28 



whether in that particular form it is exactly suitable as food for 

 graziug-cattle. Although it is quite true that the saccharine matter 

 assimilated in the body of a plant tends to the formation of fat in 

 the animal which eats and digests that plant, still one may question 

 the propriety of feeding the same animal on pure honey or sugar. 

 We may, however, waive that view of the subject, as we shall shortly 

 see that it is only a question of such homceopathically small doses as 

 would not be likely to interfere with the digestion of the most 

 delicate grazing-animal, any moie than they would considerably 

 increase its weight. Admitting, therefore, that every pound of 

 honey of which the graziiig-stock are deprived by bees is a loss to 

 the farmer, and therefore to be looked upon as a set-off to that 

 extent against the benefits conferred by the bees in other ways, it 

 will be necessary to consider to what extent it is possible that such 

 loss may be occasioned. 



Quantity of Honey furnished by Pasture Land. 



In the first place, it must be recollected that a large proportion 

 — in some cases the great bulk — of the honey gathered by bees is 

 obtained from trees, as, for instance, the linden in Europe, the bass- 

 wood and maple in America, and in this country the forest trees, 

 nearly all of which supply rich forage for the bee, and everywhere 

 from fruit-trees in orchards. A large quantity is gathered from 

 flowers and flowering shrubs reared in gardens ; from clover and 

 other plants grown for hay, and not for pasture ; and even in the 

 field there are many shrubs and flowering plants which yield honey, 

 but which are never eaten by cattle. Pastures, therefore, form but 

 a small part of the sources from which honey is obtained ; and in 

 dealing with this grazing question we have to confine our inquiries 

 to clovers and other flowering plants grown in open pastures, and 

 such as constitute the ordinary food of grazing-stock. In order to 

 meet the question in the most direct manner, however, let us assume 

 the extreme case of a large apiary being placed in a district where 

 there is nothing else but such open pastures, and growing only such 

 flowering plants as are generally eaten by stock. Now, the ordinary 

 working-range of the bee may be taken at a mile and a half from 

 the apiary on all sides, which gives an area of about 4,500 acres for 

 the supply of the apiary; and if the latter consists of a hundred 

 hives, producing an average of 1001b. of honey, there would be a 

 little more than 31b. of honey collected off each acre in the year; 

 or, if we suppose so many as two hundred hives to be kept at one 

 place, and to produce so much as 10 tons of honey in the season, 

 the quantity collected from each acre would be 4 lb. to 5 lb. 



