Pasture to the beekeeper is everything; if that be poor, his returns will be poor; hence he should carefully examine his location. Districts vary greatly in their flora, and by a careful study of this question before locating, disappointment will be avoided. The beekeeper should be a walking calendar of the flora of his neighborhood for miles around, then, as the honey comes pouring in, he can tell its source and label it accordingly. This knowledge will enable him to build up colonies, and follow the old advice, “Keep your colonies strong;” so that when the honey does come, there are bees to gather it in.
The management of bees kept for profit will vary according to the object of the beekeeper, whether it be the production of honey or the rearing of bees or queens. In running for honey alone, we have the swarming and the non-swarming methods. The experiences of good bee-men are so diversified that one is reminded of the old saying, “when doctors differ, the patient dies.” The bee-man must strike out his own line of action suitable to his own special circumstances. In running for extracted honey, swarming is, to a great extent, controlled, for “Poverty maketh humble;” but I insist that the good bee-man will know the condition of each hive, and act accordingly.
The specialist is a man who reads, and although he may not get or use a single one of the many traps, or patent articles now offered, he should know all about them; for at any moment, what he has read about these things may give him an idea, the successful carrying out of which may help him over a difficulty. The capacity of the beekeeper to attend to a certain number of colonies, be it greater or less, will have a great influence on the profits of the pursuit. As a pursuit, beekeeping should not be entered into without careful thought and consideration as to the capital required, the location and the suitability of the employment to one’s temperament. To-day, before embarking in the business, it is possible for the intending beekeeper to serve an actual and willing apprenticeship in the yards of well-known and successful bee-masters. I need dwell not upon the advantages of this plan for they are obvious.
To the enthusiast with but small experience, I would say, “Go slow!” Read the good bee-literature now so easy to be obtained, and never be above learning from others. Visit beekeepers wherever you can enjoy the privilege, attend bee-conventions, and gradually a store of knowledge will be gathered upon which you will draw with profit later on.
Profitable beekeeping as a pursuit is, to my mind, the outcome of the union of two great factors—“talent” and “tact;” for “talent is power, tact is skill; talent is wealth, tact is ready money; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it; talent makes the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact excites astonishment that it gets on so fast; talent may obtain a living, but tact will make one. Talent convinces, tact converts; talent is an honor to the profession, tact has the knack of slipping into good places, and keeping them; it seems to know everything without learning anything: it has no left hand, no deaf ear, no blind side, with a full knowledge of the Pythagorean doctrine, ‘that a man ought rather to be silent, or say something better than silence.’”
I submit these remarks to my fellow beekeepers, being painfully conscious of many shortcomings from the high standard of excellence that man should attend to who in these days goes into “beekeeping as a pursuit.”
Germantown, Pa.
HOWES’ REVERSIBLE FRAME-SUPPORT.
By C. J. F. Howes.
To whom does the invention belong? From articles lately appearing in Gleanings in Bee Culture, and editorial comments thereon, I think there is a misapprehension of what the above invention consists, or what it really is, and whose property it is. The above-mentioned articles and editorials are, I feel, doing me an injustice, and have a tendency, virtually, to rob me of all the benefits, to say nothing of the “honors,” of the discovery, which I had considered to be my property.