246 A Modern Bee-Farm 



It has been considered that practical bee-keeping owes 

 much to science, and that scientific bee-keeping owes little to 

 practice. What is science but ascertained knowledge, gained 

 by the continued practice of ages, the good being consolidated, 

 while the chaff has been expelled ? Correct practice alone 

 constitutes and establishes true science. 



By a careful experiment I have found there are 3,500 

 worker bees to the pound. Queens will live from three to four 

 years ; drones, three months ; workers during summer, six 

 weeks, and through the quiet months of winter six months. 



Cyprian and Syrian queens are much smaller than those of 

 either the Carniolan or native kinds. The drones also are 

 smaller, consequently I find where only males of the larger 

 races are flying, the Cyprian or Syrian queens are often long 

 in finding a mate. 



Whatever requires doing about the apiary should be done 

 at once. If left for another day, an important matter is liable 

 to be forgotten when many other things require attention, and 

 considerable loss ensues. Where any need cannot be attended 

 to immediately some note or sign must be made, but the 

 apiarist should not make a note of every little detail that 

 requires his attention, or such a course will only tend- to 

 weaken the intellect. 



Fertile workers are not often troublesome except in the 

 queen-raising apiary. When they persist in laying in nuclei, 

 do not attempt to give virgin queens, but at once supply a 

 good fertile queen on a comb of brood, with accompanying 

 bees ; this also being the very best and simplest cure where 



