SOURCES OF HONEY. 65 
acteristic of a man who deservedly occupies a high position 
among the farmers of our country. 
HOW FAR WILL BEES GO FOR HONEY? 
The precise distance that bees will fly in search of for- 
age, Iam unable to state. Some consider three miles to 
be the extreme limit, while others place it as high as 
twelve miles. The most satisfactory results may be ex- 
pected, if abundant stores can be found within two miles. 
It is evident that they will work more freely upon blos- 
soms at some little distance, than when these are very near 
the apiary. If I were to sow anything with a view to a 
supply of honey, I should prefer that it should not be in 
the immediate vicinity of the hives. 
Their flights are evidently modified by local conditions, 
During the large yield from Basswood in 1874, already al- 
luded to, as the blossoms failed in the valley, the bees 
continued bringing in the same quality of honey, fol- 
lowing the Basswood day by day, as it opened on the hills, 
until the first week in August, when they still came in 
heavily loaded, but very tired from a long flight. 
I drove to the hights, six miles distant, and found that 
Basswood was there just coming into bloom. I immedi- 
ately moved 48 swarms to this location, and in the follow- 
ing week, these 48 colonies gave me one ton of surplus 
honey, while the 71 swarms left at home, did not secure 
one half that amount, yet they continued working upon 
the same ground during the entire period. 
This is a fine illustration of the advantage of obtain- 
ing forage within a reasonably short distance. I have 
never had direct proof to the effect, yet there is ground 
for the belief that, if honey could not be found nearer, 
bees would fly the distance named, without being gradu- 
ally led along by newly opening blossoms as in the casé 
mentioned. 
