



keeping may be built up and commercial apiaries profitably conducted 

 in West Virginia is the purpose of this bulletin. 



It is a well established fact that beekeeping in West Virginia can 

 be profitably conducted when managed carefully by putting into prac- 

 tice what has been brought to light by experts ia the management and 

 use of modern applicances. No greater opportunities are offered in 

 the Eastern Central States than in West Virginia. Nature has blessed 

 West Virginia with a flora consisting of a great variety of nectar- 

 producing plants offering nearly a perpetual honey fiow from the first 

 spring flowers till frost. Having such a favorable combination of con- 

 ditions, beekeeping is encouraged in this state, and it may well form 

 the vocation for the young as well as for the old, for those living in the 

 city as well as those living in the country, for the hale and the hearty 

 as well as those suffering from impaired health. 



SKETCH OP THE EARLY HISTORY OF BEEKEEPING. 



The keeping of bees dates back in history as one of the first occupa- 

 tions of man. Rude carvings of the bee upon the tombs of the ancient 

 Egyptians; the presence of honey among the trinkets of the mummied 

 inhabitants as well as honey being mentioned in the Bible as a sus- 

 tainer of life, indicates that the honey bee was held in high esteem by 

 the people of that time. Honey was regarded a necessity as a food 

 requirement for many centuries and remained as such within two or 

 three generations of the present time. Bees were included among other 

 live stock introduced in New England in 1638 during the colonization 

 period of that section of America. During the Pioneer period of this 

 state beekeeping was an important factor in every settlement. Honey 

 and mftple sugar in limited quantities were the only sources of sweets, 

 depending largely upon the abundance of maple trees in the 

 section settled. With the removal of the forest for agri- 

 cultural purposes, maple trees were not spared so in some 

 sections it became necessary to depend entirely upon the bees 

 to supply the required sugar which is a necessity in all food require- 

 ments of the human body. Owing to the crude conditions under 

 which bees were kept, swarming was intense and many swarms escaped 

 to the forest. As years passed the wild colonies multiplied and with 

 the addition of more swarms every year from the colonists apiaries 

 the bees penetrated further and further in the new pastures. The 

 movement of bees into new territory was at a greater rate than that 

 of man which is clearly pointed out by the pioneers of this state finding 

 bees present in the forests. Early beekeeping was very simple, new 

 Fwarms issuing during the swarming season were placed in hollow 

 logs and were forgotten until fall when the bees in those "gums" hav- 

 ing the greatest amount of honey were killed. The returns were of 

 rather poor quality, usually being more or less of a mixture of honey, 

 pollen or "bee-bread", dead bees, and brood. Nevertheless it was 

 relished by all, for sugar which is now common, was unknown. 



