JUNE 1, 1912 



341 



Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Mason, of Mechanic Falls, Me. 



have been added to the ranks, and I know 

 of several more who are eoing to start this 

 spring. With the aid of the several good 

 text- books on this subject, and Gleanings, 

 the heretofore mystery of beekeeping be- 

 comes so simple and clear that the most 

 timid and uninformed beginner can soon 

 become adept in the business, and find new 

 pleasures in it year after year. 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. 



BEEKEEPING FOR WOMEN 



The Advantage of Being Skilled in the Use of Tools 



BY INEZ A. BBALS 



Perhaps many who patronize Mr. J. B. 

 Mason, of Mechanic Falls, Me., may not 

 know that Mrs. Mason is so closely associ- 

 ated with her husband's business. I hard- 

 ly see how he could do without her assis- 

 tance, since she knows every detail of the 

 work. I am an infant in the bee business 

 myself; but last spring I was in need of some 

 hives and supplies, so I went over to Me- 

 chanic Falls. I had heard of the supply 

 house, and wanted to see the different things 

 kept for the bee business. I found Mr. and 

 Mrs. Mason like friends I had known for 

 years. She invited me into her cozy home. 

 Women who are interested in bees are not 

 as plentiful in the East as in the Western 

 States, so I presume she thought I would 

 not care to visit the supply rooms; but I 

 told her at once that this was just what I 

 had come for. So we went out into an open 

 room, the first of which was Mr. Mason's 

 office; thence into a large high room piled 

 high on either side with hives and furnish- 

 ings (in the flat) of every description. I 

 wondered how a beginner would know which 

 one to choose. 



I was much interested as Mrs. Mason sat 



down to nail up a dou- 

 ble-walled hive. I 

 think it is fine for a 

 woman to be a carpen- 

 ter; and surely if she 

 is in the bee business 

 she can apply her skill 

 to very profitable ad- 

 vantage. I bought two 

 L. hives complete, and 

 did all the work of 

 nailing them, wiring 

 frames, etc., and I 

 thought it fun. If I had 

 had a good many it 

 would have been just 

 that much more enjoy- 

 able. 



Mrs. Mason does a 

 great deal of work of 

 this kind, and Mr. Ma- 

 son knows well her 

 worth. She showed us 

 a stack of hives she 

 had just painted. 



We passed on into 

 another room where we 

 saw beeswax, fine and 

 yellow; also all kinds of tools used by bee- 

 keepers. Another room was for the jars. 



Two years ago I purchased a fine swarm, 

 as an investment. It paid me well that 

 year. The first thing I did was to hunt up 

 and clip the queen. The hive was boiling 

 over with bees, as it was quite late; but she 

 was superseded, so they came out later only 

 to be put back, for the honey flow was at its 

 height, and I wanted honey instead of bees 

 at that time. A swarm issued later, so I 

 had two colonies to winter. Last spring I 

 purchased another. 



I am always very glad when I can read 

 something written by a woman beekeeper, 

 for so few women are in the business. Let 

 us hear from them. 

 Lewiston, Me. 



TRANSFERRING BY MEANS OF THE SIMMONS 

 SWARM-CONTROLLER 



BY DR. L, A. SIMMONS 



The task of transferring bees from a box 

 hive, nail-keg, or any old substitute general- 

 ly employed by those who keep a few bees 

 in the country, is one not to be desired 

 when done by old methods in general use. 

 If often becomes necessary for the beekeeper 

 to purchase bees in hives of every descrip- 

 tion, of neighbors, in order to get them out 

 of the way. Transferring by the use of the 

 swarm-controller converts this unpleasant 

 task into play. The swarm-controller is ad- 

 justed to an empty hive body, as seen in 

 Fig. 3, page 139, March 1, on left side. This 

 hive is provided with frames with full sheets 

 of foundation. The hive on the right is 

 supposed to be the box hive containing the 

 bees to be transferred. This hive is to be 

 adjusted to the swarm-controller, so that 

 the bees are compelled to work out through 



