THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



To Imiulreds tuul thousands of brave 

 hearted women the serious question comes 

 home "What can we do for a livino-." 

 The endless round of domestic hil)or 

 brings little or no reward, while the ranks 

 of teachers and seamstresses are filled to 

 overflowing-. There are clerkships to be 

 sure, anil many of them are ably filled by 

 lailies ; but side by side with them, are 

 stalwart men who ireary themselves with 

 handling ribbons and laces, Avhile the soil 

 waits for tilling and the harvest fov rea- 

 pers. In many de]>artments of life man 

 gets sadly '-out of his sphere" by intrud- 

 ing upon women's legitimate domain. But 

 we cannot straighten the world's machin- 

 ery, though it sometimes gets badly out 

 of gear, neither can we force the drones 

 into their proper places. It therefore be- 

 hooves us to find fields of labor where there 

 is room enough and to spare, and perhaps 

 the most tempting of these is the science 

 ot Apicuhiturt'. 



Woman is particularly fitted for the 

 handling of bees. Her perceptions are 

 cptick. her touch is delicate and her in- 

 stincts are seldom at fault. Many of us 

 can find time amid domestic cares to culti- 

 vate a few flowers and we do not feel that 

 the time thus spent is wasted, even though 

 it brings no financial reward. But the 

 care of a few colonies of bees would re- 

 quire no more time than the same number 

 of flower beds and the pursuit is even 

 more fascinating ; there is more pleasure 

 in seeing the little workers build without 

 a compass their geometrical cells than in 

 watching the uufoldings of bud and blos- 

 som. The work is lighter and cleaner 

 than Horticulture, besides jnelding sub- 

 stantial returns. And however happil}^ a 

 woman may be situated in life there is a 

 pleasure and independence derived from 

 the iise of money which she has earned 

 that can be found in no other way. Then 

 if she wishes to make her husband a holi- 

 day present, she can do so without feeling 

 that it came from his own pocket. Many 

 a worn out teacher and tired house-wife 

 may find among their bees rest, health and 

 a new interest in life. To women in feeljle 

 health bee-keeping ofters man}' advan- 

 tages. Let them be hers and let her take 

 care of them, and she will feel an interest 

 in the little creatures that can be awak- 

 ened in no other way. Every pleasant 

 day will find her more than once beside 



the hivos, and llii' fresh air and glad sun- 

 shine with the aid of light em])loyment 

 will give her a strong hold u[)on life. It 

 opens a new world in natural history 

 which proves to be one of absorbing intei-- 

 est. It has been demonstrated that some 

 of the most successful Apiarians in the 

 country are ladies. 



Says Mrs. E. S. Tapper: "In the sum- 

 mer of 1863 I had but two pure Italian 

 stocks to commence with. One of these 

 stored one htoidred and ten pounds of honey 

 besides giving three swarms. The other 

 gave two swarms and stored ninety-six 

 ])ounds of honey. All of the 3'oung sAvarms 

 filled their hives and some of them stored 

 honey in boxes. In the summer of 1864 

 I averaged from nine Italian colonies one 

 Imndrertand eigliteen pounds each." 



A gentleman writes from Odell, III., that 

 " Wife has managed the bees at home this 

 summer. She had twelve swarms to 

 start with, some of them very weak. Sold 

 one hundred and thirty dollars worth of 

 surplus bees and two hundred and fifty 

 pounds of honey, which was doing pretty 

 well, considering the poor season and the 

 first attem]>t." Yet we will venture the 

 assertion that this lady did not neglect her 

 other duties or enjoy life anj- the less on 

 account of the time spent in caring for 

 her bees. 



Ladies here is health, happiness and 

 financial success for you-. Do not say that 

 you do not understand the business, that 

 you cannot learn, that you are afraid of 

 failures, &e. One year's subscription to 

 the American Bee Journal will give you 

 a whole volume of advice from the best 

 practical Apiarians in the country. It 

 requires but little capital to begin with, 

 hence the risk is very small and success 

 is almost certain. Try the experiment 

 next summer, and let us hear of your suc- 

 cess in the fall through the columns of the 

 Journal. ' Mrs. H. V. Keed. 



Central Iowa Bee-Keepers' Association. 



The next annual meeting of the Central Iowa Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held at Cedar Rapids, 

 Iowa, Jan. 21, 1874, and hold two or three days. It 

 is expected that the usual reductions will be made in 

 railroad and hotel fare. A. B. Mason, Sec'y, 



Waterloo, Iowa. 



A large natural swarm of bees carries with it four or 

 five pounds of honey when leaving. 



