July, I9n;. 



225 



American Hee JournaTjl 



FIG. 5.— HOLE IN BROOD-COMB GNAWED BY MICE 



harder the bees he has or keep more 

 bees ? The second man must either 

 push harder or maintain present aver- 

 age with less labor. 



The relation of equipment to cost of 

 operation is a delicate one. It is easy 

 to put too much money into equipment 

 and it is equally as easy to add mate- 

 rially to one's labor by insufficient or 

 poorly made and ill-fitting apparatus. 

 There is a fine field for the exercise of 

 good judgment in the matter of equip- 

 ment. 



Taking the case of the specialist and 

 granting a well chosen equipment, can 

 he sufficiently increase his per colony 

 yield by different or increased manipu- 

 lation to pay for the labor, or will he 

 make more money by using less manip- 

 ulation and putting his time into caring 

 for more bees ? Will he make more 

 by investing more, hiring more help 

 and generally spreading himself, or will 

 he do better to devote every possible 

 moment to just what bees he can care 

 for himself ? 



Dr. Miller and Miss Wilson are shin- 

 ing examples of what may be accom- 

 plished by the intensive method, but 

 the cost of securing those results they 

 have not given. 



The conventions and the beepress 

 have always devoted most of their time 

 and space to manipulation and appara- 

 tus. To prove that these have brought 

 progress it is scarcely necessary to 

 compare present per colony yields with 

 those of box hive days. But the cost 

 of manipulation has been ignored and 

 that of the apparatus not considered as 

 broadly as it should have been. Per- 

 haps times are chauijing with us and 

 we shall come to consider the inter- 

 relation of capital, apparatus and labor. 



Before entering on the discussion of 

 lowered cost Tersus increased yield 

 (which are in a sense synonymous), it 

 were well if we differentiated between 

 those who depend on bees for all or a 

 large part of their living and those 

 who keep them as a side line. The first 

 man must decide whether he shall put 

 in more time on his present outfit or 

 more capital in equipment for more 

 bees; in other words, shall he push 



FIG 6-D.\MAGED COMB REPAIRED WITH DRONE-CELLS 







ZiT^^A*!^ • • • *«**WVI 









FIG. 7— DRONE-CELLS WHERE A DAMAGED COMB HAS BEEN REPAIRED 



The chains of apiaries run by some 

 of the New York beekeepers and 

 the big apiaries in the far west both 

 run on the 'hustle and finish" plan, 

 are good types of the other method; 

 but here also we have no figures of the 

 cost of operation. 



It must be admitted that the individ- 

 uals and their circumstances may de- 

 termine which line to follow. Dr. 

 Miller and Miss Wilson would not care 

 to follow the wide spread plan, nor 

 would the beekeeping world want them 

 to, for the restful peace and joy of their 

 apiary and home shine forth over the 

 whole beekeeping world. And when 

 one looks upon the scenes of their 

 labors, one can but ask if a lot of the 

 hurly-burly and bustle of business life 

 is not a great big mistake and that the 

 rushing, wide-spread beekeepers would 

 be better off if they should mix in a 

 little more of the thoughtful life and 

 ways of the sage of Marengo. 



I have not answered the question 

 which opened this article, and I did not 

 intend to when I began. What is the 

 answer ? Providence R. I. 



