788 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



be gathered by the bees, there would be 

 honey enough for every person in the 

 State to have all they could eat, three 

 times a day, every day in the year. 

 What a great blessing this would be for 

 many a poor child who never gets a 

 taste of that God-given sweet in a life- 

 time. 



If we cannot sca>e the mountain tops, 

 we can go into the humble walks of life 

 and be gleaners in the valleys, study the 

 wants and necessities of our bees, and 

 have them in a condition to save that 

 which would otherwise go to waste. 

 With the aid of my bees I have saved 

 many tons of honey that otherwise 

 would have evaporated and been lost. 



To the reflned woman, whose nature 

 revolts against any occupation which 

 brings with it no outlet for busy 

 thought and keen relish for the beauti- 

 ful, bee-culture offers a pleasant, elevat- 

 ing opportunity for study as well as 

 pecuniary return. It brings us in close 

 contact with Nature and Nature's God. 

 There are new beauties all the time 

 coming to view. Even the despised 

 weeds take on a new form of beauty, 

 never before dreamed of. Take, for in- 

 stance, the hoar-hound — one of the 

 bees' great food providers, but which is 

 ordinarily looked upon as a great nui- 

 sance. Put this insignificant-looking 

 little flower under a microscope, and 

 look at the wonderful beauty of God's 

 handiwork. You will doubtless feel 

 ashamed that you ever regarded it as a 

 nuisance. When you also know of the 

 innumerable millions of bees it supplies 

 with honey and pollen, upon which the 

 bees feed their young, and that the tons 

 of honey it yields supplies abundance of 

 this delicious sweet for the use of man 

 (woman is included), our contempt for 

 this common weed is changed to admira- 

 tion. These are the beautiful lessons I 

 learn daily from my little bees. 



The study of bee-culture is almost 

 limitless. There is all the time some- 

 thing more to be learned. By the use of 

 an observatory hive everything that is 

 done inside a large hive can be seen, 

 and much learned in this way. I would 

 advise every one who keeps bees either 

 for pleasure or profit, to have an obser- 

 vatory hive. It is like an index to a 

 book, and about as indispensable to a 

 successful apiarist. I keep mine on my 

 gallery, and can tell whether honey is 

 coming in either freely or scantily, with- 

 out having to open a large hive. 



Poultry-keeping combines very nicely 

 with bees, as most of the work comes on 

 at different seasons of the year. After 



the bees are snugged away nicely for the 

 winter, there is no more work with 

 them until spring, and not much very 

 early in that season, and at this time the 

 chicks should be hatched for the most 

 successful rearing. I began the fine or 

 fancy poultry business at the same time 

 I commenced with my bees, and have 

 kept them right along together, and find 

 little conflict between the occupations. I 

 have raised from 75 to 250 chickens 

 per annum. Of course all are not show- 

 birds. The culls find a ready market 

 upon my own table, for we do like nice 

 fried chicken, and almost always have 

 plenty of it at all seasons of the year. 

 Nice, fresh eggs — we wouldn't know how 

 to get along without them, either. 



I haV'e five varieties of chickens — 

 Houdan, White Houdan (which origi- 

 nated in my yard), White Crested Black 

 Polish, Silver Spangled Hamburg, Black 

 Langshan and Houdan. I also have a 

 few crosses between the Langshan and 

 Silver Spangled Hamburg and Lang- 

 shan. These are very fine, hardy, 

 thrifty birds, and would be a fine cross 

 for those who do not care to keep the 

 pure breeds. 



Dampness is the greatest enemy that 

 I have found. This can be prevented by 

 having dry quarters for them, both old 

 and young. Keep their houses cleaned 

 at least twice a week — every day is bet- 

 ter. Keep constantly a supply of clean, 

 fresh water for them ; give them plenty 

 of wholesome food with an abundance of 

 green stuff ; make good nests for them, 

 and they will surely shell out the eggs — 

 pure fresh ones — not such as you usually 

 get from your grocer. 



I believe in chickens, and intend to 

 have them as long as I have ten square 

 feet of land upon which to keep them. 

 They pay me well as a financial invest- 

 ment, besides adding luxuries to my own 

 bill of fare. 



If in this limited review of these two 

 occupations so well adapted to home- 

 life and the retirement so dear to many 

 women occupations, which have given 

 me so much pleasure as well as good, 

 hard-monied profit, I should happen to 

 assist any dependent woman to helpful 

 thoughts for self-support, I shall feel 

 more than repaid for this little effort in 

 presenting Bees and Poultry as a wom- 

 anly and profitable home-business. 



Bell County, Texas. 



[The foregoing interesting essay Mrs. 

 Sherman had with her at the North 

 American convention last October, 

 thinking to road it there if it was de- 



