492 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



of honey and wax. The real value of the bees to Iowa cannot 

 be told for there is no way to measure this indirect product. 

 The business is only partially developed in this state and is 

 capable of sustaining many thousands of people in comfort and 

 adding millions of dollars to the resources of the commonwealth, 



ADVANTAGES OF IOWA BEE KEEPERS. 



Most of Iowa's honey is of high quality and brings the highest 

 prices in the world's markets. When the markets are glutted, 

 the white clover honey is among the first to be moved and sel- 

 dom is there a season when first quality white clover honey 

 does not move readily. This being the ease there is little danger 

 of over production. As long as our honey will bring several 

 cents more per pound than honey from many southern and west- 

 ern localities, in the same market, the Iowa honey producer need 

 have little fear of being unable to sell his crop. 



ASSISTANCE NEEDED. 



The large correspondence of this department with bee keepers 

 concerning every phase of bee keeping is evidence of the need 

 of some special headquarters for disseminating information re- 

 lating to bee culture. The industry is one well worthy of en- 

 couragement and every possible means should be offered to in- 

 quiring bee keepers to secure dependable information. While it 

 would be possible to enlarge the work of this department to 

 cover such needs as is being done in some states, I am of the 

 opinion that the better plan would be to provide a special appro- 

 priation for research work in bee culture in connection with the 

 state experiment station at Ames. There is no apparent reason 

 why the man with less than ten colonies of bees should be ex- 

 empted from taxation. This is depriving the state of revenue 

 from hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of taxable prop- 

 erty without accomplishing the purpose for which it was in- 

 tended. I would suggest that this section of the tax law be 

 repealed and that all bees be taxed the same as other property 

 and that a part of the funds thus raised be appropriated for 

 special work in the development of apiculture at the state experi- 

 ment station. There is no reason why Iowa should not set the 

 pace for the world in bee keeping as well as in some other lines 

 of agricultural development. The state has not been slow to 



