462 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Before I reached the point where I would have to drop carpen- 

 try and give my bees my entire attention, as well as before, I quit 

 the shop. I hired some experienced help, as well as some inexperi- 

 enced, when I could use it to the best advantage. This gave me much 

 more time for my trade, which I could make more at than the help 

 would cost me. Thus I put the returns from the bees back into the 

 business. 



About the time the bees claimed all my attention and 1 had to 

 again let go a job, I went to handling bee-supplies for the manufac- 

 turers, and was able to make enough thereby to at least get the great 

 amount I was using at a much less price than I had been paying for 

 them. I kept this up until I was financially able to buy a suitable 

 machine and install it, and buy suitable lumber by the car load, which 

 was worked up into hives and hive parts, to be used in the rapid 

 growth of the business. At this point I had over 3,000 colonies of 

 bees, but had it not been that 1 was purchasing my needed supplies 

 at very reasonable prices, I would have added this feature to my bus- 

 iness, about the time I began handling supplies, or about the time 

 I had between TOO and 800 colonies of bees, or when I embarked solely 

 upon bee-keeping as a business. 



My bee-keeping up to this tim.e had a good "prop" and by this 1 

 was able to give it a good showing, and if I had my early bee-keeping 

 life to go over I would make no changes in this particular. Just at 

 this point my bee business served as a "prop" for something else, and 

 this was the buying and improving of real estate, but I never drew 

 heavily from my bee business for this purpose at the start, for 1 

 surely would have crippled it, but it was not more than three or four 

 seasons before the "prop" went back the other way. Then I was at 

 the front end of the money making part of my business, as per my 

 last article. 



At this point I had about 1,300 colonies in about 16 apiaries and 

 from this time I began to leap to the front rapidly, and here is where 

 my hive-making outfit proved a great help, as much supplies were 

 needed. A hand was hired and given a regular job, and a good helper 

 whose duty it was to cut out hives and hive parts for the business. 

 His outfit consisted of a good gasoline engine and a No. i circular 

 saw, made by B. Campau, of Rockford, 111., and the different parts, 

 such as they send out with such machines to do several different kinds 

 of work, and with this we have got out all the different hive parts just 

 as we wanted them. The lumber we buy for this purpose is cypress 

 boards from 3 in. to 24 in. wide, dressed two sides, and 13-ir) in. thick. 

 All we have to do is to cut and rip it up properly with the most suit- 

 able size saws and use the cutter heads dadowing. etc. 



I have found cypress lumber to be the very best for all purposes. 

 It is soft and easy to work, and does not warp or split much, and 



