December, 191 1. 



American "Bee Jonrnalj 



Southern 



Beedom-- 



Conducted by Louis H. Scholi.. New Braunfels. Tex. 



Among the Bees in 1911 and 1912 



Another j'ear of toil is almost com- 

 pleted, and as we look back over the 

 work that was done, we feel that there 

 are a great many things that have been 

 learned during the year that are valua- 

 ble for future work. We also find that 

 we have made mistakes here and there, 

 and succeded beyond our expectations, 

 perhaps, in other things. All this helps 

 to make us better bee-keepers if we 

 but notice these things, and pay atten- 

 tion to them whenever occasion pre- 

 sents itself at any time later. It is in 

 this way we learn to improve ourselves 

 and our work that we do, and our at- 

 tention to these details makes for us 

 either our failures or our successes, as 

 the case may be. 



With some bee-keepers the past year 

 has been a successful one, and they 

 may truly rejoice over their good for- 

 tune. Others may not have been as 

 fortunate, but there are still many 

 things that one may be thankful for. 

 "It might have been worse," are just a 

 few words that have encouraged the 

 writer many times when misfortune 

 stared him in the face, and many times 

 that has been his lot. Therefore, I am 

 writing these words of encouragement 

 for those that may need them. I 

 hope they are few. It is well to re- 

 member that although our crop may be 

 short, or we may be otherwise disap- 

 pointed in our year's work or business 

 transactions, our good health and 

 otherwise well-being are possessions 

 that are worth more than all the money 

 that we might have made, and which 

 would not have been of much enjoy- 

 ment to us if we did not enjoy our 

 good health. Since the writer has ex- 

 perienced such misfortunes a few times, 

 he realizes to the fullest extent how 

 thankful we ought to be, therefore, for 

 possessing at least these good things 

 that are so much to us. 



But the year 1011 is almost gone, and 

 we are already planning what we will 

 do for 1912. The bee-keeper is "a 

 funny creature in that he keeps on liv- 

 ing in hope even if he dies in despair," 

 and therefore we will begin again with 

 renewed hope to reap a bountiful re- 

 ward during the coming year. Thus 

 stimulated we are prepared to win the 

 battle, while we could not attempt to 

 win unprepared. The results will be in 

 favor of the one that goes into it with 

 renewed hopes, with his sleeves rolled 

 up and his mind and body full of energy 

 and determination to accomplish some- 

 thing if the chances are for something 

 to be accomplished at all. 



And it is well to begin our plans 

 early. "The early bird catches the 

 worm," is but another saying that the 

 writer has kept uppermost in his mind 

 throughout the year, and from one 

 year to another, and it is no use deny- 

 ing that there is a great deal in this. 

 It works so well with another valuable 



saying, that is well to recall at leas* 

 once in a while, and that is the one, 



" Early to bed and early to rise. 

 Makes men healthy, wealthy and wise. 



Of late, this has been changed some- 

 what, and I have this one in its new 

 form tacked up in my ofifice near my 

 desk. It reads like this: 



" Early to bed and early to rise. 

 May once have made people rich, healthy 



and wise. , . - . 



But at the present, the man who would lam 



make his mark. ,, 



Has to keep hustling till long after dark. 



There are many bee-keepers who at 

 the present time prefer to sit at the 

 corner grocery store or at the post- 

 office, whittling a stick and telling 

 yarns, but it is one habit that the \vriter 

 has never been guilty of. There are 

 always so many better things to do 

 about the place and in the house that 

 there is no time for such idleness as 

 this. The result is, that there are many 

 things in our home, and about the 

 place, not generally found at most 

 places, and the pleasures derived from 

 these things are just that rtiuch more 

 enjoyment to us, and something that 

 we are thankful for if our crops, etc., 

 are below our expectations. 



