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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.



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