Mistakes in Bee-keeping 23 



pensive and vexatious delays occur. A delay of a few days, at just the 

 right time, sometimes means the loss of a crop of honey. 



It is a mistake to attempt the production of honey, commercial])', 

 in a locality not suited for the business. The same may be said of queen- 

 rearing. It is a mistake to attempt it as a business in the Northern 

 States — the seasons are too short. I followed it several years, and. 

 while the experience may be valuable to me in my position, I am now- 

 well satisfied that I would have made vastly more money had I turned 

 my whole time and attention to the production of hone)-. 



It is a mistake to suppose that a poor location can be changed to a 

 good one by planting for honey. Those who thus imagine do not realize 

 the vast area of bloom that is needed to produce a surplus crop of 

 honey. The bees of an apiary, going 2I/2 miles in every direction, scour a 

 territory of about 12,000 acres. There is this to be said, however, if 

 the soil, climate, and other conditions are such that it is profitable for 

 farmers to raise such crops as yield honey, then they will be raised, and 

 the acreage will be such that the yield of honey from them will be of 

 benefit to an apiary in that locality. Note the buckwheat regions of New 

 York and the alfalfa-fields of Colorado as examples. 



