1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



21 



show which is each man's three-mile limit. 

 The whole number of bees in the seven-mile 

 limit is, or was in 1904, about 745 colonies, 

 and is more now. The honey product was 

 80,000 lbs., t© say nothing of the bees locat- 

 ed just over the seven- mile limit that had 

 one-half their range inside. 



The second map shows the range-lines 

 omitted, and the number of colonies and 

 their product. 



HOW MUCH HONEY TO THE ACRE? 



Wouldn't it be nice to know how much 

 honey could be produced on one acre? Then 

 all one would have to do would be to count 

 up the acres, multiply by the product, and 

 how easy it would be to tell how many bees 

 could be kept on a given area! But if it 

 were possible by some method to ascertain 

 just how much honey a given acre has on it 

 to-day, it might not be the same to-morrow. 

 The weather might be such that it would be 

 doubled; or, on the other hand, it might be 

 cut off entirely. So it is. safe to assume it 

 is one of the problems that will never be 

 solved. Some solid facts of actual produc- 

 tion are of more account than any amount 

 of theorizing. Making a rough estimate 

 from the actual yield of our Richland apia- 

 ries, I figure out that 2J lbs. per acre is or 

 was approximately the product. When we 

 consider that perhaps not over a third of the 

 area is honey - producing it increases the 

 product to 7 lbs. I do not know but one 

 might as well guess at once, for there are 

 so many modifying conditions that even fig- 

 ures are not reliable. 



How many bees in one location, is another 

 problem that will never be solved. Once I 

 thought I knew that 50 colonies was the 

 limit at one of my apiaries; but I finally in- 

 creased to 75, and finally to 100, and then I 

 was sure the limit had been reached. But 

 a bee-keeper bought the adjoining farm, 

 and moved in another 100 colonies, only 40 

 rods from mine, and they have all done well, 

 and now I am forced to admit I know but 

 little about the matter. There are places 

 in this county where, in good years, 500 col- 

 onies could be kept with profit in one loca- 



tion, and in poor years 50 would have to be 

 fed. 



The destruction of our basswood timber 

 has reduced the honey- producing capacity of 

 our county by more than one-half on one 

 hand, and the planting of clover has in- 

 creased it somewhat; but I do not think it 

 equal to the loss. Let us figure on what 

 might have been. This county has 16 town- 

 ships, and we will assume that it has room 

 for ten seven-mile circles like the one at 

 Richland Center, or had before the timber 

 was cut off. There would be a product of 

 ten times 80,000, or 800,000 lbs. of honey. 



Now, do not get excited and all move to 

 Wisconsin, for if you do you will be disap- 

 pointed. Most of the good locations are 

 now stocked, and the ax of the woodman is 

 not withheld. The destruction of our wood- 

 land goes on, and it is only a question of a 

 few years when basswoods will be no more. 

 Richland Center, Wis. 

 [This problem of how many colonies can 

 be kept in one locality is a very interesting 

 one. I explained on page 1324, last issue, 

 how it was that Mr. Alexander is able to 

 maintain an apiary of 750 colonies all in one 

 yard. Where basswood or buckwheat is at 

 all prevalent, a larger number of colonies 

 can be accommodated in a given area than 

 where clover is the sole dependence. We 

 have commonly placed basswood at the head 

 as a honey-plant; but from what I saw at 

 the Alexanders I should place buckwheat a 

 very close second. Now, then, when your 

 basswoods are all cut off in Wisconsin, as 

 they certainly will be, you will probably find 

 it impossible to maintain so many colonies 

 and so many apiaries so close together. From 

 what you write I should judge the basswood 

 is still a very important factor in the aggre- 

 gate honey crop in your locality. While 

 young trees are doubtless coming up, it is 

 the forest trees— the trees from which lum- 

 ber is made— that yield the bulk of this 

 white honey. 



In the great majority of localities in the 

 United States, bee-keepers are suffering 

 from overstocking. As there are many lo- 

 cations in the United States capable of sup- 

 porting bees, it seems strange that one bee- 

 keeper should ever think of locating within 

 a few hundred yards of another one, even if 

 he consulted his own interest. A bee-yard, 

 or several of them, can easily be moved five, 

 ten, or twenty miles; but better by far for 

 the producer to move his family to the cen- 

 ter of his aggregation of bees, and thus get 

 into territory that is comparatively free. 

 Louis H. Scholl, our Texas correspondent, 

 showed in our last issue, page 1294, that 

 there were many desirable locations in Texas 

 still open, but undeveloped by the bee-keep- 

 er or the ranchman. I know this to be a 

 fact; but these locations may be remote 

 from centers of population, and even from 

 small towns. 



The other question, as to the amount of 

 nectar per acre, is also an interesting one, 

 and Gleanings will be very glad to publish 

 any data that bear on this subject. — Ed.] 



