-The honey bee: o., worker; b, queen; c, drone. 

 (After Phillips.) 



Twice natural size. 



BEEKEEPING FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE 

 W. H. WOLFF 



Bees are kept for two main reasons: first, for the {products of the bees themselves, — 

 honey and wax, — and second, for the part they play in fertilization of flowers. 



Bees when properly housed and free from disease require only a minimum of care; 

 in the main they look out for and feed themselves. Every colony under normal favorable 

 conditions may be counted on to produce an annual surplus of 25 to 50 pounds of honey 

 worth 85 to $10. Exceptionally strong colonies in the hands of an expert often yield 

 75 to 100 pounds or more. Such are the benefits and profits of beekeeping when the 

 bees are given a fair chance. 



Beekeeping has scarcely had a fair chance in recent years in New Hampshire, fewer 

 bees are kept now than formerly, and instances of successful honey crops are less fre- 

 quently found. There are four natural causes which have acted to repress the industry: 



(1) The presence of foulbrood diseases, especially European foulbrood, mostly unsus- 

 pected and uncontrolled. 



(2) The presence of many colonies of black bees and hybrids which are diificult and 

 disagreeable to, handle, and especially subject to European foulbrood. Modern bee- 

 keeping calls for the Italianizing of all colonies. 



(3) Insufficient protection for the colonies in the fall, winter, and early spring. 



(4) Uncontrolled swarming. Modern beekeeping, while recognizing the inherent 

 tendency of the bees to swarm under certain conditions, aims to so control and modify 

 these conditions as to eliminate natural swarming with its consequent loss of many 

 swarms and the usual reduction in the honey crop even though swarms are caught. 



It is felt that in proportion as beekeepers recognize the importance of these four vital 

 points and take pains to correct them will the industry improve and prosper. 



WHO SHOULD KEEP BEES 



Modern beekeeping is a science, and its successful pursuit is an art demanding consid- 

 erable practice and experience. The honey crop depends more on management of the 

 bees than on season, so that, while the honey yield will often average for lar^e apiaries 

 fifty pounds for each colony imder good and proper care, without this care little or no 

 honey may ever be produced. 



Thjs, however, is not the whole story. The person who has from one to a few colonies 

 of bees, who knows little respecting them and perhaps cares less, is a menace to the 

 industry, since his colonies sooner or later are very likely to become diseased. These, 



