BEE CULTURE IN AMERICA The movable-frame hive was invented by the Rev. L. L. Langstroth at Phila delphia in 1852 and immediately intro duced by him to bee-keepers of the United States. The hive which he devised after his long experience with bees contained ten frames each I 7$ X akin. in size, but the frame which now carries the name Lang stroth and which is standard in America is 17sin. long. Other hives of similar de sign but of different dimensions are used throughout the world and all have essential features of the Langstroth hive.
Bee-keeping has within recent years been greatly developed in the United States and Canada. Previous to 1906, the adul teration of extracted honey by dishonest dealers was prevalent in the United States, there being no adequate law to prevent it.
On June 30 of that year the Food and Drugs Act was passed by Congress, and since that time very few cases of adultera tion have been detected. Before this protection was available to the bee-keeper, it was virtually necessary for him to produce his crop in sections or comb-honey which cannot be adulterated, in order thus to ensure the purity of his product to the consumer. Since the passage of the law, many bee-keepers have changed their methods to those which enable them to produce extracted honey. As a result, the individual bee-keeper can now manage several apiaries. Swarm control, which is so vitally necessary to modern bee-keeping, is much more easily accomplished with extracted honey production in out-apiaries.
This change within the past 20 years has resulted in the placing of much emphasis on equipment suitable for extensive bee-keeping operations. Extractors are now made which remove the honey from 45 frames at once, honey pumps and other equipment for the rapid handling of honey have also been perfected, and it is safe to say that the chief advances along practical lines of the past few years have been those pertaining to apparatus rather than to bee-keeping methods.
Formerly most of the bee-keepers manufactured their own hives and other equipment ; now large manufacturing concerns make and deliver hives to the bee-keeper more cheaply than he can make them for himself. The three large American companies carrying on work of this kind are more extensive than those found in any other country at present. Some bee-keepers spend their winter months in preparing hives for their own use but buy other equipment from the factories.
Commercial bee-keeping is not practised in all parts of the United States, since many parts of the country are unsuited to extensive operations. The chief commercial regions are those parts of the north-eastern States where the lime content of the soil is adequate to cause the clovers to secrete nectar freely, the irri gated regions of the inter-mountain States where alfalfa (lucerne) is the chief nectar source, and the sage region of southern Cali fornia. In limited areas in other parts of the country there are bee-keepers operating considerable numbers of out-apiaries, but in most of the sections other than those specified the bee-keepers operate single apiaries. The features which make certain regions suitable for out-apiary management are, first, that the main honey flow (time of heavy secretion of nectar) shall come just when the colony population reaches its maximum in early summer and, secondly, that relatively simple methods of swarm control shall be applicable to the swarming tendencies of the bees of the region.
The production of honey for the United States cannot be stated definitely, but it is conservatively estimated that there are between 800,000 and i,000,000 persons owning bees in the country. The average number of colonies per bee-keeper is perhaps not over ten, which means that in the non-commercial sections of the country there are large numbers of small holders. The aggregate honey-crop is considerable and is valued at about $75,000,00o per annum. The bees-wax crop is relatively small because of the methods of bee-keeping practised. Since the country does not produce enough even for the manufacture of comb-foundation for use of bee-keepers themselves, it is necessary to import consid erable quantities of wax from other countries.
During the period of the World War, the wholesale markets for honey were greatly developed, since considerable quantities of American honey then went to the Allied countries. Since that time, however, some wholesale dealers have ceased to handle honey and there has been increasing difficulty in selling honey in large quantities. The ensuing increase in local marketing has resulted in the sale of 65% of the honey-crop through markets other than those of the large cities—in an unbalanced distribution of the honey-crop, since over 5o% of the population is urban. Extensive advertising of honey has been found unprofitable wherever tried, but the future development will probably be in bringing honey to the attention of the city consumer by some means. There are several extensive co-operative marketing organ izations in the chief commercial centres, but the honey of the non-commercial areas will probably continue to be sold locally.
Methods for handling honey in large quantities after extracting have also been developed. Storage after extracting is usually in large tanks until the honey is placed in 6olb. cans for wholesale shipments. Barrels are rarely used. When honey from various plant sources is to be blended, as is commonly done by exten sive bottlers, the various honeys are first liquefied by heating and then placed together in a large tank and stirred slowly. The temperature is maintained at about 13 5-140 ° F for some hours until every crystal is dissolved, after which the honey is brought quickly to 16o° but no higher, and bottled at once. Tanks lined with enamel are in common use for blending. Bottles are filled as full as possible and sealed hermetically while hot to retard crystallization of the honey. In blending it is a common practice to add some sage or tupelo honey as these rarely granulate and serve to retard granulation of the blends.
The use of colonies of bees for the cross-pollination of fruits has greatly increased within recent years and many extensive orchardists arrange with commercial bee-keepers to move truck loads of bees to the orchards for the period of bloom, after which they are removed. The incorrect spraying of fruit trees for the control of insect pests has resulted in some losses to beekeepers, but the worst situation is brought about by the application of dusts as insecticides or fungicides, which float for some distance from the orchard and fall on other flowers in full bloom. In correct spraying is prohibited by law in some States but there are so far no laws regarding appli cation of dusts.
The outstanding improvements in bee-keeping management re cently made in the United States are those dealing with methods - --- - - - of wintering, disease control, swarm control and the proper placing of storage space in the colonies. Queen-rearing methods are also well developed. The greatest source of loss to American bee keeping is that which comes from improper methods of wintering, which loss now averages about 12% of all colonies annually. These losses are no higher in the extreme northern States than in those of the middle latitudes, indicating that severe cold alone is not the cause of the loss. Methods have been devised which if put into operation would reduce this loss to a small fraction of that which now occurs and these methods are spreading. In dis ease control the greatest advance has been in the control of Euro pean foul brood by methods which pertain only to strengthening of the colonies at the time when this disease makes its attack. The losses from poor wintering and uncontrolled swarming would have wrecked bee-keeping in many parts of the country but for the spread of knowledge of better methods making it possible to keep bees with profit in all the habitable regions.
Beginning in 1916, extension work in bee-keeping was inaugu rated by the Federal bureau of entomology and has since been taken over by the several States, the Federal Government now taking no part in this work. This brings better methods of bee keeping directly to those actually engaged in the industry. Begin ning a few years earlier, the teaching of bee-keeping has been de veloped until now this subject is taught in over half of the agri cultural colleges. The bureau of entomology maintains a research laboratory for bee-keeping near Washington with a branch labora tory in the West. Several of the State universities are also sup porting research work in this field. Clubs for boys and girls in bee-keeping are maintained in several States.
The investigations conducted in the United States in recent years which have had the greatest influence in the development of bee-keeping are those pertaining to the causes of the bee diseases, especially those of the brood of bees, the behaviour of bees during the winter when they rear no brood, the flight activities of bees, the behaviour of bees in gathering and storing nectar and in ripen ing it to honey, the rate of brood-rearing, the causes of swarming, the control of European foul brood by preventive measures, the disinfection of combs infected with the causal organism of Ameri can foul the structure and development of the honey-bee, the utilization of various carbohydrates by adult and larval bees, the distribution of European foul brood in relation to the environ ment, and the colour composition and colour grading of extracted honey. Details of all these lines of investigation are contained in publications of the Federal department of agriculture, where most of the work has been done. Research problems of the State experiment stations in this field have been chiefly elaborations of problems handled by the Federal laboratory. (E. F. PH.)