The Washington herald., 1910-06-19

There is money in bee keeping II it Is
managed properly.
Bee keeping is being carried on with
both profit and pleasure by many thou
sands of people in all parts of the United
States, and while. as a rule, it is not
the sole occupation OF those who pursue
il, there are many places where an ex-
perienced bee keeper can make good
living by devoting his entire time ard
attention 10 this line OF work.
The average annual honey yield per
colony for the entire country should be
from % to 80 pounds of comb honey. or
20 to so pounds OF extracted honey. The
money return 10 be obtained from this
crop depends entirely on the market and
the methods Of selling the honey. II
sold direct TO the consumer. extracted
honey brings from 10 to 20 cents per
pound, and comb honey from Is to 2S
cents per section. II sold 10 dealers, tbs
price varies from to 10 cents for ex-
tracted honey and from 10 to 10 cents
for comb honey.
Ali these estimates depend largely on
the quality and neatness Of the product.
From the gross return must be deducted
from 80 cents to 81 per colony for the ex-
penses other than labor, including foun-
dalton, sections occasional new frames
and hives, and other incidentals, not,
however, providing for increase.
Based on Good Management.
These figures are based on a system OF
good management Bee keeping 10 be
profitable requires hard work. knowledge,
and experience. Much study is required
to insure success. II is unwise. therefore,
for the average individual TO undertake
extensive bee keeping without consid-
cradle previous experience on a small
scale. since there are so many more de-
tails which go to make up success in the
work
Learn the ways Of bees. how TO handle
them, and what kind Of equipment is best.
Then begin on a small scale, make the
bees pay for themselves and for all addi-
tonal apparatus, as well as some profit,
and let the business grow gradually.
Above all, it should be emphasized that
the only way 10 make bee keeping a
profitable business is TO produce only
frst-class article. We cannot control
what the bees bring to the hive TO any
great extent. but by proper manipulation
we can get them TO produce fancy comb
honey. or If extracted honey Is produced
il can be carefully cared for and neatly
packed to appeal 10 the fancy trade.
Make Goods Attractive.
Too many bee keepers, in fact the ma
jority. pay too little attention TO making
their goods attractive. They should rec
ognize the fact that of two Jars Of honey,
one in an ordinary fruit jar or tin can
with a poorly printed label. and the other
in neat glass Jar OF artistic design with
a pleasing. attractive label the latter
will bring double or more the extra cost
OF the better package. II is, perhaps,
unfortunate, but. nevertheless. a fact thar
honey sells largely on appearance. and
progressive bee keeper viii appeal as
strongly as possible to the eye OF his
customer.
Much information along these and other
lines in bee keeping can be found in a
new publication OF the Department OF
Agriculture, Farmers Bulletin 397. enti-
tied, Bees" The aim of this work Is
to give briefly the information needed by
persons engaged in the keeping of bees.
and 10 answer inquiries that are fire.
Quently received from correspondents OF
the department It discusses the location.
equipment and stocking OF the aplary,
the habits of bees and their manipulation,
the production Of honey and wax, winter
ing. and diseases and injuries II also
gives such general information as how
70 obtain and introduce queens. laws az
fecting bee keepina and journals and
books on the subject