48 



American Bee Joarnal j 



February, 1913 



»^^^^ j 



Part of the Bee-Exhihit at the Pecos Vai.lev P"air in New Mexico. 



Bee-Keeping ^ For Women 



Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Marengo. 111. 



Honey Selling and Swarm Catching 

 Made Easy 



" Somewhere I have read that people 

 who are badly affected by bee-stings 

 never make a success at keeping bees. 

 I do not see how any one could suffer 

 more than I do in that way, and yet I 

 have done very well in the bee-ijusi- 

 ness, although I have never carried it 

 on properly. It has been a side-line 

 with me, as I have never had help or 

 been able to handle the hives, to sep- 

 arate them, and do lots of things I 

 should have done; partly because 

 I had not the strength, as I am often 

 ill, and partly because I have been 

 busy with other work. 



"I had 31 colonies at one time, but 

 from some cause they fell to a much 

 lower number; yet I have had a nice 

 bit of spending money from my bees. 

 Four years ago I hadabout20 colonies, 

 and sold over $60 worth of honey, be- 

 sides giving away some and using some 

 at home. 



" I am more fortunate than some, in 

 that I sell direct to my friends. I have 

 been in the habit of driving to the hop 

 fields and selling to the pickers, and 

 taking a few sections to dift'erent peo- 

 ple as they are wanted. They prefer it 

 to what they buy in stores; they say 

 the store honey is tasteless and thin. I 

 get 20 cents, the same price that is 

 asked by merchants. 



" As stings disagree with me, I made 

 a rig in which I can handle any kind of 



bees. You would probably be surprised 

 if you saw me in my rig, but if you 

 knew the kind of places where I am 

 often obliged to go after swarms, you 

 would not wonder that I made it. 



" I had overalls made very large with 

 straps over the shoulders, and with no 

 opening except at the waist and the 

 bottom of each leg, and these were 

 closed with a draw-string. I could 

 slip these on quickly when in a hurry, 

 and could climb well. No danger of 

 catching a dress on limbs of trees, and 

 if a cluster fell on me. as they some- 

 times would, they could not find any 

 place to crawl in, and generally they 

 would all go back to the ones still on 

 the limb. 



" For face protection I made a wire 

 head-rig with a piece of window- 

 screening. This screening I bent over 

 a crock, to get the right shape. Then. 

 I made a hoop from steel like that in 

 a hoop-skirt, and sewed it near the 

 bottom. To the bottom of this wire 

 was sewed a cloth curtain that reached 

 below my arm pits, and a draw-string 

 tied it down close. I set in large 

 sleeves, and with gloves I could handle 

 a vicious swarm. 



"Even if there was not much profit in 

 it, 1 like to work with bees, and enjoy 

 watching them take- possession of a 

 new home. As I am not very young 

 (61), it has not been easy work for me 

 to get a swarm from a high place alone. 



"Often when reading the Bee Journal 

 I think how much I would enjoy a 



chat with the different ones of the 

 family, for so they seem to me. Per- 

 haps there may be something in this 

 letter that will be of benefit to some of 

 my friends. We often think that what 

 we do is very simple and not worth 

 talking about, while another person 

 would be pleased to know about it. I 

 wish I could be with some good bee- 

 keeper and see him or her handle bees. 

 What I know has been learned from 

 experience and by the help of the 

 journal." 



(Mrs.) Gertrude L. Goodwin. 

 Roy, Wash. 



Your letter is very interesting. You 

 have been able to get such good prices 

 for your honey, why not devote more 

 time to your bees, and less to other 

 work ? 



Your bee-dress is a safe one, and I 

 can imagine that you can tackle any 

 cross colony, and feel quite serene. 

 But why do all of that useless climb- 

 ing ? Why not clip your queens' 

 wings? Then when those bees swarm, 

 look for the queen in front of the en- 

 trance, pick her up and cage her, and 

 the bees will come back when they get 

 ready without any interference from 

 you. Then you can let the queen run 

 in with the swarm. Doesn't that sound 

 lots easier than climbing high trees 

 after swarms on a very hot day? Do 

 you say you cannot clip a queen ? No 

 trick at all after you have clipped a 

 few. Just try clipping a few drones' 

 wings first if you feel nervous about it. 



Honey Confections 



It is pleasant to note that the popu- 

 lar magazines are beginning to recog- 

 nize the value of honey. Two recipes 

 that here follow are taken from " Good 

 Housekeeping," which prefaces them 

 by saying : 



" A pleasing addition to confection- 

 ery is honey, and it can be used to ad- 

 vantage in cake and pastry also. Be- 

 cause of the predominance of sugar in 

 honey, less of the other sweetening 

 substances should be used. A little 

 salt improves all candy in which much 

 salted butter is not used. 



" Pineapple M.\rshmallo\vs. — Heat 

 two cupfuls of sugar, half a cupful of 

 water, and half a cupful of honey over 

 a slow fire. Then boil rapidly until it 

 threads, and add 18 marshmallows, cut 

 in pieces, and the beaten whites of 

 two eggs. Beat until the mixture is 

 creamy, then add one cupful of chopped 

 candied pineapple. When quite firm 

 pour into an oiled pan and cut into 

 squares. Roll in cornstarch and pow- 

 dered sugar. 



" Honey Puffs. — Boil three cupfuls 

 of sugar and one cupful of cream; 

 when it will almost thread, add one- 

 fourth cupful of honey. When it 

 reaches the soft, ball stage, take from 

 the fire and beat the stiffly beaten white 

 of an egg into it. Beat one minute 

 and add half a cupful each of finely 

 chopped nut meats and chopped can- 

 died pineapple. Beat until firm and 

 creamy, and shape into balls between 

 the fingers with a wet napkin, then 

 cool. A speck of salt adds to the 

 flavor." 



"HoNEv Gingerbread. — Four cupfuls 



