Hello All, Bob said: Another article on feeding which Dr. Sanford talks about and I highly recommend was done by Dr. Jim Tew in Sept. 1996 (page 520) called "Focus On Feeding". I came in from doing bee work to take a break and picked up the 1996 Bee Culture from above and in the questions and answers section by Richard Taylor saw a very interesting question sent in by Arthur Young of Norwalk, WI. I wonder what kind of answer the beekeeping minds of BEE-L would give Arthur for an answer. Arthur Young's question from 1996: Honey Production: "An old bee book I have says that per colony honey crops average 235 lbs. in 1909, and the figure is 250 lbs. for 1916. Our average now is about 60 lbs. THIS SUGGESTS THAT, IN SPITE OF ALL THE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE HONEY BEES , BY SEARCHING ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR BETTER BEES ,THERE HAS BEEN NO IMPROVEMENT AT ALL." Comments? Bob Ps. Many beekeepers said after most of the feral bees were lost to mites that honey production would double for commercial hives without the competition from feral swarms yet averages have stayed about the same. Hmmm. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::