FOREWORD 
2 
there is at least $75,000,000 worth of honey produced annually in the United 
States, and also about $3,000,000 worth of beeswax. The business of keep¬ 
ing bees has grown to be so enormous that there are several large bee-supply 
manufacturers who send out carloads of hives and honey-boxes all over the 
United States and to foreign countries. 
During the great World War, and especially during the years 1917 to 1919. 
the production of honey was enormously increased. This was due to the fact 
that sugar was very scarce and high-priced much of the time, and rationed out 
to families m lots not exceeding two pounds. During this period also sugar 
was almost unobtainable in Europe. 
It is a well-known fact that honey or sugar is a necessary element in food 
in the human dietary. When sugar was obtainable in only very small lots, the 
only substitute of any sweetening value and of good flavor was honey. The 
call was sent over the land to produce more food, and that, of course, in¬ 
cluded honey. Honey began to go to Europe by the shipload, and the price 
rose frbm 6, 7, and 8 cents in carlots for extracted, to 20, 22, and even 27 cents 
in New York; and when it arrived in Europe, the price was from $1.00 to $2.00 
a pound in small bottles. 
Not only the business of honey production was very greatly stimulated in 
the United States, but the price of bees rose from $5.00, $6.00, and $7.00 per 
colony up to $15.00 and $25.00. The bee-pupply factories were rushed almost 
day and night to keep up with orders. In the meantime the housewife was 
obliged in place of sugar to use honey, which she could buy in any quantity if 
she had the price—50 cents per pound in pound bottles. 
After the war was over, prices naturally began to sag, so that they were 
soon down almost to a pre-war basis. But comb honey continued to.be sold at 
its former price, retailing all the way from 40 to 50 cents a pound. The result 
of the late war was to introduce honey as a food into families where it had 
never been eaten before. It was also forced into the arts and trades, so that 
the future of the honey business is greater than ever. Of course it can not run 
at the high pace it did during the war. 
Modern appliances and modern methods have now made it possible for 
specialists, backlotters, and farmers to handle bees with few or no stings; to 
take the honey away without destroying the hives, combs, or bees—indeed, 
they all alike find both pleasure and profit in the study and in the handling of 
these wonderful little insects, that, in the language of the day, ‘ ‘ work for noth¬ 
ing and board themselves.” While this is not literally true, of course, the little 
creatures will toil day in and day out and allow their owner to take the product 
of their toil before their very ej*s, and rob them day after day, without so 
much as offering a single sting, that is, provided, of course, their owner knows 
how. It is the province of this work to show “how” all these things can be 
done and are being done by many thousands scattered all over the United 
States. 
The modern movable frame, as already mentioned, has made it possible 
for the owner of bees to go clear thru his hives, remove the combs, and inspect 
every portion of the hives and the bees. After learning their condition he can 
put the combs back, close the hive up, and, if he follows directions, he will prob¬ 
ably receive no stings. 
The bee-smoker (see “Smoke and Smokers”) will quiet bees, and when neces¬ 
sary, and that is not often, drive them down thru the combs in utter confusion. 
In fact, smoke so diverts their attention from the thought of defense and offense 
that they become passive and tractable. While the smoker may be used as a 
means of control, it also in the hands of an ignorant or careless person may be 
used as an instrument of torture. If instructions are followed there will be no 
