776 



dLEAKlNGS IN BEE CULTURli; 



The Cost of Producing a Section of Honey 



Will Dr. C. C. Miller please tell what is the aver- 

 age cost of a section of comb honey, ilixiViSlYa I 

 The cost of a single section in the flat is one cent. I 

 set it up and put in a three-inch startei" I then 

 put the section in a super and put the same on the 

 hive. I take it off when filled; scrape and clean it, 

 then weigh it, mark the weight of it on a label, and 

 stick the label on the section; then put the section 

 in a* car. on costing me 60 cts. per 100. Then stick 

 on my label, which cost 60 cts. per 1000, and deliver 

 said section to the consumer. 



I want to know the average cost for the produc- 

 tion of said section of comb honey. I surrender 

 iih eady. How do we know how much we gain if we 

 dju't know the average cost of a section of honey? 



Silver Lake, N. H., July '-H- Fr.4NK A. Gray. 



Dr. Miller replies : 



Your question, as .\ ou rightly think, is a difficult 

 one to answer. I would lu'omptly answer, " I don't 

 know," and pass it alonu'. But an attempt at an 

 answer may be a little helpful, even if it does noth- 

 ing more than to start some one else to giv'e a better 

 answer. You are quite right in thinking the prob- 

 lem an important one tO' solve. More, perhaps, than 

 at any previous time the question is being raised in 

 the minds of many whether to work for sections or 

 extracted honey. The new law requiring cbe weigh- 

 ing of each section will set many a section-honey 

 producer to thinking whether he will not do well to 

 change to extracted honey ; and in order to settle 

 the question he should know at least a bttle about 

 the cost to himself of the two kinds of honey. 



As you state the problem, the different factors are 

 hardly all just what they should be to fit the case of 

 beekeepers in general ; and the probability is that, 

 as you continue in the business, you will change 

 those factors. You estimate sections at $10 per thou- 

 sand — a, price which few beekeepers pay. You put 

 in) a three-inch starter. I'm pretty sure you are losing 

 money by not putting in a third more foundation in 

 each section. You have two labels for each section. 

 That's expensive. A set of rubber stamps could well 

 take the place of labels. 



Taking, however, the factors just as you give them, 

 it is difficult for any one else to estimate the cost to 

 you, since you do not give the time occupied in the 

 work you put on each section. There is a \?/ide dif- 

 ference in this regard ; as, for instance, some Dee- 

 keepers will take five times as long as others to clean 

 a super of sections. Another difficulty is •'bat one 

 does not know how much to charge up for your 

 time, whether it be worth $1.50 a day or much more. 



On the whole, why can you not, better than anyone 

 else, figure up the cost of a section? Time yourse'f; 

 charge up what your time is worth for all the items, 

 and your wo^rk at the hives, and add to it what you 

 pay out for material, and there you are. 



In my own case, about as far as I have got is to 

 figure that whatever I got more than 3 1-3 cents a 

 section could be counted as pay for my skill and 

 labor. I've never felt that I was overpaid. But 

 the fun of it is something. 



Marengo, 111. C. C. Miller. 



[We presume that Mr. Gray wants to know, also, 

 something concerning the cost of production of the 

 honey itself. Taking into consideration th3 fact that 

 the bees get the nectar for nothing, it is necessary 

 to figure only the interest on the investmen' of bees, 

 hives, and other fixtures, and the cost of the time of 

 the apiarist with the bees during the season These 

 items should then be added to the cost of the section, 

 foundation, and of the time in preparation. — Ed ] 



queen in, and the other four had been queenless 

 about four weeks, as I had given queen-cells be- 

 fore going on a holiday, and the queens had failed 

 to hatch or became lost after having hatched. All 

 the colonies were strong ones and two of them had 

 laying workers with the combs literally packed with 

 eggs and larvae. As it was becoming cold, I 

 thought I would uniie them with other colonies, but 

 a neighboring beekeeper had some young queens on 

 hand, so I purchased fve and introduced them as 

 Mr. Miller instructed in Gleanings. To one of 

 tlie hives with laying workers I gave a comb of eggs 

 and larvae from another colony, with adhering bees. 

 Ihe other I left just as it was, as I wanted to give 

 the inelhod a fair trial in adverse conditions. Some 

 of tile tolonies had been queenless for quite a while, 

 and some had laying workers. Moreover, there was 

 no honey coming in, as it was very late in the fall. 



I still have the five colonies each with a good 

 queen, except one which seemed to be paralyzed in 

 cne les, as if she had been stung there. This queen 

 was ^n the hive that had been queenless so long, but 

 lliat had no laying workers. 



I think this way of introducing is going to turn 

 out a great success, and it is so very simple and 

 easy if instructions are carried out. 



William Barnes. 



Garrah Willah, N. S. W, June 26. 



<-- -2/^2- 



Form for making a concrete hive foundation, sub- 

 mitted by Ellsworth H. Smith, Portageville, N. Y. 



THE SECRET OF THE SONG OF THE BEE 



BV GRACE ALLEN 



Smoke Metliod Successful 



In the fall of this year I tried Arthur C. Miller's 

 smoke method of introducing queens. One colony 

 was made queenless the day before running the 



Little bee, I'm listening, listening, listening. 

 All my soul is reaching for the secret of your song. 

 My heart is like a muffled thing 

 With mute on every vibrant string, 

 While all my thoughts are listening beside your sil- 

 ver song. 



Let me hear the whole of it, the soul of it, the heart 



of it; 

 Let me feel the fire of it, the ancient hidden flame. 

 Tell me, are the vivid flowers 

 That call to you across the hours. 

 Are these a pulsing part of it, the first, perhaps, that 

 came ? 



Or is your song a song of life, of eagerness that's 



maddening. 

 Of tense and tireless ardor that goes chanting to the 

 strife. 

 With ecstasy and rapture? 

 Did your love of living capture 

 A song, while you went gladdening and plunging 

 into life? 



Oh! there's something stirring in it, and there's 



something steady in it, 

 And there's something strangely quieting and some- 

 thing sweet and strong, 

 And something glad and glistening! 

 For all my wistful listening 

 I dare not hope to win it — -all the secret of your 

 song. 



