168 ANNUAL REPORT 



honey. They won't look at the best sorghum that may be placed 

 in their way. As to results I would say that my apiary has 

 averaged about one hundred pounds to the swarm, besides doub- 

 ling the number of colonies, the past season. I never allow the 

 bees to swarm naturally. I try to treat them intelligently, and 

 that is the result of the season's work. This is largely extracted 

 honey. During eight days in September I extracted twenty-five 

 pounds to the hive on an average. I took some comb honey, but 

 I. run mostly to the extracted article. 



Mr. J. G. Bass, of Hamline, was called out on the question un- 

 der consideration. 



REMARKS OF MR. BASS. 



Mr. Bass. I have been in the habit of keeping bees since the 

 spring of 1855. I commenced with one swarm, and I have con- 

 tinued in the bee business ever since. I find it about as profit- 

 able a branch of industry as I have ever struck. I have tried 

 the sugar cane industry and don't succeed very well. I find it 

 takes more help to produce the amber cane syrup than it does 

 to produce pure honey. A great many seasons I have made a 

 large amount of honey. 



In my former location in Scott county, where there was a large 

 amount of basswood timber, our largest flow of honey came from 

 the blows of basswood trees. Our finest goods came from that 

 source although the white clover is very good. Sioce I have 

 moved to Ramsey county we have nothing but the clover for the 

 bees. Therefore the honey season is short. 



Many years I have sold hundreds and hundreds of dollars 

 worth of honey with but very little effort. I have never, with 

 one exception, swarmed artificially. I tried it one year and didn't 

 succeed well and I prefer to let them take their own course, 

 watch and hive them. It commonly takes two or three weeks, 

 most of the time during the swarming season, when of course you 

 have to be at home to attend to them; even on Sundays. If you 

 go to church you are liable to lose two or three swarms. 



I recollect one year there was something of an excitement going 

 on at Minnetonka and the rest of my folks went out there on the 

 Fourth of July. I said I would stay at home and take care of the 

 bees; I did so and when they came back I had five nice swarms; 

 and I thought I was very well piftid. 



I will say this, that it is not every man that will succeed in 



