HOW TO KEEP BEES. 



Ahthur C. Miller, 



INSPECTOR OF APIARIES. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Rhode Island offers excellent opportunities for profitable bee 

 culture. The soil is diversified, the flora is varied and extensive 

 and the climate is not rigorous. Some of the more densely wooded 

 parts of the State are not adapted to the pursuit as a business, nor 

 even adapted to the support of more than a few colonies here and 

 there. Other parts, particularly those having considerable dairy 

 farming or fruit growing, are well adapted to bee culture on a 

 substantial scale and here and there are locations which compare 

 favorably with the best in the land and will profitably support large 

 apiaries. 



In times past bees were to be found on many farms and in many a 

 village yard, but to-day they are far less often met with. The reasons 

 for this condition are many, but probably the most important has 

 been loss or meagre profit due to the lack of information as to the 

 proper care of bees. 



To aid in extending bee-keeping in this State and to make it easier 

 and more profitable are the objects of this bulletin. 



PASTURAGE. 



Bees may be kept almost anywhere and in almost any sort of a 

 receptacle, but to make them profitable several factors must be con- 

 sidered. The first and most important is the pasturage, for if that is 

 not good, all the skill in the world will avail but little. 



