1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. 



209 



THE OTHER SIDE. 



HOW I DECREASED FROM 41 TO 6. 



fHE charge against the bee-journals, that they 

 publish the favorable side of bee-keeping in a 

 — rather exaggerated form, and that these pub- 

 lications are misleading, because the unfavorable 

 side is not given, is, I think, well founded. But the 

 fault is not entirely that of the journals; for those 

 who fail, seldom report tneir failures for publica- 

 tion. It is but natural that we are not anxiouito 

 advertise our want of success. A failure generally 

 implies a want of knowledge of the business, or of 

 neglect to put that knowledge Into practice; and a 

 large majority of men are not especially anxious 

 that the public should be advised through the papers 

 of their ignorance or incompetency. On the other 

 band, every novice who meets with some success 

 hastens to publish it to the world, and advertise his 

 ability in the business; but if he fails next year, as 

 is often the case, nothing is published about it. 

 Queen-breeders and supply-dealers are also respon- 

 sible, to a great extent, for the publication of highly 

 colored favorable reports, to the exclusion of the 

 unfavorable side, that they may entrap as many as 

 possible into the business, to create a demand for 

 their wares. 



A few have reported the unfavorable side of bee- 

 keeping, and have been placed under the head of 

 "Blasted Hopes." I do not like the heading, and 

 now protest against being put under it. You have 

 " Reports Encouraging;" why not give us " Reports 

 Discouraging," instead of "Blasted Hopes"? You 

 need not fear having your pages crowded with un- 

 favorable reports; for though there may be three 

 failures to one of success, you will have a dozen suc- 

 cessful reports to one of those who fail, for the rea- 

 son that I have intimated. 



But I proposed to tell how I decreased from 41 to C 

 colonies in the season of 18S2-'83. In the first place, 

 I will say I am not a novice — not an A B C scholar 

 (it may be that is the reason for my want of success). 

 I have used the L. movable-comb hive for 20 years; 

 Italian bees for 15 years; have been in the queen 

 business; put out my circular with the decep- 

 tive statements about Italians gathering large 

 quantities of honey from red clover, etc. I 

 did it ignorantly then, but know better now. 1 have 

 read such standard books on bee-keeping as Lang- 

 Btroth's, Quinby's, and Cook's; and I may be ex- 

 cused for not having read the ABC book, when I 

 state that I have read Gleaninos from the tlrst 

 number to the last, and at one time took two other 

 bee-journals. I mention this simply to show that I 

 try to keep posted in modern bee-keeping; but I 

 have never made it my entire business, and consider 

 myself only an amateur. I have kept bees for the 

 love of them and the love of honey, and have gen- 

 erally met with moderate satisfaction, with some 

 bad failures, as this report will show. 



Instead of beginning with " spring count," without 

 saying any thing about winter losses, as is usual, I 

 should begin with fall count as I went into winter 

 quarters. In the fall of 1883 I had 41 colonies; in the 

 spring following, only six were alive— two very 

 weak. How did I do it? I did not raise queens; did 

 not extract from the lower story; I did not sell bees 

 by the pound ; I did not let t hem starve. They were 

 all strong in bees, with an abundance of honey, 

 leaving 400 or 500 lbs. in the hives; did not neglect to 

 prepare them for winter in such a manner as I 



thought safe — some in various ways, in single and 

 chatr hives, all on their summer stands as usual. 

 " How did you lose them then?" Very easy; they 

 just died. "Dysentery?" Yes, but I can't say what 

 caused it or what killed them. 



Again, the 6 colonies, the spring of 1883, I built up 

 to 12; bought 2 colonits, and made 10 nuclei out of 

 them with Holy-Land queens, which were ea%ily 

 built up into good colonies, with the quantity of 

 combs ana honey I had on hand; went into winter 

 quarters with 22; now, April 10, I have 7 left, witLi 

 the prospect of only 4 getting through. 



Now allow me to show how my account stands in 

 due form. Capital invested, Nov. 1, 1882: 

 10 chaff hives, at S3.50 each $ 35 00 



40 two-story hives, at f 1..50 each 60 00 



41 colonies with bees, combs wich honey, at 

 $500each 205 00 



Extractor, knives, bee-hats, etc 12 00 



Total .? 312 UO 



1882-'8;3. ACCOUiNT WITH APIARY. Dit 



To interest on investment, 0;i S 18 72 



To 2 colonies bees bought 8 00 



To 3 Hnly-Land queens 5 00 



To 1 bee-journal 1 Oti 



To 35 colonies lost, at f 5.U0 each 175 00 



Total $207 72 



1883-'83. CK. 



By 350 lbs. honey, at 15c $ 52 50 



By 14 colonies increase, at $5 00 eaca 70 00 



$122 50 

 Amount to balance t5 2i 



Total $307 7i 



Showing a loss of .?85 22, without counting time. 

 Now, I might make my account out in the usual 

 way of Reports Encouraging — see two reports, 

 GiiEANiNOS, March 1, page 171, by beginning in the 

 spring of '83 without any account of capital invest- 

 ed, or winter losses, and show a very different result, 

 and that without lying bad, by keeping back a part 

 of the truth; thus, 6 colonies to start with in the 

 spring. 



DR. 



To 3 colonies bought $ 8 00 



To 3 queens bought 5 00 



To 1 bee-journal 1 00 



*; U 00 

 To balance I(i8 50 



Total ' S 122 50 



CK. 



By 350 lbs. honey, at 15c $ 52 50 



By 14 colonies* inci-ease 70 00 



Total $VZi 50 



Such a report would certainly be misleading. S. 



Are you really sure the statements in your 

 circular, about Italians and red clover, were 

 deceptive, after all, triend b. V Italians 

 do work on red clover, and gather large quan- 

 tities of honey from it. The fact that some 

 seasons they do not work on red clover 

 proves nothing, for the same is true of al- 

 most all honey-producing plants. I think 

 friend S. should have avoided a statement so 

 unkind and uncharitable. It would seem to 

 me evident, from the face of the report, that 

 the locality is one Avhere the bees gather 

 honey unwholesome for wintering, or, at 

 least, very often do. Had lie not requested 

 his locality as well as name to be omitted, 1 

 should have been pleased to give them.— It 

 has never occurred to me that the expres- 



*AiI are dead, but they must be charged to next year's ac- 

 count. 



