INTRODUCTION 13 



and the upkeep about 3/- yearly, further comments 

 on the profitable nature of the pursuit are super- 

 fluous. 



Again, as regards selling the produce the bee- 

 keeper is in a most enviable position. The supply 

 of first-class British honey is not nearly sufficient 

 to meet the demand, and good prices are readily 

 realized. The imports of foreign honey into this 

 country are of the value of about £35,000 an- 

 nually. This honey finds a market, apart from its 

 use in manufacture, mainly owing to the paucity in 

 the home supply, for which there is an ever in- 

 creasing demand. 



There is no foreign honey which can compare 

 in quality with the native article. A further point 

 is that good honey will keep for an indefinite 

 period without deteriorating in any way, and, 

 should low prices rule, the bee-keeper can hold 

 his produce for a better market without suffering 

 loss. This necessity does not often arise, except 

 in the case of a honey glut, as in the record 

 /year of 1906. Many poor colonies secured fifty 

 pounds of surplus honey in that year, and some 

 of my own yielded over a hundredweight each in a 

 medium district. 



It will thus be seen what an aid to success a 

 well-ordered apiary can be, and it is within the 

 power of nearly every man to become a successful 

 bee-keeper. The attention required is really very 

 little. No special location is necessary, as any. 

 rough corner which is not suitable for cultiva- 



