THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



24 



division of labor in the colony. It ex- 

 plains the scarcity of seeds in first 

 crops of red clover, and gives the 

 reason why the second crop yields 

 honey and seeds. 



The life history of the honey bee is 

 a grand study for woman as well as 

 man. 



South Wales, N. Y., Dec. 17, 1904- 



February, 



THE LIMIT IN BEE CULTURE 

 FOR PROFIT. 



By Bessie L. Putnam. 



WHATEVER the professional 

 apiarist may find profitable, the 

 common farmer who keeps but 

 a few swarms for family use finds that 

 there is a limit beyond which he may 

 not venture with impunity. It is this 

 way in all branches of agriculture. 

 When the chickens and other fowls 

 can pick through the day, growing 

 nicely on two or three supplementary 

 meals, it is quite a different matter 

 from the problem of furnishing them 

 the entire ration three times a day. 

 The small farmer may find twenty to 

 fifty sheep money gatherers; but let 

 the flock increase to double this num- 

 ber and they nibble so close that the 

 pasturage becomes impoverished. 



Bees, like poultry, belong largely 

 to the farmer. He wishes to have an 

 abundance of the sweets for his table, 

 and if in bounteous years there should 

 be some surplus it is that much ex- 

 tra to be exchanged for other things. 

 If in an extreme season of honey 

 scarcity he finds it necessary to feed 

 weak swarms, he does not. as a rule, 

 expect to bestow upon them the time 

 given by the apiarist. 



Such a man depends upon the fruit, 

 clover, basswood and buckwheat in 

 turn to keep the bees at work. This 

 is in the North; other localities may 

 vary in the nature of the supply, but 

 the plan holds equally good. We will 

 suppose him to be the only one in the 

 neighborhood who keeps bees. They 

 glean from near fields until the supply 

 is exhausted. Gradually the radius of 

 flight lengthens, the time required for 

 the extra flight decreasing the amount 

 of sweets stored as well as unneces- 

 sarily fatiguing the little workers. 



As the search becomes more thor- 

 ough, competition between swarms of 

 the same owner increases. It is ap- 

 parent that there must be a line of 



demarkation, on one side of which may 

 be written "Profit;" on the other 

 "Loss." 



This is where the pasturage is at 

 its best, where the bees are storing 

 away for the future. But in the ma- 

 jority of seasons there are plenty of 

 side crops, found perhaps in too small' 

 quantities to be reckoned in the reg- 

 ular honey crop, yet which aid ma- 

 terially in piecing out the sustenance 

 of the bees and permitting them tQ 

 save the stores garnered for a time 

 of need. Yet if the neighborhood is' 

 stocked to the utmost capacity, or 

 one man has a large collection, this; 

 reserve fund is consumed in almost 

 no time and the bees must then gq 

 miles for their daily food or liv^ 

 upon what should have been saved fol 

 winter. 



The larger the supply of natural 

 food per swarm, the higher the nej 

 profit. The location of the line bei 

 tween profit and loss varies with thi 

 season. Its mean position everyonii 

 must locate for himself. 

 Conneaut Lake, Pa. 



THE USE OF THE EXTRACTOF 



Recounting Its Various Advantage j 

 Etc. 



(Paper read before the Hamilto 

 County, Ohio, Bee-Keepers' Convet 

 tion, by Mr. Richard Curry.) 



BROTHER BEE-KEEPERS AN' 

 GENTLEMEN:— At our rej 

 ular monthly meeting held in tl 

 early part of October a few remari 

 I made in opposition to a suggestic 

 or motion to petition the managemei 

 of the Hamilton County Agricultur 

 Association to increase their cash pr 

 miums for honey exhibit^ at the 

 annual fall fair, provoked and brougl 

 on a discussion as to which is tl 

 more profitable to the bee-keeper, tl 

 production of comb or extracted ho: 

 ey. My defense of the latter I ho] 

 to give in a very few words. 



In early spring, if you find too mu( 

 old honey in your hives, and cons 

 quently your queens cramped f 

 room to deposit their eggs, you a 

 use your extractor to advantage, ai 

 thus give the desired room and _ 

 the same time put a stop to any i 

 clination to swarm, as in all my e 

 perience I have never had a swarm 

 any time when the queen has be< 



