BEE-CULTURE. 



PART I.— ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The advice here given, though it concerns chiefly beginners who 

 contemplate taking up bee-culture as a business, applies also to those 

 who merely wish to keep a few hives of bees as a hobby and to work 

 them successfully. 



Any person may become a beekeeper, but to become a bee-master 

 the aspirant must possess more than an ordinary share of patience 

 and perseverance, and also be prepared to give the subject of bee-culture 

 his most careful study. He should be discerning and resourceful, have 

 good judgment, with keen insight to anticipate and be swift to take 

 advantage of all circumstances likely to lead to success — in short, he 

 should possess just such qualities as would contribute to his prosperity 

 in any line of life. Procrastination is a serious imperfection under all 

 circumstances, and especially so in bee-culture : bee- work cannot be put 

 off without great loss ; it must be done when needed ; in fact, it should 

 be anticipated — a bee-master always keeps a little ahead of his bees. 



It must be distinctly understood that successful bee-farming cannot 

 be carried on without a good deal of work and close application, but, 

 as the work to a bee-master is both interesting and congenial, it is never 

 irksome. AU bee-masters are enthusiasts in their calling ; hence, in a 

 great measure, their success. It may be said of those adapted for bee- 

 keeping that once a beekeeper always a beekeeper, for about the work 

 there is undoubtedly, in spite of the stings, a charm which, once 

 experienced, never loses its attractions. 



Bee-culture is a rapidly progressive industry ; new methods and 

 appliances are constantly coming to the front, and things that are new 

 to-day may be obsolete to-morrow. It therefore behoves the beekeeper 

 to keep himself posted in everything going on in the beekeeping world 

 through the excellent bee literature now at command. 



Who should not keep Bees. 



All beginners suffer more or less from the effects of bee-stings, 

 but in most cases the bad effects wear off gradually as the system 

 becomes inoculated against the poison, until, finally, little more 

 inconvenience is felt from a sting than would be caused by the prick 

 of a needle. In rare instances, however, there are to be found people 

 who suffer so severely that a sting is positively dangerous to them : 

 their system never seems to become immune to the poison. It is 

 scarcely necessary to say that such persons should not keep bees. 

 Again, there are individuals too nervous to go among their bees without 

 being clad in armour, as it were, from head to feet. There are many 

 such who have kept bees for a long time, and yet have never been able 

 to get over their nervousness. Such people should not keep bees. No 



