110 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 15 



MODERN APICULTURE IN MEXICO. 



BY CARL LUDLOFF. 



From " Mexican Industries," Monterey, N. L. Translat- 

 ed from the Spanish by Geo. W. Dithridge. 



At a time not far distant the art of mod- 

 ern apiculture will be one of the most im- 

 portant branches of agriculture in the repub- 

 lic of Mexico. Up to the present time this 

 industry has been carried on in an antiquat- 

 ed manner, generally by the Indians, as a 

 busin*'ss exclusively in the hot zone of this 

 country, while in the more elevated temper- 

 ate regions it is regarded as a diversion 

 wholly without a busmess prospect 



The cause of this apiculturai situation is 

 that the tropics in general produce a class of 

 honey suitable only for exportation, and 

 used principally in the great industrifs of 

 the countries of the North; but rarely does 

 one encounter a quality of honey appropri- 

 ate for the table, while the wax, secured by 

 the crude methods employed, is of much 

 greater value than the honey. It is to be in- 

 ferred that even modern bee-keepers have 

 not been disposed to improve the ancient 

 methods, nor to establish thtir colonies on 

 modern scientific principles. 



On the other hand, the very remarkable 

 and singular conditions of climate in the 

 temperate and cold zones of Mexico up to 

 to day have rendered it almost impossible to 

 protect the bees in any known hive. It is 

 considered to be not only certain but beyond 

 remedy that the colonies of bees are to 

 dwindle to almost none, or to disappear en- 

 tirely during the winter season; and bee- 

 keepers are obliged to commence almost en- 

 tirely de novo every year with the remnants 

 of their colonies, this is the reason why 

 extensive bee-yards are unknown in this re- 

 gion, those of from ten to forty hives being 

 considered rare exceptions. The yards, as a 

 general rule, contain no more than from one 

 to five colonies, usually in a most deplorable 

 condition. That such a style of bee-keeping 

 can offer no inducement to any one to waste 

 time, labor, and money in it needs no assur- 

 ance or explanation. But the honey pro- 

 duced in this zone is of such excellent qual- 

 ity, and the quantities gathered by the bees 

 so great, in spite of every obstacle, that it 

 remains only to discover a method of man- 

 agement to render it possible to develop 

 apiculture to a state at least equal to that of 

 other countries Such difficulties have been 

 wholly overcome elsewhere. 



Before discussing this question it seems 

 necessary to limit ourselves to the consider- 

 ation of go id honey and of inferior honey. 

 The zones of these honeys are found at cer- 

 tain elevations above the sea. Commencing 

 at the ocean or gulf shore, the inferior hon- 

 ey is found to a height of 5000 feet, corre- 

 sponding to the region adapted to the culti- 

 vation o? sugar cane. In this region the life 

 of the colonies is irregular because of the is- 

 sue of swarms at any time of the year, more 

 or less, and this appears to be the principle 

 object of bee energy. Tbe accumuiatiim .of 



honey is an object of secondary considera- 

 tion, because the bees are accustomed to en- 

 counter it in a -uniiance at all times. They 

 have neither time nor inclination to accumu- 

 late quantities of honey. This is well enough, 

 but it is not exactly what we want. 



From the zone of sugar cane culture, di- 

 vided by an inclined plain of several hundred 

 feet of elevation, being the transition zone, 

 which is the habitat of the maguey or pulque 

 plant (Agave Americana), commences with 

 exa' tness the zone of tine honey. In this 

 region a plant known by its Indian name of 

 "chayotillo" (Scisios edulis) is found in vast 

 numbers, blossoming in the rainy season. 

 At the same time, there is also found in this 

 zone a plant of the family Cucurbitacece, and 

 this is the appropriate Mexican plant for hon- 

 ey. In every locality where this plant is in 

 abundance, apiculture may be regarded as a 

 sure and certain business. In addition to 

 the chayotillo, the mesquite trees and shrubs 

 yield in the beginning of spring a splendid 

 harvest of honey. The honey of the chayo- 

 tillo belongs in the highest grade of honey 

 known in all the world, and surpasses the 

 famous honey of Colorado and California. 

 On this account apiculture in this elevated 

 section of Mexico should be esteemed a very 

 remunerative business, but only by the use 

 of hives and strains of bees entirely adapted 

 to the climate. This subject will be consid- 

 ered further in the March issue of this jour- 

 nal. 



Vencedora, Chih., Mex., April 30, 1909. 



THE BULK OF THE HONEY COMES FROM WITHIN ONE 

 MILE OF THE APIARY. 



There is some discussion in the bee journals of late 

 as to how far bees go for pasturage: and I agree with 

 those who claim that most honey is gathered within 

 one mile from the apiary. I have an outyard which is 

 about three miles, at least not exceeding S'A, from my 

 home yard, and I have more than once secured a fair 

 honey crop there while I got but little honey in my 

 home yard. Wald C. Conrads. 



New Braunfels, Texas. Oct. 20. 



STRONG QUEENS FROM TWICE-GRAFTED CELLS. 



Noticing the article, page 763, Dec. 15, on breeding 

 strong queens, by J. W. Savage. I will endeavor to re- 

 late my experience. On the 10th of June. 1009. T found 

 two colonies that had small queens. They looked like 

 runts or as though they were half starved. I experi- 

 mented by removing the queen from one of them, and 

 in a few days I examined the colony and found six 

 queen-cells about fi inch long. I removed the larvae, 

 putting in their places younger or smaller ones, and 

 trimmed the cells back so they were not over a third 

 as long. Before putting in the next larvae I smoothed 

 the royal jelly down with the ivory tip of a leadpencil. 

 In two days I examined and found the bees were 

 working on the grafted cells and putting royal jelly 

 in them. I removed the other small queen from the 

 second colony and grafted one cell in that hive. The 

 result was two strong and fine-looking queens; and it 

 did me great good to see the colonies grow to two 

 strong ones. One colony produced 186 lbs. of first- 

 class honey, and the other 158 lbs. 



My experience proved beyond doubt that the Nek- 

 hart and Perkins method is all right, and our thanks 

 are due to Mr. J. W. George for bringing it before the 

 public. I tried almost the same method fifteen years 

 ago in Washington, but did not trim the cell back, and 

 did not have as good success as this time. The two 

 colonies mentioned belong to Mr. J. B. Perrine, Blue 

 Lakes, Idaho. „ „ „ 



JeyomBv Wabo.- -. i.;. •- : S.F. Bailey.* . 



