690 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



Sept. 



great distances as mentioned by friend 

 March, of Washington Territory, I do not 

 believe they often do it where we have 

 ordinary landscape, diversified with forests, 

 hills, valleys, etc. When we first bronght 

 the Italian bees into Medina County,! went 

 to considerable time and expense to ascer- 

 tain how far they were in the habit of going 

 for stores, and my experience was decidedly 

 like yoms. At one time, when there was 

 almost nothing to be found except a buck- 

 wheat field two miles away, they did store 

 some buckwheat honey, carried that dis- 

 tance, but this was the exception. Italians 

 were seldom seen working on clover, bass- 

 wood, or any thing else, more than just 

 about a mile and a half from the apiary. 

 Now, if you were compelled to feed your bees 

 when you have positive evidence there was 

 forage only two miles away, it seems to me 

 the experiment is pretty conclusive. Is it 

 not possible, however, that the bees that 

 were gathering stores procured these stores, 

 say a mile or more in some other direction 

 away from the home apiary V If we are go- 

 ing to scatter our bees in different api- 

 aries, it is quite important to know just how 

 far apart we ought to scatter them. Friend 

 Cowan informed us that Captain Ilether- 

 ington had at present, I believe, 2800 dif- 

 ferent colonies of liees, and these were lo- 

 cated in something like 40 different apiaries, 

 if I remember correctly — some as far away 

 as six miles from the central home apiary. 



WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR 

 EXCLUSIVE BEE-KEEPING? 



DK. 0. C. MTLIjEU CONSini'.liS THE SUBJECT. 



Jp CORRBSPONDENT has lately asked my opin- 

 ^ ion as to the advisability of his givinjr up his 

 r other business and keeping bees e.xclusively ; 

 ^ and questions arc frequently asked, bearing 

 in the same direction. So many things must 

 be taken into consideration that it is exceedingly 

 diffloult to give any thing like a definite answer; 

 but 1 will try to give some hints that may help to- 

 ward making a decision; and if I should say any 

 thing in any way misleading, 1 feel sure it will not 

 escape Mr. Root's sharp eyes, and I will trust to 

 him to set me straight. 



I suspect we are growing toward the time when 

 honey will be largely raised by men who have no 

 other business, and I suppose there may be a num- 

 ber such now; and yet, aside from myself, I do not 

 know of a single individual for certain. Mr. Root, 

 how many do you know who make honey-raising 

 their exclusive business? I have often thought I 

 should very much like to know their names. Per- 

 haps it would not be uninteresting to others for 

 you to bring them out. Of course, 1 do not mean 

 those in some business connected with bee-keeping, 

 for that would bring in such men as yourself, G. B. 

 Lewis, etc. Now, if there are very few exclusively 

 in the business, it is just so much evidence that, of 

 the thousands of beekeepers, nearly all have con- 

 cluded that it was advisable for them to turn their 

 attention partly to some other pursuit. In this 

 material age, perhaps most have summed vip the 

 whole matter in these few words: "There isn't 

 money enough in it." For those whose sole aim is 

 to make the most money in the shortest possible 



time, it would be hazardous to recommend bee- 

 keeping as a sole pursuit. But there are some who 

 care more for happiness than money— some who, 

 like Mr. Root, could not be induced by any salary to 

 give up a life that suits them for one less healthy 

 and happy. To such I would say, be a little slow 

 about putting yourself in a position to depend en- 

 tirely upon bee-keeping. Whilst you may make a 

 success in a series of years, the good years over- 

 balancing the bad ones, you are not sure but the 

 very next year may bring an entire failure, and you 

 must be ready for it. Better give up your hold of 

 other business gradually, if you can. 



I doubt if any one should go into bee-keeping ex- 

 clusively until he has at least enough ahead to go 

 through one year without making anything. For 

 it is so unlikely that two consecutive years of en- 

 tire failure would occur, that, if I had a strong 

 taste for bee culture, I think I should take the risk 

 of giving up every other business if I had one year's 

 living ahead. Of course, I include in this that 

 a sufficient apiary is owned and paid for. What 

 is a sufficient apiary? That depends. First, figure 

 up how much you need for annual living. Then 

 count for an average location perhaps .$4.00 profit 

 per colony, or, better still, find out what your ac- 

 tual profit for a number of yeai-s has been. Divid- 

 ing the annual living expenses by the profit per 

 colony will give the number of colonies required. 

 But it will not do if you have kept bees one or two 

 years, having ten colonies with a profit of f 10.00 per 

 colony, to count that you can average the same 

 straight along with 100 or more colonies. It maybe, 

 that the very next year would bring down the aver- 

 age of j'our 10 colonies. Moreover, it is pretty cer- 

 tain that 100 colonies would not give you the same 

 yield per colony that ten would. Another thing: 

 If you have never kept more than ten colonies, it is 

 not certain that your part of the work will be as 

 well done with 100. So don't jump into the mid- 

 dle of things, and buy a large number of colonies, 

 but yrotv into the business. 



I am aware that, in the foi-egoing, ray advice is 

 somewhat vague; but the nature of the case hardly 

 allows any thing else. If you have the right taste 

 for the business, and the right stuff in you, work 

 your way up— stick to it; and although you may 

 not die a millionaire, you will live a happier life, eat 

 better-tasting victuals, and be more comfort to 

 those about you, than the majority of millionaires. 

 If I may be excused for referring to my own case, I 

 turned my back on a city life with .f3500 a year and 

 all expenses paid, settled down as principal of a vil- 

 lage school at $1300 a year, and paid my own ex- 

 penses, that I might work into bee-keeping. The 

 time may come when I shall regret it; but it is not 

 here yet; and for the past ten years I have tried 

 what exclusive bee-keeping means. 



T SUPEUS FOR BEOINNEKS. 



In my book I hesitated somewhat about recom- 

 mending T supers for others, and have been asked 

 whether I would recommend them for beginners 

 over wide frames. I think it i-equires no more skill, 

 if as much, to use the T supers, and I would advise 

 their trial, even for beginners. There is no telling, 

 however, how soon something better than the T 

 super may take its place. C. C. Mit,nEK. 



Marengo, 111., Sept. .5, 1887. 



Friend M., I can not call to mind just now 

 many who make the production of honey 

 their sole business ; for, in fact, it is not 



