CHAPTER 51 



Bees 



Many farmers are unaware of the great service rendered them by the 

 honey bee; especially in horticulture and vegetable raising is he a necessary 

 asset. Estimates from reliable data show that bees in the United States 

 produce $25,000,000 worth of honey and beeswax annually. Their value 

 ■as agents in the pollinization of fruits and vegetables is many times their 

 worth as producers. Many small fruits are entirely dependent upon 

 insect visitors for fertilization. Cucumbers, squash, melons and tomatoes 

 are also dependent upon the bees for the production of fruit. [_Pear trees 

 especially need the bees for cross-pollinization. 



Aside from the service rendered as pollinators, bees, if properly 

 handled, make a most profitable side line in the business of farming. 

 While they need intelligent care, and care at the proper time, yet much of 

 this can be given at odd hours and at times when the regular farm work 

 is not pressing. Even the time of swarming can be anticipated and to some 

 extent regulated. 



Bee keeping furnishes a most pleasant recreation and one that pays 

 its own way as well as produces a profit. There is so much of marvel in 

 the economy of the honey bee that the most casual observer becomes an 

 enthusiast. 



One disadvantage may be mentioned, however. Many orchard and 

 garden diseases are easily spread by means of spores carried by insects. 

 The bee pla\'s no small part in the distribution of plant contagion. Pear- 

 tree blight, the brown rot of plums and the wilt of cucumbers and melons 

 are diseases spread through the agency of bees and other insects. The 

 danger of infection may be reduced to the minimum by exterminating all 

 diseased plants and trees; thus giving the bees no opportunity to carry 

 contagion. 



Breeds of Bees. — The German bee is the most common in the United 

 States. Although not very attractive in color, being black, they winter 

 well and make whiter honey combs than any other race. At times they are 

 inclined to be cross and frequently use their stings. The}' are not easily 

 handled by the novice. 



The Cyprian bees are handsome, being yellow in color, but have not 

 come into wide popularity on account of their extreme sensitiveness. 

 When once aroused, they will not even be subdued by smoke. 



The Carolina bee is one of the most gentle of all bees. It is gray in 

 color and very prolific. The chief objection to this bee is its ever-ready 

 tendency to swarm. 



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