Oct. 6. 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



679 



encouragement, improvement, and advancement of bee- 

 culture". Thus, it will be seen that the British Associa- 

 tion had seven years start of the Irish one, but the latter 

 has now been 23 years in existence. During these 23 years 

 ■the Irish Bee-Keepers' Association has been trying to do 

 for Ireland what many foreign governments have been 



doing for their respective countries. But on. account of the 

 limited means the work of the Association has, of course, 

 fallen far short of the requirements of the industry. The 

 committee claims in one of its reports to have endeavored 

 to carry out the objects of the Association as far as funds 

 permit, but adds, " There still remains, however, a very 

 great deal of work to be accomplished ". So there does, 

 and would it not be deplorable to continue to let thousands 

 of pounds worth of honey go to waste every year — in this 

 poor country — that can be gathered from the flowers by the 

 bees without interfering with any growing crops but those 

 they improve ? 



It is surprising that an apiary is not found on every 

 farm and every garden, large or small, in view of the direct 

 pecuniary results that may be obtained from it by careful 

 and systematic management. The number of colonies 

 kept, would, of course, depend upon the interest taken by 

 each bee-keeper in the work, the time at his disposal, and 

 on the extent of bee-pasturage within flight-range of the 

 apiary. But certainly a few colonies may be kept in almost 

 any garden or plot, if only as a source of interest and a 

 means of procuring a wholesome and pleasant food of what 

 I might call one's own production. 



The effects of agricultural depression, owing to many 

 causes, have been felt for many years throughout the coun- 

 try ; prices of agricultural produce have fallen to an extent 

 that it is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, " to make 

 both ends meet ". To minimize the effect of this general 

 downward tendency various means have been suggested by 

 those interested in the development and prosperity of agri- 

 culture, which is the fountain. head of all other industries. 

 Much good has been done by the adoption of many of these 

 suggestions — such, for instance, as the improved system of 

 dairying, more extensive and better management of poul- 

 try, fruit-culture, the manufacture of jam and several 

 other cottage industries, all of which have been encouraged 

 and developed within the past decade. But important and 

 valuable as such industries are as a means adopted to add 

 to the profits of ordinary farming, there is an equally in- 

 teresting, intellectual, and at the same time exceeding^ly 

 rural occupation in bee-keeping which, when properly, that 

 is, intelligently pursued, proves of great value to the at;ri- 

 culturist. The extension of bee-keeping as a means of add- 

 ing to one's income has been rapidly going ahead since it 

 has been demonstrated that bees can be managed without 

 discomfort to the operator or interfering with his ordinary 

 pursuits to any appreciable extent, and that a profit of from 

 50 to 100, or even ISO, percent is by no means an uncommon 

 occurrence. 



When we look at the rapid strides bee-keeping has made 

 during the last few years, it appears scarcely credible that 

 it was quite an exceptional thing about two decades ago, 

 to see a bar-frame hive in a cottager's garden. Now, owing 

 to the exertions of a few, and to the spread of information 



contained in periodicals — some of which are exclusively 

 devoted to bee-culture, and others which give a share of 

 their columns to its advancement — this most useful and 

 interesting industry has spread itself not only over 

 the British Isles, but through every country even to the 

 Antipodes. 



Bee-keeping, when once commenced in real earnest, is 

 an employment few get tired of ; enthusiasts in bee-culture 

 are the rule, not the exception, because it presents induce- 

 ments that can not be found in any other description of 

 agricultural pursuits. Who can watch a colony of bees — be 

 it in an ordinary skep, a bar-frame, or an observatory hive — 

 without gaining intellectually ? And we can say without 

 fear of contradiction that no description. of stock-keeping 

 is a greater financial success than bee-keeping, when noth- 

 ing is left undone to work it for all it is worth by those who 

 know how. If the old straw-skep of our forefathers had 

 been occasionally a source of income, how much more so is 

 the modern hive, replete with all the improvements intro- 

 duced by intelligent and ingenious bee-keepers and bee- 

 appliance manufacturers all the world over ? 



Many persons suppose that it is necessary to have a 

 large garden in the country to keep bees and get a good re- 

 turn of honey from them, but this is quite a mistake. No 

 doubt bees will do better in a district where they are in the 

 midst of fruit-blossoms in April and May, and white clover 

 ( Trifolium repens) and alsike ( Trijolitim hybridum) in June 

 and July, than in a city where they have to fly a long dis- 

 tance to reach the open country : but bees can be, and are, 

 kept with much profit even under the disadvantages just 

 mentioned. Bee-keepers, whose apiaries are at the rear of 

 houses in some of the busiest thoroughfares in London, are 

 not only successful with their bees, but frequently carry 

 away first prizes for their honey at the London and other 

 apicultural shows. Bees are also profitably kept in central 

 places in the Irish metropolis (Dublin), and I dare say the 

 same thing exists to a greater or less extent probably in 

 every city and town in the British Isles. 



Bees do remarkably well in the suburbs of large cities 

 where the succession of flowers in the gardens of the subur- 

 ban houses and villas affords them a constant supply of 

 honey and pollen from early spring until the end of autumn. 

 Nor is the forage of the city or the suburban bees — to give 

 them their full title — confined to local flowers and fruit- 

 blossoms, for with the advent of the white clover in June 

 or July, they sally forth on every fine day in search of 

 " fields and meadows sunny ", and join their rural sisters in 

 gathering nectar from this " queen of honey-plants ", as it 

 is designated. 



Fortunately for us, very few enemies of the bees exist 

 in the British Islands in comparison with those that are to 

 be found in other countries, and with few exceptions — 

 which do not come under the definition of the term 

 " enemy " — little fear need be entertained of much damage 



APIARY IN IRISH VILLAGE GARDEN, NEAR NORTH WALL — 

 SOUTHERN ASPECT. 



occuring through their depredations. Various birds are in- 

 cluded among the enemies that attack a colony of bees 

 openly, and that commit the greatest amount of damage. 

 Next in importance are wasps, toads, mice, moths, and 

 spiders. Although the laying workers— as every experi- 

 enced bee-keeper knows — are capable of committing greater 



