562 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



a course, and he prefers to keep himself 

 busy with an innocent hobby which affords 

 him interest and keeps him from rusting- 

 out. And his example might well be emu- 

 lated by other wealth}' men who eng-ag-e in 

 race-horse breeding- and other verj? expen- 

 sive hobbies that in themselves have very 

 little to commend them. I believe one of the 

 Vanderbilt family is following a similar 

 course on his estate in North Carolina; also 

 the Duke of Bedford, in Eng-land. If more 

 of our wealthy men were to follow in their 

 steps we should hear very little about an- 

 archism. The world owes much to such 

 men; hence I feel sure the bee-keepers of 

 America will very readily extend to Mr. 

 Stollmeyer the right hand of fellowship, 

 hoping- he will live a good while yet to en- 

 joy the comforts his bees bring him. 



TEXAS AS A BEE STATE. 



Beautiful Climate and Bee-ranges ; Possibilities of 



Bee-keeping in the Lone Star State ; Chunk 



Comb Honey. 



BY H. H. HYDE. 



Since the census report placing Texas in 

 the lead as a honey-producing State, I have 

 noticed the various comments on the matter; 

 and while I too am of the opinion that the 

 census report was unreliable in some re- 

 spects, I do not think it was far from right 

 in placing Texas in the lead. Texas is a 

 large country, and there is hardly a local- 

 ity in the State where bees can not be kept 

 with profit. Nearly every progressive farm- 

 er will have a few colonies of bees, even if, 

 as is the case in a great many instances, 

 they are in box hives, logs, barrels, etc. 

 Then, too, the number of large bee-keepers, 

 having all the way from 75 to 500 or more 

 colonies, who make bee-keeping their main 

 dependence, must be taken into account. 



Again, Texas is a country where bees 

 are almost certain to make a crop of honey, 

 complete failures being entirely unknown, 

 while the average may be all the way up 

 from 25 lbs. in some localities, for poor sea- 

 sons, to 150 to 200 lbs. in good localities for 

 good seasons. 



Another very important factor to be taken 

 into consideration in looking the matter 

 over is the fact that very little of the Texas 

 product finds its way out to the Northern 

 States. We have a good demand in Texas 

 and in the Territories, which now consume 

 practically all the honey produced here. A 

 very important factor in this home consvmip- 

 tion is the fact that the bee-keepers of Tex- 

 as have learned to give the consumers a 

 staple product without the slightest suspi- 

 cion of adulteration in our product, bulk 

 comb honey. This product can be produced 

 more cheaply, and in larger quantities, 

 than can section honey, and is cased and 

 shipped cheaper than is section honey; be- 

 sides, there are no losses from breakage or 

 dishonest commission men. The Texas 

 man of [moderate means can easily afford 



for his family comb honey, when he can 

 get it in full weig-hts at a cheaper price 

 than section honey sells for, and hence the 

 satisfactory market the Texas bee-keepers 

 have, you might say, at their very doors. 

 All in all, Texas is a desirable place to 

 keep bees, and the best part of Texas is 

 what is known as the Southwest, or that 

 part of the State l3'ing between Mexico and 

 the Gulf. 



Texas bee-keeping is booming by reason 

 of good average crops and good markets, 

 besides a warm and equable climate in 

 which to live. I expect to see the day when 

 all this vast country will be filled up, and 

 when Texas will produce as much honey as 

 any other three or four States together. 

 Our honey-producing flora is partly plant 

 growth, but more largely shrub growth. 

 Agriculture is encroaching on the honey- 

 plants very slowly; and as we do not have 

 to depend on irrigation, neither do we need 

 much rain. I believe Texas holds out in- 

 ducements ahead of all other States to the 

 man who expects to make bee-keeping his 

 lifetime pursuit. 



For the Texas honey-producer, strains of 

 bees that have great prolificness are very 

 desirable, and, in fact, essential to the best 

 success. Our flows come all along from 

 April 20 to July 15, with an occasional fall 

 flow coming in the latter part of August. 



It is easy to see that, for four months of 

 the year, beginning Feb. 1, the bee-keeper 

 desires bees that will keep their hive full 

 of bees and brood; and any weakening on 

 the part of the bees or brood will material- 

 ly curtail his honey crop. For this reason 

 Holy Land, Cyprian, and Carniolan bees 

 are coming more and more into favor, with 

 the chances of the Cyprians coming out 

 ahead, as they seem to have all the vigor 

 and vitality of the Italians, with greater 

 prolificness added. I am personally intro- 

 ducing all three strains into our apiaries 

 largely. While I admire the Carniolans 

 for their gentleness and prolificness, yet I 

 fear their swarming propensities will i-nake 

 against them. Italieins, and especially the 

 goldens, are fast being superseded by the 

 more prolific strains. This matter of stock 

 seems to be entirely' a matter of locality, 

 for I can readil}' understand that the North- 

 ern bee-keeper, having one main flow, would 

 find these prolific strains of bees exceed- 

 ingly unsatisfactory. 



Floresville, Texas, June 10. 



[I believe that all Mr. Hj'de says is true, 

 from the cursory examination I made while 

 going through his State. It is a fact that 

 there is not a suspicion of adulteration 

 there, or I did not hear of it; and for that 

 reason Texas is largely a consumer of its 

 own product. There is little or no foul 

 brood; and while it is pretty warm in some 

 of the southern counties, yet, if I am cor- 

 rect, delightful breezes from the Gulf make 

 it very endurable, even to a Northerner. I 

 remember that, while in S^in Antonio and 

 El Paso, it was very warm, for it was 



