CHAPTER II 

 THE BUSINESS OF BEE-KEEPING 



Few 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 bee-keepers are studious, questioning individuals, in- 



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