GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE January, 1919 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



Texas suffers the greatest loss from disease 

 of anj' State, Oregon being in second and 

 California in third place. The winter losses 

 suffered in Texas are certainly a surprise, 

 as it has always been considered that in 

 this State we had no wintering problem. It 

 is shown that we lose one out of every four 

 colonies in this way. While there are losses 

 somewhat greater, nevertheless our losses 

 are entirely out of proportion for the condi- 

 tions. When the causes for this great loss 

 are investigated it is found that a failing 

 queen heads the list and starvation is sec- 

 ond. These two items have received much 

 consideration during the pa^t fall, and it is 

 indeed interesting to know that these as- 

 signed causes are backed by facts. 



The honey-production data are very in- 

 teresting, it is stated that during the five- 

 year period of 1913-17 the average produc- 

 tion per colony was 37 pounds. This esti- 

 mated production gives a sum considerably 

 more than it was ever possible to ascertain 

 from trade estimates. In the matter of 

 honey production Texas is comparatively 

 low, due very largely to the low production 

 of 1917. But such excuses do not justify a 

 production as low as is shown. Of the hon- 

 ey produced 69 per cent is extracted, 22 

 per cent is bulk comb and 9 per cent is sec- 

 tion. Texas has been considered a very 

 large producer of extracted honey, but the 

 tables show six States producing a larger 

 percentage of their crop in this form. Even 

 in this State there has been an increase each 

 year in the proportion of extracted honey 

 produced. Of the honey produced 33 per 

 cent is classed as white, 38 per cent as light 

 amber, 23 per cent as amber and 6 per cent 

 as dark. In 1917 it is stated that 68 per 

 cent of the honey produced was used at 

 home and only 32 per cent was sold to mar- 

 kets outside of the State. There is shown 

 an increased home consumption of honey. 

 The price of honey had advanced but very 

 little in the period under discussion. 



The source of the honey in this State is 

 equally interesting, and the distribution of 

 the honey flora is shown to be as predicted. 

 Of the liectar-secreting shrubs, mesquite 13 

 per cent, catsclaw 8 per cent, and quajilla 

 4 per cent, produce 25 per cent of the total 

 crop. Cotton produces 24 per cent, alfalfa 

 11 per cent, and horsemint 19 per cent of 

 our honey crop. Viewed from a state-wide 

 standpoint these figures are very interesting 

 and show a different balance of plants than 

 is ordinarily supposed. As to the distribu- 

 tion of the honey-producing plants, it is 

 shown that the south and the southwest sec- 

 tions with shrubs and horsemint produced 

 two-fifths of the total crop. The west section 

 with alfalfa as the principal source of honey 

 produced one-fifth of the crop. The remain- 

 der of the State, given as central, east, and 

 north, with cotton, horsemint, and miscel- 



laneous plants, prodviced the other two-fifths 

 of the honey. 



After due reflection on this summary of 

 a vast complication of figures, it should be 

 the aim of every beekeeper to do his part 

 in bettering the conditions and the produc- 

 tion of this State. It was shown that losses 

 were excessive — in fact, as bad as any State 

 in the Union. Let each strive to put Texas 

 again in first place in the beekeeping world, 

 a place justly deserved. 



Eeports from every section point to the 

 return of normal condition of the honey 

 plants. In the late November the early 

 spring flowers were up better than in April, 

 1918. The horsemint is abundant over all 

 the territory of its range. Native plants, 

 wild flowers, and trees have all been put in 

 first-class condition by the fall rains. Those 

 beekeepers who put their bees in good con- 

 dition to go thru the winter are sure to have 

 bees on hand for the spring flow. 



H. D. Murry, well-known queen-breeder, 

 has moved from his home in northern Texas 

 to Soso, Miss. Here he will engage in the 

 early rearing of queens. He expects to re- 

 turn to Texas in time to take up his work 

 here. F. B. Paddock. 



College Station, Tex. 

 * * * 



In Florida.— ^^s^^t "«^' ^^""^ ^^^ ^!f * 



three or tour weeks, as the 

 time for Florida beekeepers to take some 

 action in their own immediate localities to 

 avert a situation which has for the last 

 four or five years been growing into what 

 may at any time become a serious menace 

 to their business. The manufacturers of in- 

 secticides are advertising and advising the 

 citrus-growers to spray their trees while 

 they are in bloom, claiming that by so doing 

 they will secure brighter fruit, and that 

 spraying will help the bloom to set. We, of 

 course, know the fallacy of such claims, but 

 are we doing anything to teach the orange- 

 grower that spraying in bloom is not only 

 a waste of money but also a detriment to 

 his chances of a successful crop? It is true 

 that so long as lime-sulphur sprays are used 

 we have nothing to fear, for these only drive 

 the bees away from the groves, and it is im- 

 possible to spray all groves on a location at 

 the same time. Still we have no guarantee 

 that lime-sulphur sprays will always be us- 

 ed; and it is always possible that a poison 

 spray may be advocated and used by some- 

 one who has given no thought to the matter, 

 and is led by the advice of those whose busi- 

 ness it is to sell insecticides. With white 

 fly as prevalent as it is this year, it may be 

 advisable to warn the orange-growers 

 against allowing any spray to be used on 

 their trees which might be detrimental to 

 the health of our bees. This may be a false 

 alarm; I hope it is, but I don't know. 

 Apopka, Fla. Harry Hewitt. 



