Show RAISING BEES jAn j-An Experience that Should be Head by Ladles and Children EDITOR DDIIOCRAT Knowing as I do the difficulties which lay in the path of each of our or in fact any other citizens to build up any industry in an unexplored unex-plored field of research I think it nothing noth-ing but my duty to assist in every way except by investing by my experience and counsel such as are treading in thorny paths and to nerve them with fresh vigor so that they faint not by the way but achieve success The culture of bees is one of the most beautiful ways by which without much expense or trouble money may be made For the immense quantities quan-tities of honey produced the best sorts of bees to start with see Apis Jfellijica in the encyclopedia it not being my province to fully set forth what has been done by tho collators of that book I have read all that was written both luau L encyclopedia and in a book called the Bee Master which I also think each who intends to start an apiary should do I read until I became so expert in my mind that I could handle bees without with-out being stung which was my experience experi-ence when I was a boy for then notwithstanding not-withstanding all my coaxing and wasted care I never could tame a wasp or a bumblebee In fact whenever we met there appeared to be some subtle influence influ-ence which made us both mad not tame With me the sensation lasted for a long time notwithstanding blue bags I dont know how long the madness lasted with the bees Armed now with all the best authorities on hives broods i etcetera I could expatiate upon tho dreadful waste of honey in the neighbor hood though not sending out the willing little laborers to bring it home for us to sell or spread on our bread and also that it required no manual labor to at tend to their few wants thus opening a field for ladies and children who by a little care could look after many hives I still think so I can now look after but not go near as many hives as you wish We lived in a block of ten acres with no dividing fence partly planthd with peach and apple trees One morning j morn-ing I was riding my hobby and spoke of this great loss oMelicious honey to my Neighbor who was an old resident He laughed at me and told mo those fellows that wrote about such things but knew nothing only how to make a book and I sell the reader This annoyed me and I was determined to show him how greatly he was mistaken So I bought a hive of the best I could get I placed them on a chair without a hnrU in tlu orchard and awaited tho results I had not to wait long for the very next morn ing Tom thats my eldest boy aged 7 years last June took his sister out to t look at the new addition to our worldly possessions and put his fingers in the hole to see if there was any hone Neither he nor his sister stayed long but came into the house excited My wife took in the situation at once and for two hours she did expiate on bees and bee masters 1 got my share as usual but Tom never went looking for honev again Time rolled on and the bees increased and multiplied so did my troubles There was scarcely a day but what Borne of up remembered that we had bees in the orchard different from other pets you constantly feel their presence One afternoon was very warm and my neigh bor had an apple bee at his house and some fifteen or twenty ladies were seated with him cutting up apples for dr3 lug when Tom came running in to tell Inc the bees had swarmed and were in one of the trees I tried to get my wife to go out and learn how to manage themwhile r smoked my pipe telling her it may bt that I should not be at borne another time when they swarmed and they were too valuable to let go and I would direct her from the window But it was no go The bees could go so far as she was concerned con-cerned So I had to do it myself Wrapped in about thirty yards of raon quito bar over my gloves and duster I boldly advanced with a new hive prepared pre-pared according to directions I was told to show no fear but sweep them into i the box and be sure to get the queen bee in I sweoped them by the handful into the box I was standing on a stepladder steplad-der I had them nearly all in when tIle ladder slipped I fell So did the bees They rose So did I Some got in between be-tween the bars I thought I would go and ask my neighbor to come over and help me pick out the queen bee So I went over to where the applesellinir party was So did all the bees and the party became so frightened that they tipped tip-ped over chairs apples and everything and ran some rolled in the crass lint nobody helped me find the queen So i1 did not stop but ran myself at least two I blocks for a blue rag I lost my bees and have never since raised any I buy my honey now but my neighbor was very distant with me for a long time APIARY OGDEN June 1C 1887 |