PKEFACE. 3 



tending to diminish the size of families, and the appli* 

 cation of remedies. Whether success has attended my 

 efforts or not, the reader can judge, after a perusal of 

 the work. 



It is time that the word "?mc^," as applied to bee- 

 keeping, was discarded. The prevailing opinion, that 

 bees will prosper for one person more than another, 

 under the same circumstances, is fallacious. As well 

 might it be applied to the mechanic and farmer. The 

 careless, ignorant farmer, might occasionally succeed 

 in raising a crop with a poor fence; but would be lia- 

 ble, at any time, to lose it by trespassing cattle. He 

 might have suitable soil in the beginning, but without 

 knowledge, for the proper application of manures, it 

 might fail to produce ; unless a chance application hap- 

 pened to be right. 



But with the intelligent farmer the case is different : 

 fences in order, manures judiciously applied, and with 

 propitious seasons, he makes a sure thing of it. Call 

 him " lucky" if you please; it is his knowlfedge, and 

 care, that render him so. So with bee-keeping, the 

 careful man is the "lucky" one.- There can be no 

 effect without a preceding cause. If you lose a stock 

 of bees, there is a cause or causes producing it, just as 

 certain as the failure of a crop with the unthrifty farm- 

 er, can be traced to a poor fence, or unfruitful soil. 

 You may rest assured^ that a rail is off your fence of 

 management somewhere, or the proper, applications 

 have not been made. In relation to bees, these things 

 may not be quite so apparent, yet nevertheless true. 

 Why is there so much more uncertainty in apiarian 



