May. 191?.. 



159 



American Vae Journal 



winter months, ss it is very likely to 

 cause a lot of damage. 



At this date, April 4, I have not trou- 

 bled to look inside of a liive aside 



from lifting the quilt at the back to see 

 that there was sealed honey. Any ex- 

 amination more than this would do no 

 good, and might result in balled queens. 



flow, but the later honey-flows should 

 aid materially. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. 



How to Keep Pure Stock Supers and 



"I havel4coloniesof mixed bees, and 

 I would like to keep pure Italians. It 

 I buy queens, how must I handle them 

 to keep them from mating with drones 

 I have now ? Also, is it best to keep 

 one or two supers on the hive ?" 



Gonzales, Tex. Joe Gr.\.-^se. 



Italian stock of bees is hard to keep 

 pure, and to keep them so you will 

 have to look after them very closely. 

 Buy tested golden queens, one for each 

 colony, and introduce them according 

 to directions. If you are successful 

 you will have pure stock for tliis sea- 

 son, for the queens are already mated, 

 and your black drones can have no 

 ertect on your stock. Your next sea- 

 son's drones will be pure. When the 

 bees begin swarming you will have 

 young pure queens, and they will be 

 purely mated provided there is no 

 more black stock near you. If there is, 

 your young pure queens are liable to 

 be mated with them. The progeny 

 will be a cross. But if you get the 

 best yellow stock obtainable, this cross 

 will not show up much the first gen- 

 eration. The next cross will, and col- 

 onies containing such queens will have 

 to be replaced with pure stock again. 

 If you stock with the goldens I be- 

 lieve you would also like the first 

 cross. 



It is always best to have more su- 

 pers in readiness than you think you 

 will need, and not only give your bees 

 two supers, but as many as five or six 

 if they should need them. This can 

 best be done by raising the supers they 

 have and slipping another under, next 

 to the brood-nest, and so on, as soon 

 as the bottom super gets well started. 

 Swarming will be reduced and larger 

 crops of honey harvested. 



Worthless Swarms 



These issue near the close of the 

 honey-flow, and cannot build up. They 

 soon become discouraged and swarm 

 out, or dwindle to nothing. They may 

 do well if they are looked after and 

 given combs of honey and brood from 

 the strong colonies. 



Such swarming could be avoided by 

 not allowing the bees to become 

 crowded for storing room. If an ex- 

 tra super were given next to the brood- 

 nest a day or so before the flow de- 

 clined, in most cases it would be cov- 

 ered and an e.xtra super of honey 

 finished. 



If a swarm issues a few days before 

 the close of the flow it will leave the 

 parent colony with a lot of uncapped 

 honey which, likely, will be unfinished 



and not marketable, if it is comb honey. 

 It is important to keep the bees sup- 

 plied with plenty of storing room. 



If a super be added near the close of 

 the flow the bees will disregard it and 

 finish what they have started. The 

 last super should be added just when 

 the flow begins to decline. 



A Mangrove Location 



"Mr. Wiliif.r: — I want to get into a 

 good mangrove location along the east 

 or west coast of Florida and start a 

 bee-business. Can you refer me to a 

 good location ?" John P. Jones. 



Medina, Ohio. 



I have not much regard for the man- 

 grove as a honey-plant, nor for the 

 section where it grows as a bee-coun- 

 try. The mangrove is a very uncertain 

 source of honey, and the honey is poor 

 in quality, very thin in body, and fer- 

 ments badly. However, the best loca- 

 tions for it can be found along the 

 Gulf of Mexico border of Lee Co., Fla. 

 There are numerous islands along the 

 bay and gulf, and it grows in great 

 quantities. 



Mrs. H. D. Brainerd, of Captiva, Fla., 

 who is a bee-keeper there, can give 

 more complete information. 



I like the lake regions through the 

 center of the State better. 



Prospects in Dixie 



Weather conditions have not been 

 very favorable, but bees have been 

 making good progress in brood-rear- 

 ing and in sections where the flow is 

 early; considerable surplus has been 

 stored. The flow is still on, and an 

 average crop will be produced. 



Bees were in good shape when the 

 first honey came, and a lot of swarm- 

 ing has been the result. Little surplus 

 can be expected during the spring 



Florida 



The following is an extract from a 

 letter written to Mr. R. L. Landrum, of 

 O'Brien, Fla., and referred by him to 

 the Dixie Department for answer: 



"How do you like the Italian bee for 

 your section ? What is the quality of 

 honey produced ? What does it bring 

 on the market .•' Wliat is the average 

 per colony ? Do bees have any ene- 

 mies there ?" R. X. Smith. 



Columbia, Iowa. 



Most of the honey produced in that 

 section of Florida is thin in body be- 

 cause the nectar contains a great 

 amount of water. It requires much 

 evaporation. The Italian bees are far 

 behind when it comes to reducing 

 nectar to honey. The honey is light 

 in color and of good flavor, and the 

 darker races of bees give it a good 

 body. The first flow of honey is from 

 the chincapin. This honey is of poor 

 quality, hardly marketable, but increase 

 can be made and combs built to good 

 advantage. 



The marketable honey brings about 

 10 cents per section. Owing to the 

 thinness of the honey when stored in 

 ready-built combs, not much extracted 

 honey is produced. 



The average is about 40 or 50 pounds 

 of marketable honey per colony. 



Bees have no great enemies there. 



Better Bees and a Companion 



"Mr. Wilder: — We only have the 

 common black bees in this section, 

 and they do not give us satisfaction. 

 We want the very best strain or race 

 obtainable, and we want you to recom- 

 mend it to us. I am a bachelor, and I 

 want a companion. Will you recom- 

 mend some one ? I am worth $3000 or 

 more. This is a newly settled section." 



Trenton, Fla. Wallace Jones. 



I fully appreciate the great confi- 

 dence you place in me. You are con- 

 fronted with two very serious prob- 

 lems. I will help you to solve one, 

 and ask some of our lady readers to 

 help you solve the other. Either the 

 Italian or Caucasian bees would give 

 you better satisfaction. I am partial 

 to the latter. You can obtain bees 

 from those who advertise in this paper. 



Death of Oliver Foster 



Oliver Foster was born in Grant Co., 

 Wis., March 21, 1857, a few miles from 

 Platteville, the home of Edwin France. 

 The family moved to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, 

 when he was about 11 years of age. 

 His older brother, Alonzo Foster (my 



father), was interested in bees in a 

 limited way, and the two talked bees 

 and read all they found in the farm 

 papers. They finally got hold of the 

 American Bee Journal and Gleanings 

 in Bee Culture. 



One winter, when they had an apiary 

 of about 20 colonies, all died. My 

 father then dropped the work for a 



