PREFACE. 



This bulletin is printed to meet the requirements of those whO' 

 desire more complete practical instruction in the art of successful 

 beekeeping in Texas than is afforded by any other publication that 

 has issued from the press — men who have grown old in the business, 

 and yet who realize that they can still learn something from a work 

 of the sort, and others who contemplate engaging in apiciilture, 

 either exclusively or as a side line to horticulture or general farming — 

 and, also, to promote the spread of beekeeping over the State, for the 

 direct advantages of increased production of honey and beeswax^ 

 and for the still greater benefits of larger yields of fruit and many 

 farm crops that will accrue from the poUenizing activities of the bees. 

 The author, Mr. Louis H. Seholl, of New Braunfels, is one of the 

 most widely and thoroughly experienced and eminent beekeepers in 

 the United States, and owner and operator of apiaries that, in num- 

 ber of colonies, magnitude and value of output, and profit-yielding, 

 rank with the best in the country. 



An old and good rule is that, where success is desired, it is well to 

 take the advice of the successful. It can be applied in this instance 

 with certainty of excellent results. 



Mr. Seholl is Consulting Apicultural Expert of the Texas Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, and, as such, will answer any question, addressed 

 to this Department, that readers may wish further light on, after 

 reading the bulletin. 



There is not a farmer in Texas to whose interest it would not 

 be to have an apiary on his place, and comparatively few, who, on 

 account of location, could not have one at small initial expense and 

 maintain it in paying condition without consuming time needed for 

 other farm operations. 



To have for the home table an abundance of choice honey — the 

 most delicious and wholesome sweet — is an item that would, alone, 

 compensate for money and labor invested. Added to this, under 

 proper management, there would be sure to be a surplus of honey 

 and considerable beeswax that could be sold at good prices, and, 

 under some circumstances, there could be made every year a barrel 

 or two of superior vinegar that there would be no difficulty in find- 

 ing purchasers for. Furthermore, an apiary situated in the right 

 place, would result in larger crop yields than if there were invested 

 in fertilizers many times the money and the value of the labor put 

 into it. 



I hope that this clear, concise and admirable monograph wiU be 

 like the little leaven that was placed in the measures of meal and 

 that soon leavened the whole mass, and the result be that, in the 

 near future, Texas will be dotted over with apiaries and there will 

 be solved an important part of the problem of producing larger per 

 acre yields of crops, at less expense than smaller yields are now ob- 

 tained. 



Ed. R. Kone, 



Commissioner of Agriculture. 



