1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



739 



average per colony, and lie reports 150 per cent. 

 Mr. James Heddon, of Michigan, reports 3000 lbs. 

 of honey from 200 colonies, an average of 10 lbs. per 

 colony, and he calls it 25 per cent. Mr. R. L. Tay- 

 lor, of Michigan, reports 4000 lbs. of comb from 400 

 colonies, and he says 25 per cent. Mrs. L. Harri- 

 son reports 2000 lbs. from 75 colonies, an average 

 per colony of 26% lbs., yet she says 100 per cent. 

 Mr. W. P. W. Duke, of Alabama, reports 3000 lbs. of 

 comb from 40 colonies, an average of 75 lbs. per 

 colony, yet he says 200 per cent. Mr. Chas. F. Muth, 

 of Ohio, reports 800 lbs. from 28 colonies. He says 

 his per cent is perhaps 75, and his average is about 

 28 lbs. 



Now, friends, it is amusing to look over the re- 

 ports and note the difference in the per cent re- 

 ported. The most of these that I have quoted are 

 prominent bee-keepers and writers on bees and 

 honey. But just see the difference of per cent 

 quoted on the amount of honey taken. What does 

 this " per cent " business amount to? If we had 



them. Perhaps the reporter has done bet- 

 ter than those about him, or the case may 

 be just the reverse. I believe, however, that 

 the parties you mention generally do a little 

 better than others in their vicinity, for they 

 are leading bee-men. 



PRATT'S QUEEN-REARING APIARY. 



CARNIOLANS, ETC. 



f| HE engraving herewith shows the northeast 

 L corner of what is known as the " Pratt Bee- 

 Farm," of Marlboro, Mass. This apiary is 

 wholly made up of the Carniolan race of 

 bees, and is run for queen-rearing exclu- 

 sively. It is located in the center of a city of 13,500 

 population. A small brook is in the background. 

 The large hives in the foreground are stock hives, 

 of the Cary type. The first three or four rows con- 

 tain imported queens, and they are constantly 



PRATT'S QUEEN-REARING APIARY. 



nothing but the per cent report for a guide, our 

 conclusions as to the amount of honey taken would 

 be as wide as the rate of per cent quoted. But 

 fortunately we have the pounds of honey taken 

 and the number of colonies, and that is valuable. 



Now, friends, can we not settle on some amount 

 of honey, both for extracted and comb, so that we 

 all may know just what is meant by a full crop of 

 honey? We often read about a crop, half a crop, 

 one fourth crop, etc. Let us call a full crop of ex- 

 tracted, 100 lbs.; comb, 50 lbs.; then every pound of 

 extracted is one per cent, and of comb honey two 

 per cent. We ought to have a standard. 



Platteville, Wis., Aug. 28, 1889. E. France. 



Many thauks, friend France, for calling 

 us all to order in this matter. I would, 

 however, suggest that possibly the friends, 

 in mentioning the per cent, have in mind 

 the general ..product in the vicinity around 



drawn upon for brood to strengthen nuclei, etc., 

 which keeps them from swarming. 



Those hives just to the left of the operator con- 

 tain the finest breeding queens procurable. These 

 bees will submit to rougher usage without anger, 

 and will endure the severest weather with less risk, 

 than any other bees that we are.familiar with. 



In the distance, among the grass, are shown a few 

 of the nuclei hives— one hundred in all. 



These hives all take the Cary frame, with ten to 

 the large and from three to five to the nuclei. 



The operator is your humble servant. He is just 

 opening an itnported-stock hive, without the use of 

 smoke, during a clover harvest. 



During this season, 1889, not a [single queen has 

 been lost at mating time, out of the hundreds 

 reared. This is on account of vigor of the young 

 Carniolan queens, keeping all nursery hives a good 

 distance apart, and allowing the grass to grow up 



