and ils Economic Management. 73 



at soolbs. for each good honey day ; while out of the six 

 months of the working season, in allowing only 30 days 

 as good for honey gathering, we have then soolbs 

 multiplied by 30, giving the total of i5,ooolbs for the 

 season. 



It may be safely considered that these averages are 

 very low indeed, and it may well be said, " What then 

 becomes of all this valuable food, so liberally provided by 

 the hand of Nature, seeing it is so very seldom any apiary 

 yields a surplus anything like approaching these figures ? " 



It can only be that this gratuitous secretion of the 

 flowery lovers of our tiny workers is lost by mismanage- 

 ment in many instances. Stocks are not strong when they 

 should be ; the right kind of bees may not be cultivated ; 

 while lastly, too many colonies are often placed in one 

 locality, when, indeed, the whole number are little more 

 than useless consumers. 



In many localities, therefore, it may be considered as a 

 great point in management that 50 really sound colonies 

 are all-sufficient for securing the highest results, and these 

 for the time being should again be reduced at the right 

 time, when the very best returns are anticipated. 



But why confine an apiary to one square mile ? Of 

 course the bees from a given spot will cover a wider 

 radius, but there are other bees, probably, in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and it will in any case always be safer to keep 

 well within the range of possibility, rather than extend 

 our desires towards improbabilities. To sum up, there- 

 fore, it is not wise to exceed fifty stocks where honey 

 alone is to be worked for, unless the apiarist is certain he 

 has an exceptional locality, or has the land and ability 

 that will enable him to supplement his local resources. 



It should be remembered that the honey is obtained at 

 no expense to the crop of hay, unless the same be allowed 



