-jd SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE 



not operate more than the home apiary; so a bee-keeper should consider his 

 ability or capacity to do apiary work before he begins extensive bee-keeping. 



It is hard to get assistance in the apiary, and we can not always depend 

 on it ; and this should be a matter for consideration. 



Experience is also a matter of consideration. No one should think of 

 jumping into extensive bee-keeping without several years' practical apiary 

 work. 



Location is also a matter of great importance. If you are not getting 

 satisfactory results from the home yard, and you see no better locations 

 around or near you, you should not attempt to spread your bee business 

 unless you move into a more favorable location. 



A large honey crop should not induce you to enter an extensive bee busi- 

 ness, for it might have been an exceptional season, and another crop like it 

 may not be harvested in that section or locality for several years. The crops 

 for successive years should be added, and see what the average has been, and 

 if it will not justify the establishing of an extensive bee and honey business, 

 it should not be embarked upon. 



Very often a bee-keeper with only a few colonies will get so much inter- 

 ested in them, or enthusiastic over the bee business, that he is completely 

 captivated by it, and then he is apt to invest too much money in bees at 

 once, which he should not do, but grow gradually into an extensive bee 

 business. Bee-keepers sometimes invest money in bees beyond their ability to 

 manage them. This is a very unwise step to take for extensive bee-keeping. 



Of course, no one should sell property or borrow capital to go into exten- 

 sive bee-keeping, for good honey seasons do not come often, and. we could 

 not expect more than a good living from our bees except during good seasons 

 when a large crop of honey might be harvested; then we might be able to 

 pay something on back indebtedness, or it might be a long time before we 

 could meet our financial obligations; so it is best to let the bees pay their 

 way into an extensive business. 



If a bee-keeper will let bee-keeping be a side business and invest his sur- 

 plus money from his main business in bees and apiarian appliances, he can soon 

 have a large business established ; and during that time he will gain much 

 valuable experience in handling bees. 



A bee-keeper can work with his bees during spring and summer, then do 

 something else during fall and winter, and establish himself in extensive 

 bee-keeping in this way; but he should never let his other business cause him 

 to neglect his bees. 



These are only a few things a bee-keeper should consider before he 

 launches out into extensive bee-keeping, and with these few admonitory 

 remarks we will now turn our attention to extensive bee-keeping. After the 

 home yard has been established with 50 or 75 colonies of bees, and equipped 

 with a good honey-house and a large work-shop in which to set up supplies 

 we should make a survey of our section of the country in every direction, 

 and especially take notice of the varieties of honey-plants, and note loca- 

 tions where they are the most abundant. After the survey has been made. 



