THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



January 



APICULTURE IN MEXICO. 



The following article, from the Mex- 

 ican Herald of Dec. 7th, by Carl Lud- 

 loff, was sent to us by Mr. F. Bussler, 

 of Orizaba, V. C, Mexico. In view of 

 the fact that it is difificult to obtain api- 

 cultural information from that section 

 of the country, and but little is heard 

 from Mexican bee-keepers, it will 

 doubtless be of interest to our readers. 

 However, experienced bee-keepers will 

 be more inclined to attribute Mr. Lud- 

 lofif's losses to the great increase of 

 colonies, rather than the faulty hive 

 construction, of which he speaks, since 

 he notes the fact that he is young in 

 the business: 



San Pedro de los Pinos, Tacubaya, 

 D. F. — The high table lands of Mexico 

 olifer a splendid opportunity for bee- 

 keeping. Bees find plenty of honey 

 flowers all the year round, especially 

 in those parts of the country where 

 there exists already irrigation. The 

 quality of the honey gathered excels 

 the best brands of the northern and 

 western states of the American union. 

 The main honey plant is a weed (Sy- 

 cios angulatus), belonging to the cu- 

 curbitacoes, known by the Mexican 

 name of "Chayotillo;" it is a creeper 

 and grows almost everywhere. The 

 season of the honey flow lasts exactly 

 so long as this plant flowers, from Au- 

 gust to the beginning of November. 



There is no such danger of loss con- 

 nected with wintering the bees as in 

 colder climates; all that is necessary 

 to warrant success in bee-keeping is-- 

 besides a fair knowledge of this 

 branch of business — a hive construct- 

 ed according to the climatic peculiari- 

 ties of this country with its sunny, hot 

 days and cool, sometimes even frosty, 

 nights during the dry season. 



The writer of these lines commenced 

 apiculture in this country during the 

 spring last year, and so far he is more 

 than satisfied with the results he has 

 obtained. 



From fourteen (14) nuclei of thor- 

 oughbred bees — Italians, Cyprians, 

 Carniolans, Holy-Lands, Blacks — 

 which he had ordered from the north 

 at that time and which had arrived 

 here in a pitiful condition — only the 

 queen and merely a handful of halt 

 starved bees were left in each box. He 

 succeeded in getting, during the first 



season, fifty (50) hives of bees and a 

 crop of 300 to 400 pounds of splendid 

 honey. 



From those fifty hives he lost dur- 

 ing last winter thirty from spring- 

 dwindling as a consequence of the un- 

 fit hives which he had ordered from the 

 United States. He had to discard 

 everyone of them. From the twenty 

 hives left in poor condition he man- 

 aged to get during this summer 

 eighty-six hives of bees and a very 

 considerable crop of excellent honey. 

 There is no trouble whatever to sell 

 this kind of honey. 



Experience has taught me that the 

 secret of success rests almost exclu- 

 sively in the proper construction of 

 the hive itself. The main condition is 

 to select a material which keeps the 

 interior of the hive warm, or better, 

 independent from the changes of the 

 outer temperature allowing the bees 

 to create themselves that degree of 

 temperature which they need for their 

 subsistence and raising brood. 



After many experiences and trials- 

 costing considerable time, patience, 

 work and money — he succeeded in 

 constructing a hive which fits exactly 

 the purpose in view. 



He improved the Mexican hive ac- 

 cording to modern ideas, put in mov- 

 able frames, made it about five times 

 larger and this is exactly what the 

 country needs. This is the improved 

 Mexican tunnel hive. 



These hives may be made by anyone 

 who understands how to handle tools; 

 they are made from the cheap materi- 

 als of which the country abounds. Any- 

 one who starts in bee-keeping may 

 make use freely of this invention, as I 

 do not desire to take a patent for it. 

 I do not wish to multiply the number 

 of patents which in most cases are 

 nothing better than a source of incon- 

 venience, trouble and loss for the in- 

 ventor and the public. 



Bee hives must be cheap. Expensive 

 hives and complicated, fancy imple- 

 ments are a hindrance to apiculture. 

 The system of bee-keeping must be 

 simple, cheap and efficient. 



The main reason that bee-keeping 

 has not so far been a success in this 

 country has been that the hives have 

 been too cold for the dry season. Oth- 

 erwise, since centuries, this country 

 would flow in honey , 



Bee-keeping ought to be encouraged 



