192] 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



233 



eminently nectariferous" and in Aus- 

 tralia it is estimated "one acre of 

 lavender will enable the bees to store 

 a ton of the finest flavored honey 

 every year," further information 

 seems well worth the seeking'. 



Lavender thrives best in light and 

 rather dry soils, well supplied with 

 lime, but it may be grown in any 

 light, well drained loam, fully ex- 

 posed to the sun, and in altitudes 

 from 1,300 up to 6,600 feet above 

 sea level. In favoi'able climates the 

 leaves are persistent, or nearly so, 

 and in colder regions it requires pro- 

 tection of coarse litter or evergreen 

 boughs. In ideal localities it proves 

 hardy and evergreen, and grows from 

 2 to 5 feet high. 



Specific information obtained from 

 prominent nurserymen and the Bu- 

 reau of Plant Industry states: The 

 Lavandula vera is not easily grown 

 from seeds, but may easily be jropa- 

 gated from cuttings and, if they are 

 properly cared for, every one should 

 grow. 



The plants grow profusely, and 

 when used for oil, the flowers are dis- 

 tilled at once without diying. If the 

 flowers are wanted the tops are dried 

 in the shade and the flowers later 

 stripped off by hand. 



On ordinary soil yields of 600 to 

 1,200 pounds per acre of fresh bloom- 

 ing tips are obtained. The dry weight 

 is about four-fifths of the green 

 weight. Under good conditions the 

 yield of oil varies from 12 to 15 

 pounds per acre. During the first 

 week in March, 1921, prices quoted 

 in the wholesale market of New York 

 for these products were as follows: 

 Lavender, flowers, ordinary 18 to 24c 

 per pound; select flowers, 21 to 25c 

 per pound. If in addition to this 

 may be placed the value of 1,000 

 pounds of honey (authority. Von 

 Mueller, in his book, which is pub- 

 lished by the Government at Mel- 

 bourne, Australia," December Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, 1920), it will be 

 readily seen the cultivation of laven- 

 der serves a double purpose in its use- 

 fulness and in its increased honey 

 profit to the beekeeper. 



Inquiries sent to the leading drug 

 houses and to distillers of perfume in 

 the North, East, South and Middle 

 West brought replies of great similar- 

 ity: 



"Lavender blossoms sold commer- 

 cially in this counti-y are imported 

 fi-om Europe, for we find the plants 

 do not bloom as freely here." 



"The American lavender is unsuit- 

 ed for perfumery purposes. The 

 French lavender is always used." 



"All lavender flowers used for the 

 manufacture of lavender oil are pur- 

 chased abroad, and not in this coun- 

 try." 



"We use only imported lavender 

 flowers in our manufactory opera- 

 tions." 



To the question, "Why is lavender 

 imported?" 



"Owing to high cost of labor." 



"We are inclined to think it cannot 

 be cultivated here to an advantage, 

 because of the cost of production." 



"Lavender blossoms and oil are im- 

 ported into this country. The reason 



given is that the lower wages and 

 cheaper living costs which obtain in 

 most foreign countries make it possi- 

 ble for them to produce and send 

 their commodities to this country at 

 l)rices lower than those necessary to 

 yield a reasonable profit to the Ameri- 

 can producer." 



Replies to the question, whether it 

 wore worth while to attempt the cul- 

 tivation of lavender on a commercial 

 scale, revealed the fact that, "There 

 is a considerable demand for lavender 

 flowers." Samples of flowers would 

 be welcomed. If the quality were 

 satisfactoi'y, they would meet with a 

 sale, "but your price must- be lower 

 than that of the imported article." 



A very great number of firms, both 

 drug and perfume manufacturers, 

 buy from 5 to 10 tons a year. 



After all is said, is it worth while? 

 The writer thinks it well worth test- 

 ing its merits as a honey producer, 

 and also for its blossoms. As the 

 writer has been fortunate enough to 

 procure seeds from abroad, time will 

 tell the conclusion of the story. 



The Lavender officinalis, vera is 

 the specie producing flowers of su- 

 perior quality. 



New York. ' 



MISSOURI PROVIDES INSPEC- 

 TION 



I have some good news for bee- 

 keepers in Missouri. After years of 

 waiting for State aid, we have finally 

 got a bill through the Legislature and 

 signed by the Governor, which will be 

 a blessing to all beekeepers in the 

 State. Most of the bees in this part 

 and some other parts of the State 

 were completely killed by disease, ex- 

 cept bees in the hands of men who 

 knew how to treat it. Not many 

 knew how, either. 



A year ago I sent over $1,000 back 

 to customers who had made first pay- 

 ment to book orders for queens. 

 This was done as soon as I found 

 foulbrood was getting too close, as 

 you know a man is not supposed to 

 ship out queens when foulbrood is 

 in the neighborhood. And it was a 

 good thing I quit, because it showed 



up among my bees last summer and 

 fall; don't know how bad it may be 

 this spring. 



The appropriation is only $3,000. 

 The State Board appoints a State 

 Apiarist, he to appoint as many local 

 deputies as needed to do the work. 

 This saves traveling expenses, and 

 will make the money go further than 

 it did under the old law, which pro- 

 vided for only one inspector to do 

 all the work in the State. Here is 

 hoping that we get it cleaned up. 

 When the inspector comes to my 

 house we will give him the best 

 eats and the best bed in the house, 

 for he is a very important animal, to 

 be sure. A. F. Diemer. 



(The appropriation mentioned 

 above is not sufficient. But "half a 

 loaf is better than no bread," and 

 beekeepers may secure all the help 

 they need by and by. — Editor.) 



MORE ABOUT FIR SUGAR 



Since the publication of Mr. Lov- 

 ell's ai-ticle on fir sugar in our March 

 issue, we have been endeavoring to 

 secure a photograph showing this un- 

 usual occurrence. Through the kind- 

 ness of Mr. John Davidson, Botanist 

 of British Columbia, we are able to 

 reproduce the picture herewith. In 

 response to our letters Mi-. David- 

 son furnishes some further informa- 

 tion, as follows: 



"I beg to acknowledge receipt of 

 your letter of April 13th, and also a 

 copy of the American Bee Journal 

 containing the article by J. H. Lovell. 

 In it I observe that he mentions that 

 a beekeeper in Victoria speaks of the 

 ground being covered with an exuda- 

 tion, and to me this article would 

 lead one to infer that the Douglas fir 

 sugar has been found in that vicinity. 

 I have no reason to believe that such 

 is the case; on the contrary, it is most 

 unlikely, owing to the climatic con- 

 ditions. 



Samples of Douglas fir with a white 

 incrustation have been forwarded 

 from Victoria to this office by cor- 

 respondents anxious to know if this 

 was the sugar described in my arti- 



An exudation of hr sugar on a branch ot Douglas Fir in ttu- dry bell ui Unlisli Lulumbia. 



