

BEE KEEPING 



By MR. UDOlTOPPERWEIN, San Antonio, Texas 



A Prominent Member of the Texas Bee Keepers Association. 



PROGRESSIVE civilization and increasing popula- 

 tion make their demand upon the natural produc- 

 tiveness of the earth,' and we who are informed 

 stand amazed at the natural resources of that great 

 empire known as the State of Texas. Oil in inexhaustible 

 quantities has awaited for centuries the magic touch of the 

 driller's hand to burst forth, filling the multifarious chan- 

 nels of usefulness. Gold, silver, iron, zinc, lead and nearly 

 all other metals known to science . have been discovered 

 within our confines; and they only await the necessary 

 preparation for their extraction to enrich the world. The 

 virgin soil of our northern tier of counties only needs the 

 plowshare 's tickling process to yield of all the known cereals 

 a quantity sufficient to support a population as dense as 

 that which finds a livelihood in Europe's most crowded 

 section. The southern part is composed of soil that will 

 produce rice enough to feed more people than at present 

 call themselves Americans, while the cotton that comes 

 from this same section is more than is needed to clothe them. 

 These statements are simply facts, and it is a source of 

 great pride to us that we are thus supplied with all the 

 staples of life. In fact, such a condition may be regarded 

 as the sure foundation for any exultation we may feel when 

 our attention is called to the possibilities of our State as 

 a producer of any article or commodity that may be called 

 among the luxuries. Especially is this true when one of 

 those luxuries may be produced in such abundance as to 

 be entitled to classification among our staple products; 

 and this may be said of honey. Demonstrated results have 

 already placed it almost in a class by itself, while the pos- 

 sibility of its further development promises to make of it 

 one of our chief sources of revenue. Indeed and in truth is 

 Texas like the Canaan of old, a land that flows with milk 

 and honey. 



The vast number of wild bees that were found in Texas 

 attracted the attention of naturalists frotn very early days, 

 but the raising of bees and the' harvesting of honey on 

 scientific principles is of recent inauguration. The im- 



