312 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



come to all of us, and will continue to 

 come to all who enter our ranks. 



I believe it is well understood that bee- 

 keeping is not an occupation in which we 

 can easily become wealthy. In the very 

 nature of things it cannot be otherwise. 

 Like the keeping of poultry, the raising 

 of small fruits, gardening, and other min- 

 or branches of agriculture, the keeping 

 of bees in localities adapted to the busi- 

 ness can be depended upon to furnish 

 their owner a comfortable living; but such 

 fortunes as are amassed in merchandising 

 and manufacturing can never be hoped 

 for by the bee-keeper. 



Fortunately, however, the perfection 

 of a man's happiness bears but little re- 

 lation to the size of his fortune. Many a 

 man with the hum of bees over his head, 

 finds happiness sweeter and deeper than 

 ever comes to the merchant prince with 

 his cares and his thousands. Bee-keep- 

 ing is an ennobling pursuit. It keeps a 

 man close to Nature's heart. It brings 

 out the best that is in him. But can it be 

 depended tipon, year after year, as a 

 means of supporting one's family ? In 

 some localities it can; in others it cannot. 

 Where there is only one source of honey, 

 and that an unreliable one, a man learns, 

 sooner or later, that he cannot depend 

 upon bees alone. If a man is to adopt 

 bee-keeping as a profession he must choose 

 a location possessing at least one unfail- 

 ing source of honey, or else several sources, 

 some one or more of which will be quite 

 likely to furnish a crop. 



Many who attempt bee-keeping as a 

 specialty, are lacking in business meth- 

 ods. They attempt too many make- 

 shifts in the way of hives, implements, 

 buildings, and the like. To become a 

 successful, professional bee-keeper a man 

 must first find a proper locality, as I have 

 just explained, then he must secure the 

 best stock procurable, put up suitable 

 buildings, wintering cellars, if necessary, 

 have the best of hives and implements, 

 and keep a large number of colonics. I 

 think many fail in this point. They keep 

 only bees enough to bring in an income 

 during a good year, or, possibly in an 

 average year, and when one poor year 

 follows another, two or three times in 

 succession, want stares them in the face. 

 Keep bees enough so that when there is 

 agoodyearor two, enough money may 

 be made to tide over the poor seasons that 

 are sure to come. The very fact that the 

 V)ees are scattered about in out-apiaries, 

 several miles ajia-t, adds to the certainty 

 of a crop; as one locality often yields a 

 fair crop while another a few miles away 

 yields nothing. 



With a man adapted to the business, a 

 suitable locality, and the adoption of 

 sound l)usiness methods, bee-keeping 

 will compare favoraljly with other rural 

 pursuits. 



UNCERTAINTIES OE BEE-KEEPING. 



They, as well as the Certainties, can be Fair- 

 ly Judged only from the Experience 

 of Several Years. 



Right in line with the preceding ad- 

 dress is an article, by Harry Lathrop of 

 Wisconsin, that appeared recently in 

 Gleanings; and, as we get a more perfect 

 idea of anything by looking at it from 

 different points of view, I copy Mr. La- 

 throp's article. It is as follows: — 



There is no branch of agriculture so apt 

 to mislead a beginner, and inflate him 

 with the belief that a fortune for him is 

 just ahead, as that of bee-keeping. He 

 figures fioni results that he has secured 

 on a small scale, and argues that all he 

 has to do in order to bring about the 

 same results on a larger scale is to increase 

 the business. So argues the novice; but 

 sooner or later he strikes an adverse sea- 

 son, and, lo! his bubble is burst, and he 

 begins to realize .some of the uncertain- 

 ties in this line of business. Then he 

 may go to the other extreme of discour- 

 agement, and dispose of his few remain- 

 ing colonies for about what the bare 

 hives cost him in the first place. He 

 should not do so, however, but take care 

 of his hives and combs; do the best he 

 can, and wait for better conditions. 

 Other branches are subject to failures. 

 The farmer is never certain of a crop 

 when he puts in the seed, but on the 

 whole his occupation is ascertain to bring 

 results as any other, and more so than 

 many. So it is with bee-kee))ing. We 

 can form a correct estimate of tlie rela- 

 tive value of the industry, as compared 

 with others, onlv by taking a ninnber of 

 years together. For ni}' locality I have 

 records of each season dating back to 

 1885, during which season we had a very 

 small crop of honej'; still, it could not be 

 called a failure. 



The season of 1886 was an ideal one. 

 White clover was abundant, and lasted a 

 long time; basswood could not be better 

 than it was then. I remember how one 



