60 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS ON APICULTURE. 
According to the census of 1900 the average number of colonies on 
farms reporting them was 5.8106, valued at $14.40 — a very small 
investment. In some recent work of this Bureau a it has been 
found that in the State of Massachusetts the average number of 
colonies reported was 5.5 per bee keeper. This last figure should not 
be taken as an index to the condition in the whole country, for as 
one goes farther west the holdings are found to be larger. In Cali- 
fornia, for example, while there are some small apiaries, the majority 
are quite large, and the average is several times that of Massachusetts. 
The number taken from the census can scarcely be accepted as 
correct. 
The number of men who rely solely on the production of honey 
and wax for a livelihood is rather small, and most of the extensive 
producers of the West carry on some other business, at least for the 
part of the year when the bees are less active. The reason for this 
is found in the nature of the industr} r . Any location is limited as to 
the number of colonies of bees which it will support, and in con- 
sequence a bee keeper must either carry on some other business or 
establish numerous outapiaries to enable him to keep bees enough 
to make it an occupation which will support him. Since the estab- 
lishment of outapiaries is attended with certain disadvantages, it 
usually follows that bee keeping becomes a minor part of a man's 
occupation or even a side line. 
Then, too, bee keeping .is taken up by man}^ as a recreation or a 
subject of nature study. Such persons do not wash to make it their 
sole or main occupation. Many farmers also keep a few colonies of 
bees and add to their income to some extent in that way. It is 
obvious that bee keeping must continue to be an avocation in the 
majority of cases. 
This brings up for consideration a question which has been much 
discussed by those interested in bringing about an advance in the 
industry: Shall an attempt be made to increase the number of bee 
keepers, or to make better ones of a smaller number? Bee keepers 
who follow the pursuit on a commercial scale are usually anxious 
that there be no increase in the number engaged in the business, 
but rather a decrease, with an accompanying advance in the pro- 
ficiency of those so engaged. This desire is not wholly selfish, for 
unless the increase is directly in the territory of the individual his crop 
is not affected. 
It frequently happens that a local market is ruined, temporarily 
at least, by some uninformed bee keeper who keeps a few colonies 
and sells a poor grade of honey for a ridiculously low price, thus 
« Gates, Burton N. — Bee Keeping in Massachusetts. Bulletin No. 75, Part VII, 
Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. (In preparation. ) 
