52 A. AND M. COLLEGE APIARY. 



dition may prevail it is essential and advisable from many other stand- 

 points that the force of bees in each colony should be kept as strong 

 as possible throughout the entire year. This can, to a certain extent, 

 be accomplished by cultivated honey plants. Among the most useful 

 of these is Japanese buckwheat, shown in Fig. 26, and which is dis- 

 cussed at length in the "Report on the Experimental Apiary," in the 

 first pages of this bulletin. 



The bee keeper owning his own farm will find it very profitable to 

 cultivate cowpeas as one of his staple crops. Aside from the fact that 

 this plant yields an abundance of forage even under ordinarily unfavor- 

 able conditions of drouth, it is a valuable soil renovator, and will yield 

 honey continuously sufficient to maintain brood rearing, and to equal 

 the consumption of the colonies, long after the native honey plants have 

 ceased to yield honey. 



EDUCATION. 



The bee keeper should at all times keep himself thoroughly posted 

 along bee keeping lines. As this industry is comparatively in its infancy, 

 rapid strides are being made in its development. Aside from keeping 

 abreast of the times, the bee keeper can also by judicious study learn 

 much of the industry, methods of manipulation, management, etc., and 

 will furthermore find such study and reading extremely pleasant and 

 fascinating. This may be acomplished in five ways, any or all of which 

 should be taken up. 



1. Upon bee culture, there are a number of reliable text-books, 

 adapted to the beginner in about the order named: Root, A. I., "A, B 

 C of Bee Culture" ; Maeterlinck, "The Life of the Bee" ; Cook, "Manual 

 of the Apiary"; Dadant, "Langstroth on the Honey Bee"; Cheshire, 

 "Anatomy, Physiology and Floral Eelations of the Hive Bee"; Morley, 

 "The Honey Makers" ; Eoot, L. C., "Quinby's New Bee Keeping" ; and 

 Doolittle,- "Scientific Queen Rearing." These books can be secured 

 through any of the dealers or manufacturers of bee supplies. 



2. The following bee journals, which have thus far come to this 

 department, are worthy of commendation. The names and places of 

 publication are here given : Gleanings in Bee Culture, Medina, Ohio ; 

 Rocky Mountain Bee Journal, Boulder, Colo. ; American Bee Journal, 

 Chicago, 111. ; Bee Keepers' Review, Flint, Mich. ; American Bee 

 Keeper, Fort Pierce, Fla. ; Progressive Bee Keeper, Higginsville, Mo. ; 

 Canadian Bee Journal, Brantford, Canada. 



3. Membership in the National and State Bee Keepers' Associations. 

 As holds true with all lines of industry and business, many mutual 

 advantages are to be had by co-operation and unity of purpose. In the 

 case of the Texas bee keepers, this is accomplished in the Texas Bee 

 Keepers' Association, of which any bee keeper can become a member. 

 Aside from representing the importance of the industry as a whole, the 

 Association holds annual meetings, which are exceedingly instructive and 

 are productive of much practical education to the bee keeper. The 

 marked rapidity of advancement in the case of this industry makes it 

 necessary for the bee keeper who would be at the front to keep in touch 

 with the progress made by fellow workers along the same line. The 

 National Bee Keepers' Association has for its objects the protection of 



