PASTURAGE. 427 



from labor, and so exhausted as to need rest before they 

 ■enter the hive. 



715. With proper management, at least fifty pounds of 

 surplus honey may be obtained from each colony that is 

 wintered in good condition. This is not a "guess" estimate, 

 it is the average of our crops during a period of, over twenty 

 years in different localities. 



Such an average may appear small to experienced bee- 

 keepers, but we think it large enough when we consider that 

 Tve are in a district where wheat, com, oats, and timothy are 

 ihe staple crops, none of these being honey producing plants. 



A careful man, who, with Langstroth hives^ will begin bee- 

 keeping on a prudent scale, enlarging his operations as his 

 skill and experience increase, will succeed in any region. But, 

 in favorable localities, a much larger profit may be realized. 



Bee-keepers cannot be too cautious in entering largely 

 upon new systems of management, until they have ascertained, 

 not only that they are good, but that they can make a good 

 use of them. There is, however, a golden mean between the 

 stupid conservatism that tries nothing new, and that rash 

 experimenting, on an extravagant scale, which is so char- 

 iicteristic of our people. 



