326 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



August 



or a total of 247,513 pounds. 



In Minnesota the per colony aver- 

 age is 19 pounds, with a total of 

 1,251,102 pounds from 67,344 colo- 

 nies. The number of colonies in 1909 

 was 56,677. 



New Mexico Census Report 



New Mexico is repoi-ted to have 

 15,733 colonies of bees, as against 

 10,052 colonies in 1909. The honey 

 crop for 1919 was 593,290 pounds, or 

 37 pounds per colony. 



Bulletin on Sweet Clover 



Bulletin No. 233 of the University 

 of Illinois Agricultural Experiment 

 Station has for its subject "Sweet 

 Clover for Nitrate Production." 



These tests were carried on on dif- 

 ferent type soils in five different sec- 

 tions of Illinois. Results were very 

 conclusive, showing the very great 

 value of sweet clover as a nitrate 

 producer, it being much superior to 

 heavy manure, which was also tried 

 in the tests. 



Charactei'istics which make sweet 

 clover especially valuable as a green 

 manure crop are : 



1. Adaptability to a wide variation 

 of climatic and soil conditions, pro- 

 vided the soil is not too acid and in- 

 oculation is provided. 



2. Hardiness to cold and drought, 

 and resistance to diseases and weeds. 



3. Production of a large tonnage 

 per acre at a time when it can best 

 be used for soil enrichment. 



4. Rapid decomposition in green 

 condition. 



5. Its deep rooting habit, which en- 

 ables it to assist in rendering imper- 

 vious subsoils more porous and to feed 

 at a greater depth. 



6. Ability to obtain food from in- 

 soluble minerals more readily than 

 any other crop. 



North Carolina and Arkansas Bees 



Arkansas has 112,425 colonies of 

 bees, as against 92,731 in 1910. The 

 honey crop for 1919 was 791,598 

 pounds, or 7 pounds per colony. 



In North Carolina bees have de- 

 creased from 189,178 colonies in 

 1910 to 163,956 in 1919. The honey 

 crop for 1919 was 1,341,002 pounds. 



League Notes 

 By H. B. Parks 



The past month has been one of 

 great activity in the League. Prof. 

 H. F. Wilson, Chairman of the Sched- 

 ule Committee, has been able to make 

 a tentative grouping of the State 

 meetings with reference to dates of 

 meetings. He has divided the States 

 into fourteen divisions, each division 

 of which can be visited by speakers 

 without loss of time or distance in 

 travel. The schedule will be printed 

 when finished. 



0. E. Timm, Secretary of the Ne- 

 braska Honey Producers' Association, 

 has completed the affiliation of his 

 organization with the League. C. E. 

 Carhart, C. F. Strahan, H. Thaden, H. 

 C. Cook, C. A. Eiker and Thos. At- 

 kins are the moving force in this up- 

 to-the-minute organization. 



George W. York, of Spokane, re- 



ports that the Washington State Bee- 

 keepers' Association, instructed their 

 Secretary, Mr. Starkey, to complete 

 the affiliation of that body with the 

 League. This action is the result of 

 the good work done for the i^eague 

 by Geo. W. York, J. B. Ramage and 

 Dr. A. L. Melander. This association 

 is not large, but it knows the value of 

 organization. 



H. L. McMurry, of Madison, Wis., 

 Chairman of the committee to co- 

 operate with the National Horticul- 

 tural Society in its tree planting cam- 

 paign, has made arrangements with 

 that body to have nectar-yieiding 

 trees planted wherever this is practi- 

 cal. He asks that you send him the 

 names of trees that are of value as 

 honey plants and at the same time are 

 suitable as permanent shade trees. 

 As these trees are to be planted in 

 every State in the Union, a large 

 number of varieties vdll be used. 

 Send Mr. McMurry the names of the 

 trees suitable for your locality. 



Dr. E. F. Phillips reports that some 

 investigations have been made on the 

 subject of the use of honey in candy, 

 and the finding will be published soon. 

 C. B. Baxtei', Chairman of the 

 Equipment Committee, gives the fol- 

 lowing as his Committeemen and Ad- 

 visory Board: A. V. Small, C. F 

 Muth, W. B. Dickenson, M. G. Da- 

 dant, C. A. Schirm, K. Hawkins. A. L. 

 Boyden, F. W. Redfield and A. G. 

 Woodman. 



