FOREWORD 



but when it came to real knowledge of 

 their habits, I had none. 



But for the kindly help of the man to 

 whom this volume is dedicated my flound- 

 erings would have been prolonged and I 

 would have accumulated information as I 

 accumulated stings — ^by a painful process. 



A book of this size does not and can not 

 claim to tell all there is to know on the 

 subject of beekeeping in spite of its title. 

 The subject is a big one and it has many 

 sides. The beekeeper must be content to 

 be a student, learning a little each year 

 and with the consolation that men have 

 spent their lives in the study only to leave 

 many unsolved problems behind them. 



If the little book serves as an introduc- 

 tion to the facinating business of keeping 

 bees and if it guides the steps of its read- 

 ers in the right direction it has fulfilled 

 its purpose. The writer has had no other 

 object in view. 



B. W. D. 



