Texas Beekeeping #246618

This bulletin is printed to meet the requirements of those who desire more complete practical instruction in the art of successful beekeeping in Texas than is afforded by any other publication that has issued from the press – men who have grown old in the business, and yet who realize that they can still learn something from a work of the sort, and others who contemplate engaging in apiculture, either exclusively or as a side line to horticulture or general framing – and, also, to promote the spread of beekeeping over the State, for the direct advantages of increased production of honey and beeswax, and for the still greater benefits of larger yields of fruit and many farm crops that will accrue from the pollenizing activities of the bees. The author, Mr. Louis H. School, of New Braunfels, is one of the most widely and thoroughly experienced and eminent beekeepers in the United States, and owner and operator of apiaries that, in number of colonies, magnitude and value of output, and profit-yielding, rank with the best in the country.<br><br>An old and good rule is that, where success is desired, it is well to take the advice of the successful. It can be applied in this instance with certainty of excellent results.<br><br>Mr. School is Consulting Apicultural Expert of the Texas Department of Agriculture, and, as such, will answer any question, addressed to this Department, that readers may wish further light on, after reading the bulletin.<br><br>There is not a farmer in Texas to whose interest it would not be to have an apiary on his place, and comparatively few, who, on account of location, could not have one at small initial expense and maintain it in paying condition without consuming time needed for other farm operations.<br><br>To have for the home table an abundance of choice honey – the most delicious and wholesome sweet – is an item that would, alone, compensate for money and labor invested. Added to this, under proper management, there would be sure to be a surplus of honey and considerable beeswax that could be sold at good prices, and, under some circumstances, there could be made every year a barrel or two of superior vinegar that there would be no difficulty in finding purchasers for. Furthermore, an apiary situated in the right place, would result in larger crop yields than if there were invested in fertilizers many times the money and the value of the labor put into it.<br><br>I hope that this clear, concise and admirable monograph will be like the little leaven that was placed in the measures of meal and that soon leavened the whole mass, and the result be that, in the near future, Texas will be dotted over with apiaries and there will be solved an important part of the problem of producing larger per acre yields of crops, at less expense than smaller yields are now obtained.