16 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



January 



versity of Illinois. Last year he was 

 superintendent of schools at Camp 

 Point, 111. 



During the winter of 1917 and 1918 

 he was Special Agent, U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Bee Culture, Washington, 

 traveling over Wisconsin and Minne- 

 sota. Mr. Matthews started beekeep- 

 ing with M. A. Gill, of Colorado, with 

 1,CK30 colonies. Later he went to 

 Utah and managed 700 colonies; he 

 was also manager of the Superior 

 Honey and Supply Co. 



In 1912-13-14 he was in business at 

 Idaho Falls, Idaho, from where he 

 shipped seven carloads of bees to 

 California, Utah and Idaho, rearing 

 the major portion of the queens for 

 the entire outfit. Later he estab- 

 lished a business at Filer, Idaho, with 

 800 colonies that were shipped from 

 Colorado, and has since been there 

 and teaching school during the win- 

 ter months. 



Beekeeping in Japan 



By Kennith Hawkins 

 Add to your problems that of such 

 heavy rains as to prevent good honey 

 flows in many localities and to ne- 

 cessitate the construction of special 

 waterproof hive covers, and you will 

 get a glimpse of Japanese beekeep- 

 ing. These problems are explained in 

 a most interesting letter just re- 

 ceived from Yasuo Hiratsuka, of 

 Tara, Gifu-Ken, Japan. 



The apiary owned by Mr. Hira- 

 suka is located in the central part of 

 Japan, where the bees begin breed- 

 ing up by the latter part of February, 

 in a normal season. The principal 

 honey flow comes from "Genge," or 

 Japanese clover, which begins bloom- 

 ing about April 20, and lasts until 

 well into June. The swarming season 

 is also coincident with this flow, as 

 in the white clover regions of Ameri- 

 ca. 



In many localities there are earlier 

 flows from rape, about April 15. 

 which change to some extent the 

 swarming season of the Japanese 



beekeeper. According to Mr. Hirat- 

 suka, in the mountainous portions of 

 Japan, chestnut and persimmon are 

 important sources of nectar, as in 

 Virginia of our own country. He 

 adds, however, "under normal condi- 

 tions these will not do so well, be- 

 cause of a long rainy season at the 

 same time." After the Japanese clo- 

 ver flow in his own locality, there is 

 no other surplus flow that season, he 

 says. 



A number of labels for his honey 

 containers, printed in English and 

 Japanese are included with his letter. 

 American style hives and supplies are 

 used in Japan, says Mr. Hiratsuka, 

 except for the covers. As shown in 

 one of his photographs, the hive 

 covers appear to be augmented for 

 shedding water by roofs of matting, 

 flat covers are never used. He likens 

 his season and conditions to Alabama 

 of our own States, except for shorter 

 flows. Much interest is expressed in 

 beekeeping in America and in litera- 

 ture on American beekeeping, which 

 lias been sent to Japan. 



Watertown, Wis. 



New Course at Iowa College of 

 Agriculture 



The beekeeping work at the Iowa 

 Agricultural College is being expand- 

 ed as rapidly as circumstances will 

 permit. A new special course has re- 

 cently been announced, which pro- 

 vides for combination work in practi- 

 cal beekeeping, poultry husbandry 

 and fruit growing. Each department 

 offers choice of a general course or a 

 special course for a period of three 

 months. Each course is divided into 

 two parts of six weeks, so that the 

 student who is unable to spend the 

 entire three months at the college at 

 one time, may take the first half one 

 winter and finish the next year. The 

 general course is repeated at the end 

 of six weeks, while the special course 

 continues for twelve weeks. 



A correspondence course in bee- 

 keeping will be offered again this 



Honey label printed in Japanese and English. 



year, as usual, and arrangements are 

 about completed for an advanced 

 correspondence course, for those who 

 have completed the first one. 



Boys and Girls Bee Clubs will be 

 formed in several counties in Iowa 

 this year. It is the intention to make 

 the club work very practical and to 

 supervise it closely to make sure that 

 every member understands fully the 

 fundamental principles of practical 

 beekeeping. Professor Paddock has 

 not been long in his new position, but 

 he is very active in carrying out the 

 liberal program which the college has 

 under way. With three men on full 

 time in the beekeeping work at the 

 Iowa institution, we expect to see 

 beekeeping rapidly taking rank with 

 other specialties there. 



Mrs. Hirota's apiary in northern district of Japan. Mr. Hirota is in European dress, Mrs. Hirota 

 and others in native costumes. Note the roofs of the, hives, so constructed because of rainy 

 weather in Japan. 



Beekeeping in Costa Rica 



W. B. Gehrels. 



AFTER having made an extended 

 visit to Cuba, Panama and 

 Costa Rica the previous De- 

 cember and January, visiting and in- 

 specting some important apiaries and 

 taking general notes on bees and bee- 

 keeping, I decided to move to Costa 

 Rica, -which country I thought of- 

 fered the best possibilities for the 

 production of honey of those I had 

 seen. 



I sold all my bees in Texas except- 

 ing 8 colonies, which I reserved to 

 bring with me, intending to buy com- 

 mon stock after my arrival here, ns- 

 ing the 8 colonies as stock to breed 

 from. Freight rates to these coun- 

 tries are high, and shipping space 

 could only be had at times, and then 

 only as a favor. 



The colonics were reduced to three 

 good frames of brood with bees, and 

 just enough honey for the trip, fill- 

 ing the balance of space in each hive 

 with empty combs. I reduced the 

 colonics in bees and stores as a pre- 

 caution against losing them by smoth- 

 ering, as the weather was very hot. 

 We left Texas June 10. Two of the 

 colonies were dead when I examined 



