794 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



December, 1919 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



reach three other of his yards. One of the 

 well-known queen-raisers tells of wading 

 and swimming for miles to salvage the 

 wreck of his outyards. 



Thru a period of years many attempts 

 have been made to find plants of such a na- 

 ture that it would pay to cultivate for hon- 

 ey production alone. So far it seems that 

 here only horsemint and sweet clover will 

 pay. It" is doubtful if sweet clover would 

 pay if it were not also a soil-builder. This 

 year three new legumes from India were 

 tried, one of these, Cicer arietlinum, bloom- 

 ed from May 18 until June 19, but no bees 

 visited it. A second, C(ti<iii IiKlicum, which 

 is said to be a heavy yielder in India, grew 

 very large and commenced to bloom October 

 15 and is now (November 6) in full bloom. 

 Bees are working it very heavily. If this 

 plant proves hardy or its seeds ripen, it will 

 be a valuable addition to our flora as it will 

 extend the length of the honey-gathering 

 season two weeks. The third, Crotalaria 

 canclicans, has not as yet bloomed. It was 

 our pleasure to have Dr. David Fairchild, 

 Agricultural Explorer, Department of Agri- 

 culture, who found these plants in India, 

 visit this station November 3 and 4. The 

 fall sowing of horsemint and sweet clover 

 is in first-class condition. 



Every successful beekeeper is an observer 

 of Nature. Here in the Southland where 

 winter is almost unknown it is very inter- 

 esting to observe the close relation which 

 exists between insects, birds, plant, and 

 weather changes. October 8 to 10, even tho 

 partly cloudy, was a good nectar period. 

 The bees seemed to work more rapidly than 

 ever before. Broom weeds, bonesets and 

 asters were in profuse bloom. Large flocks 

 of ducks and geese passed toward the south; 

 meadow larks, blackbirds, sparrows, war- 

 blers, and even humming birds came from 

 the north, not in flocks, but in swarms. He 

 who was weatherwise knew what to expect. 

 The morning of the 11th the norther arrived, 

 and a temperature of 54 degrees, accompani- 

 ed by a heavy rain, gave us the first taste 

 of winter. 



W. E. Jackson, who has been in charge 

 of the field work of foul-brood control for 

 the past three years, has resigned and leaves 

 the work November 15. Mr. Jackson will 

 engage in commercial bee work in Okla- 

 homa. 



The extension course in beekeeping given 

 by the U. S. Extension Service Bureau of 

 Entomology and A. & M. College of Texas 

 co-operating will be held December 15 to 20 

 at San Antonio. Messrs. Phillips, Demuth, 

 and Sturtevant, assisted by men from the 

 College, will give the program. The exten- 

 sion department and experiment station are 

 endeavoring thru their mailing lists, county 

 agents, and bee inspectors to place an invi- 

 tation and program of this meeting in the 



hands of every beekeeper of the State. M. 

 C. Tanquary, the new entomologist of the 

 experiment station, will attend, and as one 

 of the entertainment numbers will give an 

 illustrated lecture on "Three Years in the 

 Arctic." This is an account of the expedi- 

 tion sent out by the University of Illinois 

 to Crocker Land. 



In the last month there has been a decided 

 change in the condition of the bees. Prior 

 to and immediately after the Corpus Christi 

 storm the prospects for a fall honey flow 

 were never better. The storm itself damag- 

 ed the honey plants to a marked degree, but 

 the five weeks of rain which followed com- 

 pletely stopped the working of the bees. 

 From September 19 to October 20 seven and 

 a half inches of water have fallen, which is 

 over twice the normal rainfall for this pe- 

 riod. Immense areas of broom weed have 

 bloomed and gone out of bloom without hav- 

 ing been touched by the bees. Central Texas 

 suffered more than the eastern part. Ee- 

 ports from the east of the Trinity indicate 

 that there has been enough fair weather to 

 permit the bees to store a nice surplus. The 

 chapparal of southwest Texas responded to 

 the rains, and many plants which usually do 

 not bloom out of season bloomed with the 

 others. Huijilla and three varieties of cat- 

 claw were in bloom as late as October 26. 

 Because of rains and cold this belated 

 blooming period was of little value. The 

 conditions are not serious now, but if the 

 rain and cloudy weather continue much 

 longer many beekeepers who extract closely 

 will have to feed. 



Director B. Youngblood of the experiment 

 station has announced that M. C. Tanquary, 

 Ph. D., will be the new entomologist to the 

 station and as such will be State Entomolo- 

 gist and Chief Inspector of Apiaries. Dr. 

 Tanquary is now assistant professor of en- 

 tomology in the Kansas State Agricultural 

 College at Manhattan and has charge of the 

 investigation of insect pests on staple crops 

 in the experiment station. The Doctor will 

 take charge of the work in Texas about the 

 first of the year, and, as he is a beekeeper, 

 he will be doubly welcomed by the beemen 

 of the State. 



There are still quantities of honey that 

 can be purchased in Texas. Beekeepers in 

 the middle-west States who must buy feed 

 for their bees should investigate this supply. 

 If you are buying feeding honey you can 

 obtain honey which is accompanied by cer- 

 tificates of freedom from disease germs. 

 Gleanings for November says, "Those hav- 

 ing honey known to be free from American 

 foul-brood germs will find it the part of wis- 

 dom to use this for feeding their bees, no 

 matter how high the price honey may now 

 bring." The sugar now on sale, owing to 

 the haste to supply the demand, is of in- 

 ferior grade and is almost as much of a risk 



