OCTOBER 15, 1914 



Beekeeping in the Southwest 



Louis 



From all the infovmatioii in hand, the 

 year 1914 has been one of the biggest hon- 

 ey-crop years that Texas has had. The bees 

 are in splendid condition, and m the cotton 

 belt they are gathering an excellent crop 

 iVoni tiiis source. 



The net-weight law should be studied by 

 our Texas beekeepers and all others, as well 

 as the beekeepers in the North, where this 

 <lueslion is receiving so much attention at 

 1 he present moment. As Agi'icultural Ex- 

 pert in the State Department of Agricul- 

 ture, I will i^repare a statement concerning 

 this matter, as it pertains to Texas and its 

 beekeepers, for the next issue. 



The European war has had a striking 

 effect on the honey market in this State, 

 Texas, if not in all the Southern States. 

 Cotton is the most important money crop 

 in these States; but since the war came just 

 at the time this fleecy staple was beginning 

 to move to the markets, conditions were 

 deplorable. As a result of this condition, 

 money was very scarce, and the entire pop- 

 ulation fell into a state of discouragement. 

 Only the most necessary articles were inir- 

 chased during this time of distress ; and 

 since honey is more or less of a luxury, 

 there was no demand for it. Times are 

 decidedly more favorable now, and the 

 honey market is better, which is shown by 

 the fact tliat orders have been coming in 

 at a very lively clip during the past week. 

 Just what effect the continuance of the war 

 for any length of time will have on the 

 Southern beekeepers is difficult to say. 



Tlie question of the proper amount of 

 rent to pay for a location for an out-apiary 

 lias come up very frequently. Since there 

 aie such varying conditions and circum- 

 stances to determine the price that should 

 be paid, there is no set rule as to the prop- 

 er rental for out-apiary locations. I have' 

 found some persons who did not desire any 

 thing in return for the privilege extended 

 us by permitting us to place an apiary on 

 their land. But as a good location is a 

 valuable asset in extensive out-apiary man- 

 agement we can well afford to remunerate 

 the owner of the land that we use. We 

 have generally figured that a money rent of 

 .+10, and some honey also, is a fair com- 



§, TexaSo 



pensation for a location where 100 colonies 

 can be kept. Since my apiaries contain 

 only about 50 colonies, I have paid just 

 lialf the above amount. In fact, each one 

 of my locations costs me now five dollars 

 in cash and about five dollars' worth of 

 honey a year. Tliose property-owners who 

 at fiist did not want any rent at all have 

 been educated to take it. 



THE TEXAS HONEY MARKET. 



Present indications are to the effect that 

 the honey market is stiffening up consider- 

 ably, judging from the large number of 

 honey orders coming in. There is also a 

 better movement of honey to market in sev- 

 eral of the Southwest-Texas sections just 

 visited by the writer. The greater part of 

 the Southwest Texas croj? is marketed, and 

 this means the bulk of the entire Texas hon- 

 ey croj). 



Good prices were obtained by most of the 

 beekeepers in this section who had an early 

 crop and disposed of it early. A little latf^r 

 the market price was considerably depressed 

 on account of the gTeat rush of honey to the 

 markets, and underselling on the part of a 

 large number of beekeepers who got thoir 

 honey ready for the market a little later in 

 the rush, and who were too anxious to mo\'e 

 tlieir crop. 



There is still a large quantity of honey 

 unmarketed ; but much of it will be moved 

 before winter. Such as is already packed 

 as bulk comb honey, as well as extracted, is 

 subject to gTanulation as soon as cold weath- 

 er comes on, and it is wise, therefore, to get 

 it off to market. 



To overcome this serious objection I have 

 but very little honey packed in advance of 

 orders. It saves trouble from granulation, 

 and gives me the further advantage of get- 

 ting the freshly packed honey to destination 

 in first-class condition. 



My new honey-house, with a good warm 

 sub-basement, provided with heating appa- 

 ratus to permit keeping this space warm in 

 extremely cold weather will enable me to 

 keep over winter any amount of comb hon- 

 ey. Any extracted honey that may be gTan- 

 ulated can easily be reliquefied, since we heat 

 all of the liquid honey to pack the comb 

 honey with, and are equipped for doing it. 

 This will save worrying over having to dis- 

 pose of the honey before winter, and helps 

 us to get the better prices in the spring. 



