AUGUST 1, 1912 



467 



a newspaper man, and he would doubtless 

 be glad to furnish copies of the papers 

 containing these articles to anybody who 

 might wish them, providing stamps were 

 sent to cover postage. 



A good deal rests upon the man who 

 writes the article. Lengthy, teclmical dis- 

 cussions will not be read by the careless 

 beekeejDers, for they are uninteresting. The 

 article should be short and to the point, 

 and should be written in a wideawake, in- 

 teresting manner. 



TEXAS AS A HONEY STATE. 



The Texas , Magazine for May, an illus- 

 trated monthly, contains an exceptionally 

 interesting and valuable article by William 

 Harper Dean, Assistant State Entomolo- 

 gist under Prof. William Newell, State En- 

 tomologist and Chief State Foul-brood In- 

 spector of Texas. We should like to re- 

 produce the whole article, but space will 

 permit us to make only a few extracts here 

 and there that will speak for themselves. 



He gapes his astonishment to learn that there 

 are more than a quarter of a million colonies of 

 bees in the State, and that their annual honey pro- 

 duction is estimated to run upward of 7500 tons. * 



The value of bees can in no wise be computed by 

 the amount of wealth they create through their pro- 

 duction of honey and wax, for without bees there 

 would be imperfect pollenization of blooms, conse- 

 quently poor crops of fruit, truck, staple crops — 

 even failures. On the enormous alfalfa ranches of 

 R. J. Smith, "The Alfalfa King" of Texas, you will 

 find colonies of bees, for though Mr. Smith is not 

 a beekeeper, by profession he knows well that the 

 little workers will pollenize the alfalfa blooms, as- 

 suring a good crop of seed and a table supplied with 

 the choicest of sweets. * * * * 



TEXAS HAS BEES ON 38,000 FARMS. 



Some 38,000 farms in Texas keep bees. Many of 

 these, the majority in fact, keep but a few colonies 

 to fertilize the cultivated bloom and to supply honey 

 for home consumption. There are a great many 

 beekeepers who are professionals, relying well nigh 

 exclusively upon their colonies as a source of in- 

 come. But professional beekeeping is not a common 

 find. Those who rise to this point do so only by the 

 closest observation, the most painstaking methods, 

 and good business management, as will be readilv 

 understood when one takes the trouble to investigate 

 the depth of complex life in these little socialistic 

 communities. * * * * 



The Goliad Bee and Honey Company, of Goliad, 

 last j'ear operated 1050 colonies of bees which pro- 

 duced 42,050 pounds of honey and 300 pounds of 

 wax. At Beeville, Mr. W. H. Laws operated 1200 

 colonies which stored 21.000 pounds of honey. But 

 Mr. Laws is not primarily a honey-producer. His 

 primary occupation is the rearing of queen bees for 

 supplying other apiarists. At La Pryor, Zavalla 

 County, Mr. J. E. Chambers harvested 70,000 

 pounds of honey and 800 pounds of wax from 1000 

 colonies of the little freebooters. In the light of these 

 few instances "waste" hardly seems a fit nickname 

 for shaparral. * * * * 



BEE FACTS. 



Uvalde County alone has more than 15,000 colo- 

 nies of bees. 



Texas honey is rarely found on the Northern mar- 

 kets ; it is practically all consumed in the State, 

 though some shipments are made to Oklahoma and 

 other close points. 



It is not an uncommon occurrence in Texas to 

 see a whole car of bees shipped to some locality 

 where a new apiary is to oe started, or where the 

 beekeeper wishes to increase his honey output with- 

 out waiting for natural increase in the bees on 

 hand. * * * * 



Both Central and East Texas reap a titanic honey 

 harvest from principally cotton and horsemint, the 

 latter a wild, generally distributed plant which fur- 

 nishes nectar for a deliciously flavored product. 

