JULY 15, 1913 



Beekeeping in the Southwest 



Loris ScHOLL, New Braunfels, Texas. 



There is an active demand for bnlk comb 

 honey in the Texas markets, while the de- 

 mand for extracted honey is " on the bum/' 

 as a number of extracted-honey producers 

 have recently expressed tiiemselves. There 

 was a movement on foot several j'ears ago, 

 by several extracted-honey producers, to in- 

 duce more beekeepers to produce extracted 

 honey instead of comb honey, and then ed- 

 ucate the people to the use of extracted 

 honey. I did not favor this, and, instead, 

 went into exclusive bulk-comb-honey pvo- 

 duction. I made no mistake, since the mar- 

 ket demands an enormous amount of bulk 

 comb honey over extracted honey, and that 

 at a good price as compared with extracted- 

 honey prices. 



A beekeeping friend told me that he 

 would just as readily have extracted honey 

 of the same source as comb honey, on his 

 own table, although we had to produce 

 comb honey for the most of our customers. 

 I do not agree with him, for I pi'efer comb 

 honey to extracted honey from the same 

 source, not because I like the comb or even 

 the appearance of it, but because the honey 

 itself tastes differently from that which has 

 gone through an extraetor. Honey just re- 

 moved from the comb with (he knife, and 

 immediately eaten with your hot biscuit 

 or bread, has all its delicate flavor and aro- 

 ma, which makes it a delicate morsel. Take 

 the same kind of honey, extracted with the 

 machine, and it is not the same delicately 

 flavored article. The agitation, and stir- 

 ring effect upon the honey that has been 

 " through the mill " is responsible for the 

 loss of that delicacy and newness of flavor 

 and aroma of our fine-flavored honeys. A 

 certain change takes place; and a little 

 experiment, that of taking a spoon and 

 rapidly churning some of the fine-flavored 

 liquid honey, will result in quite a different- 

 tasting article. 



» * * 



HOME-MADE OR MANUFACTURED HIVES. 



Every little while somebody asks whether 

 it is not better and chea^oer to make one's 

 own hives and suj^plies. It may be a little 

 cheaper to do so considered from the stand- 

 point of the first investment ; but aside 

 from that I find no advantage — quite to the 

 contrary. Especially is this so here in the 

 South, where, first, we have not the suitable 

 lumber for hive-making at a reasonable 

 price; and, second, hives made with the 

 lumber we have do not stand up properly. 

 Therefore home-made hives are either too 

 expensive on the one hand or too unsatis- 

 factory on the other. My own experience 



has taught me this, as I thought at one 

 time I could make cheap and serviceable 

 hives of my own. I have seen hundreds of 

 home-made hives; and while they serve 

 their purpose in a way, it is very disagree- 

 able beekeeping indeed that goes with such 

 hives. 



The main trouble is that such hives warp, 

 twist, or turn out of shape in all sorts of 

 ways, even if they are made ever so care- 

 fully and expensively. All kinds of trou- 

 ble confront the beekeeper at one time or 

 another with these " leaky " hives, which 

 let either the weather and rain or robber 

 bees in, but do not keep the inmates in, just 

 at times when this is most necessary. Be- 

 sides, the apiaries composed of home-made 

 hives never look so neat (except in the case 

 of the very few exceptionally carefully 

 home-made hives, which, however, are very 

 much in the minority. 



If any thing must be home-made, the 

 bottom-boards and covers can be made well 

 enough. But the hives and supers, and 

 esjDecially the inside fixtures, are better 

 bought, and every thing will fit so well that 

 rapid and more agreeable manipulations 

 year after year will be worth enough more 

 to pay the little difference between poor 

 home-made hives at the best, and good hives 

 purchased from a responsible factory. Bad 

 indeed are hives and frames that do not fit 

 exactly. 



Continued from page 48 i. 



feel at liberty to hash it up until it had no 

 resemblance to the bill as sanctioned by the 

 State convention. There were about one 

 thousand bills which passed the legislature; 

 and if press dispatches are correct, less 

 than half of them were signed. Those 

 passed carried apropriations nearly double 

 the amount available from normal taxation, 

 so the responsibility fell on the Governor, 

 who had to trim them until they would fit 

 the State treasury. We are not the only 

 disappointed bunch. There was one bill 

 affecting this county to the extent of $85,000 

 that met the veto. I regret the loss of our 

 bill as much as any one, for I think it was 

 just what we wanted ; yet I do not feel 

 that, under the circumstances, the Govei'nor 

 should be blamed altogether. 



My bees are very strong, and the swarming I had 

 been able to control for several years has " broke 

 loose," and they swarm in large, massive clusters, 

 mostly after 4 o'clock. Well, I thought I had them, 

 but I have another guess coming. 



Bradshaw, Neb. C. B. Palmee. 



