POLLEN. 



343 



PROFITS m BEES. 



During that spring a great deal of dead 

 brood was reported, and it was believed at 

 the time to be due to a lack of nitrogenous 

 food. 



POLLEN IN SECTION BOXES AND COMB 

 HONEY. 



We do not mean to convey the idea that we 

 should be satisfied with pollen in our honey, 

 for a very good and useful thing is some- 

 times a very bad one, if out of place. When 

 pollen or meal is brought into the hive, it is 

 taken, at once, very near the brood; in fact, 

 it is placed in the comb opposite, if possible. 

 When opening hives in the spring, we find 

 pollen scattered all through the brood-combs 

 to some extent; but the two combs next the 

 two outside brood-combs are often a solid 

 mass of pollen. Should a few stormy days 

 intervene, however, this will disappear so 

 quickly that one who has not Avitnessed the 

 rapidity with which it is used in brood-rear- 

 ing would not know how to account for it. 

 When it is gone, of course the brood rearing 

 must cease, although the qneen may con- 

 tinue to lay. The amount of brood that 

 can be reared by keeping a stock supplied 

 with pollen artificially, during such unfa- 

 vorable weather, is a very important item 

 where rapid increase of stock is desired. 



Some of those who use shallow hives have 

 complained that pollen would go up into the 

 sections. This can usually be obviated by 

 putting a comb of pollen in the brood-nest. 

 The presence of this below will usually in- 

 duce the storage of more pollen in the same 

 place, leaving the sections clear for the stor- 

 age of honey only. The same principle will 

 apply of course to deeper hives; but it is very 

 seldom that pollen will be found in the sec- 

 tions where the brood-nest is as deep as the 

 Langstroth. It is where there is less depth 

 that there is danger. 



QUEEN -EXCLUDING HONEY -BOARDS NOT 

 NECESSARILY AN EXCLUDER OF POLLEN. 



It is said that the strips of perforated 

 zinc in the slatted honey-board will largely 

 prevent the storage of pollen above. From 

 what experience we have had, we are inclined 

 to think the zinc will discourage it to some 

 extent ; but from the incident above related 

 it will be observed that, if contraction be 

 carried too far, the bees will put the pollen 

 where they please, zinc or no zinc. 



For a further consideration of this sub- 

 ject see Fruit-blossoms. 



PRIORITY RIGHTS. 



ING. 



See OvERSTOCK- 



PROriTS IN BEES. This question is a / 

 hard one to answer, as so much depends on 

 the locality and the man, and the number of 

 bees to the area. 



On the average, perhaps, in the Northern 

 States, in what is known as the rain-belt, 

 one might expect to get anywhere from 25 

 to 50 lbs. of comb honey, and perhaps from 

 25 to 50 per cent more of extracted. There 

 will be some seasons when he might secure 

 as much as 100 lbs. on an average, and oc- 

 casional seasons when there would be nei- 

 ther comb nor extracted and the bees would 

 require to be fed. Taking one year with 

 another, a small bee-keeper ought to aver- 

 age about 35 lbs. of coml) honey, on a con- 

 servative estimate, providing he has reason- 

 able skill and love for the business. The 

 comb honey might net him, deducting the 

 expense of selling, from 10 to 15 cents ; the 

 extracted, from 7 to 10. These figures do 

 not include the labor of producing the hon- 

 ey nor the cost of the fixtures. The cost of 

 the supplies, exclusive of sections and foun- 

 dation, ought to be sufficient to cover 10 to 

 20 years if no increase is made. Suppose 

 we put the comb honey at 35 lbs. as the 

 average, and the price secured 14 cents net. 

 The actual money he would get from the 

 commission merchant or grocer might be 

 about $5 00 per coh >ny ; but out of this he 

 must deduct a certain amount for labor, and 

 10 per cent on the cost of supplies, to be on 

 the safe side. 



With only a few bees the labor would 

 count for nothing, as the work could be 

 performed by some member of the family or 

 by the man of the house, who should, during 

 his spire hours, do a little with bees and 

 work in his garden. In case of one, two, or 

 three hundred the labor item must be figur- 

 ed. The larger the number crowding the 

 available territory the smaller the profit per 

 hive. A rough estimate for an apiary in a 

 locality not overstocked, not including the 

 labor on the $5.00 actually received for hon- 

 ey sold, ought to leave a net profit some- 

 where about $4.-50. This would be on the 

 basis that the locality did not require much 

 feeding in the fall. If feeding was found to 

 be necessary, 50 cents more would have to 

 be deducted, making a net profit of $4.00. 

 On this basis it will be seen that the profit 

 in one season ought to pay for the hives and 

 supers in one year, or come very close to 

 it, leaving the investment good for ten or 

 more years. If we figure it that way the ten 

 per cent need not be added. For a pro- 

 fessional man, or one who has other busi- 



