THE AMERICA]^ APICULTURIST. 



241 



one of the most healthful articles of 

 diet that man can eat, as well as one of 

 the most palatable. It should no 

 longer be considered a luxury but a 

 necessary article or food daily upon 

 everyone's table in this broad land 

 of ours. While out in the open air 

 and bright sunshine attending to the 

 bees, you would almost without 

 knowing it grow stronger and really 

 enjoy life better than being in-doors 

 so much, stooping over the sewing 

 machine, doing so much unneces- 

 sary work. You can learn a great 

 deal by watching the ever-busy little 

 workers who so soon wear their lives 

 out by incessant toil and give place 

 to others whose lives are spent in the 

 same way. To be successful we 

 should familiarize ourselves with the 

 flowers of our locality : the time 

 they begin to bloom and their dura- 

 tion. We should make a note of 

 this for several years and keep it for 

 future reference. There is great dif- 

 ference in the time the same plant 

 blooms in different locations. I no- 

 tice reports in the Bee Journal from 

 different parties who state that su- 

 mach bloomed in June and July. 

 With us here in middle Texas, it is 

 the first of August before it blooms. 

 Methinks I hear some sister say, "Oh ! 

 I should tan so if I were to work with 

 bees, I should have to be out of the 

 house so much that I should hardly 

 be fit to go out into company." I'll 

 tell you that you would feel so much 

 stronger and more independent too, 

 that you would not think that a valid 

 excuse after a few years in the busi- 

 ness, and I don't believe that you 

 would willingly give it up. Mind, I 

 don't say for every woman to under- 

 take it, for all are not adapted to it 

 and would not succeed. You must 

 have pluck and perseverance and de- 

 termine to make a success of it at all 

 hazards. If you fail once or twice 

 try again. Don't wait until your bees 

 get to swarming before you study 

 your text book or have a hive made, 

 but always try to be prepared for 



any emergency that may arise. Do 

 not be discouraged if an occasional 

 poor season comes, for come it will 

 in almost every line of business in 

 which we can engage at some time. 

 By all means have an observatory 

 hive and watch it closely. It is a 

 thermometer to your apiary. Mine 

 has been worth many times what it 

 cost, to say nothing of the great 

 pleasure it has afforded me. I know 

 exactly how everything is managed 

 inside the large hive. This I have 

 learned by watching the bees in my 

 observatory. I don't know anything 

 that will pay better for the outlay 

 that a woman can engage in, that is 

 dependent upon her own resources 

 for a living than beekeeping. If you 

 cannot always sell your honey for the 

 cash, you can, -or at least I can, bar- 

 ter it off for bacon, lard, corn, wood, 

 cotton-seed for feed for cows, or for 

 work for which I would have to pay 

 the cash : so it really answers my 

 purpose just the same as cash. By 

 this exchange many persons eat hon- 

 ey who would not if they had to pay 

 the cash for it. I reaHzed from my 

 fifty-eight colonies of bees last year 

 $300. This yearsofar.Aug. 18, 1886, 

 only ^52.50. We have not had a 

 good rain since Easter Sunday, 

 April 25. I have now sixty colonies 

 and hope to get them all pure Italian 

 this season. If I succeed I shall try 

 and be satisfied. I explained in my 

 last article in the "Api" the cause of 

 failure in the honey crop in this por- 

 tion of Texas. I have no idea of 

 giving up the bee business on account 

 of this year's failure, for it has cer- 

 tainly been a very remarkable season, 

 and I hope that it will not be re- 

 peated in many years. I have learned 

 a good deal this year and hope to 

 learn still more before the season 

 closes that will be of use to me in 

 after years. I would recommend 

 the Italian bees. They are far supe- 

 rior to the common native or black 

 bee. I think that I am safe in saying 

 that fully one-third of the native iDees 



