24 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Bee Journal will count its subscrib- 

 ers from the " far West " by hundreds. 

 I will send you the names of parties 

 who become practically interested in 

 apiculture as fast as the nucleus api- 

 aries originate here. 

 Grand Island, Neb., Dec. 28, 1882. 



For tbe American Bee Journal 



The Folly of Too Small a Section. 



L. II. SCUDDEK. 



I have read with care the remarks of 

 Mr. T. F. Binfiliam, the editor, and 

 others, on page 802 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal, and will try and give you some 

 of tlie reasons why I think we, as 

 honey-producers, should not advocate 

 the use of a continually decreasing 

 size of package for honey. In the lirst 

 place, neither dealer or consumer 

 would require us to go below a one- 

 pound section, if we did not induce 

 tlieni to by placing it before them; 

 but we, in our anxiety to outstrip our 

 neighbor in the production of an arti- 

 cle which will appear nicer and, by 

 that means, sell more rapidly and for 

 a shade higher price, continue to re- 

 duce the size of sections until (if this 

 folly is continued) honey cannot be 

 produced with sufficient prolit to jus- 

 tify a person of ordinary intelligence 

 in engaging in the business. 



We know from experience thathoney 

 consumers will not be willing to pay a 

 high price, because of the novelty of the 

 package, ^Vhat was more attractive 

 in appearance tlian the glassed sec- 

 tion, and still, how short-lived it was? 

 Glass at 2.5 to 30 cents per pound was 

 more expensive food than consumers 

 could afford ; and buying wood at 

 similar prices will become burdensome 

 when we get to using about as much 

 w^ood for one-half or one-quarter of a 

 pound of lioney as we are now using 

 for one pound. 



I cannot view it in any other light, 

 than that honey-producers are working 

 against their own interests, in advo- 

 cating the use of a smaller package. 

 Let me give you a few reasons why I 

 think so. 



1st. We must discard all our mate- 

 rial left over from last year, which to 

 some of us is a considerable item. 



2nd. Malcenew supers, which means 

 money, whatever style we see lit to 

 adopt. 



3d. Double or quadruple our ex- 

 penses for comb foundation. 



4th. Compel the bees to use double 

 the amount of material for capping, 

 and requiring additional time to per- 

 form the labor. 



5th. Doubling or quadrupling the 

 labor in the manipulation of the sec- 

 tions from the preparation to the final 

 packing for market. 



Is it not clear that this additional 

 labor will compel many of us to carry 

 a decreased number of colonies V I 

 see no other way, for the very impor- 

 tant reason that competen t help caimot 

 be obtained ; at least, that is the case 

 in my locality, and I presume it is so 

 in many others. 



Now, taking this view of the case, 

 how are we, as bee-keepers, to manage 

 to win bread for our families? Some 



times, for years in succession, the crop 

 will be light, and our profits small, 

 barely sutlicient to maintain our fam- 

 ilies; then, perhaps, a perfect deluge 

 of nectar will Some, every shrub and 

 flower bending beneath its weight, 

 and as our busy little workers come 

 rustling home, laden to their utmost 

 capacity with their precious freight, 

 would it not be interesting to watch 

 us '■ Progressive Apiarists " undertake 

 to measure and store away the fruits 

 of their labor in half-pound sections. 



Truly, the prospect is not tlattering; 

 it seems to me that it would be a 

 hopeless task, and I, for one, cannot 

 see my way clear to undertake it. Call 

 this " croaking " of an old fogy, if you 

 see lit ; I care but little ; if ttie busi- 

 ness ceases to be profitable, dearly as 

 I love it, I will turn my hand to some- 

 thing else. 



New Boston, 111., Jan. 1, 1883. 



Resifi before the Maine Convention. 



Bee-Keeping for Ladies. 



ISAAC F. PLUMMER. 



I have thought perhaps it would not 

 be out of place to give you a few 

 thoughts on bee-keeping as an em- 

 ployment for ladies ; as I know there 

 are a number of ladies in our State 

 who are interested in bee-keeping, 

 and I have often thought that bee- 

 culture and its benefits have never 

 been properly or fully presented to 

 ladies as a light and profitable em- 

 ployment. 



