THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



315 



contain " lots " of pollen— so much 

 that I think I was deceived in the 

 quantity of lioney they contained, 

 last fail. From the appearance of 

 the combs, some of tlie starved bees 

 attempted to prolong their existence 

 by eating the wax instead of the pol- 

 len. This may be an absurd opinion, 

 but if it is absurd, correction will be 

 appreciated, as this is the first post- 

 mortem investigation of a colony of 

 bees that I have performed, after hav- 

 ing put them into winter quarters in 

 a sound coiulitiou. 



In conclusion, I believe that to have 

 our bees winter well, their vitality 

 must be protected. Devitalizing in- 

 fluences from whatever source derived 

 are the " whats " that kill the bees ; 

 and those " vi'hats," I believe, exist in 

 the process of supplying or withhold- 

 ing the fuel needed for the production 

 of calorific cimbustion, coupled with 

 the means in general use for allowing 

 them to receive the full measure of 

 its effects. Give them their dues 

 compatible with the calls of instinct, 

 and they will organize their own 

 system of hibernation, conform to its 

 requirements, and be ready to accept 

 their vernal duties, at the conclusion 

 of their winter repose, with unim- 

 paired vitality. 



Cumberland, ? Maine. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Women as Bee-Keepers. 



DR. W. O. PHELPS. 



In these progressive times the 

 sphere of woman's toil and useful- 

 ness is constantly enlarging. To the 

 ranks of the ■'bread winners,"' fe- 

 males are constantly being added, 

 who prove their riyht to the position 

 by their very ability and success. The 

 very best evidence of success in any 

 calling, says one, is for a person to 

 succeed. It is not strange, therefore, 

 that ladies, having a natural taste for 

 entomology and similar studies, 

 should turn their attention to bee- 

 keeping as a congenial pursuit ; and 

 enquiries are often made respecting 

 its adoption and following, as a sup- 

 plementary means of livelihood and 

 pleasure. 



Among the ranks of bee-keepers 

 stretched over this broad land, a score 

 or more of women might be named, 

 who have been pre-eminently success- 

 ful in keeping bees. Several are par- 

 ticularly noted as writers on bee-cul- 

 ture. Mrs. Harrison's articles, for in- 

 stance, are much quoted and read 

 with great interest by thousands. 

 Mrs. Tucker, of Indiana, has likewise 

 contributed much to apiarian litera- 

 ture. Both of the above named 

 ladies are practical bee-keepers, and 

 follow the pursuit with marked suc- 

 cess. In this connection we might 

 also name Mrs. Jennie Gulp, who, by 

 systematic labor, has become the 

 owner of upwards of 100 colonies of 

 bees, that annually bring her a neat 

 little income. 



Mrs. Gulp says : " I attribute my 

 success to having everything in readi- 

 ness at the right time, my bees in a 

 vigorous, healthy condition at the 



opening of the honey harvest, and 

 each of my surplus honey-boxes sup- 

 plied with a piece of comb, or of foun- 

 dation; consequently there was no 

 time lost in the workers building 

 comb. Last season 1 realized .5,000 

 pounds of extracted honey and 300 

 pounds of white comb honey. Another 

 element of success in profitable bee- 

 keeping I find to be keeping the bees 

 busy. I tliink that in their habits 

 they approximate us, being of higher 

 intelligence, in that when every wish 

 is gratKied we are disposed to say, 

 ' Soul take thine ease, thou hast 

 much goods laid up for many years,' 

 or, in other words, with a well filled 

 hive they are apt to settle down into a 

 listless, lazy condition." 



Xow, it is within the power of 

 many women in our land, whose time 

 is not now wholly occupied, to attain 

 in a greater or less extent, just such 

 resuits. It is the mental, if not the 

 audible exclamation of many, "Oh, 

 for an opportunitv to earn an income 

 all my own !" flere, therefore, is an 

 open gateway to tlie desired goal. 

 True, not all ladies have the taste, 

 strength or capacity to "fuss with 

 bees," but many have that hardly sus- 

 pect it. It will therefore be a gen- 

 uine surprise to themselves to find 

 how readily they will fall into the 

 way of handling and the general man- 

 agement of bees. To rob bee-keep- 

 ing of some of its poetry, though, I 

 would suggest to all women really 

 interested, that they may expect 

 some stings, tired backs and aching 

 heads in properly attending to an 

 apiary. Disagreeable things attend 

 every calling, therefore, do not ex- 

 pect to find bee-culture an altogether 

 "rosy" business. It is undoubtedly 

 a healthy occupation, and will afford 

 that which most of our American 

 women so sadly need — exercise in the 

 open air. I have scarcely a doubt 

 that much of the present debility 

 and physical weakness endured by 

 the female sex of this country would 

 pass away with the increased employ- 

 ment in congenial, out-door occupa- 

 tion, of which bee-keeping forms a 

 type. 



