Small Matters
Categories:
THE APIARY.
Bee Keeping:
Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
The reader who is accustomed to doing things on gigantic principles,
will consider this long "yarn" about saving a few bees in spring, a
rather small affair, and so it is; yet small matters must be attended
to if we succeed; "a small leak will sink a ship." A grain of wheat is
a small matter; 'tis only in the aggregate that its importance is
manifest. The bee is small, the load of honey brought home by it is
still less
and the quantity secreted in the nectary of each flower,
yet _more minute_. The patient bee visits each, and obtains but a tiny
morsel; by perseverance a load is obtained, and deposited in the hive;
it is only by the accumulation of such loads that we find an object
worthy our notice: here is a lesson; look to little things, and the
manner in which they are multiplied, and preserved. It is much better
to save our bees than waste them, and wait for others to be raised; "a
penny saved is worth two-pence earned." If a stock is lost by small
means, a corresponding effort is only necessary to save it. This
trifling care is sometimes neglected through indolence. But I hope for
better things generally; I am willing to believe it is thorough
ignorance, not knowing what kind of care is necessary--how, when, and
where to bestow it. This is what now appears to be my duty to tell. You
will now sufficiently understand the cause of loss on this point;
therefore, let it be a rule to have all ready in spring, before the
bees leave their hives--the stands, bee-house, etc., and not change
them.