THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



131 



jority of the beekeeping fraternity 

 and only too often are their needs 

 overlooked by those who write upon 

 the subject of apiculture. 



While we are aware that if one is 

 adapted to beekeeping, and enters 

 into it properly in a favorable loca- 

 tion and masters it that success will 

 follow ; yet, as a rule, we advise 

 keeping bees in connection with 

 some other vocation, as when one 

 becomes thoroughly familiar with all 

 the requirements of beekeeping it is 

 an easy matter to enlarge his apiary. 

 Then, again, a few colonies properly 

 managed will generally give far bet- 

 ter results than can be obtained from 

 a large apiary. 



Those who are just commencing 

 should remember that the less they 

 handle their bees, and yet accomplish 

 what may be required, the better for 

 their colonies. 



If one is naturally nervous, it is 

 best to wear a bee veil at first and 

 when manipulating the colonies work 

 gently and avoid jarring or fretting 

 them. 



V/ hen looking for the queen, blow 

 a little smoke in at the entrance as 

 this causes the queen to run up on 

 the comb and the bees that may be 

 running about on the bottom board 

 will fill with honey. 



One of the first steps for the be- 

 ginner is to decide, as far as possible, 

 to which class he intends to belong, 

 and what amount of capital he can 

 safely invest. 



Where one has a limited capital 

 and wishes to become an expert or 

 a specialist, it is far better to begin on 

 a small scale and gradually increase 

 his number of colonies making them 



pay their way and also furnish funds 

 for new investments. 



If your first lessons have been 

 gleaned from flaming advertisements 

 or reports of enormous yields, or 

 through reading some of the over- 

 drawn works on apiculture (so writ- 

 ten with the purpose of making new 

 converts), just take some wholesome, 

 practical food for study and thought, 

 both by securing one or more of the 

 works on practical apiculture men- 

 tioned in this journal, and by visit- 

 ing some practical and successful 

 apiarist. In this way, you will 

 be prepared to look at both sides ; 

 and if, after doing this, you enter into 

 beekeeping with a detenuination to 

 succeed you are certain to make it 

 pay, provided you are adapted to the 

 business, and other things are equal. 



There is not the slightest reason 

 why nearly every person who has a 

 fair-sized garden should not keep a 

 few colonies of bees and thus pro- 

 vide the table with nature's purest 

 and most healthful sweets. Success 

 in any vocation always means hard 

 work, together with push, tact, and 

 energy. Thousands embark each 

 year on the sea of business enter- 

 prise and the shoals and quicksands 

 are strewn with stranded wrecks, yet 

 there are those who, by rigid econo- 

 my and shrewd management, accu- 

 mulate a competency besides estab- 

 lishing a good remunerative business. 



Our advice to those w^ho wish to 

 engage in beekeeping would as a rule 

 be this. If at present you have no 

 location, look about you and find a 

 small place of from one to ten acres 

 according to your means and the 

 situation. 



