just as definite figures, at which figures 

 they say they cau sell honey, and can 

 we not have regular reports through 

 the press as to those figures, together 

 with any items of information that will 

 help us to dispose of our crops intelli- 

 gently ? This full information as to 

 what buyers are giving, what commis- 

 sion men are selling at, the present 

 quantity on the market, the prospect 

 for the future, &c, this it is that will 

 help to make honey as staple as wheat 

 and corn. 

 Marengo. 111., Jan. 13. 18S0. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Failures in Bee-Keeping. 



R. M. ARGO. 



From 14 years' experience with Ital- 

 ian bees, and 25 with the natives, I 

 think I can safely say, without fear of 

 contradiction, that every case of fail- 

 ure in bee-keeping may be traced to the 

 manager alone, and not to the bees or 

 the hive. It is like one commencing to 

 practice medicine without having first 

 learned how to do it successfully ; or if 

 learned, his practice was of such a 

 bungling nature as to insure failure. 

 Bees require scientific and prompt at- 

 tention at the right time, and the apia- 

 rist should be thoroughly able to render 

 this attention, or else he should let bees 

 alone. 



Have you ever known of a practical 

 apiarist, of several years' experience, to 

 quit bee-keeping from failure. I know 

 of none that failed, but Mr. Gallup did 

 leave it to follow another business that 

 would not allow him time to attend to 

 his bees properly. No one who has 

 failed can say that it was not his own 

 fault. 



Farmers in the neighborhood of an 

 apiary think the apiarist is doing as 

 well if not better with his bees than 

 they are with their farms, and so they 

 procure a few colonies in such hives as 

 they see him using. They place them 

 in the most unfrequented corner of the 

 yard, either in the sun or too much in 

 the shade. No further attention is 

 paid to them till the time of " robbing," 

 and then, if they get say 15 lbs. of 

 honey per hive, they are satisfied. If 

 not, they think they have not got the 

 right kind of hive, for they have no 

 other notion of success than the hive 

 used ; and they think that success or 

 failure attaches to the hive they use. 

 What would such persons think of an 

 apiarist who might tell them that he 

 could take a large colony of bees. 8 

 empty Langstroth frames, and a few 

 honey boxes, and without any hive, so 



arrange them in a good season as to get 

 from 50 to 100 lbs. of surplus honey, 

 and can either put the frames in a hive 

 in the fall for winter, or pack them 

 away in chaff without a hive, thus 

 proving that it is not the hive but the 

 management that insures success V 



I always tell persons that if they have 

 not considerable time and patience they 

 should let bees alone. When a man has 

 the bees and not the time and patience, 

 or does not understand how, it would 

 be better to let an apiarist take them on 

 shares or give him one dollar per colony 

 to care for them, than to get little or no 

 surplus. 



In a few years I think the time will 

 come when the whole bee business will 

 be in the hands of specialists who 

 thoroughly understand it, and it is from 

 this class alone that we can expect the 

 best results. 



I must not be understood to say that 

 a good hive has not much to do with 

 success, but that much more depends 

 upon how that hive is managed. 



My bees are all right now. We have 

 as yet had no winter ; but are having 

 warm rains. 



Lowell, Ky., Jan. 17, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



My Profits and Losses for Three Years. 



A. J. WRIGHT, M. D. 



The following are my profits and losses 

 from bees since 1876 : 



DR. 



Spring, 1876— To 1 colony of bees $0 00 



'• 2 hives c'*1.50 3 IK) 



$!) 00 



C'R. 



Fall of lS70-By :; colonies, & $0.00 If IS IK) 



" 120 lbs. combhoney @20c. 24 00 



42 00 



'.) 00 



Profits $33 00 



[Packed in chaff on summer stands ; all wintered 



well.] 



DR. 



Spring, 187T— To 3 colonies, g$6.00 $18 no 



•' 7hives,@|L50 lo 50 



$2S 50 



CB. 



Fall of 1877-By 10 colonies $00 00 



" 175 lbs. comb honey @ 15c. 20 25 



86 25 



28 50 



Profits $57 75 



[Packed in chaff on summer stands ; all wintered 

 well.] 



Spring, 1878— To 10 colonies @$6.00 $00 IX) 



•' 14 hives («$1.50 21 00 



$81 00 



CB. 



Fall of 1878-By 24 colonies $144 00 



" 600 lbs. comb honey &12c. 72 00 



$216 00 



si 00 



Profits $13»00 



I packed in chaff on the summer 



stands, and did not lose a colony until 