 Here the rainfall is quite heavy, and we find the 

 honey darker in color than that of the chaparral 

 sections. Located in Williamson County is one of 

 the bee and honey kings of the State, T. P. Robin- 

 son. Though he operates a considerably less number 

 of colonies than many of his brother "kings" — 800 

 to be specific — ^he took from them last season nearly 

 thirty tons of extracted honey. His output during 

 a good average year is about 80,000 pounds. A 

 "bumper" crop would raise this to the neighborhood 

 of 100,000 pounds. This man is perhaps one of the 

 wealthiest beekeepers in the country. During the 

 last ten years he figures a total income of $100,000. 



"And," says Mr. Robinson, "I have made this 

 wealth by creating wealth, not by trading and scalp- 

 ing" — a philosophy which carries with it something 

 lasting and good for a heritage. * * * * 



CONDITIONS SAME IN TWO EXTREMES. 



Uvalde County is one of the greatest honey-pro- 

 ducing counties in the State, relying principally 

 upon huajilla, catsclaw, and mesquite — chaparral 

 growth in semi-arid latitude. As far west as El 

 Paso County the beekeeping industry yields abun- 

 dant returns. At Clint, El Paso County, "W. J. Stah- 

 manu last year managed 800 colonies. They stored 

 a total surplus crop, over and above their own 

 needs, of 83,000 pounds of honey and 300 pounds 

 of wax. * * * * 



SOME OF THE FAILURES AND S17CCESSES. 



A novice in the art of beekeeping started out with 

 thirty colonies of bees. At the end of his first season 

 he took a surplus of 3000 pounds of honey and 

 counted 110 colonies as the result of natural in- 

 crease. This man gave his bees attention and kept 

 them in modern frame hives. 



One of the best-qualified beekeepers in Texas in 

 discussing failure and success in this calling cited 

 an instance in which a certain acquaintance of his 

 farmed 200 acres. He loses money on cotton and 

 pays all his expenses from the revenue of his bees. 

 This man's custom is to work with his colonies 

 two hours each day when he is "resting" from plow- 

 ing. 



In Waxahachie there lives a business man by the 

 name of Mr. Tom Burlison. In 1910 he owned forty- 

 one colonies of bees and kept them in the back yard 

 of his home in the city. After business hours he 

 found there was a world of relaxation and rest in 

 attending to them. That year they averaged 100 

 pounds of honey and netted him exactly $450. 



Of course one must always take into consideration 

 ths fact that a poor season or a poor locality often 

 means failure, but the man who studies his little 

 corsairs and makes it his business to understand 

 their habits and needs is better qualified to stand the 

 attack of drouth and other setlsacks than the man 

 who puts his bees in a box hive and lets them stay 

 untouched until he is ready to "rob" them. 



IS A PROFITABLE SIDE LINE. 



But if one has a reasonably good locality and 

 season he should find it a profitable side line. 

 Thousands do so, though it is a common thing to 

 find a beekeeper who will tell you the venture does 

 not pay in his particular locality and then in the 

 very same section discover a man who will sign his 

 name under the statement that beekeeping is profit- 

 able as a side line or a profession to the exclusion of 

 other occupations. 



For twentj'-three years Mr. Z. S. Weaver has been 

 a beekeeper. His home and apiaries are located at 

 Courtney, Texas. During these years he has had 

 two failures in the honey crop. For ten years his 

 average production of surplus honey was 100 pounds 

 pvtractpd to tl'o coli^ny : for eleven years 75 pounds 

 per colony. Mr. Weaver c inducts a general mer- 

 cliaudise business and says: 



"I find that bees pay a better dividend than any 

 investment I have ever made." 



Mr. Weaver takes the best of care of his bees, and 

 in return they do their very best for him. 



The Texas Magazine is well illustrated 

 and worth reading, especially by any one 

 who contemplates going to Texas for a 

 home. The price is $1,50, published by the 

 Texas Magazine Publishing Co., Houston, 

 Texas. 



