CHAPTER VII 



HOW TO KEEP FROM KEEPING TOO MANY 

 BEES 



THE PROBLEM 



"Aye, there's the rub!" For the beginner who 

 wishes to keep a few bees, this is the most difficult 

 problem to solve on the bee-keeper's slate, and it 

 must finally be solved by each according to his own 

 capacity and method. 



We confess frankly that we were once driven out 

 of the bee business because we were too successful. 

 Caring for fifteen or twenty hives was a delightful 

 avocation. We kept our colonies strong, for we 

 wished to make comb-honey ; consequently, splendid 

 swarms came off, and we had the fatal gift of seeing 

 them when they came and of hiving them successfully. 

 Thus our avocation began to intrench upon our 

 vocation in a most alarming manner. While we 

 enjoyed taking care of our bees, we were nevertheless 

 following the vocation which we had chosen, and 

 which we liked best; and the time came when we 

 were obliged to decide whether we would leave our 

 regular business and become bee-keepers, or abjure 

 bee-keeping and attend to our regular business. 



73 



