46 



AMERICAN BEE JOURMAL. 



be nectar in a flower one year, and none 

 the next ;■ that there may be nectar in 

 the flowers in one field, and none in the 

 next field to it, in the same season ; and 

 that there may be nectar in a part of a 

 field, and not any, or very little, in the 

 remainder of it ; that a field may get 

 poor and "run out," as it is called, and 

 not produce any honey, the same as a 

 wheat field that has been sowed too 

 often to wheat ; that the richer the land 

 is, the more honey it gives ; that the 

 first crop of the clover i^the best ; that 

 black bees will work (fn red clover in 

 this locality as well as Italians, and that 

 neither will work on it in some seasons. 

 The colony that had the most drones in 

 my yard last season, had the most sur- 

 plus, but it was the strongest colony I 

 had. The American Bee Jouknal is 

 cheaper by half than any of the month- 

 lies. There are as many pages, and as 

 large, and you get four in a month to 

 only one of the others. There need be 

 no more contention over the Punic bees ; 

 they simply are not in it. Apis nigcr is 

 buried in oblivion, and we shall hear of 

 them no more. 



Richland Centre, Wis. 



Mil AmericanBee-Keeiiers' Association. 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



[Continued from page 21.] 



Should. Bee-Keeping be Made a 

 Specialty ? 



This was the next topic taken up for 

 discussion. Mr. McKnight said that if 

 he wished to make a grand success of 

 bee-keeping, he should make it a 

 specialty. Bees can be kept in connec- 

 tion with other pursuits. He scarcely 

 knew whether he would be called a 

 specialist or not. He certainly gave 

 special attention to bee-keeping. 



J. E. Hetherington — In connection 

 with this topic, I may say I remember 

 a letter that I wrote to Mr. Quinby, 

 when I was a young man, asking him if 

 he would advise a young man to make a 

 specialty of bee-keeping. Mr. Quinby 

 said 710. Later in life I referred him to 

 this letter, and asked him how he would 

 noiv answer it ; and he said that his an- 

 swer would still be the same. .Just look 

 over the list of those who kept bees 20 

 years ago, and have succeeded so well 

 that they are still content to follow the 

 business. How few they are ! Mr. 

 Quinby advised Winter school-teaching, 

 dairying, or some kind of oianufactur- 



ing. As I am situated, I find it neces- 

 sary to be a specialist. 



J. E. Crane — I see no reason why bee- 

 keeping need not be a success. In Ver- 

 mont, bee-keepers are as successful as 

 the farmers. I think specialty ought 

 not to be discouraged, yet it is well to 

 have something in connection with bee- 

 keeping, as it is sometimes a failure. 



J. E. Hetherington — I think I ought 

 to qualify my remarks. Mr. Crane says 

 that bee-keeping pays in Addison County, 

 Vt. That is a good location. The same 

 is true of Central New York. The 

 trouble is that bee-keepers are not 

 jMsltive enough in their methods to suc- 

 ceed as specialists. So many think that 

 a colony has a good queen ; that it has 

 enough honey for Winter ; that its combs 

 are good enough, etc. The trouble is 

 they do not know ; and that is why so 

 many fail. 



G. M. Doolittle — I was a farmer's boy, 

 and "took to bee-keeping" much 

 against my father's wishes. I once over- 

 heard my father telling a man how 

 anxious he was that I should be a 

 farmer. Said he : "I havepToi/ed that 

 Gilbert would make a failure of bee- 

 keeping, but it looks now as thongh he 

 was going to succeed in spite of my 

 prayers." I worked the farm on shares 

 until I saw my way clear to make a liv- 

 ing from bees. I have lived to see that 

 farm decline in value from $75 to $40 

 per acre. Where would I have been if I 

 had remained on the farm ? I should 

 have been barely making a living. I 

 have been told that a man who could 

 successfully manage 100 colonies of 

 bees, possessed ability that would com- 

 mand an annual salary of $1,000. But 

 salaried positions are uncertain. I have 

 a home, the fresh air and freedom of the 

 country, and a comfortable living. It is 

 true that I am not now a honey-pro- 

 ducing specialist. I have been thrown 

 into queen-rearing, but I look back with 

 regret to the time when I made money 

 from honey alone. In 1874 I drew all 

 ray honey (several tons) to Syracuse, 

 and sold it for 2SX cents a pound. Now 

 it would not bring half that, and, for 

 me, there is more money in queen- 

 rearing. 



N. D. West— In my opinion, it is not 

 best for a young man to start out as a 

 specialist. If a man gets a few bees, 

 and likes bee-keeping, the next thing 

 you know li(>. will be neglecting his 

 regular business for the bees. Then he 

 will soon become a bee-keeper, and the 

 other business will be dropped. 



Next W. Z. Hutchinson read an essay 



