208 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



ers. Whatever the source, the bee- 

 keeper must know when to expect it, 

 and plan to have his colonies in exact- 

 ly the rig-ht condition to g-ather it when 

 it comes. This is one of the funda- 

 mental principles of successful bee- 

 keeping'. 



Having secured the most desirable 

 location, the next step is to procure 

 the best kind of bees that can be ob- 

 tained. There are several different 

 varieties of bees, each with its pecul- 

 iarities, but, aside from this, every 

 bee-keeper who has had experience 

 with several strains of the same vari- 

 ety, knows that some strains are far 

 superior to others — that there is scrub- 

 stock among- bees, just as there are 

 scrub-horses, cattle, sheep and poultry. 

 With scrub-stock, the cost of hives, 

 combs and other appliances remain the 

 same; it is no less work to care for such 

 stock; and it requires the same amount 

 of honey to raise and feed it as it does 

 the best stock in the world. In propor- 

 tion to its cost, no investment bring-s 

 the bee-keeper g^reater profit than the 

 securing- of superior stock. 



Having secured a g-ood location, and 

 good stock, the bee-keeper should adopt 

 such hives, implements and methods as 

 will enable him to branch out, estab- 

 lish out-apiaries, and keep a large 

 number of colonies. At the present 

 time the great failing of professional 

 bee-keepers is the keeping of too few 

 bees — of clinging to some other ham- 

 pering pursuit. Many keep enough 

 bees to furnish them a fair living in a 

 good season, but when winter-losses, 

 and poor honey seasons follow one 

 another in quick succession, there is 

 suffering, or, at least, great inconven- 

 ience. If a man is going to follow bee- 

 keeping as a profession, his only hope 

 of success is in a good location, good 

 stock, and the keeping of bees in such 

 numbers that when a good year comes 

 he can pile up the honey ton upon 

 ton — enough to keep him several years. 

 The larger a business th? more cheap- 



ly can it be conducted in proportion to 

 the results ; not only this, but the very 

 fact that bees are scattered about in 

 out-apiaries, several miles apart, adds 

 to the certainty of the crop; as one 

 locality often yields a fiiir crop while 

 another only a few miles away yields 

 nothing. 



It has been urged against bee-keep- 

 as a sole pursuit that, while it keeps 

 a man very busy during the summer 

 it leaves him idle in the winter. 

 Bee-keeping, rightly managed, will 

 keep a man busy every day in the 

 year. Too many bee-keepers fail to 

 realize that the selling of a crop is ful- 

 ly as important as its produc- 

 tion. The business part of bee- 

 keeping has been sadly neglected. No 

 set rule can be given as to how a man 

 shall dispose of his crop, but it does 

 seem like very poor business manage- 

 ment to send away a crop of honey to 

 some commission merchant, and then 

 sit around all winter when good wages 

 might be made selling honey direct to 

 consumers, or to retail dealers. The 

 selling of the crop, and the prepara- 

 tions for the coming season, may well 

 occupy a man during the winter. 



It should be understood, however, 

 that bee-keeping is not an occupation 

 in which one can easilj' become weal- 

 thy. In this respect, it is much like 

 other rural pursuits. Rightly manag- 

 ed, in a locality adapted to the busi- 

 ness, it can be depended upon to fur- 

 nish a comfortable living, and perhaps 

 enable a man to lay up a few thous- 

 ands of dollars, but such fortunes as 

 are sometimes amassed in merchandis- 

 ing or manufacturing can never be 

 hoped for by the bee-keeper. Fortun- 

 ately, however, the perfection of a 

 man's happiness bears but little rela- 

 tion to the size of his fortune; and 

 many a man with the hum of the bees 

 over his head, finds happiness deeper 

 and sweeter than ever comes to the 

 merchant prince with his car^S and 

 hi§ thousands, 



