COKTROLLIKG BEE3. 87 



possibly do well in one yard. They may be taken care of 

 with much less proportional expense. It would not do to 

 hire a man to take charge of every eight or ten hives, 

 although the average profit of the few would be much 

 greater than with a large number. One man can manage 

 100 stocks, except, perhaps, for a few days in the busiest 

 part of the season, and the reduction in the expense 

 would more than balance the larger profits from the 

 smaller apiaries. I would not advise keeping very large 

 apiaries, until warranted by experience in their care. 

 The resources of a country should also be gradually 

 tested. A honey-producing country may be like a graz- 

 ing region. One field may pasture ten times as many 

 cattle as another, and the same may be true of pasturage 

 for bees. 



OHAPTEE V. 



CONTROLLING BEES. 



THEIR DISPOSITIOK. 



Nature has provided the honey-bee with weapons to 

 defend its stores, and combativeness sufficient to use 

 them when necessary. If bees were powerless to repel an 

 enemy, there are a thousand lazy depredators, man not 

 excepted, who would prey upon the fruits of their indus- 

 try, leaving them to starve. Had it been thus arranged, 

 this industrious insect would probably have long since 

 become extinct. It behooves us, in view of these charac- 

 teristics, to ascertain what are considered as insults. First, 

 all quick motions about them, such as running, striking, 

 etc., are noticed. If our movements among them are 

 slow, cautious, and respectful, we are often allowed to 

 pass unmolested. Yet the exhalations from some per- 

 sons appear to be very offensive, as they attack some much 



