198 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



men who can write better than they can talk 

 —in a convention. We are ghid, however, 

 that the Doctor does not like essays at con- 

 ventions, as it has led to this discussion, and 

 good may result. 



Some Things That May be Mixed With Bee- 



Keeping; but Each Man Must 



Choose for Himself. 



K. L. TAYLOK. 



MBOVE MOST other rural pursuits, 

 bee-keeping requires promptness in 

 attention, therefore, any other kind 

 of business to be associated with it to 

 advantage, must be flexible in its require- 

 ments, or, at least, if promptness in giving 

 it attention is at any time very important, it 

 should be at a time when the bees require no 

 special care. For example, the raising of 

 small fruits, which is often recommended as 

 a desirable business to combine with bee- 

 keeping, is, to my mind, if it is to be carried 

 on at all extensively, ill adapted to that pur- 

 pose ; for the obvious reason that the picking 

 of the fruit, which cannot be delayed, comes 

 on just when the demands of the bees are the 

 most exacting. 



First, then, let this point of interference 

 be studiously considered ; and let every oc- 

 cupation where the objection holds be rigor- 

 ously rejected. Any neglect here will inev- 

 itably induce over-work, ill temper, loss and 

 disappointment. 



Next, a very desirable thing in the busi- 

 ness to be united with bee-keepiug, if it re- 

 quires attention at all at the same time as 

 the bees, is that it be capable of being car- 

 ried on hard by the apiary ; so that while 

 one is receiving attention the operator may 

 at the same time survey the other also. 



And, after all this, the proper choice will 

 depend largely upon ones' tastes and cir- 

 cumstances. Everyone must ask himself 

 what he would like best and in his situation 

 what do convenient markets demand. 



For myself I know of nothing I should be 

 more inclined to take up than the cultiva- 

 tion of grapes. There is always a demand 

 for well grown grapes, and with a judicious 

 choice of varieties, and proper cultivation 

 and dressing they are generally a reliable 

 crop. The attention the vines require need 

 not be very exact as regards time except 

 perhaps the gathering of the fruit when 

 there is apprehension of frost, and that 

 would almost always be when the bees 

 would require little or no attention if pre- 

 vious to that time the bees had been proper- 

 ~ ly handled. To one favorably located either 

 the growing of plumis, pears or quinces 

 would be a pleasant and might be made a 

 profitable employment, and neither would 

 materially conflict with any attention re- 

 quired by the apiary, provided that neither 

 occupation be allowed to become too exten- 

 sive. , -, J 



An apple orchard also would stand in 

 much the same relation to bee-keeping as 

 the vineyard, and with wise selections and 



proper care should yield a substantial and 

 pretty reliable income. As an adjunct to 

 the orchard a few hogs could be kept and 

 the two would be of great mutual advantage. 

 Poultry would no doubt answer for some, 

 but when one increases the number of such 

 stock beyond forty or fifty he must be ex- 

 ceptionally well situated, or of decided abil- 

 ity in some respect, or failure will be prob- 

 able. A cautious advance in the poultry 

 business may prevent much disappointment. 

 Farming and bee-keeping are loudly rec- 

 ommended by some as well adapted to be 

 prosecuted in conjunction, but I think them 

 very poorly adapted for that purpose. There 

 is constant interference. The incompatabil- 

 ity is so great that they cannot properly be 

 said to be capable of union. In practice 

 each must remain a separate business. 

 Nevertheless there are branches of farming 

 that may well be selected, the one to be 

 chosen depending upon one's situation and 

 circumstances. If the apiary were not very 

 large a small dairy would answer for some. 

 The production of vegetables or flowers 

 would be suitable for others. 



But it is of little use to enumerate, for 

 after all every one must make his own 

 choice: little more than general principles 

 can be laid down in an article on this sub- 

 ject. 



Thus much touching the months during 

 which the bees must receive more or less 

 attention, after which there remain five or 

 six months which anyone not largely en- 

 gaged in bee-keeping may devote to a' y 

 work appropriate to the season which he 

 may choose. It may be anything from 

 school teaching to wood chopping; little can 

 be done, however, by a stranger in the way 

 of giving valuable advice. 



I think I may safely say in concluding 

 that the great majority of those who under- 

 take to associate any other business with 

 bee-keeping will soon find a growing desire 

 for an increase of the one and a decrease of 

 the other, and after a little there will either 

 be a demand for more hives and foundation 

 or an offer to sell a lot of empty hives and 

 moth eaten combs. 

 Lapeek, Mich., ' N )v. 20, 18.St). 



Wi^-ter Dairying is the Thing to Combine 

 with Bce-Keeping. 



GEO. F. BOBBINS. 



[I OR what should we combine any other 



j«-s business with bee-keeping? There are 



^Y two reasons, viz.: To enable us to 



keep the wolf from the door in case of 



a failure of the honey crop, and to furnish 



profitable employment during periods when 



the apiary does not demand our attention. 



Now I write from the standpoint of one 

 who believes in marketing his own honey 

 crop. I give it my personal effort, and take 

 from July until the following May to sell it. 

 I might combine with bee-keeping some 

 other occupation that would necessitate 

 lumping my crop oft' to one or more dealers 

 and make as much money in the end. But 

 for reasons out of place here to detail, that 



