1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



55 



use up their stores to generate sufficient 

 warmth. 



The only complete sets of old combs were 

 in the Langstroth hives, and these were the 

 only ones tnat did not need to be fed. After 

 noting Simmins' warning I examined all the 

 combs in the dead hives and found that very 

 few of them had been bred in — in fact, they 

 were hardly travel-stained. This disposed 

 of the breeding-up theory. 



So, after long consideration I am of the 

 opinion that new combs is the real explana- 

 tion of my failure in wintering; but I will 

 gladly welcome any evidence to the contrary, 

 for I am well aware that some bee-keepers 

 advise the frequent discarding of old combs 

 in favor of new; but I have not in the course 

 of my reading found any one who recom- 

 mended that bees be wintered on combs 

 that had never been bred in. 



For the winter of 1909 I have tried, as far 

 as possible, to have the bees on old combs, 

 though not as completely as I would like, as 

 I transferred practically all my new pur- 

 chases, and, besides, have had to contend 

 with the additional handicap of a blank sea- 

 son. But I am wintering six Langstroths 

 with undoubted old combs, and am awaiting 

 the results with considerable interest. 



Victoria, B. C, Oct. 20. 



BEE-KEEPING NOTES FROM TEXAS. 



A Series of Articles in Answer to Numer- 

 ous Enquiries. 



BY LOUIS H. SCHOLL. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Letters by the score, regarding Texas as a 

 honey-producer, and many other questions 

 relative to bee-keeping in the great Lone 

 Star State, together with several requests 

 from many, and, lastly, a request from the 

 editor, have prompted the writing of a se- 

 ries of articles for Gleanings for 1910, with 

 the hope of answering all these enquiries as 

 far as it is possible to do so, and fulfilling 

 the requests so often made. 



Texas has grown, is growing, and will 

 continue to grow, not in area, for she is big 

 enough in that respect, but in every thing 

 else imaginable, for she is making greater 

 strides now than ever. In this, bee- keeping 

 must be included, for that, as every tning 

 else, has progressed until now it has placed 

 the great Empire of States in the lead, ahead 

 of any other in the Union, We are not say- 

 ing these things to boast, nor have we an ax 

 to grind or something to sell, but merely be- 

 cause they are facts for which we have been 

 asked, and to give the information sought 

 by so many. 



While many of the localities are already 

 taken up and some of them overcrowded, to 

 the detriment of the bee-keepers, there are 

 others that are entirely unoccupied. To pre- 

 vent the influx of new comers continually 

 settling in parts already occupied, and aid- 

 ing in a better distribution of such into new 



and better localities, for the benefit of all 

 concerned, shall be the aim, in part, of these 

 papers, which will follow in rotation as space 

 permits. Besides information about Texas 

 and the bee-keeping localities, articles will 

 follow on subjects like the following, which 

 should be of interest, not only to those who 

 are interested in Texas bee-keeping, but oth- 

 ers as well, as these will embrace methods 

 and management that are applicable to other 

 localities as well as in Texas and under Texas 

 conditions. These will be mostly formulated 

 after our own extensive work with 20 apia- 

 ries scattered from a few to several hundred 

 miles from the center of operations, and 

 with an experience in this State of nearly 

 twenty years of bee-keeping. 



The series that will receive attention 

 throughout the present year are about as 

 follows: "Texas, what she is as a honey- 

 producer;" "The widely different and vary- 

 ing localities in Texas;" "Some of the ad- 

 vantages of Texas over other honey-produc- 

 ing States;" "Something about Texas hon- 

 ey-yielding plants;" "The kinds of honey 

 produced in Texas, and why;" "Bulk comb 

 honey and its extensive production;" "Tex- 

 as from the standpoint of queen-rearing;" 

 "Why the ten-frame hive is most used;" 

 "The advantages of the divisible hive;" 

 "Extensive out-apiary management;" "Get- 

 ting the most for the honey crop;" with 

 perhaps a few changes as needed. 



By the aid of pictures and the use of 

 charts and drawings it is our intention to 

 make the reading-matter not only the more 

 interesting but plainer, so as to be easier to 

 understand. We shall be brief, yet try to 

 cover the ground; and it is hoped that the 

 readers who are interested in these notes 

 from Texas will not only assure themselves 

 that their subscription is kept up but will 

 direct others of whom they know, who are 

 or might be interested in this series, to sub- 

 scribe for these numbers for the entire year, 

 and thus not miss any of the copies. We 

 call attention to this matter only so it may 

 save others writing to us with numerous 

 questions on these subjects that will be fully 

 discussed in Gleanings during the year. It 

 has been our desire to call attention to this 

 series for that reason, and therefore this in- 

 troductory has been written. 



New Braunfels, Texas. 



OUR EARLIER BEE-KEEPING. 



Trials and Tribulations; Use of Comb 

 Foundation; our Section-supers, etc. 



BY F. GREINER. 



My first real experience with bees dates 

 back to the year 1872. When I had hived a 

 swarm with the help of an old soil-tiller, and 

 did it successfully, and without any special 

 protection, my enthusiasm was kindled, and 

 I began to think that I had the stuff to make 

 a regular professional bee-man. The hives 

 then in use here were box hives. No one 

 in these and many other parts had even 



