The Washington herald., 1908-07-05
BY JOHN SMITH, Jr.

''How doth the busy bee improve each
shining hour?' is well answered by the
assertion that he attends strictly 10 his
business Of honey making; that last year
he made enough 70 fill a solid train Of
freight cars that would reach from New
York TO Detroit and that the cash value
Of his output at the wholesale price of
10 cents a pound ran up 10 the staggering
tC;al Of $25.O00,O00
Oh. the 3O0O00.OOO O06 bees Of the coun-
try are doing their fun percentage of the
work necessary 20 keep the United
States on the map but few know OF their
activities or appreciate their commercial
Importance II is the custom OF those
Of statistical bent 10 talk Of the enornity
OF the beet-sugar industry; 10 discuss
the tobacco crop; 20 demonstrate how lit
tie they know OF the volume of the sugar
cane crop. But Of bees they know naught
beyond the fact that a bee is an insect
and that he makes one feel hot II he
sits down on one.
Yet the bees gave 10 the bee masters
Of the land as a crop last year product
worth more than all OF the rice and
duce these cereal crops an army OF men
labored for months on tract Of land
mere than. twice as large as the land
area Of the State Of Rhode Island, and
the chief OF the Agricultural Division of
the Department Of Agriculture believes
that the propagation OF bee larvae win
make the future honey crops infinitely
larger. For a number OF years the closest
study has been made of this worthy in
sect, and have SO aided I'm developing
classy specIments that 500 Is not now
regarded as on eXorbitant price for
queen bee.
Recently Or. +. F. Phillips. of the
division. made the statement that IL the
bee farmers Of the land gave 20 their
portion Of business the thought and in
dusJry the bees rendered the crop would
be not less than 75O.OOoOOO pounds, worth
y75.eO.O00.
Just now the department is endcavor-
ing to spread information hat will stamp
ut bee diseases. prevent swarmiry. and
Increase the output Of each hive" said
The bee expert, recently 1--WE know that
the bees exert as much energy In making
pound OF wax comb cells as In storing
a pound Of honey. and we are telling
them 90 use sheets OF cut wax which can
be bought cheap. and which. when placed
IN the hives. give the bees a good start
.ng point. II all bee owners VIII adopt
these methods it viii add tons to the an
rual output. and that means thousands
of dollars additional for the farmers.
Il had an old Alabama friend call
srfr-
a bcfoh De wah kunnel.' Hnd wien I
told him OF the enormity Of the bee IN
dJstry he Ccted as though he thought I
was lying. When I told him OF the FUR
nishlng OF artihcially prepared wax
shants ne was pleased with the ingenuity
OF the plan, though shockNl by the de-
ceit praCtlced upOu the insects Then he
asked me what became Of the honey.
saylrE he hadn't seen a comb Of honey
since he left Alabama
Colonel. YOU and l. and everybody in
this country, eat honey. The honey is
sold 10 wholesalers. and not 10 retailers:
and It is bought by the manufacturing
bakers and candy makers They buy
thousands Of tons Of IL each year. and IL
forms the sweetening background OF all
cakes and candies. 1t IS found In almost
all Of the best cakes sent 10 the hotels.
the homes. and restaurants by the biggest
bakers. You eat n. l cat Il. Despite
your professed disregard for honey, you
consume a mans allotment every year OF
your life. because there are few samples
OF the confectioner's or the bakers art
which does not have honey as It's most
important ingredient"
Doc be murmWed. f confess my
astonishment. 7 knew that bees were a
species Of Industrious insects. quarrel
sHfg Hrf.r. H~..r
marked degree. I knew that they pos
sessed a penchant for manufacturing
honey. and that a certain class Of grasp
ing men, akin % wall street bankers. in
my opinion. vera habitually robbinE them
of the fruits OF their labor but YOU have
suddenly bewildered me by the recital Of
the astounding extent Of their endeavors
It never occurred TO me that the OUTPUT
was of sufficient Importance 10 warrant
n discussion OF it in Federal reports.
Or. Phillips dazed his friendly caller
by telling Of a study which makes an
apiculturist and a bee so closely asso-
ciated that one can tell the other by
sight, and then he spoke Of the vast
expenditure made b. Secretary Wilson in
sending experts to all parts of the world
10 secure bees Of especial industry or
other extra quality to cross-breed them
with American bees. one man was sent
10 Portugal to bring back one queen
bee. The investment was good one.
FOR her offspring now number more nil
lions than Mr.. Rockefeller has dollars.
and they are all industrious. Iaw-abiding.
Wilson-fearing Americans toiling for the
glOrihcation and upbuilding of this sin
gularly blessed, bec-infested land.
IF bees are well treated and not i'm
posed upon. they are kind and friendly"
mused Or. Phillips. who was evidently
fond os bees. and who was anxious to
say mapy things about them. But they
have a strong strain of human nature in
them, and do not like 20 be abused II
they are. they fight hack
The best ones don't fight hard: in fact.
the best bees are poor lighters The big
humble bee, who does not make anv
honey. and which simply earns his board
and keep by fertilzing flowers and fruits.
can out-sting whole passel OF hard
working. Industrious honey bees. and not
do days training for the fray either.
Besides the disposition to fight back
when abused. they have another strain
OF human perverscness In them which IS
mighty amusing. Shows that they recog-
nize the tendency OF these profigate
times. Bees. you know he continued.
make honey because they aro not spend
thrifts. They live on honey. but early in
bee life they learned the maxim, Always
put aside a little for a rainy day
IF there wasn't any rainy day coming.
or II thcr" were always balmy weather ana
skies and cornucopas Of plenty. do YOU
expect the bees would work any better
than a youthful English earl? Well. |
hardly; I know that. but 7 don't tell
everybody I wanted 20 let some grasplng
fellows find IL out. They did You see