OCR Text |
Show Jjj(.xj..i-H-4-4"l"i"HI"H""H"H"HH- MAKING GOOD IN A SMALL TOWN Real Stories About Real Girli Br MRS. HARLAND H. ALLEN (. I924' Wastern Newspaper Uniun.j TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE A "BACK-LOTTER," as prores-slonul prores-slonul apiarists dub the amateur beekeeper, Is pictured as going about among Ills bees with his eyes fixed on g copy of Maeterlinck or Fabre, and his mind more engrossed with the bees' history and habits than with their remunerative possibilities. But a "back-lotter" Is often a money-maker! "I was afraid I'd 'get stung' when I first started keeping bees," admitted a "back-lotter," a small town girl, I met recently, "but I know now that only careless persons are stung by bees. The work Is remunerative and Is particularly suited to women, too, because there Is nothing heavy to do and a woman's gentleness In handling is a real asset." The "back-lotter" should wear a veil of mosquito netting over her face and glovea on her hands ; and she should use a smoker when opening the hives. Anyway, a sting is not such a serious matter. When the barb is removed, a little ammonia Is the infallible in-fallible remedy. The bee-keeper should start her apiary In the spring before swarming begins, or in the fall just after the last honey flow. She should begin . with only three or four hives, increasing increas-ing the number as the bees swarm. She should save cost and risk of transportation trans-portation by buying her hives as near home as possible. She may even be able to get them from a neighbor in exchange for poultry or some other produce. A good choice is golden colored col-ored Italian stock, famous for sweet temper and honey-gathering ability. The common black bes are often villous. vi-llous. The standard movable, dovetailed dove-tailed hive is the best type. The amateur apiarist can learn the details of the work by visiting experienced expe-rienced beekeepers, and by reading books and magazines on bee culture. If she can find someone to help her a bit at times, it will be most profitable profit-able for her to produce extracted honey. This means that she will have to buy a machine called a honey extractor, ex-tractor, but It will pay for itself in short time. If the "back-lotter" Is enterprising, she may be able to dispose of her entire en-tire output In her own home town, thus saving both commission and freight expense. She may advertise her honey In the local paper, or "peddle" "ped-dle" it herself. If she combines cleverness with caution, she will easily contrive, In ler beekeeping, not to "get stung," either physically or financially. |