562 



(iLKANlISiGa IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



place they come from — in fact, the exact locali- 

 ty — and so save all unnecessary delay afterward. 



It might be necessary to go as far as Timor- 

 Laut or Flores, in which case it would take a 

 long time to get there. It might then be most 

 convenient to return by way of Samoa and 

 Panama. 



The government of India is, perhaps, the 

 most liberal one in the world toward scientific 

 enterprise. They spend money lavishly to en- 

 courage science in agriculture. At the same 

 time, it must be borne in mind that the religion, 

 manners, and customs of the natives have to be 

 respected, and Europeans are almost wholly 

 excluded from some places on that account. 

 It is very seldom that foreign people judge a 

 stranger correctly, assigning all sorts of reasons 

 for his coming except the correct one. The 

 natives of South America used to wonder why 

 I wasn't married. This was perhaps the most 

 wonderful part of my story to them. What 

 must it be with the seclusive Mohammedan 

 and the bigoted Hindu? Perhaps they will let 

 you take a hive away, more likely not. A man 

 must have the patience of Job to deal with such 

 people, and an enthusiasm that will carry him 

 through it all. The people of India are ex- 

 tremely opposed to having to do with the ani- 

 mal world. Every animal is sacred. Only 

 those who have had experience with bigots 

 know how perverse a thing human nature is. 

 It is fearful. A common British soldier caused 

 the Indian mutiny by saying that the cart- 

 ridges of the army were greased with lard. The 

 fact was, he did it as a jest; and yet thousands 

 lost their lives over such a small aflfair. 



There are splendid botanic gardens at differ- 

 ent places in the far East, and the aid and com- 

 fort of such could be depended on. The empire 

 of India is a vast region, having all climates, 

 all sorts of people, and all sorts of bees. A 

 country with 300,000,000 people is not to be 

 sneered at. 



My experience in traveling in barbarous or 

 semi-civilized countriesis. that no hard and fast 

 route can be laid out. To a person sitting by 

 his own fireside, some of the troubles of travel- 

 ers seem childish. Humboldt, in the city of 

 Havana, tried for ten days to find a man or boy 

 to climb a palm-tree for him, though he offered 

 a good sum for the service. Only a man with 

 an official standing is the man in the East; 

 otherwise the native will pay no attention to 

 his wants. 



It will be necessary for me to enlist the sym- 

 pathy and interest of intelligent people en 

 route, and this is no easy matter, sometimes, as 

 many would think I was going to make a for- 

 tune. 



Months might be necessary to get only a little 

 information in regard to the habits of the bees 

 of a locality, as it is hardly to be expected that 

 the natives will know any thing of value to us. 



But these things are all problems, and can be 

 solved only by actual attempt. I hope you will 

 make it plain that these bees are not new races 

 but new species. All we wish to know is, 

 whether they are useful to us or not; when 

 that is solved, plenty of colonies will be import- 

 ed. I feel confident each attempt will bring 

 the matter nearer a solution, and some good 

 result therefrom. 

 Bermuda. June 23. 



[See footnote to the former article on the 

 subject, page 527.— Ed. J 



PROFITS IN BEE-KEEPING, 



THE CORRECT AND INCORRECT METHOD OF 

 FIGURING THE COST. 



By Adrian Octaz. 



Figures can not lie; but if you put the wrong 

 figures in a sum, you will get the wrong result, 

 precisely because figures can not lie. In Glean- 

 ings for April 1 is the following from Mr. Clay- 

 ton: 



" Suppose we rate the two-story hive (empty) 

 at75cts.; the drawn combs are, for purposes 

 of income, well worth 7,5 cts. each; 19 combs to 

 hive is 111.25; bees, say 4 pounds, which would 

 be a fair colony at the t)eginning of the season, 

 at 50 cts. per pound, $2.00. Total value of hive 

 ready for business. 114 00. 



" Years of records kept by individuals in 

 average locations tend to show that the aver- 

 age annual production does riot exceed 70 

 pounds of honey and }.< pound of wax per colo- 

 ny. Your cash outlay for your colony will be, 

 for case and can for your 70 pounds of honey, 

 say 45 cts.; labor, 60 cts.; freight, 70 cts.; com- 

 mission. 18 cts. Now let us see what we have, 

 estimating honey at 5 cts. in the market: 



70 pounds of honey $3 50 



K pound of wax 11 



Total $3 01 



"Our expenses will be: 



Interest on $14.00 at 8 per cent $1 13 



Cost of case and can 45 



Labor 60 



Freight 70 



Commission 18 



Total $3 05 



" That shows a net profit of .56 cts. from our 

 colony. Your honey has cost you a fraction 

 over 4>:< cts. per pound. At 5 cts. per pound, 

 the producer who gets his range free, and suc- 

 cessfully dodges the tax collector, will, if he 

 produces and markets 20,000 pounds, have the 

 munificent sum of .¥130.00 with which to buy 

 himself a pair of overalls and a year's grub for 

 the wife and babies." 



The fault in the above is, that it leaves the 

 impression upon the mind of the reader that, 

 after the honey is sold and all the expenses 

 paid, there will be only $130.00 left. But this is 



