646 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



pcd brood Ihey would construct queen cells on it 

 and cast a swarm before any ef^gs were laid. I 

 never saw swarms cast before, when so little honey 

 Avas coming' in. Instead of the usual dry weather 

 through April wo had a g-ood deal of rain, and the 

 drought commenced in May, about the time that the 

 summer rains usually commence. It continued 

 Very dry until June 18th, when we had quite a show- 

 er. Since that it has rained almost every day, and 

 is raining now. I do not think that any one here 

 has ever seen more water in the " Hat woods " and 

 hammocks of this " c{>ast section " than there is at 

 present. The di-y weather in May and June pre- 

 vented all of our honey-producing plants and trees 

 that usually come in then, and give us our early 

 surplus, from doing much more than to provide for 

 the wants of the brood. 



The mangrove crop, as before stated, having been 

 destroyed by the unprecedented cold of last winter, 

 our only hope for a crop of white honey was based 

 upon the cabbage palmetto. This tree was watched 

 with much interest, as there has been considerable 

 discussion as to its merits as a honej'-producer, 

 some claiming that most of last year's white-honey 

 crop came from it, while others claim that they 

 have never had a barrel of honey from the tree, as 

 it produces only pollen. What makes it so difficult 

 to decide this matter is the fact that both it and the 

 mangrove are in bloom at the same time, and the 

 bees are hard at work upon both, and attimes honey 

 Is coming in quite rapidly when the bees seem to be 

 working mostly on the palmetto, notwithstanding 

 it is seldom that a bee found on its bloom has its 

 sack half or even a third full of honey. Well, the 

 tree is now past the prime of its bloom, which has 

 been profuse, and there is almost no white honey 

 in the hives; there is less brood than ever known 

 before at this season; and although colonies that 

 have been well cared for are mostly in fair shape, 

 some have been lost through neglect, as many of our 

 bee-keepers had to give their time to other work in 

 order to bridge over the first and only season not (jiv- 

 itmapaying crop ot honey to the skillful apiarist 

 when prepared to receive it that I have ever known 

 or heard of in this part of Florida. 



The mangrove Is sprouting out in fine shape from 

 roots and lower trunks of the injui-ed trees, and 

 will probably give quite a crop of honey next year, 

 and a full crop the year after. Don't put us in 

 " Blasted Hopes," as our courage is good yet. 



Hawks Park, Fla., July 29, imi , W. S. Hart. 



NOTES FROM ONE OF OUR FRIENDS 

 IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



THE rOSSIBILITV OF SHIPPING QUEENS FROM 

 THERE HfeRE. 



R. ROOT:— Vour name is too wellknpwn in 

 bee-circles to escape the notice of any bee- 

 keeper, even one in South Africa, where 

 bee-keeping has little or no status. 1 have 

 been a bee-keeper over 35 years, 1.5 of 

 which have been spent in this colony, in which, un- 

 til very recently, I have lived almost wholly unen- 

 lightened as to the immense advance of bee-keep- 

 ing during that interval. Of course, therefore, I 

 have been a disciple of the old school, left to his 

 own oliservations. Some of these are given in the 

 transactions of the Naturalists' Society of this 



Province, a copy of which ] take the liberty of 

 sending you. Since its publication I have happily 

 become acquainted with the British Bee Journal, 

 etc., and with your most practical Gi>E.\NiNGS,acopy 

 of which is now before me. From these I have 

 been impressed with the fact of the great demand 

 for foreign varieties of bees, with a view of im- 

 proving bee-strains. This has led me to draw the 

 attention of the bee-world to the supreme excel- 

 lence of the S. African breed, reference to which 

 has been made more than once in the pages of the 

 B. B. J. 



From an advertisement in the latest issue of this 

 journal, if you should see it, it will be gathered 

 that Frank Stroud, my son, who has been recently 

 engaged in the rearing of a large number of the 

 best quality of queens, under my own immediate 

 supervision, is prepared to forward such African 

 queen-bees, pure bred, as may be required, guar- 

 anteeing their fertility; or nuclei in working con- 

 dition. The price mentioned is calculated for a 

 single queen only, though where a large number is 

 sent, the cost will be very much less. 



S. African bees ai'e a mingled race, probably, of 

 the old Egyptian and brown bee, with a dash of 

 a grayer variety ; but they are inimitable workers, 

 and by a long way superior In every respect to the 

 European bee of my earlier experience. The win- 

 ters here are naturally not quite so severe as in 

 Great Britain, for example; but the droughts here 

 at times are terrible; and how bees live through 

 theni, much less increase and multiply, and gather 

 honey nothwithstanding, is indeed a marvel. When, 

 however, bee-forage is about, their energy and ac- 

 tivity are equally remarkable, early and late, all 

 the year round. They have no diseases, and are, 

 I should say, an improvement even upon the Li- 

 gurians if only in this one particular. 



As you are a large importer and grower of for- 

 eign bees, and your influence widely felt, I hasten 

 to bring these facts to your notice, believing that 

 an acquaintance with the "Africans" referred to 

 would immensely benefit all who are interested in 

 bee culture and honey growth. I should be glad of 

 any suggestions you might be pleased to offer as to 

 the best means of transporting bees from this 

 quarter to you, the kind of cage you would recom- 

 mend, etc. J. W. Sthoud, M. D. 



Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, Cape Colony, S. Africa. 



Friend S., we are very much pleased in- 

 deed to get tliis report from so far away. I 

 presume your son Frank is working with 

 the aid of movable-frame hives, and all mod- 

 ern implements. We should be very glad to 

 know how much honey you get, in an aver- 

 age season, from a colony of these South- 

 African bees. I think there is hardly any 

 possibility of sending bees by mail this great 

 distance ; but perhaps you might send them 

 to Australia, or some other point where 

 Italians are kept, so that they could be com- 

 pared side by side. Dottbtless some of the 

 readers of our journal will be glad to corres- 

 pond with you in regard to the matter ; and 

 if you can not send us any live bees by mail, 

 please send us a few dead ones ; or, better 

 still, fill some of the workers with honey, 

 and then put them in a very small vial of 

 {ilcohol, plugging this up in a wooden block 

 for safety. W^e will try mailing you a block 

 already prepared, as it may save you some 

 time and trouble. 



