&LEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Fig 



V view of the culiiiiies nient.ioneil under Fig. 



learned a whole lot besides. At first I 

 intended to let them die; and for that 

 reason 1 lost several colonies which might 

 have been saved. The next season was poor 

 — only 90 lbs. from 4 colonies. One of 

 them, which had not been treated the fall 

 before, showed signs of foul brood; but it 

 readily yielded to treatment according to the 

 McEvoy method. Since then 1 have not had 

 a trace of foul brood in my yard, which 

 plainly shows that it may be eradicated. 



The following season was better, and 

 yielded about ciOO lbs. But my banner year 

 • was 1913. From 6 colonies, spring count, 

 which through swarming increased to 9, I 

 received 2125 lbs., an average of 236 lbs. 

 per colony. There was an abundance of 

 white and sweet clover, and the faithful 

 little workers filled super after super. 



As this is a town of about 500,000 inhab- 

 itants, I'm often asked, " Where is your bee 

 pasture?" We do not live in the center of 

 the town, but about half a mile inside of 

 the city limits. The bees find plenty of 

 sweet clover on the commons and beyond 

 the limits. Last year we had more white 

 clover than I ever saw before. 



Again I'm asked, " Don't your bees trou- 

 ble the neighbors?" Well, they haven't so 

 far. My bees stand along the south side 

 of a school (see illustration). The windows 

 are on the east and west sides of the build- 

 ing. Only once a child was stung. That 

 was last fall, and it was my own fault too. 

 I transferred a colony at a time when there 

 was no nectar to be found in the fields, and 

 when they were naturally cross. I should 

 have waited till after school hours. There 

 were, however, no hard feelings. Though 

 stung in the upi^er lip, the child's face was 

 not disfigured, probably due to bathing with 



a solution of soda and water. A pint of 

 honey made her forget all jiains. 



As the years go by, my interest in bees 

 does not climinish. ] consider them a fas- 

 cinating diversion for a man who leads an 

 indoor life. One of our great authors said : 

 " Every professional man needs a hobby." 

 That is true. Only be careful that it be an 

 innocent one. Some of my friends go fish- 

 ing when they wish to rest their tired nerves. 

 Others enjoy a baseball game. Tastes differ, 

 of course. We cannot all have the same 

 inclination; but I would not trade my hobby 

 for theirs by any means. For a man who 

 is interested in the great outdoors, and 

 wishes to get a little closer to nature, there 

 can be hardly any thing more attractive 

 and fascinating than the keeping of bees, 

 as thousands of enthusiastic beemen will 

 testify. Most years you will find it profit- 

 able besides. In these days of the high cost 

 of living this is well wortli being remem- 

 bered. 



But a novice might say, " How shall I 

 start? I know absolutely nothing about 

 bees." My answer is, " If you wish to learn 

 swimming, there is nothing like getting into 

 the water and making an effort. If you wish 

 to start with bees, simply get a colony. 

 You'll learn as you go along." You cannot 

 possibly know less than I did when I com- 

 menced. Start in a small way, then you'll 

 not be out very much in case you fail the 

 first time. My first year's expenses were 

 about $20 for two colonies, hives, supere, 

 and tools. But I had $12.00 worth of honey, 

 which was 60 per cent on my investment, 

 and three colonies to go into winter quar- 

 ters; and last, but not least, many dollars' 

 worth of recreation. 



It is true, if you wish to succeed with bees 

 you must liave a liking for them; you must 



