CONTENTS 



Page. 



Historical sketch 81 



Experience of bee keepers in Massachusetts 84 



Number of colonies per bee keeper 85 



Distribution of bees in Massachusetts 86 



Increase in number of colonies 87 



Production of honey and wax 87 



Honey crop 87 



Wax crop 89 



Sources of honey 89 



The more important honey plants in Massachusetts 92 



List of plants reported relatively few times 93 



Periods of nectar secretion in different localities 93 



Berkshire region 94 



Central region 94 



Cape Cod region 95 



Races of bees 96 



Italian bees , 96 



German bees 96 



Carniolan bees 96 



Other races 97 



Hives 97 



Wintering 98 



Methods 98 



Mortality 99 



Bees in greenhouses 99 



The bee market 102 



Prices of bees 103 



The queen trade 103 



Enemies . 103 



Damage to the bee-keeping industry by the gipsy and brown-tail moths.. 104 



Bee diseases 105 



Bee keepers' organizations 105 



Instruction in bee keeping 105 



Conventions 106 



Summary 106 



& list of the more important articles on bee keeping in Massachusetts 107 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page. 

 Fig. 1. Proportionate loss of bees wintered in cellars and on summer stands. . 99 

 2. Approximate location of greenhouses in which bees are used for the 



pollination of cucumbers -- 100 



