WHY KEEP BEES 11 



place most of our fruit grown in commer- 

 cial orchards is picked before it reaches 

 a stage when it would be attractive to 

 bees. 



But lest the reader think that bees are 

 of value only as an influence in fruit 

 growing let me assure him that they also 

 sometimes produce a surplus of honey 

 which is widely known and justly famous 

 as an article of human food. 



When I say they ''sometimes produce 

 a surplus" I am adhering strictly to the 

 truth because they often do not produce 

 enough for their own use during the fol- 

 lowing winter. The reason for such fail- 

 ures will be developed as this book pro- 

 gresses. Suffice it to say, however, that 

 the cause of failure is usually with the 

 man who owns the bees rather than with 

 the bees themselves. I am assured on 

 good authority that there are eight hun- 

 dred thousand beekeepers in this coun- 

 try and that less than ten per cent, of 

 them are good beekeepers. 



