AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



815 



Successful -Bee-Keeping Wot All 

 in Hives. 



Written for the American Be-e Journal 

 BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



" Which hive had I best use in order 

 to secure a large yield of houey ?" is a* 

 question often asked me, just as though 

 the houey crop was entirely dependent 

 upon the hive used, while an hour's talk 

 with beginners will show that many 

 seem to think that large yields of honey 

 are owing entirely to the style of hive 

 used, but this is not so. Hives have 

 something to do with the yield of honey, 

 of course, but nothing as compared with 

 a thorough knowledge of the location 

 we are in, and an understanding of how 

 to apply that knowledge so as to secure 

 the bees at the right time, that the yield 

 of honey may be gathered to the best 

 advantage when it comes. 



The securing of the maximum number 

 of bees just at the time the honey har- 

 vest is at its best, counts more toward a 

 paying crop than all else combined in 

 apiculture, and explains why one colony 

 in the yard will give a large yield of 

 honey while many of the others which 

 we supposed were better than this, give 

 very little. 



Again, the manipulation of hives has 

 more to do with the surplus crop than 

 the hives themselves, for no matter how 

 good the hive is, if the combs are never 

 touched or the surplus room put on at 

 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 concerned. In order that others 

 should not get the idea that the hives 

 used and recommended by our best and 

 most successful apiarists would give 

 them thousands of pounds of honey 

 without work, I have often said that if 

 any one could not spend the time on the 

 bees which they required, they had bet- 

 ter keep out of the business. 



I know of no hive with which a man 

 can secure large results by simply fold- 



ing his hands and letting the bees work. 

 Such is not the economy of nature, and 

 in order to succeed in any calling in life 

 we must put energy, industry and per- 

 severance into our work, if we would 

 reap a harvest worth the gathering. 

 To work hard from twelve to sixteen 

 hours each day, at mere physical labor, 

 is not all that is required, either, as 

 many assert by their actions, if not by 

 words ; but there must be an energy 

 and push, mentally, sufficient 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 is expended upon it as 

 any other calling in life, even though it 

 is not so supposed by the majority of the 

 world. 



I wish to leave the impression on the 

 minds of the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal that large yields of honey 

 can only be secured where there are 

 large numbers of bees in time for the 

 honey harvest, and the securing of the 

 bees at that time is the secret of suc- 

 cess. That more bees can be obtained 

 at the right time by the use of the Gal- 

 lup frame, together with a proper ma- 

 nipulation of the same, is my belief, and 

 is the only reason that I adopted that 

 style of hive, for other hives give many 

 good points not obtained in the Gallup, 

 but none of which are really great 

 enough to make good their loss on this 

 one point of preference this hive gives. 



However, I have done nearly as well 

 with the Langstroth hive and frame, 

 and did I have 40 or more colonies on 

 that style of frame, or in many good 

 hives of the present day, I should hesi- 

 tate some time before I made a change, 

 trying first to see if a thorough knowl- 

 edge regarding their manipulation and 

 adapting this to my field, would not give 

 success. If it should prove that the 

 hive was not at all adapted to my local- 

 ity, then of course I would make a 

 change ; but to change hives every time 

 something new comes along, with the 

 thought that with this I should succeed, 

 is not the proper thing to do. 



"Prove all things, and hold fast to 

 that which is good," is as trite a saying 

 to-day as it ever was. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



m I m 



«ifycles" are getting to be very com- 

 mon uow-a-days. We have two for sale, 

 and any one wanting a bargain in a good 

 bicycle, should write to the office of the 

 Bee Journal. 



