PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE W T FALCONER MANPG CO 



VOL. V. 



f\UGUST, 1895. 



NO. 8. 



Something about Hives and 

 Extracting Honey, 



BY G. M. DOOIJTTLE. 



Many thiuk that large yields of 

 hone)' are owing emirely to the style 

 of hive used, l)ut this is not so. Hives 

 have sonjeihing to do with th-i yield 

 of honey, of course, but nothing as 

 compared with a iliorough knowledge 

 of the location we are in and an under- 

 standing how to apply that knowledge 

 so as to secure tlie bees at the right 

 time so they can take advantage of 

 the yield of honey when it comes. 

 Again, the manipulation of the hive_^ 

 has more to do with our surplus crop 

 than the hives themselves, for no 

 matter how good the hive is, if the 

 combs are never touched or the sur- 

 plus room put on in the right time, all 

 may count for naught to the would-be 

 bee-keeper and the flowers bloom in 

 vain as far as any profit to us is con- 

 cerned. In order that no one should 

 get the idea that the hives used and 

 recommended by our best and most 

 successful apiarists would give them 

 thousands of pounds of honey with- 

 out work, I have said in concluding 

 several of my articles that if any one 

 could not spend the time on bees 

 which they required they had better 



keep out of the business. I know of 

 no hive with which a man can secure 

 large results by siniply folding his 

 hand.* and letting the bees work. 

 Such is not the econoniy of nature, 

 and in order to succeed in any calling 

 in life we must put energy, industry 

 and perseverance into our work if we 

 would reap a harvest worthy of ouc 

 gathering. To work hard from four 

 to fourteen hours each day, at mere 

 })hysical labor is not all that is re- 

 quired either, as many assert by their 

 actions, if not by words ; but there 

 must be an energy and push, mentally, 

 sufhcient to grapple with all of the 

 unsolved problems which are in the 

 way of our success. If these are all 

 combined there is no reason why bee- 

 keeping will not give as good results 

 for what there is expended on it as 

 any other calling in life, even though 

 it is not so supposed by the majority 

 of the world. It should be understood 

 that large yields of honey can only be 

 secured where there are large num- 

 bers of bees in the hive, and securing 

 said bees in time for the honey har- 

 vest is the great secret of success. 

 The hive which comes the qearest to 

 the natural wants of the bees and the 

 one which is easy of manipulation 



