9U6 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Bec. 



Question No. 21.— How much enpitnl will it rc- 

 quiff to run, say five her ynrdx, ineludinii the home 

 iiliiary, each contahiiitg .'ill co^kjmV.s.' Almiit what in- 

 i-ome Dwjht this nuinticrof hee-ynnlato l,rir(j tlieirmvn- 

 er, managed as economically as possihle.' 



See answer to number 19. O. O. Popi'leton. 



Too indefinite to answer. Geo. Grimm. 



Capita], *3000 to $4000; income, *1000 to f2000. 



James A. Green. 

 Tbere are too many its and ands about this. 



W. z. Hutchinson. 

 Five hundred dollars. One thousand, in a fair 

 season. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



This, like No. 22, depends much on a complete sys- 

 tem, locations, etc., and an answer would be only 

 guessw ork. G. M. Doolittle. 



Ask D. A. Jones, Dr. Miller, Geo. Grimm, and 

 Capt. Hetherington. I could g-uess, but they doubt- 

 less can answer authoritatively. A. J. Cook. 



This is a rather hard question to answer, as there 

 is so much difference in men about management, and 

 a great difference in location, and a difference in 

 the price of honey. This year proves that the sea- 

 sons are not all alike. E. France. 



Not over $.500 outside of the bees. This will bring 

 $V00 to $800, perhaps $1000, labor not deducted. This 

 $800 is an average of 15 seasons with us. Some ai-e 

 better, some poorer. Dadant & Son. 



This question is like the two foregoing; no one 

 can truthfully answer it definitely. I presume 1 

 put more capital into an apiary than most other 

 bee-keepers do. I want things right, and just as I 

 want tliem, and usually go to the expense of having 

 them so. I will not try to tell what number of dol- 

 lars an apiary would bring in, in any locality or in 

 any year. James Hkddon. 



I'm not sure I undei-stand the question. He 

 would want, of course, the colonies, and all the fix- 

 tures: and besides these, perhaps not less than 

 $600 to pay for help, horse, and wagon, sections, 

 foundation, etc. If he got an annual crop of 10,000 

 pounds, and a net price of 12 cents per lb., his in- 

 come would be $1200. C. C. Miller. 



If you are so foolish as to " fiounce into it '* all at 

 once, buying every thing, it will cost you $2000 or 

 $3000. The more prudent way is to work into the 

 business, making most of your capital. On such a 

 territory as mine, yonr balance-sheet would look 

 about like this: 



Interest on capital $120 



Board and wages, 2 men 6 months 384 



Apiary supplies 250 



$754 



10.030 pounds of honey $500 



Wax 50 



$5.50 



Out of pocket $204 



E. E. Hasty. 



This depends on the price you would have to pay 

 for the bees, rent of land, and labor. Considering 

 the value of bees, land, and labor in this State, 

 I would not undertake It with less than .$2,500; and 

 at the present prices of honey here, 1 don't think 

 that I could expect more than 30^ net. If you al- 

 ready have the bees, and have gradually establish- 



ed these bee-yards with your increase from home 

 apiary, you will not require as much ready cash, 

 but the value will be the same, and your income 

 calculated therefrom. Paul L. Viallon. 



Dear friends, I have read these questions, 

 Nos. 19, 20, and 21 , with very much interest ; 

 and I am very glad to see so many of our 

 veterans so cautious in giving their replies. 

 Jt is true. I believe, that, " what man has 

 done, man can do,"' as we used to put in our 

 old copy-books ; but, alas ! it is also true, 

 that, what man has done, a great many will 

 not do. These questions run into the matter 

 of employing labor and capital ; it runs into 

 sometiiing where I have had, as you know, 

 large experience. Eriend Hasty hits at the 

 truth where he says, " If you are so foolish 

 as to flounce into it all at once," etc. ; for 

 while it is true, that a good many have 

 within themselves the ability to manage 

 men and property, they can not do it unless 

 they are educated to it" little by little. Yon 

 don't want capital to start with. I some- 

 times think we don't need capital to start 

 any sort of business. Over and over again 

 have I assured young people that God 

 would send the capital as fast as they made 

 themselves capable of using it, but they 

 won't believe me. When friend Dadant 

 paid us a visit some years ago he was very 

 much pleased with our different lines of 

 business, and he made a remark something 

 like this : " Mr. Root, you could never have 

 handled all this without experience. You 

 began on a small scale, and worked your 

 way along carefully. We have followed you, 

 and know something how you have been 

 growing, little by little, day by day. But I 

 tell you, there is something grand in being 

 able to handle such a business as this." I 

 put in the last sentence by way of encour- 

 agement. There is a reward for him who 

 becomes proficient and expert in any line of 

 the general business of the world. Now, 

 then ; if you want to be a bee-keeper, get 

 one colony ; when you can manage that 

 successfully, you will not need to get an- 

 other, for you will have it already, and so 

 on. When you can manage fifty or one hun- 

 dred colonies well, and feel like trying more, 

 start another apiary, not very far away. If 

 this is too much load to carry, don't start 

 any more. Don't cripple your strength be- 

 fore you have grown enough to bear the 

 burden easily. Add a third when you are 

 equal to the task. You may buy implements 

 and hives, if you chose, but I don't believe 

 it is often best to buy bees, unless you run 

 down by losses in wintering, or something of 

 that sort. Don't be in haste to do great 

 things. Capt. Iletherington, if we are right- 

 ly informed, has twenty apiaries, compris- 

 ing about 2700 colonies, and he is making 

 them pay too, I believe. But the care and 

 respotisibilities are so great that he hardly 

 has time to stop and have a good visit, even 

 with such a man as Mr. Cowan, who came 

 across the great ocean to see us. After you 

 have got all these things, you may question 

 whether they are worth the price you have 

 paid. We should always remember, that 

 the things of this world are by no means the 

 most important things. 



