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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



discriminates heavily against I'efined sugar. 

 The average American bee-keeper could get 

 his sugar much cheaper than he does by 

 calHng for a sugar no higher than 16 Dutch 

 standard; and, what is more to the point, 

 this sugar is better than the coffee sugar he 

 is in the habit of using at present. A word 

 to the wise is sufficient. If he desires a su- 

 gar that may be used for the table, a 2 cen- 

 trifugal sugar, which has large crystals of 

 pale straw color, will do. The American 

 housekeeper demands a hard dry white su- 

 gar, which the sugar trust, of course, fur- 

 nishes at a large increase in price. Many 

 bee-keepers are so situated in the West In- 

 dies as to be able to buy 50 lbs. of sugar for 

 $1.00. In such situations successful bee- 

 keeping is a foregone conclusion, particular- 

 ly where one is looking out for wax. 



I have seen bees fed in Kansas and Ne- 

 braska with sorghum syrup, and a similar 

 syrup can be got from coi'n, teosinte, and 

 other crops; but their use is so problemati- 

 cal it is necessaiy only to mention them 

 and pass on to more practical things. 



Date-palm sugar is occasionally imported 

 into the United States. It is known to the 

 trade as "jaggery." It is an excellent su- 

 gar for bee-feeding; and where one is in a 

 position to get it cheap it ought to prove a 

 desirable acquisition. The sap of the date- 

 tree is handled in much the same way as the 

 maple is; and, so far as I know, it is a rich- 

 er juice. If date culture ever takes a hold 

 in the United States I'd like to be near a 

 date-palm grove. The date flower is a pro- 

 digious honey-producer, and, with the juice 

 to feed the bees in time of need, a bee-keep- 

 er with a date-palm range ought to have a 

 bonanza. Of course, if one taps the tree 

 too much no fruit may be expected; but I 

 understand a fair amount can be tapped 

 without injury. 



THE HONEY PALM. 



In Chile there is a palm which is said to 

 produce honey. Americans would denomi- 

 nate this as syrup, as it would hardly pass 

 muster as honey. The honey-palm produces 

 an immense amount of syrup, as well it 

 might, as it looks to me like a mighty bar- 

 rel, and it has none of the gracefulness of 

 the palm. It stands as much cold as 20° 

 of frost, and it may, therefore, be grown 

 largely in the United States. There are 

 quite a number of trees in California, but I 

 doubt whether the owners know of its use. 

 The Chileans have a wasteful plan of cutting 

 the tree down to secure the sweet sap; but 

 it can be tapped, as in the case of the date 

 palm. I think the Chileans are not any too 

 cleanly in their method of handling the 

 juice. Any way, it would make nice bee- 

 feed. 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



This great oriental tree {Borassus flahelli- 

 formis) is a sugar-producer. The whole 

 process is much akin to that of maple-sugar 

 production. The result is ''jaggery" sugar 

 similar to date sugar. The juice must be 

 rich, as it is said by some writers that 6 



lbs. of juice will produce one of sugar. This 

 palm would be a desirable acquisition in Cu- 

 ba, as it has many uses besides this. 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



It is not generally known that the cocoa- 

 nut palm is a sugar-producer. As a matter 

 of fact it is a good one, as may be readily 

 found out by slashing one with a cutlass, 

 causing the juice to flow, when the bees 

 will eagerly catch the sap as it flows down 

 the trunk. In some places sugar is made 

 from the sap, which largely explains why 

 bees revel in the cocoanut blossom. 



THE CARNUABA, OR WAX PALM. 



Sugar is also made from the sap of this 

 great wax-producer, so that it may well be 

 termed a serious rival to the honey-bee— the 

 only rival known. I have no information as 

 to the amount produced in Brazil. It is 

 better known to American bee-keepers as a 

 source of wax, and it produces an immense 

 amount of the latter— millions of pounds- 

 one port alone (Ceara) exporting as much 

 as 2,000,000 lbs. per annum. Then the Bra- 

 zilians use a vast amount of candles. I have 

 every reason to believe the carnuaba is also 

 a nectar-producer. Evidently this palm is 

 destined to rank with the cocoanut and the 

 date. 



THE GOMUTI PALM. 



What has been stated about the other 

 palms will apply to this one {Arenga sac- 

 charifera) also. 



It will be noted by the reader that this 

 list contains nearly all the vei-y famous 

 palms of the world ; and should it prove that 

 the great Doum palm, of Africa, is also of 

 value to bee-keepers, we could safely claim 

 the heads of the whole list of palms, both as 

 nectar-bearers and sugar-yielders. There is 

 evidently a close connection between nec- 

 tar-giving and sugary sap, hence I feel bold 

 enough to lay down this law: That a sugar- 

 producer is also a nectar-yielder or vice 

 versa. 



[Possibly it may be well for us to look 

 into the question of whether we may not be 

 able to import a cheap yet safe sugar for a 

 winter food; but it is my impression that 

 our commercial granulated sugar (whatever 

 its source) wovild be cheaper than any thing 

 we could import in quantities no larger than 

 bee-keepers would require. — Ed.] 



VALUABLE HONEY-PRODUCING PLANTS. 



What the Department of Agriculture Expects 



to do in Spreading Information on the 



Subject of Continuous Bee Flora. 



BY FRANK BENTON 



(Apicultiiral fnvestigator. United States Department of 

 Agriculture). 



Under the heading of "Seed-growing for 

 Bee-keepers," Mr. W. K. Morrison has, on 

 p. 654 of Gleanings for July 1. 1904, made 

 mention of a number of valuable plants, all 

 of which, however, have been brought for- 



