2&2 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1915 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



release more sugar for our army. And why 

 do we not produce more honey? It can be 

 used in so many ways and is a healthful 

 sweet. There are some beekeepers in the 

 State who feel thkt beginners should be 

 given every encouragement in their new 

 endeavors. One has even gone so far as to 

 give detailed information on the production 

 of section honey. Such ill-advised informa- 

 tion can only do harm to the industry. 



In one county it has been estimated that 

 .30 per cent of the bees in trees have died. 

 It seems that nature takes care of what be- 

 longs to it wonderfully well. In this same 

 county, the average loss of the beekeepers 

 was higher. 



We notice with much interest an adver- 

 tisement of an enterprising queen-breeder 

 offering for sale ")nedelian" bred queens. 

 This is a big term full of meaning which 

 will baffle the majoritv of the beekeepers. 



College Station. Tex.' F. B. Paddock. 



In Florida— ^'^^ ^^rF'' p^«o"\^^^ ^^'J 



somewhat ot a disappoint- 

 ment this year. Altho we have all secured 

 fair crops, the tlow was of such short dura- 

 tion that only the best of colonies were able 

 to make a good showing in the supers. From 

 all reports available, the crop will be about 

 45 lbs. per colony. There will be some re- 

 ports of very much larger yields, the kind 

 of reports that give a false impression of 

 Florida beekeeinng. But the object of this 

 department is not to exploit the doings of 

 individual colonies or small apiaries in es- 

 pecially favored locations. There are al- 

 ways some colonies that give results out of 

 all proportion to the rest, but these excep- 

 tions should not be taken account of when 

 forming an average. I have one colony of 

 Carni-Italians that have given me over 200 

 lbs., and several others that have given over 

 100 lbs., but such colonies can only be look- 

 ed upon as freaks. 



Altho our crop is not so good as in 1914. 

 the advanced prices will more than make up 

 for the shortage. We are offered 15 cents 

 per lb., f . 0. b. shipping point, and, while this 

 is a good price, it is doubtful if we ought to 

 accept it. Cuba is offered the same price 

 for campanilla honey, the low-grade West 

 Indian honeys bring the same, and I have 

 one report of a crop of cabbage palmetto 

 that sold for 16 cents. Why should Florida 

 beekeepers sell their best honey at the 

 price of inferior grades? It is seldom that 

 ■we make a crop from the orange, and to 

 sell at the price of palmetto and fall honeys 

 is not reasonable. 



The practice of selling to the consumer 

 and small retailer at the same price we are 

 offered by the wholesale houses should be dis- 

 continued. When we are offered $1.80 a 

 gallon by, let us say, the A, I, Root Co., is 



it fair that we should sell locally at $2.00 

 per gallon when "Airline" honey is being 

 sold in our retail groceries at a very much 

 higher rate? It is the wholesale buyer on 

 whom we depend for the disposal of our 

 crops, and we cannot expect the best prices 

 when we do not givo a square deal ourselves. 



Prospects of a good crop from gallberrj 

 and saw palmetto are excellent, and this 

 bloom is coming nearly a month earlier than 

 usual in this section. Already the gallberry 

 is in bloom (Apr. 4), and a few sprays of pal- 

 metto are flowered out. There has been com- 

 paratively little swarming where the bees 

 had plenty of drawn combs, and colonies are 

 in fine shape to care for the coming palmetto 

 Moom, which will undoubtedly be the heavi- 

 est we have had for years. 



Many new apiaries will be started In 

 Florida this year, if all those who arc try- 

 ing to buy bees succeed. Many will do well, 

 but a great many who are locating near the 

 orange groves will fail because they have 

 nothing with which to back up their orange 

 flow. If those who start with bees would 

 look first to their summer pasturage, there 

 would be fewer failures an Florida beekeep- 

 ing. 



A Florida Apiary. 



The picture of the apiary printed above 

 doesnt show anything in particular, but it 

 does show in general what a Florida apiary 

 looks like and Florida apiaries are doing 

 pretty well this season, thank you. 



Apopka, Fla. Harry Hewitt. 



