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THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



time to preach perseverance to the novices 

 and beginners in bee-culture than at 

 present. No business in the world is 

 more apt to encourage or discourage to 

 excess, those who enter it, than this occu- 

 pation of ours. When the honey crop is 

 good, the bees swarm freely, and the 

 number of colonies in an apiary increases 

 rapidly, the bee-keeper who has but a 

 short experience thinks he has struck a 

 mine of the finest gold ; but when the sum- 

 mer is too dry, and the bees decrease in 

 numibers, go into winter quarters with a 

 small force, and dwindle down in the 

 spring, he is very apt to conclude that 

 there is nothing in the pursuit worth car- 

 ing for. 



In an experience of some 4o years, we 

 have seen many of these ups and downs. 

 Some 25 years ago we had a wonderful 

 season for swarming. I was then handl- 

 ing an apiary of about 60 colonies on 

 shares, in addition to our own 5 apiaries. 

 These bees, located near the Mississippi 

 river bottoms had a very nice range of 

 fall bloom. They swarmed until the num- 

 ber of colonies was almost trebled, and 

 many hives filled their supers besides. 

 The oldest son of the family, then about 

 18 years old, concluded that there was 

 nothing to equal bee-culture, and assured 

 me that he would go into the bu.siiiess in 

 good earnest the foliowinj^ spring. But 

 the winter v/as very severe. A number 

 of the late swarms were not strong enough 

 in bees to withstand the terrible cold, and 

 scores of colonies died with plenty of 

 stores in the brood-cham.ber. This changed 

 our young man's ideas, and he concluded 

 that if there was a "royal road to wealth." 

 bee-culture was not on that road. 1 tried 

 to explain to him that winter losses could 

 soon be recouped as long as there were a 

 number of colonies remain'ng t3 breed 

 from, and plenty of combs and honey to 

 make increase by division, or wha*' is 

 now called "shook-swarms." But nothing 

 would do. and at his instigation the father 

 sold me most of the bees and kept only a 

 few colonies. 



There have been plenty of instances of 

 such discouragements after good seasons. 

 The success and failure of most lines of 

 business, and of many crops, are like the 

 waves of the sea— full of ups and downs. 

 Now you are on the crest of the waves, 

 and now between two billows that threaten 

 to engulf you. But with a good rudder, 

 and a good, determined man at the helm, 

 there is no such thing as "fail." The 

 methods are always being improved, and 

 the management is becoming easier every 

 day. 



But we must not expect sunshine every 



day, neither should we expect a storm 

 every night. 1 remember that, a few years 

 ago, a man living in the vicinity of East 

 St. Louis, had sola something like $2,000 

 worth of cabbages from 5 acres. The 

 next season everybody around hin-i planted 

 cabbages, with the result that they could 

 hardly be given away, and had to be 

 shipped to a distant market. Then all 

 those who had so willingly rushed into 

 this business rushed out again with the 

 same eagerness. But the man who has 

 experience and perseverance does not 

 give up because of a failure. He knows 

 that after the storm, comes me sunshine, 

 and he makes ready for that sunshine, 

 while the storm is raging. 



In this part of Illinois, the summer of 

 1906 and the spring of 1907 were prob- 

 ably the worst known in 40 years for bee- 

 culture. At any rate, I had never seen 

 such unfavorable conditions for bees, up 

 to the beginning of June, 1907. But so 

 long as we have bees enough to build up 

 again, there is no need to give up. On 

 the contrary, it is then that one must 

 persevere with renewed energy, for there 

 are going to be plenty of weak hearts, 

 and those who give up make the market 

 better for those who stay in the business. 

 Se3 tlie prices cf honey rising. It is be- 

 cause of poor crops and discouragements. 

 But some of the bee-keepers are already 

 reaping a reward for perseverance. Those 

 who have held on and sustained their 

 apiaries are in many places harvesting 

 good crops, for which they secure a good 

 price. 



This is not the case only with bees or 

 cabbage. Take the grape-growing busi- 

 ness. For years grapes have sold at a 

 loss to the producer, because they were 

 too cheap. This year, many vineyards 

 have been destroyed, and those who took 

 care of their grapes are securing a good 

 price. 



So dear friends, if you have had bad 

 seasons, do not give up; care for your 

 .bees with renewed courage and firmness. 

 But if you have had good seasons — ex- 

 traordinary crops — do not imagine that 

 there are no mor^ storms ahead. On the 

 contrary, take heed, for by and by, another 

 storm will come. Bad winters and dry 

 summers are not over; but, on the whole, 

 remember that ihere is money in bee- 

 culture for the man who "stays with it." 



In my opinion, the prices of honey are 

 destined to remain firm for many years. 

 There have bean short crops, apiaries are 

 less numerous, and, in addition, the new 

 pure food law is putting a stop to much 

 of the adulteration, so that we have a 

 much better chance to inspire confidence 



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