COMBINING BEEKEEPING AND FARMING * 

 Jerome R. Snyder, Wawarsing, N. Y. 



The subject I am about to discuss, " combining beekeeping and 

 farming," is a broad and debatable one. We are living in an age 

 of specialism. If any of us were having eye or ear trouble, we 

 would not go to our old family physician for treatment, but would 

 locate some eye or ear specialist. I believe in specialism in bee- 

 keeping as well as in any other industry. 



The time may come when the income from our apiary is not 

 enough to meet our needs or maintain us as we would care to live. 

 What must be done ? The specialist will say " keep more bees, 

 keep better bees." That is all very good. We begin to consider 

 some plans to keep more bees. From past experience we are sure 

 we have as many in our home apiaries as the surrounding coimtry 

 will afford profitable pasturage. 



The next thing to do is to start out to look for an outside apiary. 

 After some driving around the country we find a location. It is 

 from five to fifteen miles from home, which necessitates running a 

 business in two sections that distance apart. Xow the question 

 arises, " Which would be better, to start this out apiary, which 

 necessarily brings part of your work some miles from home; or 

 combine your beekeeping with farming ? " To my mind it can 

 successfully be combined with farming or with special farming 

 such as poultry, small fruit or berries. 



The general farmer could plant such crops as buckwheat, alsike 

 clover, etc. That would give pasturage for the bees and the bees 

 in return w^ould be a help to the growing crops and fruit by pol- 

 ienizing the blossoms. 



The combination is an advantage when we encounter unfavor- 

 able seasons. I think the first and most careful consideration in 

 this combination is the '' man behind the o-un." If one finds that 

 he cannot apply himself to the study of different subjects without 



* Delivered at the Eastern New York Beekeepers' Association Convention 

 at Kingston, N. Y., 1912. 



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