Bee-keeping for Small Farmers. 



473 



tion and give measurements, but anyone interested may obtain 

 the Bee Journal, referred to, from the office, 10, Buckingham 

 Street, Strand, for three halfpence, post free. 



Another important question for the farmer is how to prepare 

 his bee-produce for market. We say this because the value of 

 a good crop of honey is raised or lowered very considerably by 

 the way in which it has been prepared for sale. In considering 

 this point it must be remembered that home-produced honey has 

 to compete with the foreign article put up by the skilled packers 

 of the edible goods which make up the attractive displays seen 

 in tradesmen's windows. The honey prepared for market by 

 the farmer's wife of twenty years ago would make a sorry show 

 nowadays. The most luscious combs of honey cut from skeps 

 and carried to market on a large dish, or the run-honey in a 

 big brown jar to be baled into the customer's honey-pot, are 

 things of the past. The business of marketing honey has under- 

 gone a complete change, and in this connection the useful part 

 borne by the women-folk is more than ever conspicuous. The 

 wives of our best bee-keepers to-day generally do most of the 

 work of " glassing " and " lace-edging " sections of comb-honey, 

 and bottling-off and labelling extracted honey for market, and 

 do it well. In fact it is a task a woman excels at if once shown 

 how it is done. 



A visit paid to a good honey show is an object lesson in the 

 up-to-date preparation of honey for market which our farmer 

 friend and his wife should on no account miss, for it is of little 

 use securing a good harvest of honey unless it can be profitably 

 marketed. 



The extracting and cleaning of bees-wax is also usually done 

 by the bee-keeper's wife. It will thus be seen that a large part 

 of the work is as well suited for feminine hands as for those 

 of men. 



Bees, like all other live stock, require attention on the part of 

 their owners, but with regard to feeding they are altogether 

 different from other stock, seeing that the food-stores they provide 

 for themselves are in a great measure appropriated by the bee- 

 keeper. On the other hand, neglect of the apiary means loss to 

 its owner, and not seldom serious damage to neighbouring bee- 

 keepers. We refer to the disease known as " Foul Brood " (or 



