698 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



tion, and by so doing one half the outlay of cash for foundation 

 could be saved. It docs seem to me a waste of money to sell our 

 wax for 25c. per pound, and turn around and nay more than double 

 that for foundation. By the possession of foundation mills with a 

 warm room to work in, it could all be made at home during the 

 winter. We would then have nice fresh foundation for the bees to 

 work on, and no time lost by them trying to soften some old hard 

 foundation in the height of a heavy honey How when time means 

 money. In the disposal of his honey, the manufacture of wax into 

 foundation, getting sections, hives and supers ready for the next 

 season, lies the partial solution of the problem, <k What shall the 

 bee-keeper do to occupy his time during the winter?" 



As the success or failure of any kind of business depends largely 

 upon the qualifications and general make-up of the individual that 

 undertakes it, so is it in bee-keeping as a business. It does not 

 require a man or women with greater physical strength than the 

 ordinary man or women possesses, but it does require a person with 

 strength of character. That is to say that he should have a large 

 amount of push and energy in his make-up, and at the same time 

 have a mild, patient disposition, but be quick to act in an emergency. 

 The bee-keeper should also be of a mechanical turn, as many little 

 tilings about the apiary (and there' are many), could be made by one 

 handy with tools, thus saving the expense of buying. 



A person that has a nervous temperament, who is easily excited, 

 and goes about the apiary dodging every bee that may happen to 

 come near him, will never succeed as a bee-keeper, — much less as 

 a specialist. Therefore we can not close our eyes to the fact that 

 many failures are due to the inadaptability of the individual to the 

 business. 



With the proper qualifications and a thorough knowledge of the 

 subject, I can not see an excuse for failure. 



In a paper like this it is not possible to give more than a few hints 

 and suggestions, along the line of bee-keeping as a speciality, but the 

 most important of these I have tried to enumerate. It should be 

 understood, however, that bee-keeping as a business, does not offer 

 the opportunity to become very wealthy. It does, however, offer 

 the opportunity of an independent life and a good living, with a 

 fair yearly surplus for a rainy day. Fortunately, the perfection of 

 a man's happiness bears but little relation to the size of his fortune, 

 and the bee-keeper, with the hum of the bees over his head, finds 

 happiness deeper and sweeter than ever comes to the merchant 

 prince with his thousands. 



THE BEE AND HORTICULTURE. 



Br Gabriel Hiester, President. Pennsylvania State Horticult nral Association, Harrisburg, Pa. 



From the way your president has stated my subject, I suppose 

 he intended me to discuss it from an economic standpoint, and that 

 is what I shall try to do. I do not know a more interesting subject 

 than the relation of the Bee to Horticulture and the great part it 



