MARCH 1, 1913 



155 



Transferring not impossible for women to undertake. Brushing the few remaining hees from 

 the combs in the old box-hive. 



many of the orders stand from year to year, 

 I'unning all the way from ten to fifty sec- 

 tions. We sell direct to the consumer at a 

 good price, rarely taking less than 25 cents 

 a section. 



Dayton, Ohio. 



A WOMAN'S WORK 



BY MRS. S. E. HOWARD 



[To the writer of this article has been accorded 

 the title of " Bee Expert," as she is an authority 

 on bee management from queen-rearing to honey- 

 production. She is a member of the Massachusetts 

 Society of Beekeepers, and also of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, and is an active worker, writ- 

 er, and student. Mrs. Howard's success is due in a 

 large measure to the increasing interest in bees in 

 Massachusetts, and her influence has reached distant 

 parts of the country from magazine articles (Mc- 

 Call's, Country Life, Stiburban Life, Country Gen- 

 tleman) recounting her experiences and methods. 

 Her yards at Hill Crest, Wakefield, Mass., are models 

 of neatness, and received the commendation of the 

 Massachusetts Society of Beekeepers, which society 

 she entertained August 3, 1912. — Ed.] 



I first became interested in bees through 

 the gift of a colony in an old soap-box, 

 nailed top and bottom, with a one-inch 

 round hole at the bottom as an entrance. 

 This I had removed to my back yard, and 

 watched it (at a distance) for a season, and 



lioped for a swarm to put into a new Lang- 

 stroth hive with full sheets of foundation 

 which I had provided for the " anticipated," 

 which did not happen that season. During 

 that first summer I watched, talked, and 

 questioned, and read my A B C of Beekeep- 

 ing, and thought I had the theoretical 

 knowledge, but I lacked the courage to do 

 the practical, which was to transfer that 

 colony to' a new hive. Fall came, and no 

 provision made for surplus honey, and none 

 was obtained, but the bees went into winter 

 quarters with abundant stores, and were 

 well protected. The winter months were 

 used for more reading, and planning for the 

 " spring moving " of the bees to their new 

 tenement for which they afterward paid 

 ample rent. 



Looking forward to the plum and cherry 

 bloom was a pleasant anticipation, as cour- 

 age and determination had increased. The 

 propitious day arrived : fruit-bloom, balmy 

 air, and bees at work, and happy, with all 

 conditions favorable. With my veil adjust- 

 ed, smoker lighted, and hammer, chisel, and 

 hiving-box ready, I proceeded as per direc- 

 tions. With the assistance of my husband 

 (some help is needed by a woman) the en,- 



