18 



Beekeeping 



they are not occupied for more than a small fraction of the 

 time. Without entering into a moral discussion on the 

 virtues of industry or the various things that Satan is said 

 to find for idle hands to do, it is obvious that the professional 

 beekeeper may use other occupations to add to his income 

 just as the amateur beekeeper uses his bees. As the bee- 

 keeper becomes more proficient he eliminates all unneces- 

 sary manipulation so that the care of a goodly number of 

 colonies may take a relatively short time. When the crop 

 is off and sold he has little to engage his attention until the 

 next season, especially if his bees are wintered out of doors. 



Where bees may be kept. 



It has been the pleasure of the writer to visit apiaries on 

 the roofs of city buildings (Fig. 15) and in the almost desert 



valleys of Cali- 

 fornia (Fig. 166), 

 in city back- 

 yards (Fig. 16) 

 and in the moun- 

 tain wilds, in 

 small towns, on 

 farms, in Canada 

 and in the tropics 

 (Fig. 17). In di- 

 versity of loca- 

 tion these api- 

 aries are as varied 

 as their owners. 

 While recruits to 

 the ranks of beekeepers may be found in all ages and 

 conditions of men, so bees may be kept in places which 

 would at first appear utterly unproductive, as well as in 

 places which are obviously abundant in their nectar supply. 

 The uninformed observer may fail utterly in his estimate 

 of the value of a location from the standpoint of the bee. 

 Most of the valuable nectar-secreting plants do not have 



FIG. 15. Roof apiary in lower New York City. 



