96 
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 
[Vol. 13 
It is too often used to explain away differences of opinion due to care¬ 
less observation or improper manipulation. While differences in bee 
behavior are not usually to be credited to locality, a different system 
of manipulation is often necessary to make the most of the flows arising 
under different conditions. 
Doctor Phillips and his staff have brought forcibly to the attention 
of the beekeepers, through the medium of the short courses recently 
so popular, that the fundamentals of beekeeping are few and easily 
grasped by the intelligent mind. Room, stores and protection have 
been shown to constitute the essentials which must be recognized under 
any conditions. With a proper understanding of these, it then be¬ 
comes important that the beekeeper study his individual location in 
order that he may apply his knowledge to bringing his colonies to the 
peak of brood rearing in time for the principal harvest of the year. In 
this connection a brief consideration of the peculiar conditions to be 
met in different parts of the country and the effect upon the plans of 
the beekeeper may be of some interest. 
In southwest Iowa, where the writer kept bees for several years, 
there was but one principal honey-flow—from white clover. This 
flow lasted from ten days to six weeks. If the bees were not ready 
when the flow came there was little chance of securing a crop from a 
later flow. Usually there was sufficient fall flow to fill the hives and 
put the bees into good condition for winter, but no surplus worth while 
was secured. In a location like that the beekeeper must bend every 
energy of the entire year to bring his bees to maximum strength at the 
beginning of June and to prevent swarming till the brief flow is over. 
If the bees winter poorly there is little time for coddling them and 
building up weaklings to profitable strength. Good wintering is 
essential. It is also important that no time be lost in building up the 
colonies in spring. It was found that, by wintering the colonies in two 
stories with the upper brood-chamber well filled with honey, it was 
usually possible to turn the surplus of food into young bees and have 
the two stories well filled with brood and bees by the close of fruit 
bloom, always providing that the bees wintered well. With careful 
attention it was possible to get from two to four times as much surplus 
as the average farmer with bees in the neighborhood was able to 
secure. There was seldom a season when it was possible to make in¬ 
crease ahead of the honey-flow to any extent, without reducing the crop. 
In contrast to this location there are places in the alfalfa districts of 
Colorado where the main flow comes in August, where it is the practice 
to make increase from the early flows and still have the bees in good 
condition for the principal flow. There, some beekeepers practice 
wintering in two stories and, as soon as the two stories are filled with 
