THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



201 



present cheap prices preferable to this? 

 And is our apiarist to lind employment 

 where scores of laborers are anxious to lind 

 something to do, but fail? 



But what would I have our bee-keeper do 

 during the months of Nov., Dec. and Jan.? 

 Well, to illustrate: Some years ago I found 

 out, through a mistake in opening a letter 

 not directed to me, that there was an enor- 

 mous profit made on the sale of diaries, and, 

 as nearly every family must have its diary, 

 why could not our bee-keeper take a lot and 

 go around selling them, reaping some of this 

 profit at just the time when diaries are 

 wanted, and at just a time lie had nothing to 

 do? 



Again; while in our store the other day I 

 heard a woman speaking in no pleasant 

 terms about her shears, which she declared 

 would not cut, and as none of her folks 

 could make them cut she must buy another 

 pair. I asked her to see them, and by 

 means of a borrowed file and whetstone soon 

 had them cutting better than any pair she 

 could find at the store. Now this woman is 

 only a sample of nearly every woman in the 

 land, while it is one of the easiest things 

 imaginable to keep shears in good order, for 

 they are so simple in their action that all 

 that is necessary to know, is the principle 

 they work on, and then what will make one 

 pair work, will make one thousand pairs 

 work equally well also. Then let our bee- 

 keeper start out with a stock of diaries, a 

 file, a whetstone, a small vice and a small 

 hammer, and call at every house, selling 

 diaries and sharpening shears and scissors, 

 all about his home in every direction, and 

 he will not only make it profitable, but be a 

 blessing to the community as well. If he 

 wishes he can let it be known that he will 

 come each year in this way, and thus secure 

 to himself the territory over which he 

 travels, having a permanent thing ,for these 

 unoccupied months. 



BoKoDiNO, N. Y., Nov. 28, 1889. 



By Hiring Help, General Fanning may be 

 Combined witb Bee-Keeping. 



E, J. COOK. 

 t 



OU ask for ray experience in combin- 

 ing general farming and bee-keeping 

 and how I find employment winters. 

 I have been comiaining these two 

 branches of industry for several years, and 

 have ever been highly pleased with the re- 

 sult, and find plenty of occupation for the 

 whole of the year. To be sure, some times 

 work is more pressing than others, but I 

 endeavor to have help sufficient for the 

 emergency. I still hold to the ''old saw" 

 that there is safety in a multitude of re- 

 sources, as my experience has been that 

 while some crop may fail to pay cost be- 

 cause of unfavorable season, insect pest, or 

 perhaps low prices, others have made up the 

 deficiency, and I think the honey crop has 

 been as ready to help out as any other pro- 

 duct of the farm, and I do not see that it 

 conflicts any more with the other specialties 

 in proportion to the returns than the garden, 

 the orchard, cows, horses or wheat. The 



general farmer and bee-keeper should make 

 a specialty of everything when it needs at- 

 tention, and do it just as well as he is capable; 

 and he nmst employ help sufficient to do 

 this. During haying and harvesting the 

 bees require attention more perhaps than 

 any other time. Also a portion of the day 

 and sometimes a day or two in succession 

 when these crops are ready to go to the barn 

 it is imperative we drive this work. Having 

 the extra work of the bees we of course have 

 extra help at our command and we now put 

 it all to securing the hay or grain. The 

 queens wings are clipped, the bees have 

 plenty of room, and if they swarm they are 

 allowed to return to their hive and can be 

 attended to a few hours later with but very 

 little if any loss. I can often work one or 

 two men in the apiary to better advantage 

 than I can work alone, and I find that most 

 men like the change and are happier, and 

 more interested in the general work with 

 this variety of labor. 



The general farmer and bee-keeper has 

 the specialist to compete with, and many of 

 them are live business men thoroughly 

 posted in their work, and he must be equally 

 so and adopt all the approved methods and 

 get the best returns from the least labor and 

 expense possible. 



Owosso, Mich., Nov. 28, 1889. 



The Raising of Winter Fruits Combines 

 well with Bee-Keeping. 



L. C. WHITING. 



''OUR special topic for December is an 

 important one, as all who depend on 

 their bees well recognize when poor 

 seasons follow each other. The an- 

 swer for each man will depend on his quali- 

 fications and tastes. Mine, induce me to 

 join raising fruit with bee-keeping. The 

 objection to this is that most kinds of small 

 fruit need much attention just when bees 

 demand undivided care. Therefore, my 

 plan is to raise winter apples and pears. 



To succeed in this, enough attention must 

 be given to the trees to induce them to bear 

 the off years. No one would be more likely 

 to succeed in this than a good bee-keeper. 

 Much will depend on the location selected; 

 both for the orchard and apiary. Nearness 

 to market must be thought of, not only on 

 account of shipping the fruit, but for ob- 

 taining manure for the trees. Many good 

 orchards are of little value because the trees 

 have exhausted the soil, and cannot get the 

 amount and kind of nutriment demanded 

 by the bearing trees. The soil for the or- 

 chard needs careful preparation. If heavy 

 clay soil is selected, it should be well and 

 deeply broken up, but never turn the top 

 soil under the clay. All surplus water must 

 be drained olf . When the ground is in good 

 condition set out the trees, but not before. 

 A year spent, if necessary, in preparing the 

 ground wo^uld be more than made up at the 

 end of five years. Plant but one or two 

 kinds of apples or pears, and before plant- 

 ing learn what kinds thrive best in the im- 

 mediate vicinity. If you raise good, sound 

 fruit, and are honest in assorting and pack- 



