128 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



One single populous colony is worth 

 more and will store more honey than 

 four weak ones. In fourteen days 

 the one will bring in more honey 

 than the four will in four weeks. 



I place a strong colony at 40,000 

 working bees ; of these 13,000 to 

 16,000 can daily fly out and bring 

 in stores ; the remainder stay at home 

 to care for the brood, to build comb, 

 and to perform such other duties as 

 may be required of them.^ 



Of four weak colonies, however, 

 each calculated at 12,000 workers, 

 only 4,000 can fly out leaving 8,000 

 at home. These four colonies to- 

 gether not only cannot send to the 

 fields as many workers as the one 

 strong one, but they also labor un- 

 der many disadvantages. 



It may be good weather for eight 

 days and the flow of honey abun- 

 dant and the strong colony may in 

 that time gather all its winter stores, 

 but the weak ones can take only 

 sufficient advantage to gather at 

 most one-fourth of the required 

 stores. If unfavorable weather should 

 follow, and the flow of honey cease, 

 the strong colony is supplied and the 

 four weak ones are lost in the winter 

 if they be not fed, which latter is 

 associated with much expense, 

 trouble and inconvenience and even 

 then often fails, not to mention the 

 facts that the weaker ones cannot de- 

 pend upon themselves as well against 

 robbers, moths, ants, etc. ; and in 

 winter they cannot maintain the 

 proper warmth as well, are more liable 



I Nature has wisely ordered it that gener- 

 ally only one-third of the bees in a colony fly 

 out to the fields, so that the colony would not 

 perish even if all the absent bees were lost 

 through some mishap. 



to be frozen, and are less able to 

 stand the changes in temperature. 



They cannot rear brood as early 

 as the strong one and there are many 

 advantages the strong one has over 

 the weaker, one of the most prom- 

 inent of which is that the strong one 

 displays more energy and is more 

 industrious than the weaker. 



IN THE ORDINARV STRAW SKEPS ONE 



CANNOT CARRY OUT ONE'S DESIRES 



COMPLETELY IN MANAGING BEES. 



As important and well known as 

 the fact now is of having the colo- 

 nies strong, one cannot make them 

 so if they are kept in the common, 

 simple straw basket where one does 

 nothing but destroy in a slovenly way, 

 especially farmers. In the fall they 

 take the heaviest and lightest colo- 

 nies and in a sinful and thoughtless 

 manner kill and smother its inhabit- 

 ants thus doing themselves a deliber- 

 ate injury, as if they permitted these 

 useful creatures, these patterns of 

 industry, to live, they would gain far 

 more. 



I once saw a beekeeper take a very 

 heavy colony consisting of two col- 

 onies which in swarming clustered 

 together, and smother them, because 

 he thought that owing to the large 

 number of bees the colony might 

 not have enough winter stores. Yes ! 

 a clown of a fellow actually burned 

 with straw his young swarms, because 

 they came rather late. But I do not 

 intend to occupy my time describing 

 the wrong mode of keeping bees, as 

 through the length and breadth of 

 the land this has been so passionately 

 spoken of and they will learn, only 



