44 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS ON APICULTURE. 



islands have been extremely fortunate in enlisting the interest of the 

 Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. Mr. D. L. Van Dine, the 

 entomologist of the station, has been very active in rendering valuable 

 assistance to the bee-keeping industry by his investigations, and Miss 

 Alice R. Thompson, the acting chemist, has done good work in chem- 

 ical analysis of honeys. 



BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



The bee keepers of Hawaii are organized into an active and efficient 

 association, which has been in existence about two years. By united 

 effort this organization has accomplished much that is of great value 

 to the industry. When the question of marketing their honey under 

 the regulations of the food and drugs act of 1906 arose they sent a 

 representative to Washington to present their case. In this and 

 many other ways the bee men have shown themselves to be alert and 

 progressive in looking after their best interests. 



METHODS OE MANAGEMENT. 



At the present time bee keeping is largely in the hands of four 

 corporations, they owning and operating at least four-fifths of all 

 the bees on the islands. These companies are all managed by Ameri- 

 can citizens, but there are a number of smaller apiaries, some of which 

 are owned by Japanese. The last-named apiaries are usually not so 

 well kept nor are they so productive. The total number of colonies 

 at present is probably about 20,000, and the annual output of honey, 

 which is mostly shipped to the mainland or to Europe, is probably 

 about 600 tons. a The keeping of bees by corporations, as opposed to 

 individual ownership, is something which is rarely observed else- 

 where. As they are located a considerable distance from the market 

 and as the expense of supplies and shipping is high, it has seemed 

 desirable to the bee keepers to organize companies so that they may 

 make large shipments. There is also on the Hawaiian Islands a 

 tendency, to a marked degree, to incorporate all industries, and doubt- 

 less the prevalence of this method of conducting business has induced 

 the bee keepers to adopt it also. With this system it is possible for 

 one skilled manager to oversee the manipulation of several thousand 

 colonies, the actual manipulation being done in most cases by the 

 Japanese helpers ; in this way the cost of maintenance of the apiaries 

 is reduced very considerably. Since the price obtained for Hawaiian 

 honey is still rather low, it is of course necessary to reduce expense in 

 every way possible. 



a The crop for 1908 will probably amount to nearly 1,000 tons, according to a 

 recent report from the entomologist, 



