1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



471 



advantage to the art of bee-keeping. Those who engage in it 

 are men of rare iiitelligeuce ; they read the best books, take two 

 or more of the best bee-journals and are genuine students of 

 their business. Thus the bee-keepers are informed In regard 

 to ail improvements of the industry, and It is safe to say that 

 no manual pursuit has made more rapid strides. 



Without doubt, this radical change has been a detriment 

 to general farming aijd especially to horticulture. The pomol- 

 ogist, the man who depended upon the fruits of his orchard 

 for his livelihood, perhaps suffered the most from this change. 

 As all Intelligent men now know, bees are of great importance 

 in all kinds of agriculture and of exceeding importance to the 

 fruit-grower. We see then, that the massing of colonies of 

 bees in large apiaries and removing them from the farms 

 would oftimes leave orchards and fields wholly or largely with- 

 out bees, to the great detriment of their owners. There can 

 be no question but that the return to the old system of a few 

 colonies of bees on each farm or ranch, would be of great ad- 

 vantage to the general rancher. The fact is, that in nearly all 

 parts of the country, California will undoubtedly be an excep- 

 tion unless the frequent droughts make honey-production as 

 precarious a pursuit here as in other sections, the failure to se- 

 cure a honey crop are so common that many specialists are 

 becoming discouraged. The fact that in many seasons there 

 is uo crop, not only makes the business unsatisfactory from 

 the point of income, but also from the fact that the bee-keep- 

 er is very often like Othello — his occupation gone. When dis- 

 asters occur, as they have in many parts of the country for 

 two or three years in succession, the outlook is certainly not 

 encouraging. 



Mr. Langstroth, who had wondrous vision, prophesied sev- 

 eral times before his death, that bee-keeping would return 

 again to the old regime of bees on every farm instead of being 

 mast in large apiaries and controlled by specialists. It is 

 certainly true that we must have bees, and the more they are 

 scattered in the agricultural communities, the greater will be 

 the honey product, and the more thorough will be the pollina- 

 tion of the various cultivated plants. Is it not wise, then, for 

 our ranchers to consider the matter of keeping a few colonies 

 of bees in their orchards'? If this is a wise thing to do, and I 

 believe It is, then surely it will come in time. Is it not wise 

 for each rancher to consider the matter now, and see if the 

 time is not ripe for this change, 



I know many farmers feel that they have as many calls 

 upon their time and energies already as they can attend to. 

 As they realize then, that this industry is an art in itself and 

 requires no little intelligence and study to conduct it, in the 

 best fashion, they will be altogether discouraged in regard to 

 adding it to their already over-full duties. 1 think, however, 

 there is another way to look at this matter. In almost every 

 business, the person engaged in it will be more successful if he 

 adds some avocation. This last being entirely different from 

 his regular work, will give restful pleasure and will make life 

 pieasanter and his success more certain. Bee-keeping is es- 

 pecially desirable in this connection as there are very few 

 kinds of work that are so full of interest and so generally at- 

 tractive as this. There is so much that is marvelous in the 

 economy of the honey-bee that the bee-keeper must be stupid 

 Indeed who does not become an enthusiast. I think, then, tliat 

 any rancher might well take up the study of bees from an in- 

 tellectual point of view, and for object lessons or illustrations 

 of what he has studied, he may well keep a few colonies of 

 bees. These will bring him much pleasure as he observes and 

 studies them, and the bees will be right at his door to perform 

 the important work of pollination in his orchards. This alone 

 will be enough to attract the wise, thoughtful man, and so if 

 there is in addition more or less profit, this will be clear gain. 



There is another way to look at this, and I am glad to call 

 attention to it. We hear a great deal of late in regard to the 

 boys leaving the farm. Is there not a way to keep the boys 

 on the farm ? It is certainly well to get any boy interested in 

 any intellectual study and investigation. It is much better 

 for a boy to be reading and studying during the long winter 

 evenings than to be out in questionable places and with ques- 

 tionable companions. If parents engage with him in this 

 study, it brings a delight in the home wiiich can hardly be ex- 

 celled. It will also add very much to a boy's interest in home 

 if he has something that is wholly his own, and if this some- 

 thing has a money appendix, it will attract him all the more. 

