BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
There are no available records of the beginning of bee-keep: Texas, hence it is not positively known when the first bees came into this State. The industry for a long time progressed very slowly, and remained in its infancy for many years. Not a score of years ago there could be seen in many dooryards a few "bee-gums," or sawed-off hollow logs, standing on end, while some box hives were also used. There was no way of examining the colonies domiciled in these, nor of ascertaining their condition at any time without tearing asunder hive, combs, and all to gain access. To obtain the little surplus honey necessitated the cutting-out of the combs, much of it contained "bee-bread" and brood, which were then mashed up, and the honey separated from the comb by straining through a cloth. The resultant product had in nearly all cases a strong taint of bee-bread, or pollen, left, both in the color and the flavor of the honey.
For the bees the removal of the honey meant either the brimstone-pit, long in vogue, over which the bees met their fate, or, if they escaped this method, the mashing of honey-comb and flowing honey over bees, brood, and all of the hive, to be righted again by the bees as best they could. In many cases the bees from other colonies would rob the disturbed ones and weaken them so that the wax-moth larvae, or "worms," soon overpowered them and destroyed the poor colonies entirely.
Thus it was that slow progress was made in bee-keeping. An owner with a dozen or more colonies increased them by letting them swarm and reswarm--a process which so weakened the mother colonies for the honey harvest that a very small harvest was obtained.
In the fall and winter the loss of colonies would bring the apiary back to its original number of a dozen or less, and the bee-keeper (?) thought he had done well if he had "13 colonies--12 three years ago--the web-worms killed them," There are large numbers of these bee-keepers still, but these are waning slowly, the movable-frame hive coming more and more in evidence everywhere.
STATISTICS ON BEES.
There are no statistics at hand to show the extent of bee culture in Texas at the present time; but we know that the industry has developed rapidly and steadily during the last score of years.
From one of our State College Apiary Reports is quoted the following, printed in 1902:
"Texas excels every other State on her honey production; yet to one who has studied that situation and vast territory and vegetation of this State, it is evident that as yet Texas does not produce one-tenth the honey which it might through proper management and further development. A careful estimate shows also that at least go per cent of the bee-keepers of the State are not practicing up-to-date or modern methods of bee-keeping, thereby getting less than one-half of the possible amount of honey from the colonies already at hand. * *
"Some of the possibilities of honey production in Texas may be better understood from a study of U'valde Co., which is practically the only county in which bee-keeping has been developed to anything like its possible extent. In this county and immediately adjoining, acccording to Mr. J. K. Hill,of Uvalde, there are located about 15,000 colonies of bees, representing, with apparatus and fixtures used in their care, an investment of at least $120,000. In average seasons under competent management, these colonies yield from icoo to 220 pounds of honey each. Aside from honey sold and consumed locally, there is shipped from Uvalde.annually an average of $45,000 pounds, representing from $54,000 to $60,000. There are in Southwest Texas at least thirty counties that would, if properly developed, equal or excel this yield. In addition to this there is valuable honey-producing territory along the Colorado, Guadaloupe, Brazos, Trinity, and Sabine rivers that is as yet almost totally unoccupied. The entire East Texas territory, some parts of North.Texas, as also the timber belts, are promising for future development. * * *
"The United States census for 1900 (U. S. Census Bulletin No. 229) gives the total number of colonies in Texas for that year as 392,644. Estimate at $3.50 per colony, their value is seen to be $1,374,254. The amount invested in honey-houses and other apparatus connected with bee-keeping, exclusive of hives, will doubtless approximate 5 per cent of this amount, or $68,712 more. The State Bee-Keepers' Statistics, as compiled by Prof. F. W. Mally, show that, in 1900, 150,000 colonies under Texas conditions produced 11,250,000 pounds of honey, or an average of 75 pounds each. For all the colonies in the State, this would, without doubt, be too high an average. Thirty pounds per colony would seem a conservative estimate. This makes the production of the 392,644 colonies 11,779,320. pounds, which, at an average price of 6 cents per pound, aggregates $706,759.20. Also about $3,500 worth of queens are annually raised and shipped from Texas. No estimate of the wax produced, or colonies shipped from Texas, is given, but these obviously amount to considerable. Summing up we have the total capital invested, and annual output of the bee-keeping industry in Texas:
"Bees $1,374,254.00 Appliances 68,712.00 Honey 706,759.20 Queens 3,500.00 "Total $2,153.225.20 "These figures serve to show the importance of the industry which has been rapidly developing within the past few years, and great developments are possible and probable in the future."
