216 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 2, 1903. 



the flat bottoms, especially in early spring- ; in cleaning-out 

 time, all the dead bees were a great deal easier taken out, 

 and the water that was caused by the bees had a good 

 chance to run off. 



During the present winter I am working on this same 

 idea, that of sloping bottoms and a hive-cover combined by 

 simply reversing, and having the top and bottom one and 

 the same thing. In fact, the model that I am working on is 

 a part of the up-to-date bottom-boards, with the same old 

 idea of sloping of 30 years ago brought back into use again. 

 I will test it in my own apiary one season before I say any- 

 thing about it, and see how I like them. I don't suppose it 

 will keep out the moths, or keep the bees from swarming ; 

 but just wait and see. Cass Co., Nebr. 



I Our Bee-HeeDin§ Sisters 



Conducted by EMMft M. WILSON, Marengo, III. 



Mrs. Griffith's Bee-Dress. 



I promised the sisters I would tell them how I dressed 

 when I commenced to keep bees, and the way I dress now. 



I made bloomers with a rubber at the ankles, and a loose 

 sacque with a belt to button around the waist, and rubber 

 at the wrists ; kid gloves, and a hat with mosquito-netting 

 around it. I soon found that all that rig was too much 

 trouble to put on, and too warm, so I dropped a piece at a 

 time until I left off all but the hat. 



Now I use only the hat, and not always that. When a 

 swarm comes out, if they settle low, I put the hive under 

 them and shake them in, and let them be for a little while. 

 I pin my sleeves at the wrist, to keep the bees from getting 

 up my sleeves, and put on my hat ; that is all the prepara- 

 tion I make when I am going to do anything with the bees. 

 I do not have anything on my hands, as I like to have them 

 bare. Let me be working with the bees, or pulling weeds, 

 or anything else, I like them bare, as I do not mind the 

 looks of my hands, and I can work the best with them bare. 

 I seldom get stung, and if I do, I don't mind their sting as 

 the bite of the Jersey mosquito ; they hurt me more than 

 the bee-sting. Sarah J. Griffith. 



Cumberland Co., N. J. 



A Whole Bee-Keeping- Family. 



Miss Wilson :— I always enjoy the writings of "Our 

 Bee-Keeping Sisters," and since this department has been 

 started, the American Bee Journal has become doubly in- 

 teresting. I have often wondered how much interest was 

 really taken by bee-keepers' z£/z>«' in their /msbands' busi- 

 ness. 



I regret to note that those sisters who write seem to be 

 " paddling their own canoe," and there is no husband con- 

 nected with the business. Now, please record that here is 

 one sister who is trying to be a " helpmeet " to her hus- 

 band, especially in the busy season of the year. For eight 

 months our four children are in school, therefore at that 

 season we do not have much time for bee-work, neither is 

 there a necessity for a great rush in the bee-yards. Yet, on 

 Saturdays we make and wire frames, paint hives, put to- 

 gether nucleus shipping-boxes, etc., and always manage to 

 find something we can do profitably that might have to go 

 undone later. 



I must say it is a pleasure to spread the paint on nice, 

 clean, new hives, a.nd I have painted a hundred in one day, 

 and manage, by the help of the girls, to keep up our house- 

 work, too. With 500 colonies of bees in seven yards, from 

 4 to 20 miles out, there is hustling when the honey-flow be- 

 gins until ready to be taken from the hives. 



In this delightful climate camp life among the hills is 

 delightful, with a wagon loaded with extracting and camp- 

 ing outfit, plenty of "grub," tents, bedding, etc., the 

 wagon going ahead, we follow in the carriage. Best of all 

 we have a negro cook who tends the team, helps about the 

 heavy lifting, and does the odd jobs, and is much appre- 

 ciated. 



We usually reach the yard next to be worked in the 

 afternoon. Tents erected, supper prepared and over, we 



spread our beds for the night, and early next morning we 

 are ready for business. Husband and our oldest son, Huber, 

 age 16, will remove the honey from the hives and bring it 

 to the extracting tent, while myself, and Alice, 14, and 

 Kate, 12, will extract the honey and cut out the nice, white 

 combs and pack in screw-cap cans ready for the market. 

 Some of you Northern section-honey-producing sisters may 

 laugh at this bulk-comb-honey product, but, believe me, 

 we can not nearly supply the demand, and it nets us nearly 

 as much per pound as section honey; then we have the 

 advantage of filling in around the comb with extracted 

 honey. 



Are we afraid of stings ? Yes, some — and stray bees 

 brought into the extracting tent sometimes annoy, by 

 crawling around too familiarly. 



Our girls insist that it is more cleanly and comfortable 

 to wear boys' overalls while working in the extracting 

 house, hence they have their papa to buy them large, 

 roomy overalls, which are drawn on over their clothing. 

 Of course, visitors are not expected. 



We have never kept a record of a whole day's work, but 

 I think myself and two girls can extract, cut out, and pack, 

 a ton of this bulk-comb honey in one day, with sufficient 

 help to do the lifting. 



I, for one, would like to hear from the wives of bee- 

 keepers. Mrs. W. H. I/AWS. 



Bee Co., Tex. 



Mrs. Laws' letter will be read with interest by all the 

 sisters, wives included. She is right, we ought to hear 

 more from the wives. I am sure we would be glad to. 



How pleasant it must be to have all the family inter- 

 ested, and have some part in the work. I know something 

 about how nice it is, for at one time our whole family 

 worked with the bees. 



Your visits, Mrs. Laws, to the out-apiaries must be 

 delightful — reads like a pleasant summer excursion. You 

 enjoy all the pleasures of camp life (negro cook included), 

 with the profits thrown in. 



Tell those girls for me that I think they are very sensi- 

 ble in their choice of dress. 



The Afterthought. 



The "Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable Qlasses. 

 By e. B. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, O. 



CALIFORNIA AS A HONKY-STATB. 



Glad to see B. S. K. Bennett, of California, stand up for 

 his State. Guess he's right, too. California lost the lead 

 to Texas by being caught in a bad year. Probably a good 

 many of us will continue to think of California as the lead- 

 ing State in honey. Page 94. 



MOVING BEES WITH OPEN HIVE-ENTRANCES. 



Yes, Mr. Hyde, to try to move a lot of bees with en- 

 trances open and fail at it — that's a thing we can shudder 

 at even without having experienced it. Page 99. 



HOW THEY "do" FRANCE. 



The old and worn proverb, "They do things better in 

 France," seems to have got juggled a little, and behold it 

 it is. They do France, to teach him better things, in Wis- 

 consin. Pretty much everywhere exact red-tape is mighty ; 

 and saving half the expense oft counts little or nothing, a 

 crime. Political millennium not here yet. Page 101. 



THE AVERAGE PER COLONY. 



The Northwestern didn't seem to get up much of a 

 fight over the question how to count averages. Here is a 

 man who has 100 colonies. Half of them die in winter. 

 Forty of the remaining SO came through " powerful weak," 

 and don't get on their feet till harvest is past. Harvest is 

 good, and the 10 good ones store lots of honey. The 40 he 

 calls " nuclei ;" and so is enabled to say, " My average was 

 about 100 pounds. " Shall we tolerate this ? or shall we 

 smite him, and tell him his average was only 20 pounds ? 

 Page 102. 



THE HONEY EXCHANGE AND ITS WORKINGS. 



Oranges and lemons are luxuries, but somehow the peo- 

 ple will Aave //lem. Honey is a luxury — and most people 



