May, 1917 



3-13 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



f. 



^Tziik 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



Conversations with Doolittle 



" In ■wliioli direction ought beekeejicrs 

 now to work to better their condition f Tak- 

 ing beekeeping as it is, what does it most 

 need? Honey varies in price but little from 

 what it lias been in the past twenty years, 

 wliile nearly all the things necessary for the 

 a})iarist's liveliliood have gone soaring to 

 double and triple what they were ten years 

 ago.'' 



Much dejiends upon what our questioner 

 means by better conditions. Every one, or 

 nearly so, seems to have gone distracted over 

 tlie dollar-and-cent part of our pursuit, as 

 tho that were the acme of our existence. It 

 is reported that John Jacob Astor once said 

 to a man who was envious of his fortune, 

 '' AVould you take care of what I possess 

 for what you want to eat, drink, and wear?" 



'' No !" was the response. 



" Well," said Astor, straightening uj), 

 " that is all I get." 



" But," says one, " I am anxious for my 

 children." Is it any worse for your chil- 

 dren to toil for their living than it has been 

 for you to do so? Let me change that. 

 Would you deprive your children of the 

 keen enjoyment you have experienced in 

 building a home of your own by giving them 

 one already built up? "Lots of money" 

 does not biing happiness. On the conti'ary, 

 it often brings discontent, and, if given to 

 one who has not earned some money for 

 himself, as a rule it siDoils the usefulness to 

 the world of one who otherAvise would have 

 been one of the pillars in the communily in 

 Avhich he lived and in the nation. If we as 

 beekeepers can secure for ourselves a com- 

 fortable home, tho it may be humble, to- 

 gether with something to advance God's 

 kingdom in the earth, according- as he 

 blesses and prospers us, and with that be 

 content, we may right now enjoy a little bit 

 of Paradise. 



No pleasure has ever come to me like tiiat 

 which has come thru success at last, after 

 working patiently and perseveringly over 

 some problem which confronted me in life, 

 whether about the bees, the building of a 

 home, or in trying to elevate mankind. He 

 who is not willing to work patiently till suc- 

 cess ciwvns his efforts, and in that patient 

 work realize the truest enjoyment, is iidt 

 the one to be of the greatest blessing to the 

 world. Nearly all of our great men who 

 have lifted comnmnities and nations to a 

 higher i)lane have come up from the hum- 



blest homes thru patient toiling, anil hard 

 study — iierchance by tiie liglit (if a pine 

 knot. 



Not long ago I received a type-written 

 letter from a beekeeper who asked me to 

 excuse the blunders, as he had written it 

 with one hand while he tended the baby 

 with the other. How many of the dudes 

 and " calamity howlers " in the land would 

 have done this without saying sometliing 

 about " bettering their condition," if they 

 were to write under such circumstances? 

 This man will doubtless rise to a higher 

 plane than he could possibly enjoy had he 

 been cradled in the lap of luxury. 



Suppose the beekeeper does not live as 

 well as a Morgan or Rockefeller. He has 

 the pure air, the sunshine, and honest and 

 honorable enjoyment, and, as a rule, gets a 

 comfortable living. If the beekeeper is not 

 satisfied with his condition as it is, let him 

 spend a few days carrying hods of mortar 

 to tlie top of some three or four story build- 

 ing, receiving therefor $1.50 to $2.00 a day, 

 as thousands are doing. He will comi? back 

 to beekeeping and thank God for the busy 

 bees, even if there is now and then a poor 

 season, and prices of other commodities are 

 out of all proportion. Looking at the 

 matter in this light, tlierefore, bettering our 

 condition may mean raising our pursuit 

 from the dollar-and-cent affair to where we 

 shall appreciate it as one of the grandest 

 pursuits God ever gave to man. 



Taking beekeeping as it is, what is most 

 needed are men and women who can see the 

 heights and depths which are possible along 

 the line of intelligent tliought and enjoyable 

 health in a vocation which brings happiness. 

 Probal)ly our questioner intended that I 

 should answer only from a practical, finan- 

 cial standpoint; but it is well for us to re- 

 member that money-making is not all of 

 life; that health, happiness, and correct 

 views of life are of far more importance. 



I am convinced that placing out-apiaries 

 about the liome yard, and working tliem for 

 extractedi honey, tends more toward success 

 along the financial line than any other plan. 

 Why I say work for extracted honey is that, 

 if worked on the tiering-up plan, not enough 

 swarms will issue to pay for looking after; 

 and if the honey is all left till the season is 

 over, little time is re(|uired at the out-api- 

 aries during the swarming season, so that 

 the home apiary can be worked for comb 

 honey. By placing tliis thoroly sealed and 



