1907. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



59 



have had a full range in every direc- swarm, which would be a great loss 



tion, I would have made a far greater of gatherers. 



yield. This winter presages a great yield, 



On the south is located the city of like that one of twenty years ago, 



Greenville where there was no range when the winter was very mild and 



after the ist of June. On the west is blooms occurred from first of Janu- 



the Mississippi river which reduces ary until late in November. That 



my range to a little more than half. year I gathered fourteen gallons to 



In this country there is a great dif- 

 ference in location. Mr. Thos. Wor- 

 thington, of Leota 30 miles below 

 Greenville has on his west front a 



the hive from two hundred colonies, 

 spring count. 



Several years ago an amateur bee- 

 keeper, (more properly, "crank") near 



sandbar of 6,000 acres grown up in me had 30 colonies. I said to him in 

 different kinds of young forest trees August: "How much honey have you 



6 



HOME OF F. H. DRAKE. 



and vines and in his rear and north 

 and south plantations intersected with 

 lagoons and sloughs lined with small 

 growth of timber and vines, with the 

 fields cultivated in corn and cotton. 

 He extracted 19,800 pounds with 160 

 colonies averaging 10 1-4 gallons to 

 colony. 



When there is a great honey flow, 

 the main consideration is in taking 

 the honey as fast as the bees bring it; 

 and not let them get ahead of you. 

 Give them room and they will rapidly 

 bring the honey and be too busy to 



taken off?" '"Oh," he remarked, "I 

 am letting them fill up so as to be 

 strong next year." His partner who 

 furnished the money compelled him 

 next year to sell the apiary) at $3.50 

 per hive, the purchaser having the 

 surplus honey of previous year. 



I have many old Langstroth hives 

 given me by cotton planters, who at- 

 tempted bee-keeping and left the busi- 

 ness to their negroes and made a 

 complete failure. It requires your un- 

 divided study and close application, 

 love of your occupation and devotion 

 to it, to succeed. I extracted to the 



