The Rugby gazette and east Tennessee news. (Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn.) 1884-188?, 1885-12-19

''"i'i''S the drought we
had reasonable crop Of wheat but
a poor season for honey; yet say,
without Boosting, that my honey
'rought me handsome returns
Sec. Daugherty: What kind of
\ wheat crop had you, and what kind
Of bees?
Mr.. Scholl: | had twenty-tv o
acres Of wheat and realized $50
bushels. | had sixty colonies of bees
IN the spring to begin with, Another
point | want you to bear in mind,
the bees did not receive more than
one third.of, my time from the first
of May to the end of July; the ba-
lance of the time was on the farm.
| would average FIVE days month
the alance Of the year, The returns
from my bees were fully RS we'll as
that of my farm crops, such as hay
and corn or wheat. TO get this re-
suit it must he understood that bees
must be well managed, and have
them in god hives ready for work,
to catch the honey flow when it
comes. Take it for the last ten years
on An average, bees have paid me
better per cent. than any farm crop.
Mr. Uutchi~on; How many cole
ries of bees would it take to support
a family of five persons, wholly de
pending upon bee keeping for a
living and the money for The fa-
mily?
Mr.. Muth: How many acres of
land would it take to support Il ia
mily Of five persons? 1t il entirely
dependent on the year | am sure
it compares as favorable as any pur-
suit; at the same time to depend on
bookkeeping alone and say how many
stands would be required fer faml-
! ly is Impossible, but take it as a
pursuit it pays spendidly. We have
not got but five or six wees for a
honey season and the hest TODD for
bees i. white clover, but if the wind
blows from the wrong direction we
won't get any honey. A stand of
sees will cost you five Or six dollars
and bring you in few years more
money than n good COW.
Mr.. Ilutchison: | took thirty
pounds to the colony last summer
and some had as high as eighty
pounds, yet | should not ike to
support ny family on bee keeping
alone The work for bee keepers is
of short duration, but pays well for
the time occupied.
Sec. Dausherty: l am not pre-
pared to give anything of an accu-
rate statement Of profit SO far as
special business. There is not So
much of q bonanza as cur frieD.l
thinks. The question is Shall we
keep bees in connection with other
things, or seek something else? |
have been keeping bees for several
years, but have not given my time
wholly to it; | have had other things
to interrupt At the same time !
have watched closely, and | am sa-
tished that there is u,thing we cAn
give our time to that 10 more prof
table than bee keeping, if we have
any other pursuit with it. Some
years the yield OF honey has been
enormous. Ny profits ore year wee
$3j colony, and ! bad 80 colo
MES Five or six years ago the price
was high and the yield bouutiful.
Bee keeping pays well III connect Oh
with other employments.
Mr.. Muth: If we expect bee
keeping to support us we may be
disappointed sometimes. If we 60
to work and raise corn whsa. and
fruit to support us they will some
times fail, and SO it is with bee
keeping Some think it don't pay
when we have a failure. The farmer
don't get rich in year, neither does
the bee-keeper.
Mr.. Kennedy: I have been on
fifty acres of land and trying to
make a living at several things. For
the past fifteen years | have been