel. 

 While it is of good color, and very clean, it does not 

 appear as though it were going to have earx. 



When I went into the " Ladies' Waiting Room," at 

 Indianapolis there was a lady there who had a dog 

 tied under her se^t. He was a white bull dog, with 

 a stumpy tail. He had been taught his manners, and 

 was very well behaved, and seemed to think it was 

 his duty to protect his mistress. I asked the lady if 

 he traveled with her in the passenger car. She said, 

 " Oh no! He was tied in the baggage car, and I had 

 to pay for him." Poor fellow, how lonesome he 

 must have been out there! I took the cars pretty 

 soon again for Cleveland ; and when we stopped at a 

 town, two young men came into the car cursing and 

 swearing. They had been playing with "brain 

 thief," and he had stolen almost all the brains they 

 had. When the conductor came along, I told him 

 that my ticket was " Ist Class," and I didn't think I 

 was getting what it called for, when I was put into a 

 car with drunken, profane men. He quieted them, 

 and I noticed that they occasionally stole a glance at 

 me. How much better the dog would have behaved 

 than those drunken fellows ! 



When we came through New London, Ind., I saw a 

 very pretty home, and I thought I caught a glimpse 

 of bee-hives as we bowled bj\ Do any of the juven- 

 iles live there? I hope so; and these were all the 

 hives I saw on the journey, though I looked for 

 them all the time. We came pietty fast, though; 

 from Cleveland to Buffalo there is a double steel 

 track. Why! the tops of the rails are as bright as 

 our knives and forks. What pretty homes you 

 would have, if you could grow flowers as beautiful 

 as those in Cleveland park on the lake shore. I hope 

 our bee-children will some time enjoy as delightful 

 a ride as I had fi'om Cleveland to Buffalo, with the 

 pure lake breezes coming in at the windows, free 

 from smoke. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



New York, Aug., 1883. 



Thank you, Mrs. H., for your good advice 

 in regard to going to church during swarm- 

 ing time. I presume the children know it as 

 well as the older people, that where a person 

 wants to do any thing he can generally find 

 an excuse for doing it. If any one want- 

 ed an excuse for staying home from church, 

 I presume the need of looking after the bees 

 would make a very good one. But suppose, 

 children, a person wanted an excuse for go- 

 ing to church when he knows very^well that 

 he ought to be at home. How would it be 

 tlien ? Our religion ought never to lead us 

 to neglect duty, for the whole spirit of it 

 should be right to the contrary. — I am very 

 thankful that Mrs. Harrison gives the idea 

 of Jones's entrance-guards. I think very 

 likely they would control the bees, until 

 church is out, any way.— Another thing : I 

 do not believe I should have very much fear 



