THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



17 



ssiomio 



M. V. FAGEY. 



JT/ HE desirability' of bee-keeping as a 

 ■J^ profession has been repeatedly 

 discussed in the bee journals; and 

 almost invariablj' the bee-keeper is 

 advised to unite a second calling' or oc- 

 cupation to his bee-keeping- ventures. 



This article will take issue with 

 that view, but will be fair enough to 

 gi\e the discouraging side of bee-keep- 

 'ng as well as the rosy side. 



First, the possiblities : I must con- 

 fess I have not j'et found their limit. I 

 have always had good crops of honey 

 and a handsome return on my invest- 

 ment, but in the light of some of my 

 more recent experiments in the line of 

 honey production 1 do not think I have 

 realized two-thirds as much honey as I 

 might. 



I find that the person engaged in ex- 

 clusive bee-keeping can always feel 

 sure of a living income, and in good 

 3'ears, a handsome one. During the 

 last 20 years the smallest crop I have 

 had was 32 lbs. per colony; the largest 

 crop, for a number of yards, 200 lbs. 

 per colony; with an average of 112 lbs. 

 Actual cost of production, counting m^' 

 own time and cost of cans, about three 

 cents per lb., leaving about half our 

 crop as returns on investment. Surely, 

 good enough. 



SOME CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL 

 BEGINNING. 



Bee-keeping is a fascinating occupa- 

 to the owner of the bees, and I find it 

 fascinating among my helpers, also, 

 since nearly every one who works for 

 me any length of time become atflicted 

 with a bad attack of bee-fever. A crew 

 of three or four men go out in the be- 

 ginning of the surplus season, and take 

 from S"5 to $100 worth of honey a day, 



for weeks together. They figure up 

 the amount of their wages, and credit 

 all the balance to the profit account of 

 the owner; forgetting cost of cans, oc- 

 casional feeding for winter, and other 

 time and expenses; and it seems to 

 them better than ^ gold mine ! 



As a rule, it is not wise to buy bees 

 while in that condition. Bee-keeping 

 should be gone into deliberately; care- 

 fully weighing the possibilities; not 

 forgetting the care preceding and fol- 

 lowing the harvest, and the occasional 

 expense of winter feed; and, after 

 weighing all that, we must needs 

 weigh ourselves. Are we wide awake 

 and progressive, and are we willing 

 to attend strictly to business at all 

 limes; then, if the locality is fairly 

 good, there is no better business than 

 bee-keeping 



SOME ILLUSTRATIONS OF NON-SUCCESS 

 WITH BEES AS A SIDE-ISSUE. 



Contrary to the advice usually given 

 to bee-keepers, my experience has been 

 against a dual occupation for bee- 

 keepers. I find the bees always suffer 

 from the union. I will give a few 

 illustrations. 



A few years ago I bought 33 colonies 

 of bees of a man and moved them to an 

 adjoining place. The man kept a few 

 of his choicest colonies. The next fall 

 this man complained of the year being 

 a failure, and could hardly believe me 

 when I told him that my bees, that I 

 bought of him, had made returns to me 

 of over ten dollars per colon}'. 



Last year I bought 16 swarms of a 

 bee-keeping farmer, taking my pick 

 out of 60 colonies. I took a great deal 

 more honey from my sixteen colonies 

 than he got altogethe'- ; 



