1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



borhood that year there was something like 400,000 

 pouuds (200 tons) harvested. This variety of mangrove js 

 very susceptible to cold, and in the big freeze of Feb. 8, 18115, 

 most of that north of the Florida Keys was killed to the 

 ground, and in places killed out, root and branch. 



There are no black mangrove locations now to be found 

 this side of the swamps of the Ten Thousand Islands, or on 

 some of the Keys, and no one has ever had a big apiary in 

 either of those places to test the yields there. There are 

 thousands of acres of rod, white and yellow mangrove along 

 our coast and southern rivers, but none of these yield honey, 

 and in fact belong to a distinct family from that of the black 

 mangrove. 



On the open prairies of the coast and South Florida grow 

 thousands of acres of wild sunllowers and golden-rod, both of 

 which furnish good yields oii surplus honey in the fall. Of 

 the golden-rod there are two species, both of a dwarf variety, 

 growing about 15 inches to 2 feet high, one blooming iu Sep- 

 tember and the other late in October, and runs into November. 

 The wild sunflower is a rank-growing, branching plant, 6 to 

 10 feet high, with yellow blossoms, having a brown center, 

 diameter of blossom 1 J* to \% inches. It blooms early iu 

 October, and lasts fully a month, furnishing a light-amber 

 honey, and of good flavor. The yield is 50 to 75 pounds per 

 colony. 



Wild pennyroyal fields are found throughout South 

 Florida, In the low flat woods, low scrubs and around swamps, 

 creeks, and at places in the open prairie are large tracts of 

 wild pennyroyal. This has yielded large crops in years past, 

 but of late I know of no one who gets any large crops from it. 

 It blossoms from Dec. 10 to March, having small purple blos- 

 soms, on a head similar to clover. The plant I would define 

 as a bushy weed, 12 to 30 inches high, oftec of a creeping 

 habit, especially when growing among the brush in among 

 rank grass. The honey is very clear, and of a delicious flavor. 

 I can give but one cause for it not giving the abundant yields 

 of late years, as it has in the past. That is, for several years 

 we have had a series of cold winters, with more or less rainy, 

 raw days. As I remember, when the pennyroyal used to give 

 good yields, our winters were, as a rule, warm, with much 

 pleasant, sunny weather. I know that in places it has yielded 

 as high as 100 to 150 pounds per colony, and I consider any 

 plant that has in the past given such yields, will do so again 

 when conditions are right, so I class it among our surplus 

 scources. 



Although I have gone into detail in the explanation of our 

 various surplus sources, 'according to the divisions of soils they 

 are found on, the subject is far from complete, and I hope 

 that others who read, and are interested, will also add their 

 experiences. Volusia Co., Fla. 



Getting All the Hoaey in the Sectlous. 



BV C. C. PARSONS. 



In ray efforts to produce comb honey I have observed that 

 the same manipulation does not invariably produce the same 

 result. For many years I tried to keep my bees from swarm- 

 ing, and those that would do as I wisht them to do, gave me 

 a much more handsome profit than those that persisted in 

 swarming. 



As I stumbled along in the darkness, I kept my eyes open 

 and occasionally a ray of light was thrown In, and a note of 

 its revelation was made. I have ever been satisfied with the 

 crop of comb honey, when I could get the bees to begin early 

 In the sections placed upon a full brood-chamber, if they were 

 kept well supplied with sections; but whenever they began to 

 seal up the honey in the tops of the brood-frames before they 

 began work in the sections, they would either swarm or fill 

 the brood-chamber with honey and sulk through the season. 



Those that swarm, if properly treated, are as good as the 

 best of those that do not swarm ; and these are the ones that 

 I cause to store in the sections all the honey they get, after 

 swarming. 



Without entering into a discussion of plans, I will simply 

 give the »ioJi(s operandi as recorded in some of the most suc- 

 cessful cases, and later on I may tell why such things were 

 done in such a way. 



