294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



covered from an apicu'.tural standpoint. Molokai is not a cane- 

 producine island, but the algirroba forest is nearly stocked, and 

 the only place for heavy expansion seems to be in the mountains, 

 where several forest trees are nectar-bearing. The island of 

 Maui could not be examined as carefully as the others on ac- 

 count of inclement weather, but from reports received it is ob- 

 viously not stocked to the extent that it should be. The island 

 of Hawaii, the largest of the group, is relatively the least devel- 

 oped of any of the islands. There are only a few apiaries on this 

 area, which is almost equal in extent to Connecticut, and there 

 are great possibilities. On the south coast there are vast areas 

 of cane, and the same is true of the Hamakua coast on the north. 

 The Kona coast would probably support some bees in the coflee 

 plantations. One such apiary was seen by the author. On the 

 interior of the island there are vast areas which are entirely un- 

 developed from an apicultural standpoint, and the island can 

 doubtless support thousands of colonies of bees at a profit. 



The total area n»w actually stocked with apiaries would not 

 nearly equal in size one-half the State of Rhode Island, while 

 the honey crop is probably 20 times as great as in that State. 

 According to the census report for Rhode Island it would be 40 

 times as great, but we can not use this figure on account of its 

 obvious unreliability. This comparison will show the honey- 

 producing capabilities of the islands as compared with our more 

 northern countries, and will also ehow how thoroughly the areas 

 are stocked where the industry has been taken up. A small part 

 of Oahu is doubtless overstocked, due to crowding into a given 

 area by competitive companies. There was no evidence of such 

 overstocking elsewhere. 



Overstocking an area with bees is a subject much discussed 

 among bee-men, and the situation in Hawaii illustrates very 

 beautifully the fact that a theoretical discussion of how many 

 colonies may be kept in one place is of no value whatever. Each 

 location must be judged on its own merits, and a given area which 

 will support only 20 colonies in one region may support 1000 

 elsewhere. It is also obvious that seasons vary to a marked 

 degree. In many parts of the mainland it is deemed advisable 

 to keep not more than 100 colonies in one apiary, and to allow 

 each apiary a radius of 1 5^ to 3 miles. On the basis of these 

 figures, from 50 to 200 acres are necessary to support a single 

 colony of bees. Without discussing the merits of these figures, 

 it is enough to say that this is the common mainland practice, 

 particularly in the more densely populated areas. In contrast to 

 this, an examination of the methods in Hawaii is extremely 

 significant. One area of cane on the island of Oahu contains a 

 little over 20,000 acres. As will be discussed later, this is not 

 all equally productive from a bee-keeping standpoint. Near this 

 is some algarroba forest, but not enough to influence the crop 

 very much. This area supports nearly 5000 colonies, some of 

 which yield exceptionally large crops. In certain parts of this 

 area competition is too strong to yield proper results, but some 

 apiaries yield over 200 pounds to the colony. In some other cane 

 areas this record can be almost equaled. Algarroba will not 

 produce so much per acre, but this is partly due to the fact that it 

 blooms for less than six months, while cane-fields furnish honey- 

 dew every day in the year. One strip of algarroba forest on 

 Molokai supports nearly 2000 colonies. It will not average 

 more than one-half mile in width, and about 30 miles of it is 

 used for bees. 



SOURCES OF HONEY. 



The amount of floral honey produced on the islands annually 

 is about 200 tons. Formerly the only source of honey on the 

 islands which was widely enough distributed to make bee-keep- 

 ing commercially important was algarroba. native " keawe." 

 This tree was introduced into the islands by Father Bachelot, 

 founder of the Roman Catholic mission, in 1837, and the original 

 tree still stands on Fort Street, in Honolulu. It has been carried 

 to all the islands, and is one of the most valuable plants ever 

 brought into the group. It furnishes not only an excellent honey, 

 but the pods afford excellent fodder, and the wood is the main 

 source of fuel. 



The honey from algarroba is " water white" in color, and 

 granulates very soon after it is stored by the bees in spite of the 

 warm climate of the islands. This characteristic makes frequent 

 extractions necessary to prevent the combs from being clogged. 

 In regions where algarroba is practically the only source of 

 honey, at the close of the flow an amount of honey sufficient to 

 keep up the colony until the next flow is left in the hive. This, 

 of course, soon granulates. When the- honey-flow diminishes, 

 the brood-chamber is reduced and considerable honey is stored 

 in the space formerly occupied by brood. When the next flow 

 comes on, a good deal of this granulated honey remains in the 

 combs; and since this can not be extracted, these combs are re- 

 moved and replaced either by empty combs or by foundation, to 

 give the queen more room. These combs containing granulated 

 honey are then placed in huge solar extractors, the largest that 

 the author had ever seen. With 200 or more colonies in an 

 apiary, there is often need for a solar extractor which will hold 

 several hundred combs at a time, and practically every apiary 

 visited by the author had such a piece of apparatus as part of the 

 equipment. The sun's heat liquefies the honey and melts most 

 of the wax, and the wax from the " slumgum " is then extract- 

 ed by the usual methods. The honey from these solar extractors 

 is not darkened, as one would expect. 



