THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



89 



BLL-KLLPING AS A BUSINESS. 



The Importance of Being Fitted for it; 

 Choosing an Occupation; Special- 

 izing and its Advantages. 



The choice of a business or profession 

 is one of the most important questions 

 that ever a man is called upon to solve. 

 His happiness, his success, almost his 

 very existence, depends upon the wisdom 

 of his choice. So many times have I seen 

 young men changing from one kind of 

 business to another; and I have talked 

 vs'ith them and tried to find out what kind 

 of business they liked best; and so many 

 times the reply has been : "Oh, it doesn't 

 make much difference what, so long as I 

 can make the most money at it." In 

 short, most of them made the change, 

 not because they thought that they 

 were better fitted for the new business, 

 but because they hoped to make more 

 money at it. To wish to make money out 

 of a business is a laudable desire, but, 

 even from a financial standpoint, success 

 is more likely to follow if the man is 

 adapted to the business. Instead of ask- 

 ing "In what branch of business, or in 

 what profession, can 1 make the most 

 money ?" let the young man ask "For 

 what business am I best fitted ? What 

 profession or calling appeals to me the 

 most strongly ?" And once a choice has 

 been made, only the most serious consid- 

 eration should lead a man to make a 

 change. A man never ought to change 

 his business on account of ordinary diffi- 

 culties, or temporary embarrassments. 

 If fundamental principles are correct, any 

 defects in detail can be corrected. In 

 other words, if a man has gotten into the 

 right kind of business, one to which he~is 

 adapted, obstacles will not debar him 

 from success. If he has made a poor 

 choice, then no amount of help or "boost- 

 ing" will enable him to succeed. Select 

 that kind of work that you love well 



enough to do for the sake of the work 

 alone. Throw your whole soul into it, 

 and don't worry any but what the "pay" 

 will come. But I am stealing the thunder 

 of the man whose article I wish to copy, 

 that of my friend E. W. Alexander, of 

 Delanson, New York, who is writing such 

 excellent articles for Gleanings that 1 

 sometimes feel like copying all of them. 

 Here is one of special interest to the man 

 who is trying to decide whether to make 

 of bee-keeping a business for life. Mr. 

 Alexander says : — 



When our attention is called to some 

 new line of business, usually our first 

 thoughts are, "How much money can 1 

 make out of it ?" or, "How many dollars 

 can be made annually clear of all ex- 

 penses from a given amount of capital 

 invested ?" While 1 will admit that these 

 are questions of much importance- ques- 

 tions worthy of due consideration— there 

 is still one question which is of paramount 

 importance above all others, which, 1 am 

 sorry to say, we seldom think of. That is, 

 "Am I naturally qualified for that line of 

 business ? If so, then 1 have the principal 

 requirement of success; if not, then 

 no amount of study or hard labor can 

 fully take the place of my inability to 

 fulfil its requirements." Oh how many 

 of us spend our whole lives like water 

 seeking its level, and never find the busi- 

 ness that God fitted us best to follow ! 

 My young friend, if you have any thoughts 

 of taking up bee-keeping as a business, 

 then think this business over carefully 

 before you invest much money. My 

 advise would be to work one summer, at 

 least, for some successful honey-producer 

 — one who would take pains to teach you 

 all he could in regard to rearing queens, 

 forming nuclei, increasing colonies, winter- 

 ing, and producing honey — yes, and a 

 thousand and one little things which only 

 experience can teach. In this way you 

 could be earning your board and fair 

 wages while learning your business. 



In regard to the amount of money that 

 can be made from bee-keeping, it is 

 like all other rural pursuits- it depends to 

 a great extent on the season. It is no 

 get-rich-quick business; still, if rightly 

 followed, it will give as good returns one 

 year with another as any business of a 

 rural nature, considering the amount of 

 capital invested and labor required. 

 About five dollars per colony, spring count 

 clear of all expenses, is a moderate esti- 



