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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



Aitgnst 



rent that, from the early treatment by 

 the bees, the larvae is made to be much 

 older before it begins to develop toward 

 a queen. This treatment of the queen- 

 to-be is worse than that accorded the 

 ordinary worker-larvae by the mature 

 bees ; it takes the form of a blight from 

 which the queen can never recover. I 

 always remove from the cells the first 

 larvae given as soon as they begin to 

 float on the food given them by the bees, 

 and if these are lifted tlierefrom very 

 carefully, putting as small larvjB as pos- 

 sible in the identical spot the larger one 

 was taken from, the bees will not re- 

 move the food this time, but allow the 

 larvae to develop uninterruptedly as a 

 queen-larva should. Of course, this re- 

 quires some extra work; but the young 

 queens are enough better to pay for the 

 trouble. 

 Wheelersburg, O.; April 8, 1901. 



Who shall decide when doctors disagree. 

 And soundest casuists doubt, like you and 

 me? —Pope. 



BEE-KEEPING AS A SIDE ISSUE, 



Or a Back-yard Industry— A Lesson for 



Beginners. 



BY r. G. HERMAN. 



NEARLY every one who has even a 

 small open space, has folt at one 

 time or other a longing for the 

 pleasant occupation of tending bees ; 

 but most people are frightened away 

 from the undertaking by the difficulties 

 which seem to present themselves. In 

 the first place they are puzzled to know 

 how to make a proper beginning, and 

 what the requirements really are; for it 

 goes without saying that no person 

 wishes to invest very much capital in an 

 uncertainty. A little looking into the 

 question will usually disclose the fact 

 that some one within a radius of five or 

 six miles of you is a bee-keeper of some 

 degree. If this is the case, it is well to 

 buy your bees close at home, even if 

 they are common bees, and in a box hive, 

 for transpoiting bees is not only ex- 



pensive but also risky, as a great deal 

 depends on proper packing and shipping; 

 besides the novice can usually obtain 

 considerable information while purchas- 

 ing the bees and striking a bargain. 



Of course, it is best to begin with only 

 one colony, which, in the Spring of the 

 year, consists of one queen, a few hun- 

 dred drones and from twenty to fifty 

 thousand workers. This will keep you 

 fully occupied at first, and furnish you 

 with experience which would be costly if 

 obtained on a larger scale. Your colony 

 of common bees in a box hive should not . 

 cost you more than from three to five 

 dollars. Afterwards you can transfer 

 them into a movable frame hive and in- 

 troduce an Italian queen. As the queen 

 is the mother of all the bees in the hive, 

 you will soon have a race of thorough- 

 breds. 



The writer can well remember the 

 time when he obtained his first colony 

 of bees. It was in a box hive and 

 was pulled home on a hand sled, and 

 cost the small sum of three and a half 

 dollars. After purchasing a smoker and 

 veil, an empty hive for the expected 

 swarm and a few other trifles, he set out 

 to harvest a crop of honey. At the 

 close of the season, when summing up. 

 he was surprised to learn that his crop 

 of honey had cost him three dollars a 

 pound. It i» needless to say that he 

 was glad that the crop was not any 

 larger at that price, for the expected 

 swarm, although being hived twice, liad 

 decamped for parts unknown. 



It has been my experience and that of 

 bee-keepers generally that there are 

 fewer risks and larger profits in com- 

 parison to the amount of capital invest- 

 ed in bee-keeping than in any other 

 business. Of course, emergencies do 

 arise, but if they are met by ordinary 

 foresight and common sense, they are 

 not likely to result disastrously. 



For detaih^d instructions sucli as it is 

 beyond the scopi; of this article to give, 

 there are numerous bee-books to help 

 the novice over the rough places in this 



