SEPTEMBER 1, 1913 



Wm. A. Sedding's hive-tool and method of starting queen-cells without grafting larvas. With the brass cart- 

 ridge shell the selected cell is cut down to the midrib ; then the short piece of pipe is slipped 

 over the cartridge and twisted around, thus grinding away the surrounding cells. 



shell, set it over a cell I want to save, and 

 push it gently clown to the midrib. I then 

 lake the hub (either the wooden or iron 

 one), and place it over the shell; then by 

 holding' the shell with the fore finger of my 

 left hand I give the hub a turning motion 

 with my right hand, thus grinding the sur- 

 rounding cells down to the foundation. 

 Then I lift both the shell and hub from the 

 comb, and the cell is ready for the bees to 

 start oil, just as shown in the picture. 

 Monterey, Cal. 



DOES BEEKEEPING PAY? 



BY HENRY REDDERT 



When I am asked whether beekeeping 

 pays, I answer, " Yes and no," for it de- 

 pends entirely on the one engaged in the 

 business. If he has an irritable tempera- 

 ment he had better leave bees alone. If he 

 is cheerful at all times in adversity as well 

 as in success, I advise him to go ahead, pro- 

 vided he equip himself with the necessary 

 theoretical knowledge to be gained from 

 text-books and bee-journals before starting 

 in. If one wishes to become a practical me- 

 chanic he must serve an apprenticeship of 

 from three to four years. The same holds 

 good in beekeeping. 



I once asked an old experienced beekeep- 

 er who also raised sheep, having a flock of 

 about 400, which of the two paid the better ; 

 and his answer was, " The bees." From 



350 colonies, he had harvested the previous 

 year $1500 worth of honey. In the forty 

 years that he had kept bees in connection 

 with a large farm the bees had always paid 

 better in proportion. This man had be- 

 come the " skilled mechanic." He began 

 with bees on a small scale, and increased as 

 he gained in knowledge by practice and 

 reading. 



Some time ago a lady asked the editor of 

 a bee-journal if she and her daughters 

 could make a living by keeping bees. She 

 said they would like to go to the country in 

 the good fresh air to escape the headaches 

 she had when sewing in a densely populat- 

 ed city. Apparently she knew nothing 

 about bees, nor had the slightest idea that 

 some theoretical knowledge should precede 

 the practical. Judging from this I thought 

 to myself that she had better leave beekeep- 

 ing alone, and remain with the work she 

 was accustomed to — for the present at least. 



I have kept bees for the last twelve years 

 as a side line for pleasure and profit, and 

 have had more or less success — enough, at 

 least, to urge me on to greater efforts. Be- 

 fore I ventured into the business I lived in 

 the city proper, although always a lover of 

 nature. When vei*y young my father lived 

 in the country on a small farm, and per- 

 haps I inherited this love of nature at an 

 early age. 



Before I kept bees I had never seen a 

 bona-fide bee-hive until an intimate friend 

 became interested and purchased two hives 



