24 



Table VII. — Distriljution of greenhouse cucumber growers and record of bees 



used in greenhotiscs. 



" Average of those reporting, S. * Estimated total, 944. 



THE BEE MARKET. 



It is doubtful whether in any other State in the Union more 

 colonies of bees are sold, in proportion to the number on hand in the 

 spring, than in Massachusetts. As is pointed out, the cucumber in- 

 dustry has much to do with this. Although there are many small, 

 more or less amateur bee keepers in the State who customarily sell 

 their surplus colonies, the trade is not at all confined to them. The 

 supply houses and commercial bee keepers sell heavily, which is 

 remarkable in a region where there is so little bee keeping on a large 

 scale. Peculiarly, every county in the State shares in the trade 

 about equally, in proportion to their respective number of colonies. 

 The table, arranged from the statistics of 190G, shows that the bee 

 keepers of Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middle- 

 sex, Norfolk, and AVorcester counties sold approximately one-fifth of 

 all the colonies on hand in the spring. Plymouth County, however, 

 took the lead, selling 39 per cent, while in the remote counties of 

 Barnstable and Berkshire, and in the metropolis county, Suffolk, the 

 sale was relatively light. 



Table VIII. — Number of colonies sold as compared with colonies on hand in 



spring of 1906. 



