OVERSTOCKING. 401 
ter of a mile from their hives, so much the better; there is 
no great advantage, however, in having it close to them, 
unless there is a great supply, as bees, when they leave the 
hive, seldom alight upon the neighboring flowers. ‘The 
instinct to fly some distance seems to have been given them 
to prevent them from wasting their time in prying into 
flowers already despoiled of their sweets by previous gath- 
erers. 
“Mr. Kaden, of Mayence, thinks that the range of the bee’s 
flight does not usually extend more than three miles in all direc- 
tions. Several years ago, a vessel, laden with sugar, anchored 
off Mayence, and was soon visited by the bees of the neighbor- 
hood, which continued to pass to and from the vessel from dawn 
to dark. One morning, when the bees were in full flight, the 
vessel sailed up the river. For a short time, the bees continued 
to fly as numerously as before; but gradually the number dimin- 
ished, and, in the course of half an hour, all had ceased to follow 
the vessel, which had, meanwhile, sailed more than four miles.” 
—Bienenzeitung, 1854, p. 83. 
Our own experience corroborates the statements of Kaden. 
We have known strong colonies of bees to starve upon the 
hills ina year of drouth, while the Mississippi bottoms, 
less than four miles distant, which had been overflowed dur- 
ing the Spring, were yielding a large crop. It is evident 
that districts, where the honey blossoms are scarce, can be 
much more readily overstocked than those rich bottom 
lands which are covered with blossoms, the greater part of 
the Summer. A great amount of land in cultivation, is not 
always a hindrance to honey production, for cultivated 
lands often grow weeds, which yield an abundance of honey. 
Heartsease and Spanish needle grow plentifully in corn- 
fields and wheat stubble in wet seasons. Pasture lands 
abound with white clover. : 
709. It is impossible to give the exact number of colo- 
nies that a country can support profitably. In poor loca- 
tions, a few hives will probably harvest all the honey to be 
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