244 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



September 



the tip I add " fine." If much off in 

 color I mark " dark," etc. 



In changing queens from one hive 

 to another I write, "q. 49, R. 1893," 

 showing the age of the queen and the 

 hive from whence taken, 'Jlie refer- 

 ence to 49 R. shows that that hive is 

 either to raise queens or be supplied 

 with a queen cell. Suppose again 

 queen from No , 40 white is sold, write 

 June 10, q. s., (queen sold), A. F, B., 

 (initials of purchaser). June 10, '95, 

 q. c, (queen cell), No. 37, R. 



By this means we may know the age 

 of every queen in the apiary, and also 

 keep a record of the number of full 

 sections taken from any colony, and 

 any one entry on the piece of section, 

 or any suitable piece of wood to write 

 on, is the work of a moment. Paper 

 will not do for the purpose, as light 

 gusts of wind would be likely to blow 

 it away when the cap of hive is rais- 

 ed off. 



Youngsville, Pa. 



The Season in Florida. 



BY H. E. HILL. 



Reports from quite a number of 

 producers in Valusia, Brevard and 

 Dade counties, indicate that the aver- 

 age per colony will not exceed 30 

 pounds on the east coast of Florida 

 for 1896. As usual the greater part 

 of the crop came from Saw Palmetto 

 in May. Nearly the entire country 

 is thickly covered with this "scrub," 

 and in many parts its dense growth 

 forms a veritable jungle, almost im- 

 penetrable. It is a bountiful yielder 

 in favorable seasons and the forage is 

 practically unlimited, though in local- 

 ities remote from the sea, the flow is 

 uncertain, and, I believe, never so 



heavy as on the beach, doubtless ow- 

 ing to the saline atmosphere which 

 seems to favorably influence nectar 

 secretion. The honey is a light am- 

 ber, of delicious flavor and very heavy 

 body. It was this source which in 

 1894, gave the bee-keepers of the east 

 coast, the bulk of their large crop, av- 

 erages in many apiaries^rauging from 

 250 to 350 pounds per colony, and 

 several apiaries averaging from 380 

 to 420 pounds per colony, though the 

 numerous other sources of minor im- 

 portance all helped to swell the yield. 



Cabbage Palm and black Mangrove 

 may also be classed with the first-class 

 honey yielders of the state. In fact. 

 Mangrove, prior to the great freezes 

 of 1894-95, in localities where it was 

 abundant, stood eminently at the head 

 of the list. Both bloom in July, and 

 yield a very light honey, both in col- 

 or and body. The Mangrove is found 

 only in " salt marshes" where its roots 

 are bathed in the tide waters which 

 flow and ebb from the ocean and as it 

 was the chief source of those located 

 on the Halifax and Hillsborough riv- 

 ers, where it was killed to the ground, 

 prospects for the next few years are 

 far from being encouraging. 



At Indian river narrows, about 85 

 miles south of this heretofore favored 

 locality, I found quite an extensive 

 area of Mangrove which had escaped 

 the freeze, and as an experiment, I 

 moved 60 colonies to that field about 

 July 1st. This proved to be one of 

 the seasons, when, as it sometimes does, 

 Mangrove fails to yield, and conse- 

 quently my experiment "failed " also. 



Dui'ing January and February, 

 Pennyroyal affords a good flow in our 

 present locality, which puts the bees 



