THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



151 



to Gleanings, which appeared in the 

 March 15th issue: 



First, a brief backward glance at the 

 past, a glimpse of the present, then let 

 the eye rest upon the future. 



In the past, almost every farmer had a 

 small flock of sheep, two or three cows, a 

 dozen or two hens, raised an acre of flax, 

 made his own cheese and clothing, and. 

 among other things, kept a few hives of 

 bees -brimstoning the heaviest and light- 

 est in the fall. Had a man attempted 

 bee-keeping as a specialty, the keeping of 

 one hundred or even fifty colonies, he 

 would have been looked upon as visionary, 

 wild, almost a lunatic: and, under the ex- 

 isting conditions, it would have been a 

 foolish move. The product would have 

 been in poor shape for transportation or 

 retailing, the facilities for transportation 

 most meager, and a sufticient number of 

 consumers most difficult to find and 

 reach. 



As the years rolled by. population in- 

 creased wonderfully; railroads, steam- 

 boats, and other modes of transportation 

 multiplied: and then came the invention 

 of the movable-comb hive, the honey ex- 

 tractor, the bee-smoker, comb foundat'on, 

 and the section honey-box. The product 

 of the apiary was secured in a marketable, 

 transportable shape; there were means of 

 transportation, and a market. Men be- 

 gan keeping bees in larger numbers, mak- 

 ing a prominent side issue of a business 

 that eventually grew into specialty. Bee 

 journals came upon the field of action; 

 factories for the manufacture of bee sup- 

 plies were built, and bee-keeping as a 

 separate rural industry became an estab- 

 lished fact. 



But there were many problems to be 

 solved. The successful wintering of the 

 bees, and the control of increase or 

 swarming, were difficult of solution, and 

 bee-keeping as understood and managed 

 in those days was truly an uncertain pur- 

 suit — very profitable if things turned out 

 well, but likely to leave the bee-keeper 

 some fine spring morning, with only 

 empty hives and combs. It is no wonder 

 that the advice was to combine bee-keep- 

 ing with some other pursuit. Gradually 

 the diflficulties were overcome. Foul brood 

 could be banished from an apiary or from 

 a neighborhood; swarming could be pre- 

 vented or forestalled, and the proper food, 

 temperature, ventilation, etc.. brought the 

 bees safely through long severe winters. 

 That bee-keeping might be depended upon 

 as a sole business was proved by the 

 success of such men as Crane. Hethering- 

 ton. Coggshall. Elwood. Holtermann. Mil- 

 ler, Townsend, Coverdale. Aikin. Gill. Mc- 



Intyre, Mende'eson. and many others 

 equally successful but not so widely 

 known. 



This is an age of specialty, and bee- 

 keeping is no exception to the rule. One 

 farmer is a stock-grower; another raises 

 potatoes, as did Mr. Terry; another, great 

 fislds of cabbages; another, fruits, etc., 

 and. instead of keeping a few bees, they 

 buy their honey of the man who makes a 

 specialty of its production, he in turn buy- 

 ing his meat, milk, and potatoes. Many 

 who are now keeping bees in connection 

 with some other pursuit are asking them- 

 selves and others if they shall drop this 

 other pursuit and make a sole business of 

 bee-keeping. To such 1 would say that 

 never were the prospects brighter for 

 making a success of bee-keeping as a 

 sole business. 



One feature that 1 have not touched 

 upon, and it is most important, is the con- 

 tinually increasing demand for honey. Its 

 use for manufacturing purposes, especial- 

 ly by thegreat baking companies through- 

 out the country, has done more to put 

 commsrcial bee-keeping upon a sound 

 basis than many of us dream. The prices 

 paid are not high, but the demand is 

 large and steady, which is of vastly more 

 importance. The handling of crops of 

 honey is drifting away from the hands of 

 the commission merchant into those of 

 the cash buyer. Honey has really become 

 a staple, in good demand, and can be 

 readily sold for cash almost any day of 

 the year, the same as butter, wheat and 

 potatoes. 



There is really no great diflficulty in 

 wintering bees without loss. An under- 

 ground or suitable cellar, where the tem- 

 perature is beyond the influence of outside 

 temperature, properly ventilated, and the 

 bees supplied with early-gathered well- 

 ripened natural stores, or else fed a syrup 

 made from granulated sugar, solves the 

 wintering problem. There are several 

 methods. notably "shook swarming." 

 whereby distant apiaries may be man- 

 aged by occasional visits, with no loss 

 from absconding swarms. 



The first thing to be considered in em- 

 barking in bee-keeping as a sole business 

 is the location. This is the foundation of 

 bee-keeping as a specialty. I would never 

 think of such a thing as making a spec- 

 ialty of bee-keeping in a poor location. 

 Still further, unless the location is differ- 

 ent from any with which 1 have had ex- 

 perience, 1 would not attempt specialty 

 with bees in one location — certainly not 

 with only one apiary. With the systems 

 of management now in use, it is possible 

 to care for an apiary many mites from 



