, 1908-06-13
BEE. KEEPING AS A RURAL
INDUSTRY.
Times, 1St MuA.)

L IWCS, ISL LHuy.)
Until about SIXTY years ago bee excepting
in this country could hardly be considered
an industry still less could the terms cart
and "science' be applied to it. Now it can
be included in each Of the three categoriee.
1t is true that for centuries the value Of
honey and wax has been well known, and
much attention has been, with some success,
given to the natural his DRY of bees but
the methods of management continued TO be
OF q very primitive kind, and yielded com
paratigely poor results. The places in which
swarms were found, or were induced to live,
wee simply cavities in rocks, natural or
Artificial hollows in tree trunks, earthonware
vessels of different shapes, and, in later
times, straw hives or '~skeps''. All these
receptacles not only presented considerable
difficulty IN getting combs of honey out Of
them, but, what is in the eyes Of modern
bee keepers o matter of stIll creator mo-
ment, they necessitated the slaughter of the
bees before their stores could be taken.
With the advent of hives containing nova
bic frames bookkeeping was entirely reyolu-
tionized. Through this appliance not only
was an end put to killing the bees, but now
the.condition ofany stock as to healthines4 and
sutticlency of food can be easily ascortained,
and necessary treatment can be given weak
or queenless stocks can be united artificial
swarms can be made; young queens substi-
tuted Tor OLD OLes md, moreover, it can be
SAD, without exaggeration, that under skill
ful management three or four times more
honey can be secured than was obtainable
under former conditions of working.
Several other circumstance have contri-
buted to raise Bookkeeping to the rank OF
q science and an art. First, there has been a
considerable output of excellent literature
on the subject. Guide-books, brought up
to date, have been issued ut prices WI ioh
even cottagers can well afford. Researches
relating to diseases of bees have been sue
c%essfully carried on, and suitable remedies
can now be applied. But perhaps the most
efficient means of advance have resulted
from the institution of The British Bee-keep-
ers' Association "a years ago. It's objects
were stated to be ''the advocating of more
humane and INTEL gent treatment of the
honey-bee; the bettering Of the condition of
the cottagers of the United Kingdom by
the encouragement, Improvement, and ad-
vancement of bee-culture and, further, the
increase of the homo supply of wholesome
food" The purposes thus set forth have
been kept strictly i'll view, aud have been
successfully brought out. Then, also, help
and advice have been given in the forma-
ton of county associations of bee-keeper5 +;
and of these no less than % are, at the
present time, in affliation with the parent
association. Each of these has for its Pre-
sident some lady or gentleman of position
and influence. Princess Christian has gra-
ciously taken the headship of the Berkshire
Association, and Princess Henry of Batten-
berg that of the Isle of Wight.
Further stimulus to Bookkeeping is annu-
ally given by exhibitions Of honey, hives,
and various appliances, for which valuable
prizes are awarded, also by lectures and
manipulations illustrative of bee keeping,
and largely by tours of experts to as many
apiaries as are known to secretaries of the
county associations. These experts are
holders of certificates granted after exami-