78 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Feb. 



dition of society, a bee-hive out of doors would be 

 considered as much a part of a well-regulated estab- 

 lishment as a sewing-machine indoors. But we have 

 got bravely over that, and the time has now fully 

 come for insisting upon it that only those should 

 keep bees who are properly qualified to do so. That 

 same law of division of labor which forbids every 

 man being his own shoemaker, tailor, or black- 

 smith, prohibits every man from being his own 

 honey-producer. This is not a congenial topic for 

 the bee-journals, many of which are, more or loss, 

 mixed up with the supply business. Of course, the 

 more people who start bee-keeping, the greater will 

 be the sale of supplies. 



"Bee-keeping maybe justly regarded as having at- 

 tained the status of a profession, or a business. In 

 any correct view of it, it requires special natural 

 qualifications, and a thorough education. The nat- 

 ural qualifications are not of much account without 

 an education, obtained somehow or other, and the 

 education is a downright impossibility without the 

 natural qualifications. 



" It is no doubt possible for a tyro in bee-keeping 

 to become self-educated, in a sense. With the in- 

 valuable bee-books and excellent bee-journals that 

 are available, the theory can easily be mastered. 

 Then comes the practical part, and, 'aye, there's 

 the rub.' To manage bees with an eye to profit 

 from honey-production, is an attainment far beyond 

 mere theory, however correct. I do not think this 

 can be gained in any other way so quickly or so 

 well as for the beginner to apprentice himself to 

 some good practical bee-keeper." 



I presume that I am trespassing upon your pa- 

 tience, and occupying valuable space; but I hope 

 that I may be allowed to quote from an article writ- 

 ten by our good friend Dr. C. C. Miller. I presume 

 that it is also safe to bring any thing in that friend 

 Miller ever wrote or said. Someone wrote to the 

 doctor, asking for his advice in regard to engaging 

 in bee culture, to which he publicly replied as fol- 

 lows: 



C. C. MILLER'S ADVICE IN REGARD TO KEEPING 

 nEES. 



" It is painful to think, that to this and similar in- 

 quiries we can give no reply that we can feel sure 

 may not mislead. To out of 10 of every such per- 

 sons it would be a real kindness to dissuade with all 

 our power; while, perhaps, 1 out of ilO or 50 might be 

 urged to embark in apistical pursuits to the aban- 

 donment of all others. But it is no easy matter to 

 determine who may be the 30th or 50th one; hence it 

 is a very difficult matter to give any honest advice, 

 without an intimate acquaintance with all the cir- 

 cumstances of the inquirer. I have blamed the edi- 

 tors of our bee papers, in that the drift of the con- 

 tents of such papers was to show the bright side 

 only of bee-keeping, thus inducing into the business 

 many not adapted to it, much to their after-regret. 



" But I am not sure that the papers are at all to 

 blame. All they can do is to publish such items of 

 Information as come within their reach, and most of 

 us like much better to send in reports of our suc- 

 cesses than of our failures. It is quite flattering to 

 my vanity to report: ' I have this year commenced 

 with 174 colonies; increased to 203, and taken over 

 eight tons of comb honey.' Would I be as prompt 

 to send in the following: 'This year 1 devoted my 

 time exclusively to bees; commenced the season 

 with '^'OO or more colonies; diminished by loss and 



doubling up, so that I had 163 colonies in the fall, 

 and took, in all, 58 lbs. of honey. By means of the 

 business I am $1000 poorer than I was a year ago?' 

 Would the latter report be as much noticed and cop- 

 ied as the former? The former is a correct report 

 of my success this year. The latter is just as cor- 

 rect a report of my failure two years pi-evious, and 

 I have no assurance that I may not have a similar 

 report to make the coming year. 



" But, suppose I hear of one who makes a success 

 of bee-keeping, year after year, who has made thou- 

 sands of dollars at it. Do I not hear of others who 

 have made many more thousands in other pursuits? 

 Shall I, then, give up bees and adopt the other pur- 

 suit? But you say, 'It takes capital in other busi- 

 ness, and one can make a start with only a single 

 colony of bees.' Yes, you can make a stait, but you 

 can not make a living with a single colony; and with 

 the price of it you can also make a start in mer- 

 chandise; and within a week a friend was telling 

 me of an acquaintance in New York whose net in- 

 come from merchandise the previous year was a 

 third of a million. ' Oh, yes!" you say. ' but the mer- 

 chant had years of preparation, and special talent in 

 his line of business.' 



"Now, if you think no preparation or special tal- 

 ent is needed to succeed with bees, you are decided- 

 ly in error. It is true, you caa invest in bees to the 

 extent of your capital, with no knowledge of the 

 business, and so you can in merchandise, with the 

 probability of losing in one as well as the other. 

 j "I am quite inclined to believe that those who 

 have been the most successful in bee culture, if they 

 [ had used their ability with the same enthusiasm in 

 j any other pursuit, would not fail of success in that 

 : pursuit. In my own case, so far as financial success 

 j is concerned, I should be better otf in this world's 

 goods to-day if I had never kppt bees. But, with my 

 , present views, I prefer it to any other business, be- 

 cause I can live in the country, be outdoors, have 

 better health, be much of the time with my family, 

 and do not know of any other business I like so 

 j well. There is hard work in it, in spite of all that 

 1 has been said of its being nice for feeble invalids. 

 i The man who takes care of enough bees to make a 

 ! living will find that he earns his bread by the sweat 

 I of his brow. 



"In writing thus, my chief aim has been to show 

 phases of the subject not generally dwelt upon." 



It seems to me, friend Root, that in standing by 

 the side of such men as the Rev. W. F. Clarke and 

 Dr. C. C. Miller, I have not "got astray into bad 

 company." 

 I The next time I write I will try to say something 

 upon the adulteration of sugar, and upon queen-ex- 

 cluding honey-boards. 



I was much pleased to see that you credited J. W. 

 Sturwold with $5.00 for his excellent article on 

 " Making Honey Sell." Such articles as that are a 

 j real help to bee-keepers. W. Z. Hutchinson. 



Kogersville, Mich., Jan. T, 1884. 



j Old friend, I have not chansed my mind a 

 particle since the time I wrote those kind 

 words in regard to yourself ; but it seems to 



I me i/rju have been changing. If not, I hum- 

 bly beg pardon. I do not want to have you 

 ever cease from presenting the trutli in all 

 its aspects ; but 1 do fear to have you get in- 

 to a complaining sort of spirit, or to lose 

 your enthusiasm, which has been worth so 



