12 PROFITABLE BEE-KEEPING 



owing to the superabundance of any particular 

 kind of produce. Thus his cows and pigs will 

 have support in poultry and bees. These in turn 

 are backed up by fruit and vegetables, and so 

 forth. Working on these lines total loss is prac- 

 tically impossible, whatever the conditions, and the 

 knowledge of this should go far to make the small 

 farmer an optimistic man. 



Now among all the kinds of stock or crops 

 which may be worked upon a small-holding, there 

 is not_one which will give the returns which bees 

 will give, taking an average of seasons and pro- 

 viding they be properly managed. It is quite a 

 common thing to find apiaries which recouped 

 their owner for his initial outlay during the first 

 season. With what other stock is there even a 

 possible chance of this being done?. 



Properly worked, bees will show a profit in 

 practically any situation, although the amount of 

 this profit will vary greatly. This is on account 

 of the variation in the honey producing power of 

 different districts. The difference is very great in 

 some cases where special florage is available, taking 

 as an instance apiaries situated within reach of 

 both clover and heather. Apiaries in such districts 

 have been known to show a profit of 50/- per 

 colony in a good season. Speaking generally, 

 however, and taking an average of years, bees 

 should show a profit of 20/- per colony per 

 annum. When this is compared with the average 

 price of a stock of bees, which is about 25/-, 



