The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1907-03-20
The Use of Bees.

What is a bee for? If some bright
boy who reads this page were to
answer the question, he would prob
ably hesitate whether to say, cts
to make honey" or cts made to
sting" Neither of which is the cor
rect answer, the chief purpose of the
bee being to ferti1ize flowers. This
is needed in every orchard, farm and
garden in the land If there are no
bees within two miles or so. then it
will pay we'll to set UP one or more
colonies. even if never drop Of hon
ey is obtained from them.
On the other hand, if bees per-
formed no service in fertilizing the
flowers, it would be paying thing
to keep them for their honey alone.
for although there are years OF tail
ure when they give no surplus, the
good years make up for that, so that
an average Of rs to 80 pounds OF hon
ey may be. counted on from each
| hive, providing bees have the proper
care.
There is no need to multiply words
l
| honey as the most delicious of all
sweets to tickle the palate. or tempt
| the appetite; nor to speak Of the de-
STABILITY of a plate of snoW-Whitc
comb honey to set off the table when
company comes. But there may be
need to urge its Importance as
wholesome article of food. Every
person consumes an average OF o5
pounds of sugar annually, an amount
which the doctors tell us makes so
strong a draft on certain organs to
prepare the sugar for proper asslml--
| lation that there result disorders OF
the stomach and intestines, and IN
some cases that dread scourge,
Bright's disease of the kidneys. No
such change is needed in honey; it
is already converted, so as to be ready
! for immediate assimilation.
The craving of sweets is natural
to child. and it is better to satisfy
it with wholesome honey than with
poisonous candy. Ask him whether
he prefers the honey or the butter,
and see what he will say And yet, a
pound of honey will cost only half
as much as pound of butter. and
will go as far.
So it would be we'll if we should
get back to the old fashion of having
| few colonies of bees on every farm,
especially if there are no other bees
near. In one case only is it not ad
visab1e to keep bees. If someone
within two miles makes a business of
producing honey, keeping 50 or 100
colonies of bees, then YOU have no
| need of other bees to fertillze your
! blossoms, and it is the kind thing for
YOU to leave him the pasturage for
! his bees. out of which he may have
| his bread and butter.
There is a great difference as to
pasturaee for bees in different local
tiles. In the north. white clover is
perhaps the chief source. but some
seasons it may bloom profuse1y and
WELD little or no nectar. The same
thing is true of most honey plants.
! Although there is seldom anv sur
plus honey obtained from fruit bloom
it is of prime Importance, because
used to rear the thousands of winged
gatherers to work on the future har-
vest. SO of dandelions Linden. or
Eastwood, yields more rapidly than
anv other northern plant and is in
some places the chief dependence.
Ruckwheat esDecial1v in some sea
sons and some localities. Yields. late
IN the eensor. 1aroe quantities of dark.
inferior honey-a1though preferred by
manv Manv other plants Weld hon
ev. and the greater the variety in one
-1ooo