11 
range may usually be kept with a relative degree of profit. But to 
secure such results sufficient care and close observation have too fre- 
quently not been given in the selection of bees adapted to the lozality 
and conditions. A more frequent failure has been lack of proper 
attention to the individual colonies, particularly as to the age and 
character of the queens in each. The space given for brood rearing is 
often too small, and frequently no care is given to secure the proper 
amount of brood in time to insure a population ready for each harvest. 
Attention to these points would enable great numbers of bee keepers 
who now regard 50 to 100 colonies as fully stocking their range to 
reach several hundreds in a single apiary, with slight or no diminution 
in the average yield per colony. 
THE RETURNS TO BE EXPECTED FROM AN APIARY. 
Although apiculture is extremely fascinating to most people who 
have a taste for the study of nature, requiring, as it does, out-of-door 
life, with enough exercise to be of benefit to one whose main occupa- 
tion is sedentary, the income to be derived from it when rightly fol- 
lowed is 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 watchful- 
ness, and the performance of the work at stated times is imperative, 
so that in this case there is less opportunity than where but a few colo- 
nies 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 appar- 
ent 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 35 to 40 
pounds of extracted honey or 25 pounds of comb honey per colony. 
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