.54 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



majority desires the index it shall be 

 forthcoming. Remember, however, that 

 it will occupy some space, and will cur- 

 tail the reading matter, each month, 

 just that much. Let each one who is 

 interested, drop me a postal expressing a 

 choice, either for or against, and we will 

 see which side has a majority. 



The Great Lack is the Courage. 



I think one reason why more bee 

 keepers don't keep more bees is because 

 they don't dare to do it. They are 

 afraid to make the start— fear they may 

 not succeed, may fail to make a living. 

 It may cause a smile, but let me say that 

 I believe the hardest part of keeping more 

 bees is to first make the resolve to 

 do so. Let a man resolve in his own 

 mind that: "In five years I will own 

 500 colonies," let him print it in big 

 letters on a board and nail it up over his 

 door, and the deed is the same as done. 

 If a man sets out to own 500 colonies in 

 five years, he can do it if his will power 

 is strong enough. You little realize what 

 you can accomplish once you have stuck 

 your stake, and are determined to reach 

 the goal. 



I have been having a lot of correspond- 

 ence this winter with men who have 

 made notable successes in bee keeping, 

 that is; been very successfully financial- 

 ly, and, without exception, they have 

 kept bees in large numbers. It can't 

 well be otherwise. Not much money 

 can be made from a limited number of 

 colonies. 



Fortunately, bees may be increased 

 very rapidly. In an exceptionally good 

 season I once increased three colonies 

 to 33. In an ordinary season I have 

 increased 20 colonies to 100. Suppose, 

 however, that a man only doubles his 

 colonies each year, and begins with 20 

 colonies, in five years he would have 640 

 colonies. This would allow a loss of 140 

 colonies, and still leave the owner with 

 500 colonies. Doubling the number of 

 colonies each year, is a very low esti- 



mate for increase, and would allow of 

 securing some surplus; at least enough to 

 pay for the hives and foundation needed 

 for the increase. Still further, a bee 

 keeper can save a lot by making his own 

 hives and frames winters. 



I tell you my friend, you can have 500 

 colonies in five years, probably in less 

 than that, if you will only make up your 

 mind to do it, and then work for it. Once 

 you have that number in a good location, 

 you can make some money and be able 

 to surround yourself and family with 

 comforts — perhaps some luxuries. 



Shall Some Space in the Review be 

 Devoted to Beginners? 



Quite frequently some beginner in bee 

 keeping writes and protests against the 

 advanced character of most of the 

 matter in the Review. He says it is 

 probably all right for bee keepers who 

 have had some experience, but he is just 

 starting and wants something more 

 elementary. 



My idea of this matter has always 

 been that all beginners ought to first 

 read one or more text books. That is 

 what text books are for— to state funda- 

 mental principles and well-established 

 facts. To me, it has always seemed like 

 an injustice to the majority of subscrib- 

 ers, and a great waste of space, to pub- 

 lish year after year, in a journal, those 

 things that can be found in almost every 

 text book. The journals are for the dis- 

 cussion of new things. 



In this connection some one has asked 

 for a query, or questions and answers, 

 department. This is entirely a different 

 matter. Questions may be asked on 

 the most advanced subjects. Any one 

 is welcome to send in questions, and, if 

 they are of general interest, I shall take 

 pleasure in answering them in the Review 

 to the best of my ability. 



Since the foregoing was written, I have 

 received a letter on this subject from my 

 friend Pettit, of Ontario. I think it is a 

 very fair exposition of the views in opposi- 



