The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-02-28
KEEPING BEES IN
: .' TENNESSEE s | T ! A j
EASILY PROFITABLE
BETTER RETURS FOR AMOUNT
INVESTED THAN MANY WOULD
IMAGINE.
COST and KEEP OF HIVES
Comparing Tennessee Honey Indus.
try With Other States--lntelll-
aence and Determination Is All
That Is Necessary.

(By Capt. I. F. Peck, Commissioner
of Agricultural
Not many people realize the mag
nitude, Importance and possibilities
of the Bookkeeping industry. But
few understand that it is a profitable
industry and that it is an avocation
which one may follow exclusively and
make a comfortable living to say
nothing of a surplus income. |. has
been proven that it Is branch that
can be made to yield larger profit
for the same amount of outlay and
less expenditure of labor and money
than any ordinary branch of agricul-
ture. If only small part of the at
tention which the farmers are giving
to other branches were given to the
cultivation of a good strain of bees
they would be surprised at the sue
cess they would achieve and the in
crease of their annual income.
There is no agricultural pursuit
that will equal Bookkeeping in returns
for the labor and money expended.
Each hive will cost approximately
$500 and should yield annually from
$500 to $500 with but little labor
and very small additional expense.
Any farmer, fruitgrower, nursery
man, who takes time by the fore
lock" and makes his preparations in
the winter time for the honey flows
in the spring and summer, can easily
care for fifty, seventy-five or ever a
hundred colonies of bees and have
from three to six hundred dollars to
his credit at the end of the sea SON.
When attention has been given to
this preparatory work in the winter
when the weather is too cold, wet
and disagreeable for farm work, very
little time will be required from the
regular farm duties to help the bees
gather hundreds and hundreds of
pounds of natures most delicious
sweet. The work will really be re-
duced down to putting on supers for
the bees to ffll-tiering up each hive
as the demand for room comes with
favorable honey fiow Taking off
the supers is simple matter and the
work of extracting and bettling can
he done at odd times at ones own
Convenience. One of the members of
he Tennessee Bee-Keepres Associa-
rultivation, to demand his attention.
lie is an aggressive up-todate farm
"r, and yet with all his farm to plan
for and direct, he finds time to look
after well kept apiary. During the
summer of 1911 the returns from his
tfty-seven stands of bees amounted
to a littel over $500, and his farm re-
ceived practically as much attention
as it would have received if he had
not had the bees. He has increased
his apary to over one hundred colo
MES and plans for an annual income
of one thousand dollars from his
bees alone What he can do you can
also do, Mr. Farmer, IL you want to.
1t is the same old story of intelli-
gence backed by determination of
know how" and want to-"
1t sometimes seems that about
nine-tenths of the people think that
to handle bees one must possess
special powers over them-must be
gifted in a special way-must have
.hoodoo" power, and that only those
specially endowed should venture
near swarm of bees. All of this
is a mistake We iave
no bee witches" or persons special
lily endowed. What one man can do
any other man can learn to do. ii is
a matter of education, and the knowl.
edge of how to handle bees can be
obtained by any man or woman.
In looking over the statistics for
the honey industry in Tennessee and
comparing them with other states, we
find that while Tennessee occupies
third place as to number of colonies
or swarms, it only occupies fifth
place in income of honey and wax.
Why this low place?