This was half a dozen years ago. Since then Texas has made great strides in bee-keeping. The number of practical apiarists has greatly increased, and with it the number of colonies. As these are kept in frame hives, and with up-to-date methods, it is safe to say that there are now more than 400,000 colonies with a better average of honey produced per colony than six years ago.
## Leading Bee-Keepers.
There are numerous bee-keepers in the State who number their colonies by many hundreds. The largest owner at present is Willie Atchley, of Beeville, who owns 1600 colonies; W. O. Victor, of Hondo, owns about 1500 colonies; W. H. Laws, of Beeville, 900; O. P. Hyde, Floresville, 800,and D. C. Milam, Noalde, goo. There are several others with goo colonies or less, among which are F. L. Aten, Round Rock; C. A. Butts, Normanna; J. E. Chambers, Vigo; A. H. Knolle, Hondo; H. Pipev, Calaveras; T. P. Robertson, Bartlett; the Louis H. Scholl Apiaries, New Braunfels; L. Stachelhausen Bee Co., Cibolo; J. W. Taylor, Beeville; D. M. Edwards, Uvalde; Udo Toepperwein, San Antonio; W. H. White, Blossom; A. I. Davis, San Antonio; L. Jones, Uvalde; W. H. Madely, Gandale; H. A. Mitchell, Shepherd; J. A. Simmons. Oakville; M. E. Van Avery, Maxwell; and A. L. Krueger, New Ulm. A large number are listed with from one to two hundred colonies. These are all progressive bee-keepers, and the majority of them depend mainly on the pursuit for a livelihood. Others diversify, combining farming, dairying, truck, or fruit-growing and other lines with it.
## Main Sources of Honey.
There are several main sources for surplus honey in this State, owing to the large territory contained in it of varying soils, altitudes, climatic conditions, and the consequent different flora adapted to these. Southwest Texas can well be considered the most important section for bee-keeping, as the honey-yielding flora is here most abundant. Although an arid section of country, there are numerous kinds of plants and trees, almost all of a shrublike nature, and bearing thorns or spines, characteristic of desert plains. The most abundant and widespread honey-yielder is the mesquite-tree (_mesket_), _Prosopis juliflora_, which covers the plains and prairies of all Southwest Texas. The honey is of a very light amber, and the flavor not a distinct one as is generally characteristic of other sources. As some have put it, "the honey from mesquite is mild-flavored, and has no characteristic flavor like other honeys, of which a person sooner or later tires; hence it can be eaten more like bread at all times, making it an excellent honey for everyday all-around table use." It has two and sometimes three distinct blooming periods in each year. The first begins in early April, sometimes earlier or later, according to the season, and lasts for several weeks. Then seed-pods are formed, so that even ripe and unmatured beans are on the trees when its flowers of the second blooming period open up for the bees in June and July. The yield from this source is abundant, and can be depended on as a more regular yielded than our other sources.
Considered the most important in this section is the "guajilla" brush (_Zygia brevifolia_), pronounced "wa-he-ah." This blooms in April, and yields an abundance of nectar for about two weeks, during which time, in favorable seasons, it is impossible for the bees to gather it all. This is a light-colored honey, of mid flavor, with a delicate aroma, and has become famous for its quality.
