1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



95 



and in fact doing all my bee work, is a 

 Ford touring car with a two-wheeled 

 trailer. The trailer has a capacity of 

 about 1000 pounds, although I have had 

 1700 pounds in it. Twenty-five colonies 

 may be loaded if they are not too heavy. 

 It is surprising what capacity the 

 Ford has for pulling. I have had more 

 than a ton in the trailer and in the rear 

 of the car (to hold the wheels on the 

 ground), and can go 20 miles an hour 



with it on good roads. The trailer 

 tires are 28x3 inch pneumatic, and 

 while the rim cut some when loaded 

 heavily, it is cheaper to replace a few 

 tires than make so many trips. 



The trailer was built at home and in 

 a local blacksmith shop, and cost about 

 $40, including tires. All the wood used 

 is oak except the floor, which is pine. 

 The axle is a 4x6 inch oak timber, and 

 we broke it once, too. 



FOUR-WHEEL TRAILER OK T. F. EASLEY AT READ. COLO. 



Bee-I^epinc <^ For Women 



Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson, Mareneo, III. 



Beeswax for the Teeth 



The following item is from a monthly 

 magazine: 



" A dentist recommends chewing 

 beeswax while dressing in the morning 

 as a dental exercise. It resists the 

 teeth gently and its use will aid the 

 teeth to become white and clean and 

 strong and the gums firm." 



It would be interesting to know just 

 how the price of beeswax would ad- 

 vance if this practice should come into 

 general use. Something depends upon 

 whether beeswax be used each morn- 

 ing, or the same quid be used day after 

 day alter the fashion of gum-chewers. 

 The question might arise whether 

 dressing would be as expeditiously 

 accomplished with a wax-chewing 

 accompaniment. No doubt Horace 

 Fletcher would advise that the extra 

 chewing be done upon the food rather 

 than upon beeswax. 



Beekeeping for the Disabled 



John Clark, of North McGregor, 

 Iowa, is a paralytic and yet earns a liv- 

 ing for his wife, little children and him- 

 self. Until a year ago when stricken 

 with apoplexy he was a plasterer. He 

 was skilled at the trade, had plenty of 

 work and made good money. Mean- 

 while he had a hobby. It was bees. He 

 can't remember when he wasn't inter- 

 ested in bees and would rather be 

 fussing with them than doing anything 

 else. After marriage his wife became 

 interested, too. 



They bought a small piece of land on 

 the outskirts of town in a little valley 

 among the Mississippi river hills where 

 lots of sweet clover and much bass- 

 wood grow. Reserving part of the 

 land for the bee-hives, Mr. Clark set 

 most of the rest of it to fruit. Apple, 

 pear, plum and cherry trees, raspberry, 

 blackerry, currant and gooseberry 

 bushes were planted. The fruit blos- 

 soms would provide nectar for the 

 bees and the bees would pollenize the 

 blossoms as he figured it. 



The fruit farm was nicely started, 

 the bees were busy as bees in half a 

 hundred stands and the husband and 

 wife had the plans drawn for a pretty 

 bungalow to be built at "Sunnyside 

 Apiary", as they had named their little 

 farm. Before the plans could take 

 definite form Mr. Clark was stricken 

 with apoplexy and the hard problem 

 of obtaining money for food, clothing, 

 doctor's bills and fuel drove away the 

 roseate dream of the bungalow among 

 the apple blossoms and the honey-bees. 



It was then Mr. Clark gave thanks 

 for his hobby, and the wife said : " If you 

 will direct me from your bed I'll do the 

 work and we'll see if we can't make 

 our bees earn a living for the family." 

 That was a year ago. November 15 

 this year they had sold 3600 pounds of 

 extracted honey and had 500 pounds 

 of comb honey stored in the cellar. 

 This was the yield of 79 stands. The 

 last few months Mr. Clark has been 

 able to work a little in the apiary. He 

 gives his wife the credit for their suc- 

 cess because she did most of the work. 

 She gives him the credit because he 



directed the job, which shows that as a 

 married couple they are no less suc- 

 cessful than as beekeepers. 



Others are keeping bees in the coun- 

 try near by but with nothing like as 

 good results. Mr. Clark attributes his 

 success to good management and to 

 their location ne.nr an abundance of 

 sweet clover and basswood. Everybody 

 knows the finest honey is " basswood 

 honey," and nobody knows it as well 

 as the bees themselves. When the bass- 

 wood blooms the first two weeks in 

 July, if there is no wind and the 

 weather is fair the bees in Sunnyside 

 Apiary will store 25 pounds per colony 

 in ten days. The honey they make is 

 so good that the proprietor has no 

 trouble at all in marketing it. In fact, 

 buyers this year come to the house for 

 most all of the crop. t 



" Do you like the work ?" the invalid 

 was asked, and his face lighted up as 

 he answered, "It's the most interesting 

 business anybody can have. You never 

 get tired of bees. There is always 

 something new turning up and you can 

 work with them a lifetime and still not 

 know all about them." The wife an- 

 swered, " I just love to work with them 

 and now that I have learned how to 

 take care of them do you know I have 

 about decided beekeeping is a job 

 really better suited to women than to 

 men, for success in it depends upon 

 looking after the little things, and I 

 believe women naturally can do that 

 better than men." Florence L. 



From 79 colonies the yield was 3600 

 pounds of extracted honey and 500 

 pounds of comb. If we figure that 50 

 percent more extracted than comb 

 can be obtained, then the 500 pounds 

 of comb would equal 750 of extracted, 

 which added to the 3600 would make 

 4350 pounds of extracted. 



It would be interesting to know what 

 price was obtained for the honey, but 

 that is not given. Some who are espe- 

 cially favored get 20 or even 25 cents a 

 pound for extracted honey of best 

 quality. Few, however, can reach that. 

 In this region the consumer does no 

 grumbling at paying 70 cents for a 

 5-pound pail of white honey, and the 

 price of extracted seems to be on the 

 rise everywhere. At 70 cents a pail, 

 after paying for the pail, 13^ cents net 

 would be received per pound. That 

 would make $58725 for the crop, which 

 will go quite a way toward keeping the 

 wolf from the door, even in these high- 

 cost-of-living times. 



Most likely a hundred colonies can 

 be managed just as well, which at the 

 same rate, would yield more than $748. 

 Indeed, it would be nothing strange if 

 150 colones might be supported and 

 managed on the same ground, making 

 the income $1115. For it would be 

 noted that the yield is only 55 pounds 

 per colony, and it would be nothing 

 remarkable if further experience should 

 materially increase the average. On 

 the whole the outlook is quite promis- 

 ing for our afllicted friend and his faith- 

 ful wife. 



Not every one would agree that bass- 

 wood honey is the best; but that may 

 pass under the principle that no honey 

 is so good as that made by " our bees." 



Some may question whether the cel- 

 lar is the best place to keep comb 

 honey. That depends. In some places, 

 as in Colorado, where the air is very 

 dry, the cellar is all right. But in the 