The hives for these swarms are prepared in advance of 

 the time they are needed, as follows : I place one empty comb 

 between two empty frames (or frames filled with foundation) 

 In one side of a hive, and beside them a queen-excluding 

 division-board, and over these frames is also placed a queen- 

 excluder. The rest of the hive is filled with wide frames full 

 of sections. When a swarm issues, at the commencement of 

 the harvest, if it be from a hive that already has a case of 



sections on It, the case of sections is removed to the new hive ; 

 if not, a new case is put on. I close the entrance except the 

 part in front of the li-frame apartment, remove the hive from 

 which the swarm issued, put the new hive in its place, and 

 hive the swarm in it. A few days later I shake some of the 

 bees from the old hive into the new. When the harvest is 

 over, you will find all the honey in the sections, and the three 

 frames filled with brood. 



It often happens that, should the honey bo left on a few 

 days after the honey-flow has ceased, the tier of sections next 

 to the division-board will bo cut down and made ready for the 

 queen to begin, and partly filled with pollen; but beyond this 

 I have never seen a particle of pollen, and of late years I place 

 a comb there to receive this pollen. 



A swarm that does not issue during a honey-flow should 

 not be put into a hive arranged as above ; neither can an arti- 

 ficial swarm, or transferred colony, be counted upon with that 

 degree of certainty that characterizes the natural swarm. 



Jefferson Co., Ala. 





Proceedings of the Illinois State Bee-Keepers' 



Convention Held in Chicago, Nov. 18 



and 19, 1896. 



BY A SPECIAL BEE JOURNAL REPORTEK. 



LContinued from page 7.] 

 PRESERVING COMB HONEY FROM JIOTHS. 



QuES. 12. — What is the best way to preserve comb honey 

 from the moths, during summer? 



Dr. Miller — EIow many think you need to do nothing ? 

 [Six.] How many think you need to do something? [One.] 

 Which testimony will count the most ? If the one can prove 

 the honey will not be ruined by the worms, then the testimony 

 of that one. Sometimes the minority is in the right. Then 

 as to necessity ; will someone give us a reason for the necess- 

 ity, or reason for saying there is no necessity ? 



Mr. Baldridge — I never found any necessity for doing any- 

 thing with comb honey, after it had been taken off the hive. 

 In Wisconsin I ripen my honey by taking it off the hives and 

 tiering it on top of the hives on a flat cover in the hot sun ; I 

 tier five to six supers high with a wire screen over the top and 

 a board over that, with a space to let out the hot air, so it 

 won't get too hot; it ripens very thoroughly without any bees ; 

 I never saw any worms in honey ; I ripen hundreds of pounds 

 on top of the hives in the hot sun ; it would get hot, yet it was 

 ventilated so it would not injure it; of course no one would 

 think, unless, it was bee-keepers, but what the bees 

 were in them. 



Mr. Stoue — Do you use excluders or bee-escapes ? 



Mr. Baldridge — The supers are taken off, the bees re- 

 moved, and put on top of the cover, and left there for a month 

 or two. 



Mr. Stone — Then a cover is still on top of this ? 



Mr. Baldridge — There is a wire screen on top, and the 

 cover raised up about an inch, so as to get it ventilated, and 

 in case it should rain, it would not rain upon it. 



Mr. Grabbe — I think Mr. Baldridge's plan may be 

 a good one, but I don't think it is practical ; I have had a 

 great deal of honey taken from hives, taken right from the 

 bees ; one season I had §00 worth stolen, of comb honey. 

 That is an exceptional locality where Mr. Baldridge is located, 

 that he can tier it up on the hives, and it is safe. 



Mr. Green — I think where a person keeps black bees, he 

 will find worms in the comb honey occasionally ; I used to find 

 some. Also, through another reason, if there is pollen stored 

 in sections you are liable to find worms, but at no other lime ; 

 the bee-keeper who keeps Italian bees and is suflaciently free 

 from pollen will not be troubled with moth-worms, 1 think. 



Mr. Kennedy — I have had some trouble, not always, but 

 when I have taken it off early in the season and stored it in 

 the honey-house for several weeks or even a month ; there 



