CHAPTER II 
THE BUSINESS OF BEE-KEEPING 
Fw persons think of bee-keeping as a business. The ordin- 
ary conception is that of a diversion, a side line on the farm, 
or a harmless pursuit for old men. Perhaps 90 per cent of 
those keeping bees may be included in one of these classes, of 
which a very large number will come under the head of keeping 
bees as a diversion. 
The public is just now beginning to realize the fact that bee- 
keeping is a real man’s-sized job, and that an able-bodied man 
of good education can profitably occupy his time with bees. 
When considering the ‘possibilities of any occupation as a 
lifetime pursuit, the careful person makes inquiry along several 
lines: Is the business congenial? What are the advantages ? 
What are the probable returns ? 
No specialized branch of agriculture requires more skill to 
be successfully pursued as an exclusive business than honey 
production. The man who cannot or will not give close attention 
to details, promptly, should never be a bee-keeper. The whole 
business is one of details, and apparently unimportant things are 
of the utmost importance. To such an extent is this true, that 
it often happens that the scientific bee man will get a crop of 
honey in an off season, when his neighbor, with the same kind 
of equipment and apparently following the same general plan, 
gets no surplus. In most localities the honey flows are of short 
duration, and everything hinges on getting the bees in proper 
condition to store the maximum of honey when the flow is on. 
The honey producer must see to it that his dish is right side up 
when it rains nectar. 
The man or woman who is of a studious disposition, loves 
nature, and delights in out-of-door pursuits, is likely to find bee- 
keeping a congenial occupation. Most of the conspicuously suc- 
cessful beekeepers are studious, questioning individuals, in- 
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