AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



761 



to 400, and give 20,000 pounds. The 

 third year, to 8,000 colonies, and give 

 8,000,000 pounds of honey. 



O, shades of Colvin, Gary and Quinby ! 

 why did you not get the "Punic" 

 instead of the "yellow jackets." By this 

 time we might have had 100 colonies 

 for each man, woman and child in the 

 United States and Canada. 



Youngsville, Pa. 



Bee-KeeniiiiandPoaltry-Reariiig, 



MRS. S. E. SHEEMAN. 



Bees and Poultry, says the programme, 

 is my subject. What can I say to this 

 intelligent audience that would interest 

 them upon such small and insignificant 

 things as bees and poultry, when we 

 have such an interesting and all-absorb- 

 ing topic as cotton and its culture (which 

 has been planted and cultivated almost 

 to the exclusion of every other crop). 



It has been said that " cotton is king," 

 and right royally, and (shall I say it) 

 roughly does he sway his sceptre, and 

 rule his subjects with a rod of iron ; yet 

 there are many who bow at his feet and 

 worship no other king. 



They seem to think that the fleecy 

 staple is the only crop that will bring the 

 cash. They think that biddy and her 

 chicks, and the queen and her progeny, 

 are too small things for them to idle 

 their time away with. 



To be sure we, the infinitesimal part 

 of humanity that do not consider these 

 callings beneath our dignity, may not 

 have as much ready cash all at once as 

 he who raises cotton to the exclusion of 

 other things ; yet our profits come in all 

 along through the year, something like 

 our expenses, and we who have bees, 

 honey, chickens and eggs to sell all the 

 time, generally manage to have enough 

 change for our current expenses with no 

 mortgage on our homes, to be paid off 

 when the cotton is sold, as is the case 

 with nuiny of our farmers. 



Bee-keeping and poultry-rearing are 

 two of the necessary adjuncts to success- 

 ful agriculture. Their importance is not 

 fully appreciated by our farmers gen- 

 erally, but they are two of their very 

 best friends. The bees not only gather 

 the nectar that is secreted by the 

 flowers, which, ungathered, would dry 

 up and go to waste ; but they also ferti- 

 lize the blooms by carrying the pollen 

 from flower to flower, thus causing more 

 thorough fertilization, and a surer crop 

 of fruit, which is, or should be, of great 

 importance to the farmer. 



There have been so many inventions 

 in the last few years, that modern bee- 

 keeping is quite a different thing from 

 what it was in the days of our youth. 



Bee-keeping and poultry-rearing work 

 very nicely together. Poultry, for the 

 best results, sliould be hatched quite 

 early in the season, so that the greater 

 part of the work with them is over 

 before swarming time arrives. They do 

 a great deal of good around a place — 

 more than they often got credit for. 

 They destroy many poisonous and other- 

 wise injurious insects ; and they are 

 especially beneficial in an orchard, 

 destroying myriads of insects that would 

 injure our fruit trees, fruit and shrubs; 

 then, too, who of us does not enjoy a 

 nice, tender chicken, fried brown, for 

 our breakfast ; the eggs, oh ! the delicious 

 eggs, are so good, prepared in a dozen 

 different ways. Why, we would not 

 know how to keep house without plenty 

 of eggs. Then allow me to enter a plea 

 for the chickens. 



Farmers' wives and daughters could 

 earn many a dime, and have it of their 

 very own, if they only knew how to 

 manage a little better, and would rid 

 themselves of that false pride and false 

 timidity that too many of them possess. 

 When they work and make anything for 

 themselves it is generally sent to town 

 by their fathers or brothers, who 

 feel like it is a disgrace to carry anything 

 to town to sell unless it is a bale of 

 cotton. So they carry it around to the 

 grocery merchant and say, what are you 

 giving for eggs to-day, or chickens, or 

 honey, or whatever it is they have for 

 sale. 



The first offer is generally accepted, 

 if it is only 5 cents per dozen for eggs, 

 etc., etc., to the end of the list, and 

 doubtless they feel relieved when they 

 dispose of them at any price. 



Now, if the women would go along 

 themselves, and go to private residences 

 and take a sample of butter, eggs, honey 

 or whatever they have for sale and show 

 it, the chances are that they could make 

 a permanent engagement the year 

 around at living prices, if the articles 

 were first-class, and put up in good 

 style. 



They should be very careful about 

 this, and be sure that everything is as 

 good as the sample, and in this way they 

 could soon build up a reputation that 

 would be worth a great deal to them, 

 and what they have for sale would 

 always find a ready market. 



Do not be afraid of taking hold of 

 little things, the world itself is made of 

 very atoms. Remember, that you are 



