1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



143 



Fig. VII. — One of the transitional hives which Mr, LudlofI made and used between the first he made 

 and the perfected Simplex hive he is now putting out. 



erage is about 35 lbs. Right there is the 

 point where I think he would do much bet- 

 ter with the American hive if he had ever 

 had experience with it and would use foun- 

 dation; for since he does not produce comb 

 honey he ought to be able to control swarm- 

 ing with his ten-frame American hives. 



At Cuerna Vaca the bees store a little 

 honey in March; but the main flow comes 

 in October and November. Mr. Shoemaker 

 thinks that the honey is made mostly from 

 fruit-bloom, and colored a bright amber 

 from a small yellow weed which comes up 

 thick in the stubble. He was kind enough 

 to let me taste the honey, and to give me a 

 small sample to bring home. The honey 

 was excellent, and should create a demand; 

 but one of the strange 

 facts that I learned 

 from him was that from 

 this one apiary he sup- 

 plied the city, and all 

 the towns up the old 

 Mexican Central as far 

 as Aguas Calientes; 

 and after quoting it all 

 up the Mexican Na- 

 tional also to all points 

 as far as Monterey, he 

 still has to export to 

 Germany the better 

 part of his crop. The 

 exported honey nets 

 him about 10 cts. Par- 

 ties come right to his 

 house and beg for the 

 wax at a dollar (50 cts. ) 

 a pound. 



On south of Cuerna Vaca it seems that 

 the natives keep quite a few bees; but the 

 honey is mostly from the casachuate-tree, 

 and is not edible. It is a clear white honey, 

 but causes severe headaches. Bees also col- 

 lect syrup from sugar-cane in this region. 



Still further south and east, in the state 

 of Oaxaca, the natives also keep a good 

 many bees, and they use the honey a good 

 deal. Perhaps considerable of the honey is 

 made from alfalfa, for there is a good deal 

 of it in cultivation in that section, and it is 

 said to do exceptionally well there. While 

 in Mexico City I had the good fortune to 

 meet an Oaxaca Indian lady who had had 

 some experience with bees in the Oaxaca 

 Valley. She was the wife of an American; 



Fig. 2.— The guides thrown back so the foundation can be removed, 

 next page. 



See 