Another main source of the three most important is the "catclaw" (_Acasia Greggia_). Immense quantities of excellent honey are obtained from this source early in the season, April and May. Sometimes late cold weather cuts off this source to some extent. Besides these there are hundreds of more or less important honey-yielding and pollen-producing plants,shrubs, and trees, some of which begin blooming in December and others ending the season with that month or January, so that actually there are "thirteen months of bloom in each year.".
For Central Texas the mesquite-tree predominates. With this and the cotton-fields and horse-mint (_Monarda clinipediordes_ and _M. punctata_) it is also well adapted to bee-keeping. The cotton honey-flow begins about July 1, and continues until frost. The honey is the lightest in color of the sources here, and has a characteristic flavor much liked in the well-ripened honey. When first gathered the flavor is very characteristic of the juice of the cotton-plant itself, but which disappears as the honey ripens. When granulated the honey is almost pure white, and very fine-grained. Horse-mint honey is clear, light amber in color, with a greenish tinge, and has a characteristic flavor, stronger than those mentioned, and compares well with basswood honey in character and flavor. This plant is not so abundant now as it was years ago when the prairies were covered with it everywhere. This is owing to the dry summers, as this plant is a perennial and comes up from the seed in the fall. It begins to bloom in May or June.
The cotton and horsemint are the main sources for surplus honey for North Texas. In addition, sumac, "shumack," of the genus Rhus; of which there are several species, blooms in the fall of the year, August and September, while one species blooms in October and November. This honey is of excellent quality.
East Texas is not so abundant in main honey-plants, but there are numerous kinds of lesser importance. The great expanse of fruit-orchards is of importance, as thousands upon thousands of acres of fruit-trees prevail here. In the southern portion of this fruit belt basswood abounds in many localities. This is the same as the well-known northern basswood, or linden (_Tulia Americana_). This tree yields more honey in favorable seasons than the bees in a locality can begin to store. It gives a very rapid flow of rather short duration. The honey is strong, aromatic in flavor, especially when first gathered, and grows milder with age. The comb honey is most beautiful, as the combs during the flow are very white.
In South Texas, especially the coast country, the rattan-vine is very abundant (_Berchemia scandens_), and is a heavy yielder of amber honey which goes mostly in barrels in biscuit-factories. The chinquain (_Castanca punmia_) is also of considerable importance.
OTHER IMPORTANT HONEY-PLANTS.
The earliest bloomer, important for early brood-rearing, is the mistletoe, a parasite on most of our hard-wood trees (_Phoradendron Havscncs_). It yields pollen and some honey in December and January. Triple-leafed barberry (_Berberis trifolata_) is a bush that blooms next in importance for brood-rearing for its immense quantities of pollen in February. Then fruit-bloom begins with the plums (_Prunus_), of which there are many species, both wild and cultivated, followed by peaches and other fruits for several months in succession. In February and March the oaks (_Quercus_) of many species also yield much pollen. The willlows (_Salix nigra_) and others, and the elms (_Ulmus_) aid much in stimulating brood. Hoarhound (_Marsubum_) _unlgare_) begins blooming in February, and lasts until summer. This yields an amber honey of a rather nauseating flavor, claimed to be bitter in some localities, but which is lost in time, making it salable. As it is generally mixed with mild honey from other sources, no serious.complaint is made against hoarhound honey.
The trees belonging to the hickory family (_Hicoria_), to which the pecan and hickorynut belong, and also the walnut (_Juglas_), yield pollen and some honey; also the cottonwood-trees (_Populus monilifera_). These are followed in March and April by a carpet over the entire open country and praaries of our State flower commonly known as "blue-bonnet," the blue lupine (_Lubinus subcarnows_), which yields pollen of various colors from the palest yellow to the deepest red and orange. Redbud is another early stimulator early in the season, otherwise known as judas-tree. (_Cercis Canadensis_).
Along regions where light, stony, and doby uplands prevail, what is known as rock-brush yields an abundance of excellent honey in April and May. This is _Eyeshardtia anophoides_; several species of holly (_Ilex_) also bloom during this time. Two species of persimmons are very common in Texas, and yield much honey, especially the black Texas persimmon (_Disapyras Texma_) of the western part of the State, while the yellow kind (_Divirginiana_) is more common in East Texas. Several species of crotons in May and June yield pollen. These are mentioned as some of the species found in most parts of the State, and they furnish some pollen even during severe drouths.
