12 PROFITABLE BEE-KEEPING 
owing to the superabundance of any particular 
kind of produce. Thus his cows and pigs will 
have support in poultry and bees. These in turn 
are backed up by fruit and vegetables, and so 
forth. Working on these lines total loss is prac- 
tically impossible, whatever the conditions, and the 
knowledge of this should go far to make the small 
farmer an optimistic man. 
Now among all the kinds of stock or crops 
which may be worked upon a small-holding, there 
is not one which will give the returns which bees 
will give, taking an average of seasons and pro- 
viding they be properly managed. It is quite a 
common thing to find apiaries which recouped 
their owner for his initial outlay during the first 
season. With what other stock is there even a 
possible chance of this being done?: 
Properly. worked, bees will show a profit in 
practically any situation, although the amount of 
this profit will vary greatly. This is on account 
of the variation in the honey producing power of 
different districts. The difference is very great in 
some cases where special florage is available, taking 
as an instance apiaries situated within reach of 
both clover and heather. Apiaries in such districts 
have been known to show a profit of 50/- per 
colony in a good season. Speaking generally, 
however, and taking an average of years, bees 
should show a profit of 20/- per colony per 
annum. When this is compared with the average 
price of a stock of bees, which is about 25/-, 
