*f&H\tt' 



tit**** 



is? a 



Or how to Realize the Most Money with the Smallest Expenditure of Capital 

 and Labor in the Care of Bees, Rationally Considered. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 



Vol. I. 



MEDINA, O., FEB. 1, 1873. 



No. 2. 



STARTING AN Al'TARY. 



No. 2. 



"lltE hope our readers will recognize the 

 Y fact that we can here only give general 

 directions for the mass of those who wish to 

 commence bee-keeping; 



From a host of letters on the subject we 

 pic up the following : — 



"What must a poor fellow do who has not 

 the land lying to the east or south conveni- 

 ent, neither the means to improve it in the 

 way that you recommend, but would still 

 like to keep a few stands of bees. 



"One of my neighbors on reading your 

 description of your grounds, exclaimed, 'Oh ! 

 yes, Novice has plenty of money and I have 

 none, and my wife in the doctor's hands.' " 



Bless your hearts, fellow novices, we have 

 not advised anything expensive. 



Take such land as you have got, or if 

 none, we must advise every bee-keeper to 

 get a few rods of land some way, "all his 

 own." 



Commence small and don't run in debt. 

 Those who commence with nothing but their 

 "bare hands" are oftenest the most useful 

 and most successful people we have in the 

 world. 



With an axe and spade and round poles 

 from the woods even, you can do all that we 

 have advised Start on the plan we gave if 

 it be only for a half dozen hives, and they 

 will increase as you gain practice and expe- 

 rience. 



Twelve years ago Novice had not the 

 value of $10 in all his "earthly possessions," 

 and had not money been absolutely neces- 

 sary for the working out of some of his ex- 

 periments he might not now have been able 

 to publish even a 25c. paper. Mrs. "Novice" 

 and the children will tell you that "plenty 

 of money" was never yet known in their 

 household, but that twelve or fourteen hours 

 of work daily, always has been and we 

 trust always will be; and most of it is a 

 pleasure too, especially that part pertaining 

 to the grape vines, and they can be raised in 

 any quantity from cuttings pruned from old 

 vines at no expense but a very little 1 tbor. 



Tell your neighbor to take his wife out 

 doors with him, to help plan and arrange 

 his apiary, keep her on fresh beef steak 



"roasted on the coals," and perhaps no doc- 

 tor will be needed. 



" If more of our American women were bee- 

 keepers they would know better what health 

 and happiness is possible for them in this 

 world of ours. 



Now then, fellow bee-keepers all over this 

 broad land, whether you have one hive or 

 hundreds, get your grape vines growing and 

 then see about hives for the bees that are 

 coining bye and bye, and please do have 

 those hives all alike, so that any frame will 

 go nicely into any r one of them, or "any part 

 any where." 



This is easy to say but so hard to accom- 

 plish that we fear you will many of y r ou 

 never do it unless you commence work very 

 carefully. 



Some kind of a buzz saw seems a positive 

 necessity, and here again we say, do not get 

 in debt for something you cannot afford. 



If you wish to make but few hives a circu- 

 lar saw,costing not much over a dollar,made 

 to "rip" and "cutoff" both, will do very 

 well. The teeth should be fine and size not 

 over seven or eight inches : smoother work 

 can be secured by having two such saws, one 

 to "cut off" and one to "rip." 



A home-made arbor to run them on can 

 be made without much expense, but a self- 

 centering and self-oiling arbor can be pur- 

 chased for $12 or $14, and are much more 

 convenient. Ours came from Wilkinson & 

 Co., No. 2 Washington street, Boston, but 

 we think they might be purchased of any 

 saw-maker near you. 



Our table is home-made ; top hinged at one 

 end and the other is raised and lowered by a 

 sett screw, so that any kind of rabbeting is 

 quickly and accurately done. Top of table 

 is 3x4} feet, of ash, screwed together very 

 firmly. 



As we use the same table for " cutting off," 

 the bar of wood that lies parallel to the saw, 

 to gauge the width, was in the way and was 

 troublesome to remove. This we now have 

 attached to a strip hinged to the back edge 

 of the table so that the whole turns over 

 back and below the surface of the table en- 

 tirely out of the way when we desire to "cut 

 off" boards. 



If you will all now "lislen hard" we will 

 try and describe a little arrangement that 