The cacti, of which the large kind, with its thick, fleshy, green, and pear-shaped leaf-like stems (_Opuntia englemain_) known as prickly-pear, is most common, sometimes yield much honey, and are great pollen-yielders nearly every season. The honey is not considered good for surplus, as it is astringent in character and strong in flavor; but it is valuable for sustaining the colonies during the summer when very little else is in bloom.
A rich golden honey is produced by a small plant of the _Composita_, known as "margold" (_Gailliardia zulchella_), which often covers the prairies in May and June. The flavor of this honey is rather marked. The vast fields of Indian corn and sorghum are much visited by the bees during their bloom in May and June, and these yield immense quantities of pollen. Of some importance are also the melons, and all of the members belonging to the gourd family (_Cucurbilacea_), both for pollen and honey. _Lipia lispitrina_, known as white brush, is most common and abundant in Southwest Texas. It is a very frequent bloomer during the season, depending upon the abundance of rain, and is so fragrant that the whole adjoining country is perfumed with its fragrance.
In East Texas abounds the bitter-weed (_Helenium tenifolia_) which begins to bloom in June, and lasts until frost. This plant is not affected to any great extent. by drouth and blooms very regularly every season. Bees rarely work on it except during a dry season, when there is nothing else, and then the bright golden-colored honey is so bitter it can not be eaten. The comb built during such a flow is of a characteristic bright yellow.
Another common " weed is the ragweed (_Ambroga_), of which there are several species. These are much like the croton's in distribution, and yield pollen.
A valuable fall bloomer in most parts of the State is the broom weed (_Gutierecia Texana_), beginning to bloom in August and until frost. The honey is amber in color, and strong-flavored, but is most excellent for winter stores, coming at this time, and the colonies build up on it in splendid condition with their hives full. This plant is sometimes not so abundant during a dry season, but comes quite regularly year after year. Where abundant, much fall honey is obtained from Virginian crownboard, or often called wild tobacco (_Verbesina Virginia_). It blooms in October; but the dry summers cause a stunted growth of the flowers in many seasons, when it yields sparingly.
## 10 Cultivated honey-plants
Alfalfa is being planted a great deal, and yields honey under favorable conditions with or without irrigation. Not enough of it is grown yet, however, to make it an important source; but with the advent of irrigation in the arid sections, all of West Texas should rival the Western States, where alfalfa honey is abundantly produced. None of the other clovers thrive well here except sweet, white, and yellow; and since there is so much waste land it would mean much to increase our honey-flows and to tide the bees over the summer months. However, the southern dry climate does not seem to agree with its growth unless cultivated, hence it soon disappears.
In the northern part of the State a good deal of it grows, having been first planted many years ago.
Another valuable cultivated plant is the cowpea, generally planted in the cornfields for fertilizing purposes after that crop is made. As these bloom during the dry months the bees are kept out of mischief. Cowpea planting should be encouraged.
Some thirty varieties of honey-yielding plants were tested at the Texas A. and M. College Experiment Station; but only the above proved of sufficient value for planting for bee-forage. It is also not profitable to plant for bee-forage alone.
## 11 The outlook for the industry
Never before were the chances better for bee-keeping in Texas. With its great area and varying conditions the immense flora provided by nature, and the coming of irrigation of the more arid regions--this, together with a more progressive lot of people who will make better bee-keepers, makes the prospects for the future in apiculture in this State most promising. The markets for the bee-keepers' products were never better, and a demand has been worked up for the different kinds of honey produced here that has never been filled. A strange fact is that Texas does not have to depend on the markets of the North for an outlet, thus saving the enormous freight rates,and the danger of an overstocked market where honey from all sections comes together. The greater portion of the annual output is consumed in the State, North Texas being the best market, as few bees are here, and that part is more densely populated. Large quantities are shipped out to Oklahoma, Indian Territory, and Arkansas, while very little of it, comparatively, goes beyond these States.
