GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



her on 10 frames with 3-in. starters;" or, 

 to make it as I do in practice, it would 

 read: "6-10 east swm. ; have cl'p — hived 

 on 10 frames with 3-in. starters." (A dash 

 is my abbreviation for queen). I will now 

 write the record for G5 : "6-10, parent colo- 

 ny from B2; have 2 or more sealed queen- 

 cells, and several unsealed;" or to abbre- 

 viate again, it would read: "6-10, par. col. 

 B2; have 2 so and several uns'l." 



Queen-cell is written c, and I may state 

 that I have quite an extensive code of simi- 

 lar abbreviations. 



In looking over the record some four or 

 five days later I see when I come to G5 that 

 I must, within a day or two, remove the 

 surplus of queen-cells unless I want to take 

 chances on having after swarming, which I 

 'ertainl" wish to avoid. 



It will be readily seen that this method 

 may be easily adapted to any arrangement 

 of hives. If placed in straight rows the 

 numbers can run 1, 2, 3, up to any number. 



By preserving the records it is possible 

 to trace back any colony to its original 

 stock or parentage, provided there has been 

 no break in the record by supersedure un- 

 known to the beekeeper. This would not 

 make any material difference unless super- 

 seded by a queen of inferior stock entering 

 the hive, and killing the reigning queen, 

 wliieh, I dare say, does not occur frequent- 



l.v. 



Now, Dr. ]\'Iiller, do not let those tags 

 worry you anj^ longer. If my memory 

 serves me well it was your writing wlaich 

 caused me to discard slates and adopt the 

 book record. Why, then, do you not make 

 use of the book to its fullest advantage and 

 greatest availability? I can locate any 

 colony in the apiary from any direction. 

 It is not necessary to walk around to the 

 side or end of the liive that the number is 

 on. There is no number on it. 



Rhineland, Mo., June 10. 



[If there were a hundred or more colo- 

 nies in an apiary this scheme would hardly 

 be practicable. Anyhow why not use your 

 scheme and number tags both? — Ed.] 



BEEKEEPING IN JAMAICA 



Drouth Causing very Poor Crops 



BY F. A. HOOPER. 



This country, once famous for the pro- 

 duction of fine honey, and in large quanti- 

 ties, is now producing less and less each 

 year. Up to the year previous to that of 

 the earthquake, which occurred in 1907 

 (when the city of Kingston was totally de- 



stroyed and hundreds of the inhabitants of 

 the island perished), a failure of the honey 

 crop was unknown. 



This year, 1912, is the worst that bee- 

 keepers have experienced since beekeeping 

 was introduced in the island on a commer- 

 cial scale by Hooper Bros, in 1892. 



Taking an average of the whole island, 

 each colony has produced only 14 lbs. of 

 extracted honey this season. Beekeepers 

 are now anxious to know if the poor sea- 

 sons will continue as the years roll on. In 

 my opinion we have arrived at the climax, 

 and beekeepers will see a change for the 

 better, com.mencing next year. Our weather 

 prophet predicted five years of drouth 

 would follow the earthquake, and so far he 

 is right, especially this year. 



During our best months for honey, which 

 are February, March, and April, the 

 weather was so dry that there was not suf- 

 ficient moisture in the earth and atmos- 

 phere ; hence the few flowers that did open 

 had no nectar. If we had had our usual 

 rainfall last year, the early drouth this year 

 would not have affected the honey crop, for 

 tliere would have been sufficient moisture in 

 the earth; but as it was, even .the deep-root- 

 ed trees failed to bloom. 



Beekeepers need not fear about not ever 

 again securing large yields of honey. The 

 flowering plants and trees are all alive, and 

 are just waiting for the regular rainfall to 

 bloom again as they have done before. 



The rivers which are now mere streams 

 will be rivers again ; and the streams which 

 are now nearly all dry will again trickle 

 down the mountain sides. It is only a mat- 

 ter of a little patience. 



Four Paths, Clarendon, Jamaica. 



THE AVERAGE CROP IN CALIFORNIA 



Are Mr. Chadwick's Figures Too High ? 



BY J. W. KALFUS 



On page 297, May 15, P. C. Chadwick I 

 gives some figures in regard to the honey 

 yield of California. I am afraid if his fig- 

 ures could be proven it would cause such a 

 rush to our State that there would not be 

 standing room for beekeepers. While I 

 have heard that 1884 was an exceptionally 

 good 3^ear, we must not overlook the fact 

 that that was a long time ago, and there 

 were probably not one-fourth as many bees 

 in the country as at present. However, I 

 am of the opinion there are not many bee- 

 keepers in other States, at least, who will 

 believe that 700-lb. story. In 1905 I was 

 living at San Luis Obispo, and, of course,, 

 can not say as to what the yield was in 



