Vol. XIY. 



FEB. 1, 1880. 



No. 8. 



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NOTES FROM THE BANNER APIARY". 



How SHALL WL MAKE TKL SV-.'^T I'liOFiT';' 



#^ UU HT not .Mr. Doolittlc's heudiiiji- to bis aiti- : 

 1^ c-!e, on pajre 13, to have been, " Few or many \ 

 k1 ''<'f''-' ^vhich?" instead of "Few or many cofo- i 

 *** nic^: which''"? It is hta, not r<)li>nics, that ! 

 overstock our fields. Mr. Doolittle discusses | 

 i<vnr)<t<jckin(i, but not one word in regard to his sub- ' 

 licad, " Shall we have a few bees in many hives, or ' 

 many bees in a few hivesV" You know Mr. Heddon, 

 Mr. Dadant, and myself, ha\e been discussing 

 " Small vs. large hives," and when I read Mr. Doo- 

 littlc's two titles I was, of course, interested, and 

 read the article eagerly, only to be disappointed in | 

 not finding- a word upon the subject. 1 fully agree I 

 with Mr. Doolittle, however, in thinking that so 

 nian.v bees can be kept in an area that the profits ! 

 would be greater were a less number kept; but ', 

 whether they shall be kept in few or man.y hives, is 

 entirely another question. In my opinion, we lose ' 

 >vhen we go too far in pither direction in the size of 

 hives. I would have a hive of such a size that a 

 (lueen of average prollttcness would ./f7? the combs 

 with eggs, and keep them full of brood, dui-ing the ! 

 fore part of the season; but as this question lias 

 been discussed at length in the A . B. J., it will hardly ■ 

 be advisable to go into it here. The large amounts' 

 of grain, fruits, or vegetables, that has'C been pro- ' 

 duccd upon an acre as the result of high manuring- ' 

 and much labor, arc not proper comparisons for the 

 profitableness of the raising- of large amounts of 

 honey from .only a few colonies. "Circumstances 

 alter cases," and. these cases are ontirelv different. I 



All products are the result of labor and capital; and 

 not onlj' in bee-keeping, but in all industries, we 

 should strive to secure the greatest profits with the 

 least e.vpcndiiure of eajjital and labor. Where " in- 

 tensified " farming, as it is called, is practiced, is 

 usually whore laud is high. The largest part of the 

 capital is invested in land, hence ii follows that la- 

 bor is used freely in order that the immense amount 

 of capital may be utilized. But let us go " out west," 

 where " I'nclc Sam " will "give us all a farm;" will 

 "intensified farming" pay there? No. When the 

 settler has put one acre into crops, with ordinar.v 

 care it will pa.y him better to put the same amount 

 of labor upon another acre (that costs ne.xt to noth- 

 ing), rather than to bestow it upon the first acre. 

 " Circumstances alter cases;" and which is the more 

 expensive factor should be well considered, not 

 only in farming- and bee-keeping, but in all indus- 

 tries. 



The question is something like; Here is an area 

 of bonej-producing- ttora; how shall we secure the 

 nectar, with the least expenditure of capital and 

 labor? or let us ])ut it in a little ditt'erent form. A 

 man wishes to engage in bee-keeping-. He has an 

 unlimited amount of eai)ital and labor; in what 

 proportion shall he combine them? In bee-keeping, 

 capital is the less expensive] factor, and should be 

 substituted for labor when possible. As to hoiv 

 in-Dfji bees should be kept iu one locality, is a ques- 

 tion of over.stockiii.u-, and i^ a very difficult one to 

 (ieeiile; but when the question is one of many bees 

 and little labor, vs. few bees and much labor, the 

 former is to be chogen. 



There is, however, another i)haso to this question. 

 Many bee-keepers are limited as tq capital, and it is 

 impossible for thoni to se<;urc so many bees as couUl 



