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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



when they get some honey, they rush 

 into the market with it, and sell it for 

 half-price, breaking down the market ; 

 thus making the innocent suffer for their 

 indiscretion. 



They never examine their bees, to see 

 what condition they are in ; consequently 

 their bees usually go into Winter 

 quarters, quite unprepared for the 

 ordeal. 



And, lastly, they resemble the other 

 kind of drones, in that they are always 

 males. Who ever heard of a lady bee- 

 keeper, who did not take good care of 

 her bees, and get the highest price for 

 her honey ? Such a season as the past 

 one, together with a good sharp Winter, 

 will relieve us of those noisy, buzzing 

 fellows. And, as next season's bounte- 

 ous harvest comes on (I believe that 

 Prof. Cook predicts that it will be a 

 bounteous one) we can pile on the sur- 

 plus cases, and complacently carry the 

 filled ones and pile them up in the honey 

 house ; well knowing that there will be 

 no "drones" to break down our market. 



Well, my friends, I have taken a 

 long time to tell what, in all, 

 probably, you knew better than T. Now, 

 as I said before, we have met together 

 once more to compare notes, and to learn 

 of each other. 



Let this be an enthusiastic meeting of 

 wide-awake bee-keepers. Much depends 

 on you. Let us be perfectly free to talk, 

 to ask questions, or to express our 

 opinions. 



Have any new methods, or devices, 

 been tried during the past season ? If 

 so, let us hear about them. Have you 

 noticed any peculiarities in the behavior 

 of your bees during the past season ? If 

 so, tell us about that. We should be 

 learning something every year; in the 

 bad years as well as the good ones. And, 

 finally, ray friends, let us try and make 

 this the best, the most useful and most 

 enjoyable meeting we have ever had. 



The secretary then read the following 

 essay from Mrs. L. Harrison, of Peoria, 

 Ills., on 



WOMEN AS IIOXEY PEODUCEKS. 



It ha& been customary, since the days 

 of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, 

 to pay women less wages, than is paid to 

 the other sex, for doing the same kind 

 and amount of work. But they are 

 yearly gaining, in the race for m'oney- 

 getting, and are determined not to be 

 distanced, much longer. There is a 

 silver-lining, apparent in the dark-cloud, 

 which has so long hovered over her hori- 

 zon ; and, the time is not far distant, 

 when she will be equal in the race. 



The time is not very remote when 

 women, as honey producers, were 

 frowned upon by specialists, as she 

 elbowed herself in among the crowd. 

 At the late " International Bee Associ- 

 ation" which convened in the city of 

 Keokuk, many practical women, who 

 have made the production of the pure- 

 sweet a success, were present, and 

 received a cordial welcome. We hear 

 no more of her unsuitableness for the 

 business of honey-production, or see her 

 pictured in bedraggled skirts. 



One of the points in favor of her culti- 

 vating bees, is, that it can be done at 

 home. She can look after her household 

 and her bees at the same time. Her 

 bees can produce as fine honey as those 

 of the stronger sex ; and, when it is 

 placed upon the market, she is not 

 expected to take a less price, because it 

 is woman's work. Is this true of women 

 who make shirts and pants ? 

 I. A woman came to this city, dressed in 

 the garb of the opposite sex, and went 

 to work in a tailor shop. She performed 

 her work satisfactorily to her employers 

 for several weeks, when a worthless 

 husband appeared upon the scene. He 

 notified the police, and she was immedi- 

 ately arrested, and taken before a 

 magistrate. On being interrogated why 

 she dressed in the garb of a man, replied 

 " I do not get the same pay, for doing 

 the same kind of work, unless I deceive 

 them as to my sex." She was compelled 

 to dress as a woman, and her former 

 employer cut down her wages to a 

 woman's scale. 



Women of the Northern Illinois Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, try to produce your 

 honey in as neat, attractive packages as 

 possible, and demand a good price for it. 

 Do not cut down the price in order to 

 sell it, as some poor women are obliged 

 to do with their wages, in order to procure 

 the necessaries of life — but if you can 

 get a little more than the brothers, 

 take it. 



Thus endeth the first lesson. 



Mrs. L. Harrison. 



drone-laying queens. 



Mr. Baldwin, of DeKalb, asked if any 

 one had experienced any trouble by 

 young queens, laying drone eggs. He 

 had been troubled some, in that way, 

 this year. 



Mr. Blackburn, of Iowa, said that he 

 had had some trouble that way, but it 

 was generally caused by laying workers. 



The Secretary then read an Essay 

 from T. G. Newman, of Chicago, on 

 "Making Exh bits at Fairs." 



