Aug. 3. 190S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURftAL 



553 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Outdoor Suitable Work for Women 



Dear Miss Wilson: — As each week I read 

 the interesting chats our " Sisters " give us, I 

 most energetically want to "talli back," but, 

 like Helen Keller, my hands being my only 

 mode of communication, and they being 

 otherwise pretty luUy employed, I have been 

 unable to do so. However, this special cor- 

 ner of June 22 is too attractive to let pass, so 

 "here goes it." 



In "Convention Proceedings" (page 439), 

 Mrs. Wingate speaks of the Rural New York- 

 er's request for suggestions in regard to pin 

 money for a " home-tied farm-girl 2U years 

 old." I noticed that paragraph, and thought 

 of suggesting bees, but it seemed foolish to do 

 so, as any country girl should not need to be 

 told the money-making abilities of either bees 

 or poultry. A girl without sufficient obser- 

 vation, or "get there" resources, to carve 

 out a lucrative line for herself in rural occu- 

 pations, will not usually succeed in carrying 

 out others' suggestions. In fact, I looked on 

 the inquiry as manufactured to draw out 

 unique, interesting and useful " pin money " 

 opportunities. 



Our country and farm girls are too bright 

 and resourceful to need outside suggestions. 

 But, of course, there are many ways to help 

 " make the wheels go 'wound " that a timely 

 hint opens our eyes to, and which such an- 

 swers as the Rural New Yorker's inquiry 

 opened the flood-gates for, are most timely 

 and helpful. 



Again, Mrs. Wingate's comparison between 

 our comfort in knowing our bees are safely 

 housed, and to "don waterproof and rubbers, 

 if they're handy, and if not march out with- 

 out them, to chase some half-drowned chick- 

 ens or turkeys that have been foolish enough 

 to leave their mother's wing," is most kill- 

 ingly true. There is simply no comparison 

 between the work of the two occupations, or 

 the expense. 



A friend of mine has made a careful esti- 

 mate that it takes 1000 White Leghorns to 

 support modestly two people. The initial 

 expense of housing, feeding, etc., such a flock 

 is a serious one. And the care ! The same 

 party says — and I think with truth— that 

 there is no branch of farming, developed as a 

 specialty, that so employs, at its utmost ten- 

 sion, every faculty the human body possesses, 

 mental and physical. 



As a rule, I think it's best not to put " all 

 our eggs in one basket," or to depend for our 

 income upon just one branch of " home in- 

 dustry;" but to keep some bees, and some 

 poultry, and some small fruit, and make each 

 the best of its kind possible. This gives a 

 variety of interests, breaks the routine and 

 drudgery, and insures every year a fair re- 

 turn and income. 



Now concerning women managing bees 

 alone, " I hae me doots " as to its being prac- 

 ticable for the " average American woman." 

 And this because housekeeping, (which in- 

 cludes " Bar le Due Preserves," and such 

 like, I suppose, which seems to me a simply 

 (Iremlful undertaking!), serving, social and 

 church duties pretty well " tuckers them out," 

 and they haven't much energy to lug around 

 honey and manipulate bees. Of course, 5 or 

 10 colonies is a quite different matter, but 

 take 20 to 40 colonies and there is consider- 

 able manipulating to be done, take the sea- 

 son 'round. 



While I can manage 80 colonies for ex- 

 tracted honey with a helper, my hands are too 

 weak to do really any very ellicient work 

 among the bees alone; so perhaps I am not a 

 fair judge of the situation. At the same 

 time it should be encouraging to invalid sis- 

 ters to know that with the help of a small 

 boy our returns are some years over .*S00 

 from our bees, and this in a rather poor sec- 



tion for flora, and where prices are low for 

 honey — 5 to II cents being our best. 



Well, "We've got a swarm!" so good by 

 all, and best wishes for " a big harvest for us 

 all this summer." 



Frances E. Wheeler. 



PS.— Figuratively speaking (of course), I 

 would like to " pat that brother on the back " 

 who, on page 4;hs, talks so sympathetically of 

 the saving of weak colonies, and gives such 

 useful, helpful advice. F. E. W. 



Miss Wheeler knows what she is talking 

 about, as she keeps both bees and poultry, 

 and her interesting way of talking about them 

 makes one wish one could be clad in a cloak 

 of invisibility and tag her around at her work 

 to watch her for a day. 



While bee-keeping has its rosy side, the 

 darker side must not be supposed to go alto- 

 gether with the chickens. If you keep 

 enough bees there is many and many a time 

 those same " rubbers and waterproof, if you 

 have them handy," will be called into service; 

 if not, you will have to get along without 

 them. Even worse than working in rubbers, 

 with the bees in no amiable temper, and 

 crawling over you where you'd rather not 

 have them — still worse, it is to have the 

 weather so bad for a day or more at a time 

 that you can't go near the bees, and yet you 

 feel there's work that must be done, or things 

 will get into such a snarl that you'll be 

 swamped. 