The " bloomer suit " would natur- 

 ally suggest itself as the proper cos- 

 tume for a woman engaged in bee- 

 keeping. In assisting me among the 

 bees, my " better half," with straw 

 hat, bee-veil and rubber or buck-skin 

 gloves secured at the wrist, considers 

 herself " bee-proof," and renders ex- 

 cellent service in manipulating the 

 little workers. With father or brother 

 busy in the driving work of the farm, 

 why should not one of the daughters, 

 or even the mother (if provided with 

 needed help in tlie kitchen) take a 

 hand in running the apiary V I doubt 

 not that the necessary labor among 

 the bees (more properly woman-work) 

 will be, done in a far neater and more 

 systematic manner than if those 

 " horrid bungling men " were en- 

 trusted with it. 



Galena, c$ Md. 





Bees with Bushels of Pollen.— J. E. 



Hunter, Wyoming, o+ Iowa, on May -5, 



188.'), writes : 



Last fall I ]mt LW coliinies of bees into 

 the ct'llar, and this spriiiR I took out 147 

 roloni<'s in as nic(' (•(iiiditiou as 1 ever had 

 bi'es ; and thuy had bushels ot pollen, too. 



i^~ The Willamette VaUey Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its second meeting at 

 La Fayette, Oi'effon, on the third Tuesday in 

 June, 1883. All who are interested are in- 

 vited to attend. E. J. Hadley, See. 



Ile.iring Brood— (iatheriiii? Honey.— 



Isaac Sharp, Wavelaud, kj Ind., on 

 May 7, 188-'), writes as follows : 



Last fall I prepared about 80 colonies on 

 the summer stands, by removing all -sur- 

 plus honey arrangements, and supplying 

 their places with chaff cushions. I gave 

 ventilation ahove the cushion to keep it 

 dry. About half the number ot colonies 

 are alive now and doing tolerably well. 

 The spring is so very backward. The 

 bees have gathered honey from soft and 

 hard maple, and started brood-rearing 

 very nicely. I liope that peculiar disease 

 which I wrote about on page 103, will not 

 trouble anv of my bees this season. 1 

 suppose that no one could even suggest a 

 remedy. 



Report, from J.U. Stoddard, Spring- 

 field, P Mass., on May .5, 188.5 : 



Bees have wintered better in this part 

 of the country than in the West. Some 

 few colonies have died with the diarrhea. 

 On Jan. 13, I had .5 colonies robbedxjf 2 to 

 4 frames from each hive,and part of the bees 

 perished on the frozen ground. Those 

 that remained in the hives are alive yet. 

 I kept some of my bees in the same room 

 where I lived, the temperature being at 

 from 4.5' to .50° ; they consumed but little 

 honey, and came out in splendid condi- 

 tion. Bees must be kept comfortable. 



Western N. Y.and Northern Pa. Con- 

 veution.- A. D. Jacobs, Jamestown, 9 



N. Y., Secretary of this Association 

 ■writes as follows : 



The Western New York and Nortli^ru 

 Pennsylvania Bee-Keepers' Association 

 held its second annual meeting at Cuba, 

 N. Y., on May 5, 1885. Owing to stormy 

 weather the attendance was small. After 

 the election of officers a few new names 

 were added to tlie roll of membership, 

 some important questions were discussed, 

 and the convention then adjourned to 

 Salamauca, N. Y., on Tuesday and Wed- 

 nesday, Sept. 1 and 3, 1885. 



on 



Late Spring— Cool Weather.— Dr 



H. M. Williams, Bowdon,*o Ga., or 

 May 6, 1880, writes as follows : 



Never since I have been keeping bees 

 have 1 seen such a late spring. My bees 

 came through weak, but they are getting 

 strong now. We generally have the most 

 of our swarming in April, but this year I 

 have had only 4 swarms, and 3 of them 

 came out of the same hive. I am rearing 

 some tine queens, and I made my nuclei 

 the easiest this year that 1 ever did. 1 

 sold some colonies, but some of the bees 

 came back, and so I gave them a frame of 

 brood, and they are doing finely. I sold 

 one colony, moved it about one mile, and 

 lam confident that half the bees canie 

 back. 1 gave them a frame of fine brood, 

 and let them rear a queen, 1 am fearful 

 that we are going to have a bad honey 

 year here, for May and .June are the main 

 honey months, and the weather keeps too 

 cool for bees to do much. 



