THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



39 



miles from home. I used to think a 

 mile and a half, or two miles, as 

 far as they ever went. Next, I now 

 know that in an ordinarily g-ood loca- 

 tion, bees do not visit one flower in ten 

 that are within their reach. I have 

 also learned that it makes no differ- 

 ence whatever how much bloom there 

 is, if the weather is unfavorable for the 

 secretion of nectar, then bees will get 

 little or nothing. This I have seen 

 proven many, many times. One year I 

 came within 24 hours of losing nearly 

 all the colonies in several out-yards 

 from starvation, in June, when the 

 meadows were white with clover; 

 simply because, for nearly two weeks, 

 the flowers secreted no nectar. Two 

 years ago, when thousands of acres of 

 buckwheat, at this place, was in full 

 bloom, for 12 days, it secreted no 

 nectar, and I lost many hives full of 

 brood by starvation. 



I also now know that I would rather 

 take care of 700 or 800 colonies in one 

 yard, at home, than to care for 300 

 colonies, divided into two yards, six 

 miles from home, and in opposite 

 directions. 



Still another thing I now know, that 

 I can get just as much surplus honey, 

 per colony, from 700 colonies in one 

 j'ard as I ever got from the same num- 

 ber when kept in five yards, four or 

 five miles apart. 



These are a few of the many things 

 I have learned, by dear experience, 

 that I did not know when I was keep- 

 ing most of my bees in out-apiaries. 



THE LARGE APIARIES THAT ARE KEPT 

 IN EUROPE. 



Now, as some of you may think I 

 stand alone on the subject of over- 

 stocking, I will quote some things 

 Prof. F'rank Benton told me last sum- 

 mer while visiting our place. 



When he was travelling in different 

 parts of Europe he found much larger 

 apiaries than we have in the United 



States. Especially so in Carniola. 

 There the bee-keepers from the moun- 

 tains take the bees down into the val- 

 leys, put them on the cars, making up 

 long trains loaded with bees, and have 

 them taken to places where the farm- 

 ers raise buckwheat. There they i-ent 

 a plot of ground to set their hives on, 

 paying a small amount per colony, 

 and the Professor told me it was no 

 unusual thing to see three and four 

 thousand colonies, inside of a mile, 

 along these railroads, and that, too, 

 for many miles in one continuous line. 

 I asked him if they got much honey. 

 He said whe7i the weather was right, so 

 the bee-keepers told him, they got five 

 to six pounds per colony, per day, and 

 they never thought the location over- 

 stocked. 



There, my friends that comes from as 

 good authority on this subject, as there 

 is in the world. I will also quote a 

 part of what Prof. Benton says on 

 page 56 of Bulletin No. 1, New series, 

 revised addition. Division of Entomol- 

 ogy. He says: "The danger of over- 

 stocking is largely imaginary; yet, in 

 establishing a large apiary, it is, of 

 course, essential to look to the natural 

 resources of the location, and, espe- 

 cially, to decide only upon a place 

 where two or three of the leading 

 honey producing plants are present in 

 great numbers." I think the above 

 covers the whole subject completely in 

 a few words. 



In conclusion, I will say, I don't ex- 

 pect you all to think as I do; for, had 

 I been asked these questions 25 years 

 ago, I should have answered most of 

 them very differently from what I have 

 today. Many of you will have to go 

 through that same dear school of ex- 

 perience, the same as I did; but I do 

 hope you will find something in what I 

 have written on the subject of bee- 

 keeping that will help you on to suc- 

 cess. 



Delanson, N. Y. Jan. 6, 1905. 



