112 
BEE PASTURAGE. 
ers begin to express fears of a drought, then is the time 
(if in the season of flowers) that most honey is obtain- 
ed ; but if dry weather passes these limits, the quan- 
tity is greatly diminished. Of the two extremes, per- 
haps very wet is the worst. 
HOW MANV STOCKS SHOULD BE KEPT. 
“ What number of stocks can there be kept in one 
place ?” is another question often asked. This is like 
Mr. A. asking farmer B. how many cattle could be 
pastured in a lot of ten acres. Farmer B. would first 
wish to know how much pasture said lot would pro- 
duce, before he could begin to answer ; since one lot 
of that size might produce ten times as much as the 
other. So with bees, one apiary of two hundred stocks 
might find honey in abundance for all, and another of 
forty might almost starve. Like the cattle, it depends 
on pasture. 
THREE PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF HONEY. 
There are three principal sources of honey, viz. : — 
clover, basswood, and buckwheat. But clover is the 
only universal dependance; as that is almost every- 
where, to some extent, in the country. Buckwheat in 
some places is the main source; in others, basswood, 
which is of brief duration. Where all three are abund- 
ant, there is the true El Dorado of the apiarian ! With 
plenty of clover and buckwheat, it is nearly as well. 
Even with clover alone, enormous quantities of honey 
are obtained. I have said what was our dependence 
in this section. I will further say that within a circle 
