PREFACE 



THE present book is the result of an effort to present a 

 logical discussion of the various phases of the complex sub- 

 ject of beekeeping. It was not planned as a book of rules 

 to which one may go for directions for each day's work, for 

 beekeeping cannot be treated correctly in such a way. The 

 activities of bees vary during the seasons and no two localities 

 present to the bees and their owners exactly the same environ- 

 mental conditions, so that the successful beekeeper is one who 

 has a knowledge of the activities of bees, whereby he can in- 

 terpret what he sees in the hives from day to day, and who 

 can mold the instincts of the bees to his convenience and profit. 



It has seemed desirable in the early chapters to discuss bees 

 as they exist without man's interference, thus giving the foun- 

 dation on which the practice of beekeeping rests. The bee- 

 keeper is not especially interested in the anatomy of the bee 

 and, while it is necessary to use illustrations of various organs 

 and to describe them briefly, an effort has been made to treat 

 the bee as a living animal and to have the discussion deal with 

 physiology and especially with activities, in so far as investi- 

 gations have thrown light on these processes. In the prepara- 

 tion of the chapters devoted to the management of the apiary, 

 an effort has been made to present the various systems of 

 manipulations in such a way that the underlying principles 

 shall be evident, rather than to attempt to describe each sys- 

 tem as if it were separate. 



The author has been helped by the facilities of the office of 

 the Bureau of Entomology with which he is connected and is 