Fortunately, all tastes are not alike, and 

 enough will be found of varying tastes to fill 

 the different occupations. It would be bad if 

 all the sisters should take to bees, and leave 

 the biddies to take care of themselves. 



"Essence Honey "—Another Fraud 



Karo Corn Syrup is not without a competi- 

 tor as being better than honey. The writer 

 received a circular laying before the public 

 the discovery of " 3 flavors that will gain you 

 fame;" "their equals unknown to science." 

 One of them attracted attention at once, being 

 thus described : 



" Far Ahead and Cheaper than Fresh 

 Honey. Essence Honey. ?10 per gallon. 

 Nothing like it in the world for candies, arti- 

 ficial honey, liquors, etc." 



With visions of "fame "to be gained by 

 the use of this wonderful discovery, as well 

 as a fortune to be acquired by supplying the 

 market with a superior article of honey, in- 

 quiry was made for full particulars as to how 

 this " far ahead " honey was to be made. The 

 reply was as follows: 



"Dear Madam:— Take 80 percent glucose 

 and 20 percent rock candy syrup ; after mixing 

 this then mix 2 ozs. Ess. Honey to every 100 

 lbs. Color with yellow to suit yourself." 



There you have it, sisters. No longer any 

 need to endure stings and hot suns. Make 

 honey winter as well as summer. No failure 

 of seasons. No danger of overstocking. No 

 one who has ever had a good taste of glucose, 

 with its lingering taste reminding one of an 

 old brass spoon, would be willing to go back 

 to the behiad-the-times article got together 

 by the bees ! 



In one respect the directions are a trifle 

 vague; "Color with yellow to suit yourself." 

 But that gives room for original experiment, 

 and you can only tell what " suits yourself" 

 by trying successively carrots, chrome yellow, 

 aniline dyes. etc. There is a possibility of 

 improvement also by varying the proportions 

 of the ingredients. So large a portion of 

 rock candy syrup (of course granulated sugar 

 would not do at all) must have a weakening 

 effect upon the delicious flavor of the glucose. 

 Why not make it 99 percent glucose and 1 

 percent rock candy syrup? 



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

 By E. E. Hastt, Sta. B. Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



extracting small quantities of wax. 



■ I can bear witness that for neat and con- 

 venient extracting of small charges of wax a 

 kink in the plan given by Robert West is ex- 

 cellent. Press all the refuse down with a per- 

 forated follower, and let the whole establish- 

 ment get cold before removing the wax. 

 Mine was a much smaller arrangement than 

 his, and I used it very diligently and often. 

 Not been used lately. Page 443. 



sawing off things with swarms. 



Comrade J. Kimball, it seems, felt com- 

 pelled to pull up an evergreen-tree to get the 

 swarm clustered upon it. If he keeps on he'll 

 yet be compelled to saw off the leg of a sleep- 

 ing man for the same reason. Page 423. 



feeding bees — 3AGB FAILED TO BLOOM. 



It appears that in famine time, in a mild 

 climate, careful tucding of each colony indi- 

 vidually saves practically all the colonies, 

 while open-air feeding, much less work, still 

 lets quite a percent of them perish — looking 

 in fact like a case of not energy enough to 

 get out and appropriate the feed. The demise 

 of a thoroughly worthless colony may be con- 

 sidered as some gain as well as some loss : but 

 a salve of that kind is hardly strong enough 

 to cure the sore when the loss is .50 colonies 

 out of 200. Think I should want to try a 

 compromise system. Of course, the colonies 

 that need least will get most; but with per- 

 fectly and easily movable frames all around 

 it ought not to b<- i hard job to exchange a 

 few frames betw • ■- the feeble folk and the 



bloated bondholders. Then, after a time (in 

 the style of the Irish communist) , " faith, and 

 we'll divide agin." 



And Mr. Dayton furnishes us another case 

 of the ever-occurring unexpected, in that sage 

 (never known to do so before) entirely failed 

 to bloom last year. Queer. And yet a well- 

 marked member of the numerous family that 

 Mr. C^ueer, the cousin of Adam, has sent 

 down to us. Page 422. 



QUEENLESS BEES PERSECUTING VIRGINS. 



Doolittle also accuses queenless bees with 

 persecuting caged young virgins. And bees 

 with a queen he finds much inclined to the 

 same trick. Avoid the whole thing as much 

 as you well can. Page 421. 



FROF. EATON'S HONEY DEFINITIONS. 



I think Prof. Eaton's honey definitions to 

 be exceedingly good ones, and hardly have 

 any suggestions to make. Page 419. 



KEEl'lNG QUALITIES OF HONEY. 



Glad to see we are getting to the truth 

 about the l)ehavior of honey when kept for 

 considerable periods. The tiresome falsehood 

 usually loli: in the past about honey "just as 

 good as ever. " shows signs of playing out. 

 " Good riditanee " to it I Page 419. 



HI IK.-. FOR BEE-ASSOCIATIONS. 



I am nut rnre it would be advisable for us 

 to adopt :Ik- Australian rules for our associa- 

 tions; but I' ■: quite sure it will do us good 

 to co?t^id(r t!iat men of the same race and 