The algarroba-ttet (Prosopis julifiora) is either the same species 

 as or very closely related to the mesquite of the Southwest. On 

 the islands it grows to the size of a tree, as is also the case in 

 Mexico. In Texas it is generally very much smaller. In 1908 

 the tree came into bloom about the first of March, the time vary- 

 ing considerably in different localities on the islands. It usual- 

 ly blooms until August, and this very long blooming period adds 

 greatly to its value to the bee-keepers. 



OTHER SOURCES OF HONEY. 



Insect honiy-diw. — Hawaii is peculiar in thatmostof the honey 

 produced is from some source other than flowers. Two-thirds of 

 the honey shipped annually from the islands is largely or entire- 

 ly honey-dew honey. By far the greater part of this comes from 

 the exudations of the sugar-cane leaf-hopper (Pfr;(inji>//ajaci:Aar(- 

 cida Kirk.), and possibly some of it from the sugar-cane aphis 

 (Aphis sacchari Zehnt.), although while on the islands the au- 

 thor observed none of the latter species. Of course, in a tropical 

 country there are ma«y other insects producing more or less 

 honey-dew. The young " plant cane " is most abundantly cover- 

 ed with leaf-hoppers. 



Honey-dew from the sugar-cane leaf-hopper is very dark amber 

 in color and slightly ropy. In flavor it very strongly resembles 

 molasses from the cane juice. Since the color and flavor are so 

 marked, a small amount of this when mixed with the mild, 

 light-colored algarroba honey imparts the color and flavor of 

 honey-dew to the entire amount. Most honey-dew honeys on the 

 mainland granulate very rapidly, but this type does not granulate 

 at all. Samples several years old are as clear as when first ex- 

 tracted. 



The chemical composition of Hawaiian honey-dew honey is 

 quite unlike that of floral honey, and this fact has led to the 

 charge of adulteration by buyers on the mainland and in foreign 

 markets. Since nowhere else, so far as the author is aware, is 

 honey-dew honey produced in such large quantities, it is not 

 strange that cursory examinations were misleading. The author 

 saw enough while on the islands to convince him that, however 

 unlike floral honey this product may be, i» is a natural sweet 

 product collected and stored by the bee, and is then extracted and 

 shipped with no additions of other sugars. 



When the food and drugs act of 1906 went into effect the Ha- 

 waiian Bee keepers' Association sent a representative to Wash- 

 ington to find out under what name they could market their crop, 

 since it does not conform to the standard of the Association of 

 Official Agricultural Chemists. They were informed that it 

 could be sold on the mainland market provided it were labeled 

 just what it is. This the Hawaiian bee-keepers have done, and 

 it is now sold as "honey-dew honey." The bee-keepers of Ha- 

 waii fully realize the peculiar honey with which they have to 

 deal, and are not attempting to market honey-dew honey in com- 

 petition with floral honey for table use. It goes to the baking 

 trade, and for such use is reported to be satisfactory, at any rate, 

 the price received is equal to that received for algarroba honey. 



In view of the fact that honey-dew honey has the taste and color 

 of common molasses, it has been suggested that probably this prod- 

 uct is gathered by the bees from the sugar-mills which are so 

 numerous on the islands. The writer visited several such mills 

 located near apiaries, on days when bees were actively flying. 

 No bees were to be seen anywhere around the mill. If bees 

 actually did come to the mill after sweets, they would become a 

 serious nuisance to the workmen. Why they do not is some- 

 thing of a mystery to the writer, but he can vouch for the fact 

 that he saw no mills screened to keep bees out, nor did he see 

 any bees at work in the mill or even on the pile of sweet refuse 

 (" mud cake") outside. 



It may not be known that a very superior qual- 

 ity of wax is produced in Hawaii. It is light in 

 color, and answers in all respects to the United 

 States standard. On account of the cheapness of 

 the Hawaiian honey, there seems to be a possi- 

 bility that the business of wax production — that 

 is, converting cheap honey into a product that 

 has a good maricet and good prices — will come to 

 be quite a side line among the bee-men on the 

 island. Some experiments are now being con- 

 ducted to see if it can not be put on a commer- 

 cial basis. 



There are no bee diseases on the island, and 

 the bee-keepers there are, of course, very anxious 

 that none be imported. On Sept. 12, 1908, the 

 Board of Commissioners of Agriculture and For- 

 estry of the Territory of Hawaii passed regula- 

 tions to restrict the importation of honey-bees 

 and honey. They may be imported, but must 

 be inspected before they are delivered to the bee- 

 keepers of the island. 