 I can hardly think that any subject of study will attract the 

 wide awake curious boy more than the subject of bees. If he 

 has bees right at hand, to observe in connection with his read- 

 ing and study, th3 interest will be greatly augmented. If he 

 is told that the bees are his own and that whatever proceeds 

 come from them, shall belong to him to use as he may desire, 

 he will certainly become intensely Interested in the bees, and 

 shall I say, in his home as well ? 



This is not wholly an imaginary sketch. I know of a fath- 

 er who did just this thitig. He had no trouble keeping his 

 boys at home. Home was then, and it is now, altho these 

 young people are to manhood grown, the most attractive and 

 delightful place on earth to them. l!ut the jstory does not end 

 here. The product from these bees paid the entire expenses 

 of sending these young men through college. Thus bee-keep- 

 ing on this farm stimulated the farmer boys tostudy the things 

 of nature, made their home wonderfully attractive, and gave 

 them a good-sized bank account. There was still more of in- 

 terest in this case. The father, through the boys, became in- 

 terested in the bees, and after the boys left home for college, 

 the father secured a greater income from the bees for two or 

 three years in succession than he received from all the balance 

 of his farm, though he had a good farm, well stockt, and has 

 the reputation of being one of the best farmers In the commu- 

 nity where he resides. The experience of this gentleman, and 

 on this farm, might well be repeated on any other of the farms 

 of our country. I believe it has a great deal to recommend it. 



In case any one may wish to follow out this suggestion, I 

 would advise him to go slow, and before any bees are secured 

 to become thoroughly informed as to the natural history of 

 the honey-bee, and the science and art of bee-keeping. It is 

 thus desirable to secure a good manual of bee-keeping in ad- 

 vance, and make a thorough study of the subject. It is also 

 desirable to take one or two of the excellent journals, publisht 

 in our country, relating to bee-keeping. This study will be 

 well worth while for its own sake, and may be best undertaken 

 during the winter when the evenings are long and the work 

 of the farm possibly less pressing. In a single winter a per- 

 son, or better a whole family, will thus become informed la 

 regard to one of the most delightful studies in natural history. 

 The next spring, in California as early as February or March, 

 a colony of bees should be purchast in a good Langstroth hive. 

 This need not cost more than from three to five dollars, and 

 will really be the only necessary outlay in carrying out this 

 whole project, if we except the money paid for the books and 

 papers. 



I would advise that after this, the apiary increase no more 

 rapidly than it would from this single colony. In this way, 

 the business is not at all irksome, and by the time that the 

 colonies become numerous, and the work at all arduous, the 

 experience and skill will be sufBcient so that there will be no 

 anxiety or trouble in caring for the bees. 



I have spoken above of the boys. The work is no less 

 well adapted to girls. I know of one woman who followed 

 the above suggestion with the purpose of finding employment 

 out-doors and benefiting her health. She made so great a 

 success that her profits the third year were between 5^300 and 

 $■100, and her health became marvelously improved. I hardly 

 need say that she is an enthusiast in bee-keeping, and is well 

 known ' throughout the country because of her success. I 

 should say, however, that not every woman would succeed as 

 she did, because few would exercise the intelligence, care and 

 promptitude that distinguisht her first years of bee-keeping. 

 — Rural Californian. Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



Xhe Horse— Ho-vt' to Break and Handle.— 



This is a pamphlet of 3'J pages, giving complete instructions 

 for breaking and educating colts, teaching horses to drive, 

 and for use under the saddle, together with many instructions 

 which have never before been publisht, and which are the re- 

 sult of the author's experience covering a period of 20 years. 

 By Prof. Wm. Mullen, with whom the editor of the Bee Jour- 

 nal is personally acquainted. Price, postpaid, 20 cents ; or 

 given as a premium for sending us one new subscriber to the 

 Bee Journal for the rest of the year at 50 cents. 



Xhe Names and Addresses of all your bee- 

 friends, who are not now taking the Bee Journal, are wanted 

 ot this ofBce. Send them in, please, when sample copies will 

 be mailed to them. Then you can secure their subscriptions, 

 and earn some of the premiums we have offered. The 

 next few mouths will be just the time to easily get new sub- 

 scribers. Try it earnestly, at least. 



Back ISumbers Since Jan. i.— We are able to 

 supply complete sets of the Hee Journal since Jan. 1, 1897, 

 to any who may desire, at two i:i'iits per copy. There are a 

 number of new readers who porhiips would like to get some of 

 the first numbers of this year, to complete their volume for 

 1S97. We shall be glad to furnish them as long as they last, 

 at two cents each. 



