BEES. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Beekeeping for pleasure and profit is carried on. by many thou- 
sands of people in all parts of the United States. As a rule, it is 
not the sole occupation. There are, however, many places where an 
experienced bee keeper can make a good living by devoting his entire 
time and attention to this line of work. It is usually unwise to 
undertake extensive beekeeping without considerable previous expe- 
rience on a small scale, since there are so many minor details which 
go to make up success in the work. It is a good plan to begin on 
a small scale, make the bees pay for themselves and for all addi- 
tional apparatus, as well as some profit, and gradually to increase 
as far as the local conditions or the desires of the individual permit. 
Bee culture is the means of obtaming for human use a natural 
product which is abundant in almost all parts of the country, and 
which would be lost to us were it not for the honey bee. The annual 
production of honey and wax in the United States makes apiculture 
a profitable minor industry of the country. From its very nature 
it can never become one of the leading agricultural pursuits, but that 
there is abundant opportunity for its growth can not be doubted. 
Not only is the honey bee valuable as a producer, but it is also one 
of the most beneficial of insects in cross-pollinating the flowers of 
various economic plants. 
Beekeeping is also extremely fascinating to the majority of people 
as a pastime, furnishing outdoor exercise as well as intimacy with an 
insect whose activity has been a subject of absorbing study from the 
earliest times. It has the advantage of being a recreation which 
pays its own way and often produces no mean profit. 
It is a mistake, however, to paint only the bright side of the pic- 
ture and leave it to the new bee keeper to discover that there is often 
another side. Where any financial profit is derived, beekeeping 
requires hard work and work at just the proper time, otherwise the 
surplus of honey may be diminished or lost. Few lines of work 
require more study to insure success. In years when the available 
nectar is limited, surplus honey is secured only by judicious manipu- 
lations, and it is only through considerable experience and often by 
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