CONTROLLING BEES. 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. = 
CHAPTER V. 
CONTROLLING BEES. 
sa THEIR DISPOSITION. 
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 
