148 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



you are in a better temper than with the old 

 way of letting the bees have their own way, 

 and the whole apiary has not been disturbed 

 with that feverish unrest that is sometimes 

 the case where swarms are in the air all day. 



Hyrum, Utah. 



[The writer of the above would be bet- 

 ter known to our readers, perhaps, if she 

 bad sig-ned herself, "Mrs. M. A. Gill." 

 Her practical suggestions show that she is 

 no longer an amateur. — Ed.] 



KEEPING BEES FOR PROFIT 



BY RUTH C. GIFFORD 



I took up beekeeping because I could 

 make some money, and at the same time be 

 at home. My bees averaged about 100 sec- 

 tions per colony last year. The best colony 

 made 146 sections; and the poorest, my 

 only pure Italian colony, 57. 



Most of my honey is sold locally — that is, 

 to consumei-s within a radius of two miles, 

 and by the case to country and town stores 

 for ten miles around. The remainder is 

 sold to a dairy-product store in a city near 

 by. The price is 20 cents a section for 

 fancy and No. 1. I have very little of any 

 other kind, for honey is just as easy to take 

 off at the proper time as it is after it is 

 travel-stained. 



I have no wheelbarrow for carrying hives 

 and supers; but I did have a stout express 

 wagon left over from " kid days." I took 

 the sides off and nailed two half-inch cleats 

 leng-thwise on the edges of the bottom. 

 These parallel strips are always in position : 

 and, being half an inch higher than the bot- 

 tom, they prevent bees from being mashed. 

 Lately, though, when interchanging supers 

 I take them off and set them on their sides 

 across the wagon. In this way, after the 

 supers are set off' the hive they are parallel 

 to each other, and two or three inches apart. 

 Then they can be replaced in any order de- 

 sired, and without extra lifting. If a super 

 is full of foundation on which the bees 

 have just started to work I set it on end 

 on tiie wagon, because the thin combs and 

 foundation would bend under the Aveight of 

 the bees if the super were placed on its side, 

 and the result would be a lot of sections 

 stuck to the division-boards. 



I use the eight-frame hive. If I want to 

 move one when it is full of honey I take 

 out three or four frames, carry the hive and 

 remainirg combs to the desired place, then 

 get the fiancs which were set out, and re- 

 place tl.em in the hive. If the distance :.< 

 longer I take out part of the frame? set 

 the hi\e on the waaoi^ and set tlieni in it 



again. When the new location is reached, 

 I again take out part of the frames, set the 

 hive on the stand, and then replace the 

 frames. 



North East, Ind. 



AN ARMOR FOR THE TIMID SISTERS 



BY MRS. E. R. WILSON 



I am very fond of honey or I never would 

 have been interested in bees. But when we 

 started with one colony, and I experienced 

 the first stings, my ardor cooled somewhat, 

 for those stings really did poison me. After 

 one summer, howevei", I began to contract 

 the bee fever, and have had it ever since. 

 I now work with the bees at all times. 



The feminine beekeeper should never trust 

 even the most gentle colony, but should al- 

 ways dress so that being stung severely will 

 be an impossibility. The following is a very 

 safe suit for the use of women in the api- 

 ary : Long bicycle boots, reaching to the 

 knee, or buttoned leggings; a pair of long 

 bloomers to fasten below the knee with an 

 inch-wide elastic band, and a band of elas- 

 tic to hold them in place at the waist; a 

 waist to slip on over the head, made long 

 at the bottom, so as to pass under the elas- 

 tic band of the bloomers; and a bee-veil 

 sewed to the neck of the waist, and finished 

 with a narrow elastic at the top in order to 

 snap around the hat-crown. A short light- 

 weight skirt and long elbow bee-gloves com- 

 plete the equipment. A bee must be very 

 smart to do much harm to one in such armor. 



When one feels safe the interest is double 

 what it is when fear is the main thought. 



I assist my husband in earing for the bees 

 by using the smoker, and he says that I 

 make an excellent helper. When he is away 

 I take all the care of the apiary. The work 

 is hard at times, but not harder than some 

 parts of housework. There certainly is more 

 pleasure and variety in it, for the bees 

 surely keep one guessing. 



1 would ad\is'3 women who are beginners 

 to keep only one colony at first, for "chunk" 

 or extracted honey the first season. Section 

 honey is good, and is more suggestive of a 

 woman's work, but is really liarder to han- 

 dle, and it is moi'e difficult to secure results. 

 The bees swarm worse, and this should be 

 avoided by any beginner. 



Plent}' of room should always be given. 

 Shallow- supers are best for a woman to 

 handle, and are jjretty enough, when well 

 filled, to please any one. 



Last, but not least, clip the queen's wings. 

 Men may not need to; but women centainly 

 do, especially if slightlv timid. 



Tonv, Wis. 



