THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



197 



go out and extract the honey when it was 

 ripe. Then this work of extracting is so 

 systeniized that it is done very quickly 

 and cheaply — 150 colonies a day if neces- 

 sary. When the flow is very abundant, 

 as it is sometimes in basswood harvest, 

 this matter of being able to extract the 

 honey very quickly from a large numDer 

 of colonies is very important, indeed. 



In the picture that is given of one of 

 his out-apiaries, it may seem that it con- 

 tains only a few colonies, but it must be 

 remembered that there are four colonies 

 in each hive. I have taken the pains to 

 count the hives in this picture, and I 

 make 25. That means 100 colonies. 



»;'»"»,»^»«»^t» 



THK PRIZK ARTICLE. 



I experienced some little difHculty this 

 Tiionth in deciding as to whom belonged 

 the prize for having furnished the best 

 article upon the subject of "Which is the 

 Most Hopeful Field?" Some of my cor- 

 respondents did not quite catch the true 

 spirit of the topic. As the years go b}' I 

 see more and more clearly the difficulty 

 of so expressing myself that it will be im- 

 possible to be misuuflerstood. Some got 

 the idea that I wi.shed to have it settled 

 as to which object in bee-keeping would 

 be the most desiralde to have accom- 

 plished. For instance, one man wrote in 

 favor of the prevention of swarming; 

 making a strong argument as to its de- 

 sirability, and setting forth fairly well the 

 benefits that might accrue from its ac- 

 complishment, but his article lacked in 

 showing the hopefulness that might be 

 expected to accompan\' such eflorts. An 

 object may be very desirable, when there 

 are only slight hopes of securing it. We 

 not only wish to labor for a desirable 

 object, but we wish those labors to be ac- 

 accompanied by reasonable hopes of 

 success. 



It is a significant fact that all of the 

 articles, with one exception, urged us to 

 labor for the improvement of our bees. 

 Mr. Hatch very ably advocates, and sets 

 forth the advantages of, combination and 



co-operation; and where the conditions 

 are such that these principles can be put 

 into successful operation it is likely that 

 quicker, if not more desirable, results 

 might be obtained than by working for 

 the improvement of our stock. When 

 there is a crop of honey in California, or 

 in Colorado, and only a small general 

 crop, the bee-keepers in those states can 

 work in concert to their great advantage. 

 They can in other years, but the benefits 

 are less striking. Taking bee-keepers as 

 a class, all over the country, they are too 

 numerous and too widely scattered to do 

 much in the way of co-operation. The 

 bee-keepers' Union, or Association, as it 

 is now called,' comes the nearest to suc- 

 cessful co-operation of anything that we 

 have of a general character. 



Improvement of stock is something 

 that almost any bee-keeper, almost any- 

 where, can work for with fair hopes of 

 success. Much has been said regarding 

 the improvements that have been brought 

 about in cattle, sheep, poultry, plants, 

 etc.; it must not be forgotten, however, 

 that many of these improvements have 

 come about as the result of care, food and 

 shelter. The long horns and sinewy 

 muscles of the ox are no longer needed in 

 defending himself against the attacks of 

 wild beasts. Care, and shelter, and food, 

 eventually make an animal or plant less 

 able to battle for life with the forces of 

 nature. At the same time these changes 

 in the animal or plant make it more de- 

 sirable for man. The battle with nature 

 made the animal or plant less desirable 

 for man's use. Battling with nature has 

 brought out and developed in the bee 

 those very characteristics, hardiness and 

 honey gathering, that are the most valua- 

 ble to man. ChaiT hives and warm cel- 

 lars, and the like, this "coddling," so to 

 speak, has not improved the bee. At the 

 .same time there is no disputing that there 

 is a difference in bees, and that by cross- 

 ing and selection, and breeding in the 

 right direction, we can improve them, 

 but we must understand what we are 

 working for, and work intelligently. 



