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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15. 



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ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. 



Question. — I am about commencing in bee- 

 teeping. I have subscribed for Gi^Eanings, 

 and see that you have a query department in 

 said paper. Will you kindly give some advice 

 to a beginner — about what he should pay out 

 in the start, whether it is well to try to make 

 the things he is to use, or buy them ? any 

 items looking toward success — what tempera- 

 lure the cellar should be kept where bees are 

 being wintered therein ? at what degree of 

 lieat it is safe to let bees fly where they are 

 wintered on summer stand, and any other in- 

 formation which you may think of use to] a 

 beginner ? 



Answer. — In replying to this inquiry I will 

 try to say a few words for beginners in bee- 

 k:eeping, or those contemplating starting out 

 in such business, and perhaps they may apply 

 to some who have kept bees several years. I 

 would not consider it good policy to pay out 

 more than 840 to 8.50 in starting, including 

 bees, hives, books, and all. If you do not buy 

 more than from two to four colonies, and the 

 latter should be the limit (in my opinion) for 

 the one who has had no experience in the bus- 

 iness, 8'")0 will cover all necessary expenses. 

 If you are a good workman, and have the nec- 

 essary tools, I would advise making all the 

 needed wares after you have started, except 

 the sections which you are to use, for in this 

 making you will not only be self supporting, 

 "but this part of it will put into you an enthu- 

 siasm which will tend much toward success. 

 It is doubtful whether any one, no matter how 

 good a workman, can get out sections by hand 

 that will in any way compare with those now 

 on the market, at prices which would not even 

 give a living to the one who tried to get them 

 out by hand. Hence I would advise all, who 

 do not have machinery suitable for the work, 

 to buy their sections in the flat. When I first 

 began bee-keeping I was charged !?20 a thou- 

 sand for sections in the flat ; and as I thought 

 that a high figure I purchased machinery and 

 manufactured sections for sale. The price 

 soon went down to 81-3, then to 810, then to 

 •"$8, then to 86, at which time I said. "Others 

 can have the trade ; it will pay me better to 

 work at something else." But as I had the ma- 

 chinery I continued to get out my own sections 

 till the price fell to 8.3. oO, when I concluded 

 that I could not afford to run my own machin- 

 ery, after paying the price for lumber which I 

 had to, at retail, if I had any respect for the 

 worth of my time and the use of the machin- 

 ery. And now any one procuring oOOO sections 

 ■can easily get the same at .83.00 per 1000, and, 

 what is more, the sections which we used to 

 pay 820 a thousand for would in no way com- 

 pare with the 83 sections of to-day. In no 

 other one thing has there been a greater im- 

 provement along the bee-keeping line than in 

 sections since they first came into existence. 



It is well to make sure you start with good 

 hives ; then do not get crazy over the "puff- 

 ing ' ' of wares by those having said wares for 

 sale, and pay out your hard-earned dollars 

 (earned in some other business), more than 

 just to get a start. Make your bees and your- 

 self self-sustaining ; and after the first start do 

 not pay out any thing more than what the dees 

 bring you in, always remembering that, if you 

 can not make four colonies pay, you can not 

 make four hundred. If you should happen to 

 make a failure of the business, you will have 

 the consolation of knowing that vou have lost 

 but from 840 to 850, instead of 8300 to 8400, or 

 perhaps as many thousand, as some have done. 



There seems to be a proneness to go into the 

 bee-business more recklessly than into almost 

 any thing else. I suppose it is on account of 

 the "bee fever" which seems to seize nearly 

 all who become interested at all in the matter, 

 and this recklessness is to be deplored wher- 

 ever found. Be willing to start at the bottom 

 of the "ladder," and work your way up, the 

 same as you would do in any other business. 

 Also remember that, if you would succeed, 

 you must look after your bees. If any person 

 expects to realize a large income from his 

 bees, and never looks after their condition 

 ( simply hiving the swarms and putting on the 

 sections), he will find himself greatly mistak- 

 en. No man would treat his horse or cow in 

 that way ; no, not even his pig. How many 

 who read this know as much about the condi- 

 tion of their bees as they do about the condi- 

 tion of their horse, cow, or pig ? Failing to 

 thus know, you are not caring for them as well 

 as you would for such stock, and therefore 

 you can not expect any more profit from the 

 bees than you could from a horse, cow, or pig, 

 under like circumstances. You should see 

 your bees often ; and if they are in the cellar, 

 keep the temperature of that cellar from 42 to 

 50°, if possible, and do not let the dead bees 

 accumulate on the floor to get mashed, and 

 mold there, thus making the air unfit for any 

 animal life. If your bees are outdoors, and 

 the mercury rises to 45 or 50° in the shade, 

 with the sun shining brightly, and the atmos- 

 phere still, let them have a cleansing flight, 

 no matter if the ground is covered with snow. 

 Bees can get off the snow just as well as from 

 bare ground, if the snow is not too light (that 

 just fallen so it will let the bees sink into it), 

 and the air and temperature as above. Do not 

 let any colonies starve or suffer from lack of 

 attention on your part ; neither disturb them 

 during winter unless j'ou know that they de- 

 mand your attention, for "over attention" 

 during the winter may prove as bad or worse 

 for the bees than a lack of the same. In fact, 

 do things at the right time, and in a proper 

 manner, leaving nothing undone that will 

 contribute to your success. Bee-keeping pays 

 only when our pets are properly cared for ; 

 and if any one can not spend the amount of 

 time on them they require, he or she had bet- 

 ter keep out of the business ; for sooner or lat- 

 er they will turn from it in disgust, and lose 

 all they put in it at the outset. But, making 

 a success of bee-keeping, then you should be 

 willing to impart to others a knowledge re- 



