U. S. D. A., B. E. Bui. 75, Part VI. A., January 26, 1909 t 



MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS ON APICULTURE. 



THE STATUS OF APICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES* 



By E. F. Phillips, Ph. D., 

 In Charge of Apiculture. 



IlTTBODTrCTION. 



Few persons realize the magnitude, importance, and possibilities 

 of the present bee-keeping industry in the United States. Those 

 who are conversant with the pursuit, and even those who are exten- 

 sively engaged in it, generally fail to comprehend -what an important 

 factor in the agriculture of the country apiculture is as a whole, or 

 how much the honey bee, by collecting nectar and storing it to 

 produce a commercial product, is instrumental in saving our resources. 

 Although the total value of bee products is small as compared with 

 the value of the products of many other branches of agriculture, it 

 nevertheless has an importance which should not be overlooked. 

 The object of this paper is to review the present status of the industry 

 with a view to pointing out where we may look for advancement. 



Few rural pursuits have made greater progress during the past 

 half century than has this one. Before that time the bees of this 

 country were kept in box hives, and as a result the annual average 

 crop of honey per colony was small. In addition to this handicap in 

 not being able to manipulate the bees as was needed, bee keepers 

 generally lacked a knowledge of the methods of caring for them. With 

 the invention of movable-frame hives by Langstroth in 1851 it became 

 possible to care for bees properly and to manipulate in such a way 

 as to get the best crop. As the use of this type of hive and of the 

 honey extractor became general, bee keepers have become better 

 educated in modern methods of manipulation, and the industry has 

 advanced from a negligible quantity to its present important place 

 in agriculture. 



In the vast majority of cases bee keeping is not the principal occu- 

 pation, but is carried on in conjunction with some other business. 



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