Beekeeping

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The present book is the result of an effort to present a logical discussion of the various phases of the complex subject of beekeeping. It was not planned as a book of rules to which one may go for directions for each day's work, for beekeeping cannot be treated correctly in such a way. The activities of bees vary during the seasons and no two localities present to the bees and their owners exactly the same environmental conditions, so that the successful beekeeper is one who has a knowledge of the activities of bees, whereby he can interpret what he sees in the hives from day to day, and who can mold the instincts of the bees to his convenience and profit

It has seemed desirable in the early chapters to discuss bees as they exist without man's interference, thus giving the foundation on which the practice of beekeeping rests. The beekeeper is not especially interested in the anatomy of the bee and, while it is necessary to use illustrations of various organs and to describe them briefly, an effort has been made to treat the bee as a living animal and to have the discussion deal with physiology and especially with activities, in so far as investigations have thrown light on these processes. In the preparation of the chapters devoted to the management of the apiary, an effort has been made to present the various systems of manipulations in such a way that the underlying principles shall be evident, rather than to attempt to describe each system as if it were separate.