SOME FIRST CONSIDERATIONS.—Chapter J 
Profit from Beekeeping. 
Many millions of dollars’ worth of honey and beeswax are produced in 
the United States annually. This vast amount is distributed among many 
beekeepers—-not equally, for there are lean years and fat years in different 
localities, much depending on varying conditions of weather and plant life, 
on the conditions of health and vigor within the hive, and on the market 
and selling methods—but most of all, on the skill of the beekeeper himself. 
There are professional beekeepers devoting themselves entirely to the busi- 
ness who make large incomes from their. bees. They operate in favored 
localities, and, along witb their experience, use the most up-to-date methods. 
Many baekaspers have secured more than 200 pounds of surplus honey in 
a single season from each of their colonies. (A colony of bees is merely a 
complete family of bees.) A normal colony will in a single season produce 
on an average about 50 to 100 pounds of surplus honey. Price of honey, 
operating expenses and the yield then determine the money profit. 
To sum up conservatively the question of financial profit, it may be 
said that the successful beekeeper is very well paid in money alone for the 
time he spends in his work; and there is no other branch of agriculture 
which can be made to yield so great a return on so small an investment of 
capital as does beekeeping. In most cases, besides the money return, are 
to be reckoned the pleasure and fascination of beekeeping. It creates an 
absorbing interest in natural history and not only brings one in contact 
with the bees and all their wonderful habits but into the realm of plant life, 
a large part of which is dependent on the ‘pollinating work of the bees, 
leading on to the study of floriculture and horticulture that opens up a 
whole new world of wonders. 
Beekeeping Combined with Other Business. 
Beekeeping can be combined ‘with many other useful pursuits to ad- 
vantage. For instance, the combination of beekeeping with poultry-raising 
and fruit-growing is an excellent, all-around means of getting a comfort- 
able living from a comparatively small amount of land. A few acres are 
sufficient for these three activities. 
For those who are finding themselves unable to do the hard work of 
earlier years the combination of bees and poultry is especially suited. 
Bees require least attention when poultry needs the most. When one is 
Beekeeping and poultry-raising make a good combination. 
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