FEBRUARY 15. 1914 



143 



A PLEA FOR FARM BEEKEEPING 



BY A. J. JAMES 



Beekeeping is essentially a rural pursuit, 

 and it is but natural that bees should be 

 found on farms. Bees and farms have been 

 associated in the popular mind from time 

 immemorial, yet, as a rule, the farmers have 

 not done a great deal toward the develop- 

 ment of apiculture. This work has been 

 done largely by specialists who have devot- 

 ed their lives to it. The farmers usually 

 have so many other interests that it is not to 

 be expected that they would become very 

 extensive beekeepers. However, there is no 

 good reason why every farm should not 

 have a few colonies, at least, if only for the 

 sake of providing the family table with one 

 of the most wholesome and delicious sweets 

 known. 



The farm is the ideal location for an 

 apiary. There the bees can be in close prox- 

 imity to the nectar- 

 bearing blossoms, and 

 they will also perform 

 an almost invaluable 

 service by the fertiliza- 

 tion of the plants they 

 visit. The most exten- 

 sive beekeepers have 

 their apiaries in the 

 country frequently on 

 the farm of some one 

 who, for a nominal 

 consideration, lets an- 

 other man's bees gath- 

 er the honey which lie 

 could just as well have 

 for his own. If the 

 farmer himself has not 

 the time to devote to 

 the bees, it would be 

 well to get the boys 

 interested. It is a 

 well-known fact that 

 when the farmer boys 

 have a few acres of 



women folks take care of the bees, and 

 women do make excellent beekeepers. They 

 can do all tlie work needed, except, perhaps, 

 the handling of heavy hives and supers, and 

 some of the men can usually be pressed into 

 service for that. Bees make a fine combin- 

 ation with poultry-raising, and have made 

 lots of pin money for the Avoraen. 



Occasionally some writer holds forth with 

 a glowing account of the large profits some 

 one has made in the production of honey. 

 It is true that quite frequently large profils 

 are made, but usually by those who are 

 experts in the business. The production of 

 honey is not a get-rich-quiek game, and 

 there are ups and downs in that line of 

 work as well as in any other. However, the 

 farmer beekeeper with a few colonies will 

 usually make enough honey for his own use 



ground to work 

 themselves they are 

 not so anxious to go to 

 the cities, and this idea 

 would work out nicely 

 with the bees by giving 

 them a few hives for 

 their own. Let them 

 learn how to handle 

 them, and reward their 

 efforts by buying their 

 lioney for the table. 

 They could thus earn 

 their spending money. 

 Frequently the 



for 



Foot-power saw made by N. H. Wilson, Derhy, Vt. It is made of 



2 X 3-ineh maple, and the legs are 39 inches high. TJie top is 2 ft. wide and 



3 long. The pieces are bolted together with %-inch bolts. 



