FIFTY TEARS AMONG THE BEES 135 



curred to keep the bloom at its best, but they generally occurred 

 in the night, allowing the bees to be on their job the next 

 morning. 



After the flow was well vmder way, with every prospect of 

 continuance, Miss "Wilson began to urge that more sections 

 should be ordered. I laughed at her. I said, "There is no need 

 of more than 7 supers per colony, spring count. We had at 

 the beginning of the season 660 supers ready to put on the 

 hives. That's a little more than 9 supers per colony. We never 

 have needed anything like that number of supers, and never 

 will. No matter how hard the bees are working now, there are 

 always setbacks, as you wiU see, and at the close of the season 

 we will have empty supers to burn." But with Scotch persist- 

 ence she kept insisting, and finally I ordered more sections, 

 with no expectation they would be needed. It would, however, 

 satisfy Miss Wilson, and the sections would keep for another 

 season. But the expected setbacks did not come, and the big 

 flow kept right on flowing until the 660 supers had been put on 

 the hives, and we began to put on some of the fresh lot. Then 

 Miss Wilson had the laugh on me. I bore it calmly. 



The increase from these 72 colonies was only one colony, 

 the other 11 colonies furnishing all needed increase. 



There was no stinting of surplus room. As fast as needed 

 an empty super was added below, and as a sort of safety valve 

 an empty super was kept on top. Throughout the whole of 

 July there was on the hives an average of 6 supers each. A 

 few colonies had as many as 7 or 8 supers each at one time. 



June 24 we began taking off supers. Each colony had 

 careful credit for all honey taken from it. Not only were full 

 sections counted, but sections partly filled were estimated and 

 credited. Footed up at the close of the season, there were 

 19,186 sections, or an average of 266.47 sections per colony, for 

 the 72 colonies, spring count. If reduced to pounds it would 

 probably be about 244 pounds per colony. 



The number of finished, marketable sections was 17,684, 

 or 245.6 sections per colony, spring count. Eeduced to pounds, 

 that would be something like 225 pounds per colony. 



Returning to the total credits, the poorest colony was 

 credited with 68 sections, the best with 402. Only 10 colonies 



