BEE KEEPING IN PORTO RICO. 



I INTRODUCTION. 



P ' At the present time the honey industry of Porto Rico is in 

 its infancy. There are a few apiaries on the island, located in 

 the mountainous district of Ponce and in Mayaguez; a few others 

 are scattered over the island, but there is no area which could 

 be considered over-stocked. There are extensive acreages where 

 Italian bees cannot be found. Native hives have been used, but 

 now some of the bee-keepers are transferring their stock to the 

 standard hive and are raising Itahan bees. 



The northern, western, eastern, and interior portions of the 

 island are exceptionally well adapted to the bee industry, while 

 the south side is not considered so good on . account of the 

 scarcity of rain during all seasons of the year. The bees 

 at the experiment station have never had to be fed during 

 the winter months of the year. This year two hives of 

 Italian bees have been weighed morning and evening, one from 

 December 13th until February 13th, showing an increase in 

 weight of fifty-five pounds, while the second showed an increase 

 of forty-nine pounds from December 22nd to February 12th. 

 This was during the driest months of the year. 



Very little, if any, modern writings in Spanish can be found 

 on bee culture. Owing to the increasing interest in this subject 

 and the many inquiries about it, which are constantly being 

 made, it has seemed advisable to issue this circular, which seeks 

 to bring together the various subjects on bee culture that will 

 be helpful and instructive to beginners in the handling and 

 establishing of small apiaries in the Tropics. There is also given 

 a list of some of the more important honey plants in Porto Rico. 

 The coffee planters particularly have become interested in the 

 raising of bees, not only for the honey but because bees are very 

 useful in pollenizing coffee in seasons when there' is a great 

 amount of rain during bloom. The pollen in the coffee is carried 

 by the winds from flower to flower, but, if there is much rain, 

 very little bloom is set as only the dry pollen is carried by wind; 

 during rainy periods the bees visit the flowers and distribute 

 the pollen in their honey gathering. Coffee plantations also 

 afford excellent fields for bees to work in as honey is obtained 

 from the coffee shade as well as from the coffee itself. 



It will undoubtedly be more profitable and practical for our 



