BEE KEEPING IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
85 
For purposes of comparison divide the State into two sections, the 
eastern section to include Worcester County and all other eastern 
counties save Barnstable County, which is not at all comparable 
either in population or from an agricultural point of view. If these 
two sections be contrasted, there will be found an obvious difference 
in their population. In the eastern section the cities and towns are 
large and the population concentrated, while in the western part the 
population is less dense and is thus far less influenced, on the whole, 
by large communities than the eastern section. It is in the large 
communities that bee keeping is usually promoted by supply houses 
and conventions, and it is there also that the majority who seek rural 
recreation along lines promoted by popular agricultural papers 
reside. Consequently, it is to be expected that the progress and 
stimulation of bee keeping, either as a recreation or an industry, 
should first be felt in and adjacent to these communities. This is 
precisely what is noticeable in Massachusetts. Back in the country 
of the more strictly rural section of the State, where population 
acquires but slowly the progressive impulses which are first launched 
in the larger communities, there are fewer new or amateur bee 
keepers than in the more thickly populated eastern section. In this 
western section the ratio of beginners to advanced bee keepers is as 30 
to 70 ; while in the eastern section, where are found two bee-keepers' 
societies, the proportion of beginners is larger, with a possible ratio of 
41 to 59. Aside from the influence of societies in the eastern section, 
supply houses have had a noticeable effect in stimulating popular in- 
terest and in promoting new and improved methods. As is pointed 
out above, sensational stimulation is unfavorable to the industry. 
Table I. — Proportion of amateurs to practiced bee keepers in the eastern and 
western sections of Massachusetts. 
Practiced bee keepers. 
Total 
number 
Section of State. 
ers (5 years and 
less). 
5 to 15 
years. 
15 to 25 
years. 
25 years 
and over. 
Percent. 
of bee 
keepers 
report- 
ing. 
Wesl of Worcester County 
Worcester County and east, 
exclusive of Barnstable 
X ii in h< r. 
95 
302 
3 
Per cent. 
30 
41 
Number. 
105 
209 
8 
Xiiiiibt r. 
56 
104 
6 
Number. 
67 
94 
1 
70 
59 
323 
709 
Barnstable County 
18 
Total for the State 
400 
38 
322 
166 
162 
62 
1,050 
