14 Beekeeping 



power of concentration and sympathetic understanding of 

 the bees are essentials and, as a result, the bees become pets 

 rather than beasts of burden to the true bee-crank. Per- 

 sons who fail to appreciate bees from this point of view will 

 probably find it more pleasant and profitable to let them 

 alone. Like all general statements about bees, there are 

 exceptions to this one. Some who are financially successful 

 beekeepers are totally devoid of sympathetic interest in 

 bees and have learned to handle bees as it were by force. 

 Such men are out of place as amateur beekeepers and in- 

 deed fail to reach the highest success as professionals. 



The ardent bee-man finds pleasure in comparing expe- 

 riences and observations with his co-workers, in conventions 

 and out, and some of the best "conventions" are those in 

 which two or three experienced beekeepers spend half or 

 more of the night in talking over their latest ideas. They 

 discuss new and supposedly improved apparatus and all 

 the latest systems of manipulation, for there seem to be 

 styles and fads in beekeeping as in clothes. The man who 

 fails to find pleasure in such an interchange of views will 

 find himself out of place among bee-enthusiasts. 



Not only is a knowledge of what to do necessary to success 

 with bees, but it is equally necessary that the right thing 

 be done at the right time. To put on comb-honey supers 

 too late, to delay the necessary steps in swarm control or 

 to neglect the preparation of bees for winter, all mean loss 

 in bees, honey and money. In the make-up of the beekeeper 

 must be promptness to do the things which his experience 

 teaches. In the hands of the wise, the bees need remark- 

 ably little attention. They should not be manipulated 

 daily and the hive is better unopened unless some change 

 is called for. The beginner errs almost universally in over- 

 manipulation. It must not be forgotten, however, that the 

 reduction in handling which comes with experience is not 

 neglect, and the beekeeper must know daily whether the 

 condition of the nectar-secreting plants or of his colonies 

 calls for any manipulation. This requires experience and 



