18 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



This year the crop of honej' in 

 this locality was, as a rule, quite light, 

 but, with my bees, by watching the 

 honey flow closely, and keeping my 

 bees on the rush all the time, 1 reaped 

 the advantages of a rather short but 

 rapid flow, and secured a yield of 153 

 lbs. per colony. 



Now this diff"erene in yield does not 

 express any lack of ability in the 

 parties failing to secure the crop, but 

 simply shows that the)' could not give 

 their bees the proper attention at the 

 critical time. 



In practice, with my lot of bees, 

 every day that I fall behind with my 

 work, in the height of the surplus 

 season, means one hundred dollars 

 lost. 



The advice frequently given to buy 

 a few colonies only, say, four or five, 

 for a start, is correct. The would be 

 bee-keeper ought to spend at least one 

 or two summers assisting some up-to 

 date bea keeper. After the first summer 

 he might buy a few bees, and handle 

 them himself in connection with the 

 bee-keeper he works for. He can spend 

 three or four years quite profitably 

 in learning and acquiring experience; 

 and, even after that, he may need occa- 

 sional help. The great trouble with 

 us bee-keepers is that we are so apt to 

 "know it all," and. knowing all, we 

 fail to reap the possibilities that might 

 be in store for us. 



HOW TO BEGIN IN BEE-KEEPING. 



In advocating exclusive bee-keeping, 

 I do not for a moment say that during 

 the student-period, or while acquiring 

 the numbers, experience and knowledge 

 necessary to the management of bees 

 in large numbers, one should not have 

 something to fill out both the time and 

 the pockets, but be sure to never have 

 it interfere with the interests of the 

 bees at any time of the year; and then 

 gradually work out of the side-issue 

 as the bees fill out the time and 

 income. 



SOME VIEWS OF THE DARK SIDE OF 

 BEE-KEEPING. 



The picture I la e. so far, given of 

 bee-keeping, has been rather bright; 

 therefore, the question may be asked 

 why so many go into bees onlj' to meet 

 with disappointment ? There are vari- 

 ous reasons for these failures. One of 

 the most common is that so many people 

 persist in following the bee-keeping of 

 their forefathers, "orgetting that a 

 swarm of bees in a tree is worth as 

 much to them as the most modern hive 

 with immovable frames, and no provi- 

 sion for surplus; and the person who 

 does not attempt to secure surplus, 

 whether he wants to give Nature its 

 way, or whether it is to build up a 

 full apiary quickly, almost invariably 

 fails to see to it that his bees are 

 in proper condition ybr iviiiter. 



Second : Failure to get the supplies 

 necessary to an apiary or lot of bees. 



Amongst the essentials I would place, 

 first of all, one or two good bee 

 journals. Unless you are progressive 

 enough to want them, I would advise 

 you to sell 3'our bees, for you'll fail 

 anyway; then you also need some good 

 work on bee culture. 



You cannot run for extracted honey 

 without an extractor: and it is also 

 very useful though you may be a pro- 

 ducer of comb honey. I repeat; get an 

 extractor, even though you have only 

 two colonies of bees, and it will pay 

 for itself in two years. 



You will need a good smoker; and 

 twice as many upper stories or supers 

 as you expect to need. 



Another reason of failure is exagger- 

 ated expectations of immediate returns 

 from the investment. There are poor 

 honey 3'ears when the income of the 

 professional is small, and to the be- 

 ginner it may be nothing at all; or the 

 bees may be even an expense. These 

 are the very years when the bee-keeper 

 oftentimes has to spend his hard earned 

 dollars to provide the bees with winter 

 Stores, and, to the beginner, without 



