14 BEEKEEPING 



eide to keep bees for any one of these rea- 

 sons be certain that you start with a mod- 

 est number. One good colony is enough 

 for the beginner. More than five is too 

 many. 



A few words back I spoke of the bees 

 from the standpoint of interest. They 

 are the most entertaining thing on a farm 

 — after you begin to understand them, 

 A few "hives" set out back of the barn in 

 a neglected corner and forgotten about 

 from one year to the next are not inter- 

 esting, but a well-kept colony of bees will 

 provide an unflagging interest to the old- 

 est as well as to the youngest member of 

 the family. Last summer a friend was 

 visiting the orchard. He was a city-bred 

 man not familiar with anything on a mod- 

 em farm. One day I asked him if he 

 would help me with some photographs 

 that I wanted to take of a certain colony 

 of bees. He consented rather reluctantly 

 I thought and then I remembered that he 

 had probably no conception of what the 



