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been kept profitably on it. Yet, at this low rate, the crop of 
Illinois alone, with the same percentage of bees, would have 
been 15,000,000 lbs. We cannot form an adequate idea of the 
enormous amount of honey which is wasted from the lack of bees 
to harvest it.” 
We know by such statements as these that, although we may 
hear of Californian crops of honey being immense, such crops only 
come very occasionally, and our supply of honey is more regular, 
and more to be relied upon. This fact, therefore, stands out 
clearly. We have in this colony a source of wealth in the shape 
of a natural crop, which yearly goes to waste through need of 
gathering and marketing. We can get a glimpse at it by com- 
parison. We now have a few bee-keepers of experience who 
wholly devote themselves to the business of honey gathering, 
and we know the probabilities and possibilities of the pursuit. 
We know that, with good management, 100 colonies of bees will 
collect 5 tons of honey in a season, and in some parts double that 
amount. What of the thousands of square miles of unoccupied 
country, where hardly a bee is to be seen? 
Some few months ago, as secretary of the Bee-keepers’ Asso- 
ciation, I issued a circular to all our bee-keepers of note, asking 
information under the head of supply and cost of gathering. I have 
here some 20 answers from bee-keepers owning 2,000 hives of bees, 
and living in different part of the colony. In answer to the ques- 
tion of yearly average gathered per hive, a considerable variation 
exists, corresponding to the locality, but it is worthy of note that 
those who are engaged in bee-keeping pure and simple, and who 
have, therefore, made a choice of locality, show a very large 
average, far exceeding the average of Dadant and Son, who 
possess many years’ more experience in manipulation and manage- 
ment, and of those who simply make bee-keeping an adjunct, show 
that their averages are fully up to and past the 50 lbs. average. 
Two hundred hives of bees, with a 50 lbs. average, means 5 tons 
of honey, with a spot value of £20 to £25a ton. This represents 
the working capacity of one beekeeper, any increase in honey 
not greatly adding to the labour, so that a greater gathering 
would add to the profit of that labour without greatly adding to 
its cost. It would simply mean that the bee-keeper would have 
to skip round a little more and possibly get up earlier. 
What does it cost to produce a ton of honey may be only an- 
swered by careful computation of several seasons’ work; but enough 
has been said to show that a living may be made by bee-keeping 
embracing seven or eight months’ work only, and the probabilities 
are that a good living and something over may be obtained. 
For a small outlay of capital and labour, I know of no pursuit 
which gives so speedy a return. So far, we have reviewed 
one-half of the subject—that of production. The other half 
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