The subject of bees and flowers is 

 so inexhaustible, so full of interest, 

 indispensible to each other, and each 

 so well adapted to the care and culti- 

 vation by ladies, that a few hints on 

 this interesting subject may lead to 

 others still greater. 



Bee-culture, like all sciences, is full 

 of opportunities for research, and I 

 think, even more interesting ; and, in 

 fact, there is a certain mystery about 

 the habits of bees that forever keeps 

 the imagination waiting for some new 

 discovery or development. 



Tlie great drawback to bee-keeping 

 has been stings, but modern improve- 

 ments'^in bee-culture, such as bee- veils, 

 gloves and bee-smokers properly used 

 should be sufficient to forever dispel 

 every fear even of the most timid. 



Bees have been spoken of from the 

 earliest history of the world, and we 

 often see them alluded to in the Bible, 

 and bees and honey in those days were 

 spoken of as possessing wonderful 

 virtues. Some of the greatest writers 

 in the history of our world mention 

 tlie honey bee as being a gift of the 

 gods, and so I am led to believe that 

 many a silent lesson in the economy 

 of the world has been learned from the 

 wonderful bee. We never forget that 

 sweet and simple song : 



" How doth the little busy bee •, 



Improve each shining hour." 



It teaches us that the sweets of this 

 life are offered to us all as freely 

 as the svi'eets of the Howery kingdom 

 to tlie virtuous and industrious bee. 

 If we but imitate these virtuous habits 

 our coffers will overflow with the 

 sweets of life. In fact, the whole study 



and juactice of bee-culture is refining, 

 ennobling and elevating. 



Ladies are certainly adapted to bee- 

 keeping, because, as a general rule, . 

 they love and cultivate flowers, the 

 very perfection of virtue and inspira- 

 tion ; and bees and flowers seem in- 

 separable. Where flowers are, bees 

 are ; even in the deserts where the 

 foot of man has never trod. In the 

 cliffs, on the hills, and in tlie valleys 

 may be found the industrious little 

 bee, sip|)ing the sweets from the many 

 flower that are 



" horn to blush unseen. 

 And waste their sweetness on the desert air." 



What a wonderful mission these lit- 

 tle workers seem to perform while 

 gathering honey, which the Bible de- 

 clares is "sweet to the soul, and 

 health to the bones." They spread 

 from flower to flower the germs of life 

 of the sweetest things of earth's 

 broad bosom. Let us provide abun- 

 dant forage for our bees, fill our gar- 

 dens full of flowers and thus invite 

 them to come and taste of the nectar 

 which the flowers produce within our 

 bowers. I would not advise all ladies 

 to keep bees ; but to those who have 

 time, inclination, and wish all the 

 benefits, including the profits of bee- 

 keeping, I say, try a few colonies. 

 Give them the same care and atten- 

 tion you give flowers, and I am sure 

 the results will exceed your most san- 

 guine expectations. Some of the 

 smartest bee-keepers we have in this 

 country are ladies, and I see no reason 

 why the ladies of Maine cannot be as 

 successful in this branch of business 

 as ladies are in other States. 





Sinartweetf and Hearts-ease. 



The past season has been the best 

 of the past four years with us. My 

 bees gathered pollen from the hazel 

 nut, ami, perhaps, from soft maple 

 as early as February. During April 

 and May bees could do but little, on 

 account of cold and wet weather. 

 I fed mine; had I not, many of them 

 would have starved. The principal 

 flow of honey in Southeastern Ne- 

 braska was from the smartweed or 

 hearts-ease, of which there is an abun- 

 dance growing up among the corn 

 after the farmer has finished culti- 

 vating it; also growing thick on wheat 

 and oat stubble, after harvest, or by 

 the way side, everywhere, nearly, 

 except on the prairie. Tliere are sev- 

 eral varieties of this weed which yield 

 an abundance of honey superior in 

 flavor to the well-known basswood. 

 I have both kind, and most of my cus- 

 tomers prefer the hearts-ease honey. 

 This plant blooms from the 1st of 

 August till frost. My bees commenced 

 swarming in August, and continued 

 to swarm until late in September. 

 One swarm of Cyprian bees came 

 out the last of August. I hived 

 them in the Oatman Modest Ilive, 

 gave them 1 frame of brood and the 



