8 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



adopted what was known at that 

 time as the 6-lb. box, or cap. There 

 was a terrible howl went up at this 

 innovation, many claiming that bees 

 would not work in such cramped quar- 

 ters. The old or regular cap weighed 

 nearly 20 pounds and sometimes more. 

 Most of the movable frame hive3 ai 

 this time were of the 8-frame width. 

 At about the same time of the in- 

 troduction of the 6-lb. box, or cap, 

 as it was then called, some enterpris- 

 ing genius made a shallow frame to 

 go crosswise of this eight frame 

 super, making a frame to retail 

 at only 2 pounds weight. This was 

 the limit. The big cap advocates 

 held up their hands in disgust. They 

 said bees would not store honey in 

 such small frames. For several 

 years this 2 lb. section, as it was 

 called, was the leading one used by 

 the most progressive, and it came to 

 pass that dealers did not like to han- 

 dle the large cap, after once selling 

 the 2-lb. size. Following the 2-lb. 

 came the present pound section which 

 seems to be as small as is advisa- 

 ble to get comb honey stored in. 



The extractor was also introduced 

 during my early beekeeping. At this 

 time we have no disease among our 

 bees to contend with, neither were 

 the winters so severe on bees as at 

 the present time. It was not long, 

 however, until some began to protect 

 their bees, either by chaff hives of 

 cellar wintering, for winter losses be- 

 gan to follow the improved methods 

 of beekeeping. Bees would not win- 

 ter well, so as to be profitable with- 

 out protection. Later, we had the 

 dread disease, foul brood, coupled 

 with hard winters to contend with. 

 You before me know with what re- 

 sults. The thousands of farmers who 

 used to keep from one to twenty col- 

 onies of bees are practically no more. 

 Disease and hard winters have put 



them out of business. This same pro- 

 cess is at work today. The beekeeper 

 who does not post himself along the 

 modern line of beekeeping cannot ex- 

 pect to survive at the present time. 

 Disease and hard winters will get him. 

 This process of weeding out the weak- 

 ling has kept going on until at the 

 present time the greater part of our 

 surplus honey is produced by business 

 beekeepers, who post themselves along 

 modern lines. Those are the men who 

 will be our future honey producers. 

 Of course, they may not own but one 

 yard, but this scientific principle of 

 procedure must be adhered to in the 

 future, for one to expect success in 

 our beloved pursuit. 



Business Beekeeping, 



This subject would not be complete 

 were I to close without mentioning 

 the business beekeeper, the one who 

 owns thousands of colonies and pro- 

 duces many carloads of honey annu- 

 ally. This class of beekeepers are 

 on the increase, and before long we 

 will realize that one will have to 

 keep moi"e than one yard of bees 

 to make a livelihood for an ordinary 

 family, competition and over produc- 

 tion will be so strong. The silver 

 lining is, that we have a great world 

 to supply with the very best sweet 

 on earth, and it behooves us as an 

 association to start the wheel roll- 

 ing toward the popularizing of honey. 

 As the production of honey increases 

 in the future, it will be necessary 

 that something be done to call the 

 consumer's attention to honey. Do 

 not allow a single opportunity to pass 

 without saying a good word about 

 honey. Write your local and state 

 papers occasionally, making the com- 

 munication interesting as well as in- 

 structive is likely the best way we, 

 as individuals, can popularize honey. 

 Everlastingly at it will bring results. 



WHERE LETTERS ARE ANSWERED 



Bee-Keepers' Review — This is the 

 first time I have written the Review 

 since Mr. Hutchinson passed away. 

 I live in one of the most noted honey, 

 fruit and trucking sections of Florida. 

 For six years here I have been on 

 the lookout for the very best bee pas- 



turage in the state. I have visited 

 all sections of Florida. Some sections 

 are on the decline, but this one has 

 been on the increase — more plants, 

 and bloom all the time. Spanish 

 needle has started within the past 

 six years, and now yields well, and 