## 11 The kinds of honey produced
Comb honey in sections was once one of the main products of the up-to-date bee-keeper's hives; but the great risk of shipping it safely in a hot climate, on account of the frailiness of the article, resulted in frequent smash-ups, and often in melting down when left out in the hot sun. Besides, section honey is expensive to produce. To obviate these objections comb honey is now produced in the regular frames, cut out, and packed in cans, liquid extracted honey being poured over the whole to fill the crevices, so that the combs are kept buoyant in it, and kept from mashing. This kind of honey brings more dollars into the bee-keeper's pockets than section honey. It is easier produced, and more will be made by the bees in the frames. The demand for it is better, also, as the consumer gets more for his money; hence its production has replaced the section honey almost entirely.
Extracted honey is produced on a large scale, here, and is still the old standby. More of it can be obtained with the extractor, and the real profits are greater than from comb-honey production. The only obstacle heretofore has been the idea generally prevailing that such honey might be adulterated. Since the pure-food laws have been in effect, this has been removed to a great extent, and now there is a tendency to resort more and more to producing extracted honey. In time this will largely replace comb honey here.
Granulation of the honey has been a great drawback toward successfully marketing a crop later in the season, when prices were stiffening; and to prevent the trouble of having comb honey granulate in the cans, making it unsalable, it was moved off rapidly by many bee-keepers to their detriment, regarding the prices of the markets. With extracted honey, educating the public how to reliquefy the granulated honey, and showing that it is the best proof of its purity, is all that is needed. Then such honey can be kept over the winter for better prices if need be.
## 11 Standard honey-packages
Texas has its own standard-size packages for honey, both comb and extracted. These are all figured on a basis of 120 lbs. to the case, or 60 lbs. per half-case. For extracted honey the regular 60-lb, square can, two to a case prevail. For comb honey the same size of cans, two in a case, have large eight-inch screw caps to admit placing the comb honey in it. Twelve-pound friction-top pails, ten in a case, making 120 lbs.; six-pound friction-top pails, ten in a case, making 60 lbs., and three-pound friction-top cans, 20 in a case, also making 60 lbs., are used for both comb and extracted honey in smaller-sized packages for detailing in the original package. This stand and is so well known now that orders are always made in accordance with the price lists which appear as follows:
participates of honey.
60-pound cans, 2 in a case, per lb.
12-pound cans, 10 in a case, per lb,
6-pound cans, 10 in a case, per lb.
3-pound cans, 20 in a case, per lb.
Terms:--Sight draft, bill of lading attached, subject to examination.
The freight rates on honey put up in this way are very low as it goes at fourth-class rate, while section comb honey must go in glass shipping cases properly crated at double first-class freight and at owner's risk; the can, packages are much safer.
WORK OF THE ASSOCIATION.
A great deal of good has been done toward furthering the bee-keeping industry here by the State and local bee-keepers' association. The Texas Bee-keepers' Association is the largest of its kind in the State, and comprises all the local associations. To it belong the North Texas Bee-keepers' Association, the South Texas, the Southwest Texas, and the Uvalde Bee-keepers' Association. While these local associations have their annual and some their semi-annual, meetings, in their respective territory, the State Association meets annually in July at the Agricultural and Mechanical College and Texas Experiment Station, at College Station. Delegates from the other associations attend.
This association has been instrumental in obtaining several measures, chief among which is the experimental apiary at the A. and M. College; then the Texas foul-brood law was due to its efforts. The adoption of the standard honey-cans was a move of this association, as well as obtaining at the large fairs at San Antonio and the State Fair at Dallas premium lists for bee-keepers' exhibits to the amount of $300 at each of these. The association has also a special committee to look after exhibits at fairs; hence large and creditable exhibits of bee-keepers' products represent the industry at such places, with the result that the industry is furthered thereby.