112 BEE PASTURAGE. 



ers begin to express fears of a drought, then is the time 

 (if in the season of flowers) that most honey is obtainr 

 ed ; but if dry weather passes these limits, the quan- 

 tity is greatly diminished. Of the two extremes, per- 

 haps very wet is the worst. 



HOW MANY STOCKS SHOULD BE KEPT. 



" What number of stocks can there be kept in ong 

 place ?" is another question often asked. This is like 

 Mr. A. asking farmer B. how many cattle could be 

 pastured in a lot of ten acres. Farmer B. would first 

 wish to know how much pasture said lot would pro- 

 duce, before he could begin to answer ; since one lot 

 of that size might produce ten times as much as the 

 other. So with bees, one apiary of two hundred stocks 

 might find honey in abundance for all, and another of 

 forty might almost starve. Like the cattle, it depends 

 on pasture. 



THREE PRINCIPAL SOURCES OP HONEY. 



There are three principal sources of honey, viz. : — 

 clover, basswood, and buckwheat. But clover is the 

 only universal dependahce ; as that is almost every- 

 where, to some extent, in the country. Buckwheat in 

 some places is the main source ; in others, basswood, 

 which is of brief duration. Where all three are abund- 

 ant, there is the true El Dorado of the apiarian ! With 

 plenty of clover and buckwheat, it is nearly as well. 

 Even with clover alone, enormous quantities of honey . 

 are obtained. I have said what was our dependence 

 in this section. I will further say that within a circle 



