PAST QE AGE. 427 



from labor, and so exhausted as to need rest before they 

 enter the hive. 



yiS. With proper management, at least fifty pounds of 

 surplus honey may be obtained from each colony that is 

 wintered in good condition. This is not a "guess" estimate, 

 it is the average of our crops during a period of over twenty 

 years in different localities. 



Such an average may appear small to experienced bee- 

 keepers, but we think it large enough when we consider that 

 we are in a district where wheat, com, oats, and timothy are 

 the staple crops, none of these being honey producing plants. 



A careful man, who, with Langstroth hives^ will begin bee- 

 keeping on a prudent scale, enlarging his operations as his 

 skill and experience increase, will succeed in any region. But, 

 in favorable localities, a much larger profit may be realized. 



Bee-keepers cannot be too cautious in entering largely 

 upon new systems of management, until they have ascertained, 

 not only that they are good, but that they can make a good 

 use of them. There is, however, a golden mean between the 

 stupid conservatism that tries nothing new, and that rash 

 experimenting, on an extravagant scale, which is so char- 

 acteristic of our people. 