Instead of wasting time, which, with 

 me, is the most valuable item in our 

 progressive life, I devote it to other 

 things than bee-keeping when I can 

 do this. There are times when the bees 

 do not need my attention so closely, 

 and to fill up these gaps I spend the 

 time profitably on something else. Be- 

 sides this it has become well known 

 that a busy business man should have 

 some hobby or side issue on which to 

 waste his spare moments, so as to get 

 his mind off his regular business. Of 

 course, this does not concern the aver- 

 age small bee-keeper, but after the ex- 

 tensive point is reached at which I 

 am following bee-keeping, it becomes 

 more like a real business venture than 

 the bee-keeping that most of us have 

 been accustomed to. Thus it is that 

 the writer needs an occasional change 

 from the business cares, and this he 

 finds in looking after his flowers and 

 his chickens, as well as some other 

 things that are of very much interest 

 to him. 



The thoroughbred poultry business 

 is a profitable one if followed rightly, 

 and it is one line that fits in well with 

 bee-keeping, as a side-line. Attending 

 to them early in the morning before 

 the bee-keeping work needs attention 

 has become a pleasure to me, and to 

 have several lots of fine thoroughbred 

 fowls in their different yards and on 

 separate ranges, all looking as pretty 

 as a picture, makes a person feel very 

 enthusiastic about the " hobby" that he 

 is riding wlien not attending to the 

 strictly business part of his avocation. 

 It takes his mind off the latter, and 

 when he returns to it the work may be 



taken up again with renewed energy 

 and vigor. The results of his work can 

 not but be more favorable. It is the 

 same with flowers. Although they do 

 not need attention as regularly as the 

 poultrv, my visits to these and the at- 

 tentions are frequent. Our flowers re- 

 ceive visits more at such times during 

 the day when I begin to feel tired from 

 the work I may be doing, and it be- 

 comes necessary to leave the desk 

 where I may be writing, or whatever it 

 may be. Upon returning to work, re- 

 freshed from the short rest that I have 

 taken, and the pleasures I have enjoyed 

 for a few minutes, I am better prepared 

 to do more and better work. 



The old saying, " All work and no 

 play, etc.," is partly responsible for the 

 methods that I have adopted. 



Another practise that I have followed 

 for manv vears, is to take my "good 

 better half " with me whenever this 

 was practical, when visiting some of 

 the apiaries or other places. If, for 

 instance, a trip for a day is taken, it is 

 a picnic for us. Lunch is taken along,, 

 and a nice green spot is made the noon 

 halting-place. There are so many 

 things to see and to talk about on such 

 a trip that the work is the least part of 

 the busy life that we may be following. 

 And so there are many things that we 

 can mix with our daily bee-keeping to 

 make it more easy and enjoyable, al- 

 though our profits at the end of the 

 year may not be as great as expected. 

 We then have at least something to be 

 thankful for. And thus we are plan- 

 ning for the new year already to do 

 more of these things than we have 

 heretofore. We have told our story so 

 that others may at least be encouraged 

 to some extent, although our ways may 

 not be followed. 



Early Preparedness in Bee-Keeping: 



There is much in early preparedness, 

 especially in bee-keeping. We have 

 seen the bee-keeper who is never pre- 

 pared, mainly because he wants to see 

 if first whether he will have a honey- 

 flow at all or not. This kind of bee- 

 keeper will never make a success un- 

 less he changes his ways. By waiting; 

 until so late in the game, as it were, it 

 is nearly always impossible to get 

 ready for the honey harvest, and the re- 

 sult is that the honey crop that he has- 

 been so anxiously waiting for, to see if 

 it would come so he could get ready 

 for it, is gone, and lost forever, and 

 failure is the result of that kind of a 

 bee-keeper's bee-keeping. 



On the other hand, the man who be- 

 gins months before to prepare his hives 

 and other necessaries will reap the 

 harvest vear after year, and finally 

 reach the' goal of the really successful 

 bee-keeper. In this day when the in- 

 ducements for buying our supplies 

 early are so great, there is no excuse 

 whatever to wait until late in the sea- 

 son, and then get caught without the 

 necessarv supplies to catch the honey- 

 flows. Why, it would pay to borrow 

 money at a higher rate of interest in 

 the fall of the year, when the supply- 

 dealers are offering to furnish you the 

 necessary goods at a reduction of 7 

 percent 'from the regular price, that 

 the man who waits has to pay only 



