The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1882-10-06
BEE CULTURE,

Natehez Democrat.
Another Of the pleasant and profitable
Industries by which the occupation Of
the Southern farm can be usefuily varied
is that Of bee culture. This business
has been made largely profitable in
Northern latitndes, where the bees haye
to be carefully housed and fed for sever
al months in the year, and with anything
like the same attention and Industry, it
could certainly be made more profitable
in climate where these insects are fire.
queEtly found collecting their sweets in
midwinter, Many years ago, before the
attention OF Southern farmers had be-
come 50 exclusively directed to cotton,
nearly every farmhouse in the country
had around il few primitive bee hives.
These were SIMPLY square boxes through
which were run two or three crossed
ed sticks, to which the comb was attach-
ed. To proonre the honey it was nesces..
sary to kill the bees, which was done by
suffiocating them With sulphur matches.
Yet even with this rude method of pro-
curing honey, the bee-hives often added
materially to the comforts aud to the in~
come Of the bee raiser. A gallon Of non-
ey was always worth silver dollar, and
SO uniform was its price that tho prov
erb, "like gallon Of honey, or BAN
dana handkerchief, always the same
price, will still be remembered by our
older people few barrels of honey
would furnish the sugar and coffee for
the family Of tho industrious bee raiser
But since those early days there has
been probably MS rapid an advance in the
business Of bee culture MS in any other
industry in the country. Now bee keep
ing has been reduced to one of the most
exact sciences, aud fair season being
gwen, IN almost exact estimate may be
made Of the yield Of a certain number Of
colouies Of bees. With the recent inn
provements in tho lodging Of the bees,
the frames upon which the comb is laid,
the boxes that can be taken off, aud the
general arrangements for securing the
honey with tho least trouble and expense
to its industrious little producers, beo
Keeping is nothing at I'll like it was iu
the days Of our fathers and mothers.
We have recently conversed with a
gentleman who has been among the bee
keepers in Point Coupee parish, La,
aud who is Of course enthusiastic in his
Communications Of this industry. One
gentleman in that parish has 500 colonies
Of the best breeds Of bees, a pretty large
apiary for any country. He has his hives
arranged with frames that cnn be taken
ont when filled with honey, and placed
in an extractor which by its centrifugal
force throws ont all the honey, leaving
the comb il the frames TO be replaced
and realed by the bees. As it is caicu-
lated that the construction Of the comb
requires from five to six times the labor
that it's storing with honey requires, it .
easy to see the advantage the bee cultu-
rist Of to. day has over those who had to
press the honey ont by hand. destroying
the comb for further use exception bees-
wax.
Five hundred thrifty colonies OF bees
ought to produce 200 barrels Of honey,
which at $40 barrel, would be very
pretty income upon the capital invested.
As a permanent business, bee culture
would be n profitable one. But few
~. 4.
hands are required, and the labor is such
as would be intellectually pleasant, as
the study Of the habits ofthe bee is prob-
, ably one Of the most interesting branch
es Of entomology. Like silk culture, il
eau be embarked in gradually, atyery
little expense, and proportionally in
, creased as il was found to be profitable.