182 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



March 1, 1906 



to the interest of the convention. We are glad to be able 

 to present him through such good pictures to our readers. 



At the last Christmas time he distributed the following 

 to his parishioners, which, we think, is a beautiful expres- 

 sion : 



Yule Greeting 



To be glad for to-day— not cast down because of yesterday, nor 

 yet proud; not waiting for greater opportunities to-morrow, but 

 given wholly to the work and the joy of to-day ; To look with friendly 

 eye upon God's out-of-door6; To read the best books, think the best 

 thoughts, love that which is true and beautiful; To believe in men, to 

 seek by kindness to bring them always good cheer; To spend time 

 alone with God, that the peace of Christ may guard and the passion 

 of the world Savior inspire; To pray for heaven in the heart, and to 

 live for a home in heaven — 



Thus may God increase your Christmas joy and fulfill the hope of 

 the New Year. With gratitude for what He has enabled you to do in 

 the past, and with a prayer for the upbuilding of His church, which 

 we love and serve, I am sincerely your friend— 



Robert B. McCain. 



(Dur* Sister 

 Beekeepers 



=j 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Bee-Keeping for Women- Poultry vs. Bees 



For some reason, the ambitious woman, especially on 

 the farm, who desires to make a little extra money, almost 

 invariably turns to poultry. This is possible because she 

 knows something of the rudiments of poultry-raising, and 

 partly because there is usually some stock on the farm with 

 which to begin operations. I do not mean to infer that 

 there is anything which will take the place of poultry, or 

 which should, for that matter, but I do say that where it is 

 practicable for her to do so the average woman could make 

 more money from bee-culture, and make it more easily than 

 from poultry, especially where poultry products must be 

 sold in the general market. Moreover, she could do it with 

 no greater outlay, and with more physical, mental and 

 spiritual benefit to herself. 



The first barrier, which a woman who is contemplating 

 going into some small enterprise of her own, sees in con- 

 nection with bee-keeping, is her usual lack of knowledge 

 concerning the management of bees. The next is, possibly, 

 her instinctive fear of the "punishment" which she knows 

 she must frequently receive. In regard to the first, I would 

 say that a couple of dollars invested in bee-books, and 

 another in a good journal, will soon scatter the shadows of 

 ignorance from her mind, and enable her, even the first 

 season, to manage her bees with a degree of intelligence 

 that will insure her comparative success. Regarding the 

 latter, I would say that the fear is usually much worse than 

 the actual experience. Besides, it is possible so to dress 

 that one need be stung very rarely. A bit of comforting 

 knowledge is, that the oftener one is stung the less serious 

 the consequences. Indeed, after the first season, bee-stings 

 rarely cause any swelling or soreness of the parts stung. 



Now let us consider the work of caring for bees com- 

 pared with that of caring for poultry. The active season in 

 the apiary begins about the last of May, although an occa- 

 sional day's work will be required previous to this time. 

 From the first of May to the middle of July bee-work will 

 probably push considerably, but nevertheless a healthy 

 woman ought not to find it difficult to do this in addition to 

 her ordinary housework. 



After the middle of July until extracting time there will 

 be but little work in the apiary, although some little will be 

 required now and then. From one to two weeks' work in 

 September ought to take care of the honey, and put the bees 

 into good shape again. One or two days later should be 

 spent putting them into condition for winter, after which 

 nothing more will be required until cellaring time. Then 

 comes a long resting time, during which what honey re- 

 mains on hand may be marketed, and preparations made 

 for another season's work. I am considering here an api- 

 ary of from 20 to 50 colonies. More than this it would not 

 be advisable for a woman to undertake without help either 

 indoors or out. 



To obtain any considerable income from poultry, from 

 100 to 200 hens must be kept, which will require consider- 

 able care every day during the entire year. Beginning with 

 April, when the chicks begin to hatch, the work is greatly 

 increased, very exacting, and to some extent dirty and dis- 

 agreeable as well. In rainy weather, as well as in fair, 

 chicks must be fed and cared for, and during the worst win- 

 ter weather, when bee-keepers may sit by the fire and rest, 

 poultry-keepers must face the storms and wade through 

 drifts to feed and care for their birds. This is one reason 

 why I would advocate bee-keeping for frail women, in pref- 

 erence to anything else in which she might engage. 



Now let us consider profits. Each colony of bees, in 

 good seasons, ought to return from $4 to $6 in honey, be- 

 sides the increase. This would make an apiary of 50 colo- 

 nies bring in from $200 to$300 annually. From $1 to $2 per 

 head is all that the average flock will return, even under 

 good management, which would be an income of from $100 

 to $200 for a flock of 100 hens. A pretty neat little sum, I 

 will admit, but considering the work and feed required to 

 obtain it, not equal to what the bee-keeper may secure. 



Now a word about costs of production. Perhaps $40 to 

 $50 would be sufficient to buy extra hives and all necessary 

 supplies for 50 colonies. It will cost about the same to feed 

 a good-sized flock one year. From this it may be seen that 

 from an equal to a much greater income may be realized 

 from an equal outlay, with less and more agreeable work in 

 favor of the bees. 



Another thing in favor of bee-keeping in preference to 

 poultry raising, where location and other things are favor- 

 able is that an apiary of 50 colonies may be doubled to 

 advantage, while up to 200 head of poultry are all that can 

 be kept advantageously on any one farm. 



But it is not impracticable, with good management, to 

 keep both poultry and bees, and make each return a very 

 satisfactory profit. Mrs. MilmE Honaker. 



Viroqua, Wis. 



^ 



21lt\ pasty's 

 Clftertl?ougfyts 



j 



The " Old Reliable" as seeo through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

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



The Government and Queen Rearing. 



We expect the child that learns A to proceed to learn B ; 

 and yet there are some sequences that are not quite so in- 

 evitable, although they may look so on heedless first eflance. 

 I spoke very enthusiastically in favor of having the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture supervise the rearing of Caucasian 

 queens ; but I suspect we had better not back up their super- 

 vision of the whole queen-rearing business in too emphatic 

 a way. Let us not make it necessary for any breeder to 

 abandon his business just because his nose has gotten out 

 of joint at some Government desk. The rearing of straight 

 Italians is a long-established business. We already have 

 some idea about who's who and what's what, and our con- 

 ventions and journals can do something to post us still 

 further. But as to the first proposition, on a new introduc- 

 tion there is more dangerof getting hybrids, and very much 

 more when the looks of the bees afford nothing positive as 

 to purity — which same is the case with the Caucasians, I 

 believe. Almost sorry Uncle Sam did not confine himself 

 to the urgently needed service first proposed. In trying to 

 do more he may not do any of it superlatively well. Page 45. 



Top and Bottom Frame Spacers. 



Yes, if you are going to use wire bottom-spacers, the 

 way of fastening them, in which K. H. Wagner gives on 

 page 47, is quite an improvement. Firm laterally, instead 

 of being ready and waiting to swing over and crush down. 

 (Bend bottom of first loop one way and next loop the other 

 way, and so on across, stapling each one fast.) I don't use 

 spacers at all, but sometimes think I would do so if begin- 

 ning anew. For top spacing I think I should choose 

 another kind, the ones with a metal rabbet having very 

 small notches in which a wire or wire nail rests. This kind 

 combines the accuracy of spacers with much of the freedom 

 of going without them. By good chance this kind is illus- 



