378 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



"Quinby was a good writer on bees, and 

 I sometimes think that his 'Mysteries of 

 Bee keeping- Explained' was about as good 

 a book, from the practical side of the mat- 

 ter, as Wcis ever written." 



"Then you have the book?" 



"Yes. That was the book that taua^ht 

 me my first lessons 35 y« ars ago, and I 

 studied the matter the book contained until 

 I had it by heart like a nursery rh.\ me. 

 How much did you think of investing in 

 bees?" 



"I told my wife that I thought I could 

 spare $250 for that purpose. But she rath- 

 er objects. Do you think that would be 

 enough?" 



"I put in only $35. and I would not con- 

 sider it gocd policy for the one who knows 

 nothing experimentally about bees to put in 

 more than $4U to $50 in starting, including 

 bees, hives, books, papers, and all " 



"Well, I do not think m/ wife would see 

 anything large in that; but that wou.d not 

 buj many colonies." 



"No; neither do you wish to buy many 

 colonies. If you do not buy m>re than frcm 

 two to four colonies (and the latter should 

 be the limit, in my opinion, for the one who 

 has had no experience in the business) , $50 

 will cover all necessary expenses." 



"How about the hives?' 



"If you are a good workman, and have 

 the necessary tools, it mi^ht be well for yon 

 to get a sample to work from, and then 

 make your own. You may not get them 

 quite so smooth and nice to look at as those 

 you would buy, but for all practical pur- 

 poses in honey-production they will help 

 you to just as many dollars and cents as 

 would those with an extra-nice finish. I 

 would not, however, advise you to try to get 

 out your own sections." 



"Why not these as well as the hives?" 



"It is doubtful whether any one, no mT.t- 

 ter how good a workman, can get out sec- 

 lions by band that will in any way compare 

 with those now on the market, nor that 

 would be suitable to sell to consumers; but 

 in making the rest of what you will need, 

 you will not only be self supporting, but 

 this part of it will put into you an enihusi- 

 asm which will tend much toward success." 



"How would it do to get a foot power saw 

 and make the sections that way?" 



"It would not pay you. When I first be- 

 gan bee-keeping I was charged $25 a thou- 

 sand for sections in the flat; and as I 

 thought that a high figure I purchased ma- 

 chinery and manufactured sections for sale. 

 The price sonn went down to $20, then to 

 $15, then to $10, then to $8, then to $6. at 

 which time I said, 'others can have the 

 trade; it will pay me better to work at 

 something else.' But I had the machinery, 

 and so continued to get out my own till the 

 price fell to $3 50, when I concluded that I 

 could not afford to run my own machinery, 

 after paying the price for the lumber which 

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

 the worth of my time and the use of the ma- 

 chinery. ' ' 



''What! sections as cheap as that?" 



"Yes; and they went still lower, so that 

 any one by buying in 0,000 lots could pro- 

 cure them at $3 00 per thousand. But since 

 then they have advanced somewhat, owing 

 to the scarcity of lumber; but even now you 

 can purchase the mitt rial for 1000 sections 

 for less than the cost was when I quit manu- 

 facturing them for sale; and, what is mire, 

 the sections which we used to pay $25 a 

 thousand for would in no way compare 

 with the sections which I paid the A. I. 

 Root Company $3 00 a thousand for a few 

 years ago. In no other one thing has there 

 been a greater improvement aloig the bee- 

 keeping line than in sections since they irst 

 Crime into existence. Those $25 sections 

 we e simply sawed out, and the sawing 

 done was of a rough order. Now the Root 

 sections are all sandpapered till they are 

 polished almost as smooth as glass and as 

 true as a die." 



'"What hive would you start with?" 



"That is quite a question. It is well 

 that ycu make sure that you start with a 

 really good hive. There are several of 

 these before the public; but should you 

 choose the Langstroth hive, you will make 

 no mistake; for with cellar win ering, here 

 at the North, there is probably nothing 

 better." 



"But you think it might be well to invest 

 more largely than the |50 after a year or so, 

 do you not?" 



''Not unless the bees earn it for you. 

 Make your bees and yourself self sustain- 

 ing; and after the first start do not pay out 

 more than what the bees bring ytu in, al- 

 ways remembering that, if you can not 

 make your four colonies pay, you can not 

 make 400 or 4000; then if you should happen 

 to make a failure of the business you will 

 have the consolation of knowing that you 

 have lost but frcm $40 to $50, instead of $250 

 to $400, or perhaps as many thousand, as 

 some have done. There seem* to be a prone- 

 ness to go into the bee business recklessly, 

 ofttimes. " 



"I suopose it is on account of the bee- 

 fever. My wife tells me I ha\e it bad; and 

 had I not come to see you I probabh should 

 have put as much as $200 into it. How 

 about the work part to ii? I am told that 

 there is very little to be d ne. " 



"The day is past with most people in be- 

 lieving the old adage that bees work for 

 nothing and board themselves, and I do not 

 think you believe so. If any person thinks 

 he will realize a large income from his bees, 

 and never look after their condition further 

 than hiving swarms and putting on sections 

 he will find he is making a mistake. Men 

 do not treat their other stock that way, but 

 care for it regularly, and the bees need 

 care, just when they do need it, just as 

 much as any thing else." 



" What are some of the needs of the bees?" 



"See your bees often, is a good thing to 

 paste in your hat, so that you may know 

 that they are suffering for nothing. While 

 they are in the cellar, keep the temperature 



