1] 



Miiy ■_'4. N'etch. Uevx woik on steins. 

 " 28. — While clover and liawtlioiii. 

 Jnne 7. — Snow lieny, elmkelieny, nmstiinl, stuiiecLdp. 

 " 22. — Beesvnshingon Hiiowbuny. Golilenrod, liiickwheat, tireweed, sage, sweet 

 elovei-, and alfalfa are reported from various parts of tlie I'rovinre, but 

 dates of l)looining are not gi\eii. 



CHAPTER II. 



Starting Bee-keeping. 



To learn tlie art of bee-keeping, one must keep liees. It is not enough to Inty a 

 colony and trust to luek for the outcome ; the owner must learn to keep hees, that is to 

 say, have them at the end of some detiLiite period, say twelve months oi- ti\e years, or 

 longer. The beginner in bee-keeping must realise that bees are just a variety of stock, 

 like cattle, hogs, or chickens, and, like them, iiuist be taken care i>f ; therefore, he must 

 learn about bee needs and bee haViits, so that in times of necessity lie can give the little 

 aid that is re(iuired to tirle them over the period of troulile. Too many beginners assume 

 that bees need n<j care, that they will work for nothing and l)oard them.selves, yielding 

 profit in the form of honeys and multiplying their kind several times in the coui'se of a 

 single season, so that by the investment of a few dollars in one hive there will in a very 

 few 3'ears result agocid-sized apiarj' that has easily paid its way out of surplus honev'. 



The actual facts do not correspond with so vosy a picture. Witliout doul)t, Ijees 

 will pay bettei' returns for the capital, time, and labour invested than any form of farm 

 enterprise ; but the big I'ctinais are got, one year with anotlier, as the result of 

 knowledge and skill judiciously applied. It is undoubtedly true that in most years bees 

 reproduce themselves prolificly by means (jf swainis ; liut this is Nature's way of 

 compensating for a high death-rate in normal conditions, so that there will generally Vje 

 in an average of years just about the same number of colonies in a certain locality. 

 Any permanent increase must be brought about bj' the skill of the bee-keeper. 



Again, the production of surplus honey is not the reason for the existence of the 

 colony ; this result is due to the manipulations of the apiarist. In a state of nature, 

 \i hat would be surplus honey is transformed into more bees, until the hive is overflowing 

 when it divides, often several times, into duplicates of itself. Bees, we thus see, make 

 honey, and then out of the honey make more bees. So the colony that sends off swarms 

 is not always a honey-producer that season ; hence tlie bee-keeper who is working for 

 surplus honey is generally endeavouring to find a sure method for the prevention of 

 swarming 



The purjiose of tliis book is to set the beginner in bee-keeping in British Columbia 

 on the right track, but he is advised to see, if possilile, an experienced apiarist open 

 and examine a hive, if for no other reason than to gain confidence in himself, so that he 

 may do slowly and methodically what he is tempted to rush rather hastil}'. 



How TO .STAKT BkE-KEEI'IN( !. 



In most regions the best time to begin bee-keeping is in the end of April or the 

 beginning of May. Not only is it near the commencement of the honey-flow, which in 

 this Province is mostly from wliite clover in June, but the risk of loss through the 

 death of the colony is at the minimum. Of course, the novice is ignorant of what 

 constitutes a good colony ; but if he buys a hive in which the bees are clustering in six 



