GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Some, but not many, are fit to run 100 

 colonies after a season's practical experi- 

 ence. Others would be better off to take 

 another season and work for pay with some 

 one else, or to begin with half the number 

 of colonies. Others have such careless ways, 

 such a lack of thoroughness, that they had 

 l)etter not keep bees at all. I do not believe 

 any one should make his first aim in life to 

 earn his bread and butter. He should, rath- 

 er, live for God ; and what God gives him 

 to do he will do well. 

 Brantford, Can. 



[Our correspondent is one of the best 

 beekeepers in North America — yes, one of 

 the best in the world. The fact that he has 

 b;^en making money with his bees, and in- 

 creasing year after year, shows that he is 

 a business man as well as a beekeeper. Most 

 business men have to pay dearly for their 

 experience, and Mr. Holtermann is entirely 

 right in contending that students that come 

 to him to acquire i^ractical experience 

 should not expect ordinary wages. In former 

 years, in England an apprentice had to 

 spend seven years in learning his trade ; and 

 it was only during the last year or two of 

 lliat period that he received any compensa- 

 tion whatever. If one desires to become a 

 competent beekeeper he should be willing in 

 some cases to work for nothing and board 

 himself. In fact, we have two lady students 

 who are coming to us tliis season, expecting 

 to follow our experts around for what they 

 can learn. Their labor will just about off- 

 set the inconvenience of showing them. The 

 time may come, perhaps, when Mr. Holter- 

 mann will find that he can get all the help 

 he needs from students who will be willing 

 to pay for board and lodging, and in addi- 

 tion furnish their labor for what they can 

 learn. 



Perhaps we put Mr. Holtermann's hourly 

 wage too low ; but we figure it this way : 

 The average expert beekeeper in most local- 

 ities will consider that he is doing well if 

 he earns 50 cents an hour; and in some 

 cases at least the skill that will enable one 

 to earn that wage during the bee season will 



enable him to make an equal compensation 

 at something else during the other part of 

 the year. 



Mr. Holtermann says that he considers 50 

 lbs. average is doing well. He evidently 

 considers this as a minimum figure on which 

 to base his extra compensation, although 

 during the season of 1913 his average would 

 be, of course, beyond that. If we take a 

 IDeriod of ten years, good and bad alike, 

 the average might not come up to 50 lbs. 

 Let us take a pencil and tablet and see how 

 the figures run. Mr. Holtermann has 800 

 colonies, and he thinks his minimum " does 

 well " if it is 50 lbs. average. This would 

 make him 40,000 lbs., which, at 8 ets. per 

 lb., would amount to $3200. The board and 

 lodging of his students, including washing, 

 would run up to about $5.00 per week, or 

 $125 per season for one student. Six stu- 

 dents would make this nearly $800. Depre- 

 ciation on his equipment, and winter losses, 

 on the basis of 10 per cent, would make 

 another $800, or $1600 all told. This would 

 leave him a net profit of $1600 for his labor, 

 or what would be a little more than $5.00 

 for one year of 300 days or twice that for 

 150 days. His time then ought to be figured 

 at nearly $11.00 a day on the minimum " do 

 Avell." If he had only 400 colonies his earn- 

 ing capacity would be considerably reduced, 

 and most beekeepers do not go bevond the 

 300 mark. But the late W. Z. Hutchinson 

 advocated keeping " more bees." Let's see 

 how tliis works out. 



Four hundred colonies would make his 

 gross income only $1600 ; but as his over- 

 head expense would be higher in proportion 

 his net income would be $800 or a little less 

 than $5.00 for 150 days, or $2.50 for 300 

 days. If his knowledge and experience can 

 enable him to handle twice the number of 

 colonies, and make $11.00 per dav, why 

 shouldn't he keep 800, or, better, 1200 or 

 1500? That brings in new elements — more 

 bee range which he may not be able to get, 

 and longer distance to travel, and a greater 

 cost of transportation. The " more bees " 

 slogan can't be worked too hard. — Ed.] 



GOOD COMBS; THEM IMPORTANCE, AND HOW TO PRODUCE THEM 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER 



One does not have to serve long as an 

 inspector, nor do much visiting among 

 beekeepers, to become impressed with the 

 vast number of poor combs in use. But one 

 is surprised that so many beekeepers have 



not the slightest idea of the great loss in 

 using such combs. 



Not only are there many poor combs, but 

 many are so placed in the hives that half 

 of their surface is not available for brood. 



