Arizona republican., 1917-02-15
TWENTY THOUSAND bEE COLONIES
 AFFORD HONEY FOR PHOEMC|ANS

Few people realize the extent of the beekeeping industry in this state. The report of the state apiary inspector for 1914 registers over twenty six thcus- and colonies. Nearly twenty thousand of these are in Maricopa county alone. At a conservative estimate, these twenty-six thousand colonies probably produced during the year, as much as Q million and a quarter of pounds of honey, or six hundred and twenty-five tons. Few people realize just how sweet a state Arizona is.
 The problem of the unemployed
 never worries the commonwealth of Beedom. All through the bloom sea son, from daylight to dark, they are busy. Scarcely a species of bloom that does not make their acquaintance. The vast fields of alfalfa, even many or the noxious weeds and trees, desert
 shrubs and flowers. grasses are laid
 under tribute in their great scheme
 for the conservation of natures sweets
 The great problem of the beekeeper
 is to create a demand for his product.
 The consumption of honey, though it
 has doubled and trebled in the last few
 years is still far below what it should
 
 and delightful sweet The govern
 ment bureau has recently issued a
 pamphlet giving the relative food val
 ues of the different sugars and sweets. Honey stands at the head of the list,
 by a wide margin. Common sugar in it's different forms. before it can be
 assimilated into the human system,
 must pass through a process called inversion. The honey bee, by some mysterious process, brings about this
 change in honey during the Tipening process so that 1t comes to us as a perfect food. easily digested and high ly nutritious. Just now. when the war is depressing the honey market, there is fine opportunity to patronize home industry by eating Arizona honey. na- lures best and most tempting sweet. There are approximately 22,000 col- onies kept in Maricopa county which arc owned and managed by their own CTS who are mostly up to date apicul- turists. The honey produced is ex- cellent and most of it has no superior as table honey and finds a ready sale
 at top prices It is mesquite and cat claw honey Alfalfa honey is a light amber and has no superior as a com mercial article used extensively in bakeries The number of carloads of honey shipped range close to B per season and usually leave about $2,100 per car cash to the producer
 | BeeswaX amounts to about two pounds per case of honey produced in rough figures, 210,000 pounds in an i average season.
 There are 10000 bees in a colony This multiplied by 10000 colonies in ! Maricopa county makes a grand total
 of 800. .0O0O0O bees.
 The value of a colony depends much on the hive as well as condition of the same. Perhaps it would be fair to say from s5.00 to s6.50 per colony. Price of honey for the 1914-1915 season has been the lowest for 19 years. Most
 of it moved at 1 cents per pound. This
 was caused largely by the European war. The highest price was I F cents 1 per pound
 The states bee industry is protected l by a stringent foul brood law. which guards the industry against diseased
 bees being shipped in the state, which i if allowed to come in as wished would ruin our industry.
 l In locating an apiary one should be
 careful not to infringe on the priority rights of others by locating closer than
 one, mile from~another apiary, as in nine cases out of ten the priority 1 apiaryist will succeed while the in- 1 truder fails
 l One of the best methods is to buy l the established apiaryist out. There
 are plenty of new irrigation projects being opened in this state which will provide localities for many more apiarys without encroaching on old established apiarists.