The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-09-24

and handling. The first mention of this sweet
substance in history is in Genesis 4S SILL "Take
of the best fruits in the land in your vessels
and carry down the man preent, little balm,
and a little honey spices and myrrh, nuts and
almonds"
Wild bees common in Florida and the cut
ting down of bee trees with their stores of honey
not nfrequent events. If bees do so well wild.
it is certain Intelligent domcstication and prOduc-
ton could be made profitable. Most people have
the idea that honey has its only use as a syrup or
in the comb to be eaten raw. Experts of nutrition
in the U. S. Department of Agriculture, who have
fully into the subject declare that with but
ter at 40 cents pound, pound of honey at II
cents will be found equally economical as a source
of energy. Send to the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture, Washington, D. c., if you interested,
for a free copy of Farmers Bulletin No 653, en-
titled Honey and It's Uses in the Home"
Bees serve good purpose beside the produc-
ton of useful food. They are essential to the
proper pollination of fruit trees. 1t is a we'll
known and long-estabshed truth that the nectar,
odor and bright color of flowers are simply means
of attracting insects in order that the fertilzing
pollen may be carried from flower to flower. The
honey bee is chief among insects for this purpose.
1t is the most easily controlled of all insects to
do this necessary work.
great naturalist, Charles Darwin, in his book
on the fertilization of plants laid down this
dictum: Mature abhors perpetual self-fertiliza-
ton" His finding was that it is necessary for
cross pollination to take place frequently in order
that the vigor of the variety may be maintained
Instances of the value of bees for this use are
commonly known. Progressive orange growers
find that bees essential to the making of
fine and plentiful fruit Bumblebees are scarce
i'm Florida tha Nvic for ;do
is to supply their places with the honey beet
keeps busy and at the same time it is carrying
pollen it is gathering nectar from which man can
get value and this is not true of other insects
Flowerng plants supply nectar in all seasons
and bees do not have to lay off for the winter
IN Florida as in the north In support of it's claim
that Florida is wonderfully adapted to agriculture
we quote from report by p. J. Webster, for
merly hortculturist of the state experiment sta
tion but now horticuturist of the Philippine Bu-
reau of Agriculture viz: at is worthy. OF note
that the worlds record for honey production is
held by the sub-tropical state of Florida The
1O3 colonies OF apiarist then known to the
writer, averaged 1875 Kilograms (about 29S
pounds of honey per colony one year and one
produced the astonishing amount of 225 kilos
(496 pounds"
In 1920 Texas led the United States in the num-
led in the amount of honey produced In round
numbers Texas is credited by the census figures
with 235,O00 hives of bees, while California had
$4,000 hives. Tennessee comes next with 1872 900
hives, North Carolina 10000, Illinois $4,000
Missouri 15S,000. Kentucky 157, 900 Texas pro-
duced 5,026,0OO9 pounds of honey while California
produced 100000 pounds. The six states pro-
ducing each more than 1000 900 pounds of honey
are California, Texas, New York. Iowa. Wisconsin
and Colorado The total production of honey in
1919 was 55,262,000 pounds, as against 54S15 600
pounds i'll 1909, an increase of less than l per
cent The total production of wax was $4,000
pounds in round numbers in 1919, as against
100000 pounds in 1909, representing a decrease
OF nearly per cent. The number of hives OF
bees on farms in the United States on Jan l.
1920 was .S,475,346, compared with 3,445OO6
in 1910, showing an increase of less than per
cent