5 
a consideration which generally has some weight and is often the chief 
factor in leading one to undertake the care of bees. Certainly, where 
large apiaries are planned, the prime object is the material profit, for 
they require much hard labor and great watchfulness, and the per- 
formance of the work at stated times is imperative, so that in this case 
there is less opportunity than where but a few colonies are kept to make 
a leisurely study of the natural history and habits of these interesting 
insects, because—unless the keeper is willing to forego a considerable 
portion of his profits—his time must necessarily be almost wholly taken 
up in attending to the most apparent wants of his charges. 
One very naturally supposes that the return from a single hive, or 
several of them, in a given locality, may be taken as a fair index of 
what may be expected each season. Such return, if considered aver- 
age, may serve as a basis on which to reckon, but as so many conditions 
influence it great differences in actual results will be found to occur in 
successive seasons. <Apiculture, like all other branches of agriculture, 
depends largely upon the natural resources of the location, and the 
favorableness or unfavorableness of any particular season, no matter 
how skillful the management, may make great differences in the year’s 
return. The knowledge, skill, industry, and promptness of the one 
who undertakes the care of the apiary have likewise much to do with 
the return. Furthermore, profits are of course largely affected by the 
nature and proximity of the markets. 
A moderate estimate for a fairly good locality would be 30 to 35 
pounds of extracted honey or 20 pounds of comb honey per colony. 
This presupposes good wintering and an average season. When two 
or more of the important honey-yielding plants are present in abun- 
dance and are fairly supplemented by minor miscellaneous honey plants 
the locality may be considered excellent, and an expectation of realiz- 
ing more than the yield mentioned above may be entertained. With 
extracted honey of good quality at its present wholesale price of 6 to 
7 cents per pound and comb honey at 12 to 13 cents, each hive should 
under favorable circumstances give a gross annual return of $2.50 to 
$3. From this about one-third is to be deducted to cover expenses 
other than the item of labor. These will include the purchase of 
comb foundation and sections, repairs, eventual replacing of hives and 
implements, and the interest on the capital invested. By locating in 
some section particularly favorable to apiculture—that is, near large 
linden forests, with clover fields within range, supplemented by bueck- 
wheat; or in a section where alfalfa is raised for seed; where mesquite, 
California sages, and wild buckwheat abound; where mangrove, pal- 
mettoes, and titi; or where sourwood, tulip tree, and asters are plentiful— 
the net profits here indicated may frequently be doubled or trebled. 
But these favored locations, like all others, are also subject to 
reverses—the result of drouths, great wet, freezes which kill back the 
bee pasturage, ete., and though some years the profits are so much 
