The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-04-11
Will HELP
PROVIDE SWEETS
Better Care of Colonies Is Best
Way to Quicken Supply of
This Crop.
SUGAR NEEDED TO HELP WAR
Present Stock Of Honey Could Be In
creased 10 to 20 Times Without
Appreeiabis Increase In
Cost Per Pound.

More honey is needed to help the
sugar supply-and needed in 1918. It
Is imperative. using the language Of
ofncials Of the United States depart
ment Of agriculture in a recent publ
cation. that we increase not only the
sugar crop In the United States, but
every possible supply of sweets. and
honey is one of the supplemental
sweets the supply of which can be en-
larged without great effort. Not only
should those who already keep bees
enlarge the number Of their colonies,
but the industry should also be extend
ed. say federal officials, to localities
where beekeeping has not been tried
on commercial scale. 1t is important
that efforts be made to make the honey
increase immediate-more honey this
year.
Provides Nutritious Food.
1t is quite possibly for the Ameri-
can beekeeping industry to be devel-
oped SO that the honey crop will be ten
times what 1t is at present. Not only
would such a development be valuable
in an emergency. such as the present
crisis, but In normal times, to which
all hope the nation may speedily re-
turn, the beekeeping industry can pro-
vide a concentrated nutritious food,
almost universally liked and assuredly
an article Of diet preferable to the In
ferior sirups and jams SO commonly
used. The beekeeping industry may be
the means of conserving d national re-
source now largely wasted, changing
1t into natures own sweet. The raw
material is free on every hand; the In
vestment for equipment Is small in
comparison with other branches Of
agriculture; the profits are fully COM
mensurate with the study and labor In
volved. It would seem profitable to
stop such a waste of SO desirable a
supply of sugar. This waste can be
prevented only by the education of bee
keepers.
In selecting a place for commercial
beekeeping, attention should be paid to
the regions best adapted to the in
dustry. and 1t should also be remem-
bered that not all localities within a
main region are equally valuable The
chief honey regions of the United
States are (1) the white clover region
of the Northeast. (2) the southeastern
region, west to eastern Texas, with a
wide variety Of nectar sources; (3) the
alfalfa region of the West; az the
mountain-sage region Of southern Cali
fornia. and 10y the semiarid region of
Texas and adjacent states. In all Of
these regions commercial beekeeping
is practiced extensively and in all of
them, too. there In room for a great
expansion of the industry as a COM
mercial enterprise. In addition to
these larger regions many more re-
stricted areas offer special induce
ments to the beekeeper.
Not Always Profitable.
But even where colonies of bees are
sufficiently numerous and where nectar
is freely socreted. beekeeping is not al
ways considered profitable. This re-
suits from the nature of the industry.
A colony of bees does not always
gather sufficient honey for its own use
and also enough so that the beekeeper
can take honey for himself. 1t is only
when bees are properly handled that
they yield to the beekeeper the fullest
return, and to an unusual degree bee
keeping Is profitable to just the extent
to which the beekeeper applies intelli-
gent care.
Success in beekeeping depends upon
the beekeeper's skill in two lines Of ef-
fort-keeping the colonies strong by
proper care In winter and keeping the
colonies from swarlning. The failure
10 tax, proper care ot beqs In winter n