Fkbriarv, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



W- 



'ITH this 

 m b e r , 

 we again 

 start a series of 

 talks explaining 

 just how any 

 one may begin 

 beekeeping, how 

 he may p u r - 

 chase his bees, 

 what supplies he will need, and exactly 

 what he should do each month in order to 

 obtain the best results from his colonies. 



In beekeeping literature one will find 

 quite a confusing conflict of opinion con- 

 cerning almost every method of beekeeping. 

 We do not purpose leading the beginner 

 thru any such bewildering maze, but shall 

 attempt to tell him one good way of doing 

 each thing necessary to success. 

 Why" Begin? 



That there will be a large army of be- 

 ginners this year is certain. Never before 

 has beekeeping been so popular as now. 

 We could hardly expect honey to continue at 

 high war prices, but the greatly increased 

 use of honey convinces many that the price 

 will not fall back to its old level. 



Still, tho many are turning to beekeeping, 

 the beginner need not fear insufficient nec- 

 tar for the increased number of colonies, 

 as a recent Government bulletin claims the 

 bees are now gathering less than 3 per cent 

 of the amount of nectar available. Nor is 

 there any danger of overproduction, since 

 people are fast learning that honey is a 

 more healthful sweet than sugar and are 

 accordingly using more honey. At present 

 we use only 3 per cent as much honey as 

 sugar, so it is evident that a much greater 

 amount could easily be used if available. 

 There is, therefore, no doubt that it will 

 paj^ to join the ranks of the producers. 

 Those Who Will Succeed. 



Years ago, those who would keep bees 

 were obliged to grope about in the dark, and 

 many found experience so dear that no 

 profits remained. Today, with our modern 

 apparatus, and our books and magazines 

 explaining the best practices of the best 

 beekeejiers for years past, any intelligent, 

 wide-awake person in a suitable locality 

 could hardly do otherwise than succeed. The 

 beginners who will develop into the best 

 beekeepers are those who are enthusiastic 

 enough to study the subject well, to take 

 one or more current bee journals, and visit 

 apiaries of up-to-date beekeepers. They 

 should not have so exalted an opinion of 

 their own skill that they are unable to ac- 

 cept suggestions from those of wider ex- 

 perience. Yet at the same time they should 

 not follow others blindly but should think 

 for themselves- Above all else the beekeej)- 

 er should have a real love for his work, a 

 determined perseverance in the face of ob- 

 stacles, and a firm conviction that beekeep- 

 ing in the long run pays and jiays well- 

 Profit from Others' Experience. 



As we mentally view this large class of 



107 



beginners, we 

 find ourselves 

 wondering how 

 the end o f t h e 

 year will find 

 them, how many 

 b ad mistakes 

 will have been 

 made, what per 

 cent will have 

 been successful, and what per cent failures. 

 From our correspondence, we have kept a 

 pretty close tab on the beginners. Perhaps 

 this year's class might be saved certain mis- 

 takes by learning wherein some of last 

 year's class failed. 



One person started with " vim and vigor 

 but with too little protection from stings, 

 and, therefore, after getting a few stings, 

 was content to leave the colonies entirely 

 to their own devices. At the end of the 

 season, he wrote us a tale of woe because his 

 bees had stored nothing. 



Another read volumes and volumes on 

 beekeeping, but thruout the summer never 

 opened a beehive, nor cut out a queen-cell, 

 nor added a super, nor hived a swarm with- 

 out first discussing it with his beekeeper 

 friend. (We shall have to admit that this 

 beginner made money on his bees this year, 

 but we doubt if he will continue to do so.) 



In another instance the owner did not 

 purchase suitable supplies, and her make- 

 shifts caused such crooked combs that she 

 found it impossible to remove theni and, 

 therefore allowed swarms, after-swarms, and 

 more after-swarms. And she couldn't see 

 what under the sun was the matter with 

 her bees, for they were nice Italians, and 

 she had tried the let-alone-plan on them 

 and it simply didn't work at all. 



One unusually bright man learned so 

 much in one sliort month that he felt im- 

 pelled to visit the neighboring beekeepers 

 all around, not for advice, no, bless you! 

 but to point out wherein all their methods 

 were entirely wrong. Many and varied were 

 the methods he practiced and taught, but 

 few were the pounds he garnered. 



It seems hardly fair to tell of failures 

 and not of successes, but really our mails 

 were full of the successes of beginners, and 

 in a number of instances those with a great 

 enthusiasm but practically no experience 

 for outstripped, in average crop per colony, 

 their more experienced neighbors who count- 

 ed their colonies by the hundreds. 

 Our Information Bureau. 

 In order to prevent avoidable mistakes, 

 we ask all our beginners to write directly 

 to us concerning any questions on beekeep- 

 ing that may chance to arise. We hope our 

 readers will take advantage of this oppor- 

 tunity as we have an information depart- 

 ment designed especially for their needs. 

 Sometimes we run across such questions as 

 the following: , 



''I took my lioxes of honey and loft them 

 standing on end to get the bees out. They 



