84 MISCELLANEOUS PAPKRS ON APTCULTURE. 



and were their apiaries properly distributed over the State, there 

 might not be forage enough to support them; but such is far from 

 reality. The average is only five and a half colonies per bee keeper, 

 which is evidently too small. In this is a key to the bee-keeping 

 situation of the State; if the resources are to be fully utilized, more 

 bees must be kept, not by more bee keepers, for there are too many 

 small ones at present, but by several hundred proficient and energetic 

 bee men properly distributed. 



EXPERIENCE OF BEE KEEPERS IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



Although there are too few bees kept, it is interesting to ascertain 

 how experienced the Massachusetts bee keepers now are. In order 

 to gain this information, a question, " How long have you kept bees? " 

 was included in the list of questions circulated throughout the State. 

 By thus knowing the length of time these men have been keeping 

 bees, some idea of their proficiency may be reached. Of those who 

 reported to the author, 38 per cent have had less than five years' 

 experience and must consequently be classed as amateurs. While this 

 array of amateurs, at first glance, appears high, it becomes more 

 significant upon considering that 32 per cent, having successfully 

 passed their apprenticeship, report from five to fifteen years' experi- 

 ence, or, in other words, have persisted and succeeded in bee keeping. 

 On the other hand, roughly estimating, 50 per cent of the bee keepers 

 who undertake this branch of agriculture discontinue it within their 

 first five years' trial. This is not due to lack of possibilities in the 

 bee-keeping industry, but must be attributed in a large measure to 

 sensational presentation, in the popular press and elsewhere, of the 

 ease of managing and the huge profits to be derived from bees. 

 This overstimulation of the bee industry is a positive detriment to the 

 bee-keeping interests. The number of persons who have taken and 

 will take time for a proper study of bee culture is exceedingly limited 

 in proportion to the number who undertake the work uninstructed. 

 Consequently a 50 per cent weeding-out process during the first five 

 years of attempted bee culture is a stroke of fortune for the industry. 

 After fifteen years' experience, and before the twenty-five-year mark 

 of service is passed, there is another falling off. The figures of this 

 census show that 16 per cent of those reporting have kept bees from 

 fifteen to twenty-five years, which, when it is considered that a bee 

 keeper is well along in life by that time and often must necessarily 

 relieve himself of care and work, is exactly what might be expected. 

 No less interesting is the fact that 16 per cent continue after twenty- 

 five years of service. These are the truly old bee keepers, many of 

 whom remember Langstroth and his experimenting. While they 

 may not be exactly up-to-date, they are to be respected for their 

 persistency. 



