1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



289 



carried on, are things entirely new to one 

 who has studied bees only under our main- 

 land conditions, and there are many things 

 to be observed there which will probably in- 

 terest other commercial honey-producers. 



The area now covered by apiaries does 

 not equal Rhode Island in size, nor is all the 

 available area as yet covered. The bee- 

 keepers are at present extending their oper- 

 ations, and it will be but a few years before 

 they make a larger showing. They have al- 

 ready shown that they are progressive, and 

 their methods of management are thorough- 

 ly modern. 



While there is a season during which there 

 is less honey coming in, there is no definite 

 honey-flow such as is found in most places 

 on the mainland. On the contrary, there is 

 something coming in almost every day in 

 the year. As a corollary the flow is not so 

 intense but the bees keep right on at a mod- 

 erate rate adding to their stores. The old 

 tradition that bees in the tropics do not 

 store excess honey is certainly disproven by 

 results on the islands. 



The main floral honey source is the alga- 

 roba-tree, closely related to the mesquite of 

 the Southwest. The honey is white, and 

 granulates rapidly, resembling most our al- 

 falfa honey. During the spring and early 

 summer (if we can designate seasons in such 

 an equable climate) the bees work vigorous- 

 ly on the algaroba. The most interesting 



CONCRETE HIVBSTAND AND ALIGHTING-BOARD. 



phenomenon, however, is the second large 

 honey source. The bees of the islands an- 

 nually gather tons of honey-dew honey from 

 the secretions of the sugar-cane leaf-hopper. 

 Such an extensive gathering of honey-dew to 

 form a commercial product is a thing which 

 is unknown to the writer in any other local- 

 ity. This honey-dew honey does not resem- 

 ble the honey-dew honey generally foimdon 

 the mainland. It dilTersin flavor, and, when 

 relatively unmixed with floral honey, does 

 not granulate, even after a period of years. 

 This product is sold as "honey-dew honey," 

 and finds a ready market among bakers. It 

 could not be used as a table honey, and the 

 producers make no effort to use "it in com- 

 peting for that market. Since leaf-hoppers 

 are always present in numbers on the cane, 

 the flow from this source is practically con- 

 tinuous. During the algaroba flow, or when 

 other nectar-producing plants are available, 

 the bees prefer the floral nectar. 



According to the decision of the Pure-food 

 Board, the product made by the bees from 

 the secretions of insects may be sold as 

 "honey-dew honey." It is a natural product 

 gathered by the bees, and unmixed with any 

 added sugars. Since there is a market for 

 this product there is no reason why it can 

 not be sold provided it is so labeled that the 

 buyer knows what he is using. 



A point of considerable interest in Hawai- 

 ian bee-keeping is the fact that there are few 

 small bee-keepers and almost no 

 amateurs on the islands. Bee-keep- 

 ing is a commercial industry, and 

 most of the bees are owned by cor- 

 porations. By such organization 

 one comj>etent bee-keeper can super- 

 intend the work with several thou- 

 sand colonies, the actual manij^ula- 

 tion being done by laborers. This 

 reduces the cost of production, and 

 such a plan seems to foreshadow the 

 future of mainland commercial api- 

 culture. 



The Hawaiian bee-keepers are ex- 

 tremely fortunate in that they have 

 among their bees no contagious dis- 

 ease. Either American or European 

 foul brood would cause enormous 

 losses under such tropical condi- 

 tions, and it is to be hoped that ef- 

 fective quarantine regulations may 

 be established to prevent the intro- 

 duction of these plagues which an- 

 nually cause so many thousands of 

 dollars' loss on the mainland. Steps 

 have already been taken in this di- 

 rection. It is doubtless true that 

 the bee-men of Hawaii would con- 

 trol a contagious disease as good 

 bee-keepers do elsewhere; but if they 

 can prevent the introduction of the 

 causes they will be relieved of much 

 troublesome labor. 



Aside from these special features, 

 Hawaiian bee-keepers face the same 

 problems as do their mainland co- 

 workers. They are good examples 

 of what a progressive bee-keeper 



