St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-07-18
BEE CULTURE.

That many persons fail at reaching
success in keeping bees is undoubtedly
true. That more money has been spent
in some localities for colonies of bees,
hives, honey extractors, boxes and
frames than the purchasers ever realize
for honey sold in the market or eaten in
their own houses is also undoubtedly
true. Every few years there is honey
! craze that affects entire communities.
The inventor of some new-fangled bee
hive obtains patent on it and adver-
tises to sell territorial rights. Enter
| prislng agents scour the country and by
means of plausible talk and tempting
| circulars induce many persons to en-
gage in the business of keeping bees.
Several enthusiasts have written books
on the profits of bee-culture which are
misleading. Occasionally a maya
zine writer prepares an article on this
| subject which secures million readers
and gains many thousands of
converts to the belief that almost any
person can gain fortune by keeping
bees. Paragraphs in newspapers,
which become sweeter every time they
are copied, state how some crippled
soldier, lone widow orfriendless orphan
secured a colony of bees, and in the
! course of few years had an apiary of
| a thousand hives and the income of
retired capitalist. The press is always
ready to chronicle success in any de-
partment of husbandry. 1t is response
BILE for many of the failures in fruit
raising, sug making, poultry-br
| ing and Bookkeeping, because it does
not give the number and extent Of the
failures that occur. 1t presents the
bright side of every portion of farm
life. The local paper viii inform the
| public if one of its subscribers quad
rupled his colonies in year and lifted
a mortgage with the money received
from the sale of honey. 1t will make
no mention of the losses sustained by
another person living in the same town.
That many persons fail in keeping
bees is not wonderful. They go into
the business with no knowledge to it
derived from books, observation or ex-
perience They are not adapted to it
by nature and do not take kindly to it.
They are not situated where they can
!
| little or no time to devote to them. They
read that Bookkeeping pays and they
are DESTROYS of making money without
work. They should not expect to sue
coed in business that requires knowl-
edge, skill, care and Watchfulness, as
we'll as favorable location. That many
persons have found Bookkeeping both
pleasant and profitable is certain. Not
| only men but women and youths have
succeeded in keeping bees In Germany
boys and girls manage apiaries and de-
rive large incomes from them. That
many persons in this country would find
the keeping of bees pleasant and profit
able employment seems certain. They
should, however, exercise caution and
discretion in commencing it. They
should acquire considerable knowl-
edge from books before they purchase
their first colony of bees.
1t is stated by those who have bees,
hives and books to sell that bees can be
kept in city, village or country to ex-
ceflent advantage This may be true if
an expert keeps the bees. There are To-
cations particularly adapted to the sue
cessful keeping of bees as there are To-
cations specially suited to these in
dustries. A good location for bees
may be determined by an abundance Of
flowers yielding honey during several
months in the year. Considerable may
be done in raising crops on farm
where bees are kept that furnish honey
that can be gathered. Still, there is
little evidence to show that there is any
| profit in raising flowers simply to pro-
| duce honey. Buckwheat is profitable
crop to raise for producing grain, and
the honey furnished by the blossoms
will enable bees to fill the combs in their
| hives. White clover is desirable in
every pasture, as it furnishes excellent
food for stock, while it yields large
amount of honey. Many other plants
can be raised in n field or garden that
will return profit on their production
and besides yield considerable amount
of honey. Still, the bee-keeper must
rely principally on trees and minor
plants of spontaneous production
for honey. In this part OF
the country the linden, or bass
wood. locust, tulip, willow and
box-elder trees yield the largest amount
of honey. An apiary established near
large collections of these trees will have
a great advantage over one located on a
treeless prairie or near woods consist
ing of trees that do not blossom. or
whose flowers contain little or no
honey. In newly-settled portions of
the country most of the honey will be
furnished by native trees, but in places
long settled the supply will be derived
from fruit trees and small plants that
have been introduced. Persons con-
templating engaging in bee-keeping
would do well to take these facts into
| rrrorn1d oIrn do