English: IF NOT CALLED FOR IN 10 DAYS RETURN TO

T. S. BULL, PRODUCER OF COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY. VALPARAISO, INDIANA.

Date: Circa 1880s Source Type: Postal Cover Printer, Publisher, Photographer: Unknown Postmark: Not Applicable Collection: Steven R. Shook Remark: Theodore Spencer "T. S." Bull. Bull was likely Porter County's largest and most successful commercial beekeeper and began beekeeping in Liberty Township in 1852. His apiary was located north of County Road 700 North, directly across the road from present day Camp Lawrence; his home still [2017] stands. Notices published in local newspapers in 1882 suggest that Bull's apiary produced more than thirteen tons (26,000 pounds) of extracted honey that year from more than 400 colonies.

T.S. Bull sold his extracted honey by the barrel. He would transport the barrels by wagon to Valparaiso, then ship by rail to buyers located in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York. Like Essex, Bull manufactured bee hives of his own design that he called the Ne Plus Ultra Bee Hive. An engraving of Bull's hive shows that the honey super (box) consisted of eight smaller screened boxes, likely designed in that manner to better facilitate the extraction of honey.

A statistical summary from the October 1884 convention of the Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society reveals that Theodore S. Bull & Sons was the largest producer of bee products. The summary indicates that "T. S. Bull & Sons" had 190 hives that produced 1,000 pounds of comb honey, 10,000 pounds of extracted honey, and 100 pounds of beeswax. Bull's extracted honey production represented more than 11 percent of all extracted honey produced by the society's members.

Theodore Spencer Bull was born in Cayuga County, New York, on March 20, 1829, the son of John Conklin Bull and Catherine Storm (Hasbrouck) Bull. Bull died on March 30, 1891, in Porter County and was buried in Kimball Cemetery in that county.

Copyright 2017. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.