54 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1917 



JUST as a 

 teacher, be- 

 fore taking 

 up the first les- 

 son of a new 

 study, gives a 

 talk on the work 

 before the class, 

 so I want to dis- 

 cuss briefly the general subject of beekeep- 

 ing before we take up our first lesson prop- 

 er wliich will be in the February number of 

 Gleanings- In this talk I wish to give the 

 beginner in beekeeping some notion of what 

 reward his work promises, what he must en- 

 deavor to do to win success, and what nat- 

 ural traits he should possess or cultivate in 

 order to get the most — in honey, morey, 

 and pleasure — out of the beekeeping busi- 

 ness. 



The rewards that may be promised the 

 faithful and intelligent beekeeper are as 

 certain as those of many professions and 

 better than most, for to the promise of 

 profit is added that of pleasure and health. 

 As for financial profit. Dr. E. F. Phillips, 

 in charge of bee-culture investigations for 

 the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, says that in an average locality 

 the bees may be made to pay for themselves 

 almost from the start, and for the addi- 

 tional apparatus needed in increasing the 

 apiary, as well as show some profit besides. 

 Dr. Phillips further states that the annual 

 crop of honey in the United States amounts 

 to at least $20,000,000 and the beeswax to 

 $2,000,000 more. This vast amount is 

 distributed among many beekeepers — not 

 equally, for there are lean years and fat 

 years in different localities, much depend- 

 ing on varying conditions of weather and 

 plant life; on the conditions of health and 

 vigor within the hive; on the market and 

 selling methods. To sum up conservatively 

 this question of financial profit, I would 

 say that the successful beekeeper is well 

 paid in money alone for the time he spends 

 in his work, and there is no other branch 

 of agriculture which can be made to yield 

 as great a return on so small an invest- 

 ment as beekeeping. 



The pleasures of beekeeping are to be 

 accounted one of its greatest profits, es- 

 pecially in the case of the man or woman, 

 boy or girl, who engages in it as a side line 

 or as a recreation. There is a fascination 

 in the study of bees that creates an absorb- 

 ing interest in the little insect wliich has 

 ever aroused the curiosity of mankind. 

 Beekeeping gives a wonderful insight into 

 the field of nature (particularly the in.sect 

 world) that brings one in contact not only 



with the bees 

 and all their 

 wonderful hab- 

 its but into the 

 realm of plant 

 life, a large part 

 of which is de- 

 pendent on the 

 work of the 

 bees. The study of bees leads on to the 

 etudy of floriculture and horticulture 

 that opens up a whole new world of 

 wonder. So, for the professional or liter- 

 ary man, grilled and ground by the monot- 

 onous cares of the day, beekeeping offers 

 a new lease and a longer length of life. 



That health accompanies this outdoor 

 work of love and interest is as certain as 

 that light accompanies the break of day. 



Who should be a beekeeper? It is an 

 occupation for old or young, rich or poor. 

 It is for the j^rofessional man or woman, 

 tired and worn with offi.ee work, and it is 

 for the vigorous man in his prime who 

 seeks profit and pleasure alike from its 

 pursuit. Any person, with fair health and 

 strength, studious, and imbued with some 

 patience and some love of nature, may veiy 

 reasonably hope to become successful as a 

 beekeejier. The more one studies and the 

 more one observes and is able to apply 

 his observations practically, the more suc- 

 cessful beekeeper he will be. He should 

 be, too, a reader of bee lore and natural 

 history. The greater and the wider the 

 beekeeper'is intelligence, the gTcatei' bis 

 succass will be. The very few persons who 

 may despair of becoming good beekeepers 

 are such as have unusually nervous tem- 

 peraments, little patience, and little or no 

 love for the outdoors and natural history; 

 and the still fewer who are seriously af- 

 fected by the poison of bee-stings and 

 stand in constant dread of them. The nor- 

 mal person, with a little care, can avoid 

 stings almost entirely and need have no 

 cause to dread them. 



There is another important essential to 

 winning success in beekeeping. It is tJie 

 trait of applying knowledge promptl}' , and 

 doing the right thing at the right time. 



Most of all, I wish to say to the be- 

 ginner that, while he has considerable to 

 do to succeed, yet if he be willing to try 

 earnestly he may certainly expect to acquire 

 mastery of a profession that will yield not 

 only honey and money but a world of new 

 interest, full of pleasure and wonder, and 

 which will prove a great aid to health. 



With these introductory remarks I will 

 start the regular lessons for beginners in 

 the February number of Gleanings. 



