Miii'ratory Bcc-kcc[>iiig 123 



ver_v disastrous to the bees. Those who aided in the enterprise beUevc 

 tliat, rightly managed, the plan might be made a success. Mr. Byron 

 Walker, who has had much experience in moving bees from the South, 

 greatly favors the Mississippi plan of migratory bee-keeping. He would 

 not put the bees on a barge and tow them with a tug, but would load 

 them upon a regular steamer running up the river, setting them ofif at 

 some desirable point, and then shipping them by another boat to another 

 point further up the river, as the flow begins to wane. In the fall he 

 would take the bees back south for the winter. 



Right here a hypothetical question comes to mind. Suppose an apiary 

 moving up the Mississippi secures as much as six ordinary crops of 

 honey — six times as much as a stationary apiar}- — would this be more 

 profitable than six stationary apiaries? In other words, which is the more 

 promising field for enterprise — following up the season, or establishing 

 ,out-apiaries ? Upon this point there are many things to be considered, 

 and varying circumstances would lead to different decisions. To establish 

 six apiaries would require considerable capital, and the labor of caring 

 for the honey crop would all come at one time, while there would be only 

 one chance of securing a crop. With the migratory plan, only one apiary 

 would be needed, and the work of caring for the surplus would not come 

 all at the same time. With the stationary apiaries there would be no 

 expense for transportation, which is a big item. 



