4 Beekeeping 



Extent of beekeeping in the United States and Canada. 



It is usually not realized that beekeeping has so many 

 followers. Unfortunately, no thoroughly reliable data are 

 available as to the number of persons engaged in this pursuit, 

 but careful and seemingly conservative estimates place the 

 number at about 800,000 in the United States. The average 

 number of colonies owned is small, probably not more than 

 ten, so that many of these persons are interested to only a 

 slight degree. However, the aggregate crop is sufficiently 

 great to cause surprise to one unfamiliar with the industry. 

 The value of the average annual crop of honey in the United 

 States amounts to at least $20,000,000 while the beeswax 

 produced is valued at about $2,000,000. It should be em- 

 phasized that these estimates are conservative. 



The Census figures for Canada are seemingly as faulty as 

 those for the United States. For example, the 1911 Census 

 shows 124,237 colonies in Ontario, whereas, according to 

 Morley Pettit, provincial apiarist, the number should be 

 about 300,000. The total value of the honey and wax crop, 

 according to the Census of 1911, is given as $713,250, but 

 it is seemingly safe to state that Canada now produces a 

 crop about one-tenth that of the United States. The in- 

 dustry is steadily growing, especially in the provinces where 

 the beekeepers are helped by inspection and instruction, 

 as they are in Ontario. 



There is unquestionably great opportunity for the further 

 development of the industry. Various writers have ven- 

 tured estimates as to the amount of nectar now out of range 

 of sufficient bees to gather it. These guesses have varied 

 enormously, some stating that perhaps half the nectar 

 secreted is wasted, while others, perhaps nearer the truth, 

 have claimed that not more than one-twentieth is saved. 

 In all the country, there are but few places where too many 

 bees are kept and it is doubtless conservative to venture 

 ah estimate that ten times the present honey crop could 

 be produced with profit. 



There is a fear commonly expressed by professional bee- 



