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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL^ 



lighted to welcome Prof. Shaw to their 

 ranks, and to hear from him from time 

 to time through the bee-papers, knowing 

 from his reputation, that when he un- 

 dertakes to investigate a subject, the 

 work is always thoroughly done. 

 Lindsay, Ont., April 19, 1893. 



The Farmer's Honey Crop— 

 What About It I 



Written for the " titockman and Cultivator'''' 

 BY EUGENE SECOR. 



I am sorry to know that this is a minus 

 quantity in a majority of cases. To 

 bring about a different state of facts is 

 the object of this essay. 



If honey is a desirable article of food, 

 or a luxury worth setting before our 

 family and friends, the question is, 

 "How shall I obtain it?" Shall the 

 farmer who owns the range over which 

 bees forage, raise hogs and cattle and 

 grain for market, and with the proceeds 

 thereof buy his honey, or shall he keep 

 a few bees himself and be independent 

 of the grocer or specialist in honey-pro- 

 duction ? 



Some argue that it is better to leave 

 the production of honey to the specialist 

 altogether. They say he can produce it 

 more cheaply than one who has other 

 business. That is true in some sense. 

 It is also true that the market gardener 

 can raise cabbage and strawberries more 

 cheaply than the farmer usually does. 

 Shall he therefore leave the growing of 

 all garden truck to the specialist, and 

 buy his vegetables and fruits? The 

 main difficulty in both cases is, if the 

 farmer does not produce them himself, 

 his family is very liable to go without 

 the greater part of the year. 



I have noticed that those farmers who 

 think they cannot afford to "potter" 

 with a garden or bees, have few of the 

 luxuries which these furnish. Luxuries 

 did I say? Necessities, if health, com- 

 fort and happiness count for anything in 

 this world. 



Honey is a luxury, but it is healthful 

 and nourishing. It is not a necessity in 

 the usual sense of the word, nor is any 

 other sweet. Sugar is so generally used 

 in this country that we regard it as a 

 necessity. But it is not. I suppose 

 there are millions of people who scarcely 

 taste sugar. And there are thousands 

 of families, largely fanners, too, in this 

 country, who scarcely know the taste of 

 honey. They do not keep bees, and 

 when they wish to gratify the taste for 



sweet, buy sugar or glucose syrup, be- 

 cause it is cheaper in price than honey. 



But why shouldn't the farmer produce 

 his own honey ? Is it because of the 

 belief that greater skill and knowledge 

 is required to make this branch a suc- 

 cess than other departments of the 

 farm ? If this is the prevalent notion I 

 wish to dispel it. It does require some 

 study and some skill, but not more than 

 to raise good stock, or to grow good 

 crops. If a farmer raises nothing but 

 scrub cattle and hogs, and gets a good 

 crop of corn only when everything is 

 favorable, he will probably never have 

 much honey to sell, and will doubtless 

 conclude that " it's all luck, anyhow." 



But if he knows a good cow from a 

 poor one, and knows how to raise the 

 good one ; if he knows how to get a good 

 crop of corn when many of his neighbors 

 have only nubbins, he can master all the 

 intricacies in bee-keeping without lying 

 awake nights, or infringing on his time 

 in harvest. 



I believe the person who gets the 

 most pleasure out of producing honey is 

 the one who does so in conjunction with 

 some other business. His whole soul is 

 wrapped up in the one dollar-and-cent 

 idea. It is chiefly produced for his own 

 table, or to give pleasure to his friends. 



I wish, however, to caution the reader, 

 if he thinks seriously of getting bees, to 

 inquire if his locality is adapted to the 

 production of honey. Not every prairie 

 farm is an ideal bee-paradise. If no 

 linden grows within a mile or two, and 

 if white clover is not plentiful enough 

 to yield a surplus, then two of the chief 

 sources of white honey in the North are 

 wanting. Still there may be an abun- 

 dance of other flowers for a few colonies. 

 Spanish-needle, heart's-ease, the asters, 

 and a great variety of other wild flowers 

 can be utilized and made profitable if 

 not too many colonies are kept in one 

 locality. 



If a person who wishes to keep bees 

 has had no experience, he should not 

 buy more than a colony or two to start 

 with. Spring is the best season to pur- 

 chase. Buy as near home as possible. 

 Talk with some one who has made the 

 subject a study. Buy a good book on 

 bee-keeping, and after a little, if the 

 subject proves interesting, subscribe for 

 a bee-paper. You will grow with the 

 business naturally, furnish your table 

 with a dainty luxury that takes the 

 places of sauces, is always acceptable to 

 company, and at the same time the 

 study of the subject will prove to be 

 both pleasant and profitable. 

 Forest City, Iowa. 