Missourians may have to be shown, 

 but when shown they know how to 

 act. The first response to the appeal 

 for individual membership was from 

 the Leahy Co., of Missouri. 



Frank Rauchfuss, manager of the 

 Colorado Honey Producers' Associa- 

 tion, has sent in the dues for that As- 

 sociation. This is the first Associa- 

 tion to affiliate on the $1 per member 

 basis. The Colorado beekeepers never 

 do things by halves. Mr. Rauchfuss 

 was one of the group of men v ho or- 

 ganized the League in 1920. 



When you were in the bank yes- 

 terday, you remember reading a lit- 

 tle brass sign that stated that a cer- 

 tain company would pay $100 for any 

 information relative to theft occurr- 

 ing in this bank. If you had asked 

 the banker about that sign hj would 

 have told you that a burglar thinks 

 twice when he sees that sign, for he 

 never knows how badly some of his 

 pals need that $100. He also tells 

 you that it costs him a nice round sum 

 to place that sign at his teller's win- 

 dow. 



The American Honey Producers' 

 League is doing the same thin?; for its 

 members, and it costs you nothing ex- 

 cepting the cost of the signs. These 

 are worded as follows: 

 NOTICE 

 $100 reward will be paid fo/ infor- 

 mation leading to the arrest and con- 

 viction of any person molesting this 

 apiary in any way whatsoever. 



Member. 

 American Honey Producers' League. 

 H. B. Parks, Secretary. 

 E. G. LeStourgeon, President. 



The beekeeper will place his name 



on the blank line as a member of, 

 and agent for the League. Where 

 conviction is secured the member sub- 

 mits proofs to, and draws on the 

 League for the reward money. 



They will cost you 10c each, deliv- 

 ered. They are printed on heavy 

 cardboard and are 12x18 inches. 

 These will last for years. 



The idea is that of O. L. Hershiser, 

 Legal Advisor of the League. The 

 cards can be obtained from the Sec- 

 retary, H. B. Parks, Box 830, San 

 Antonio, Texas. 



Southern Co'.'rnia Short 



I was much interested in your arti- 

 cle summing up the expense of pro- 

 ducing honey in June American Bee 

 •Journal. It begins to look like the 

 beekeepers are going to figure on 

 what honey is costing to produce. And 

 many will find a cost of over 10 cents 

 per pound. 



Our prospects are not at all good. 

 Orange is one of our shortest crops 

 this year. Not to exceed 10 pounds 

 per colony on total number brought 

 to groves. Bees on sage made a liv- 

 ing to date in most places. May broke 

 all records for rain, and it is a ques- 

 tion just how much good it will do 

 the beekeepers. In some sections 

 much more than others. 



L. L. Andrews. 



A Texas Bulletin 



Bulletin No. 272 of the Division of 

 Chemistry of the Texas Agricultural 

 Experiment Station has for its title 

 "The Chemical Composition of Texas 

 Honeys and Pecans." It is written by 

 G. S. Fraps and comprises 12 pages. 



Six samples of pecans, both meat 

 and shells, were examined, and 18 dif- 

 ferent samples of honey. 



The honey samples contained from 

 16 to 21 per cent of water, horsemint 

 having the largest water content. The 

 samples varied in reducing sugar con- 

 tent from 71 per cent for huckleberry 

 to 79 per cent for cotton and catclaw 

 honeys. The percentage of variation 

 between different kinds of honey was 

 not large in either case. 



Mr. Fraps' analyses do not differ 

 greatly from those of Mr. Brown in 

 Bulletin 110 of the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, in which 91 samples 

 were examined. 



The analyses of the pecan samples 

 show a fat content for the meats of 

 69 to 74 per cent, and the protein 

 content varied from 8 to 12 per cent. 



Both products are shown to be of 

 high food value. 



Bee Hunting in the Old Days 



"One looks upon the woods with a 

 new interest when he suspects they 

 hold a colony of bees. What a pleas- 

 ing secret it is; a tree with a heart of 

 comb-honey, a decayed oak or maple 

 with a bit of Sicily or Mount Hymet- 

 tus stowed away in its trunk or 

 branches; secret chambers where lies 

 hidden the wealth of ten thousand 

 little freebooters, great nuggets and 

 wedges of precious ore gathered with 

 risk and labor from every field and 

 wood about.". — (John Burroughs, 

 "An Idyl of the Honeybee.") 



