.rULY 15, 19U 



Any kind of s(e\v-paii may be used for 

 melting the wax on either a gasoline or oil 

 stove, a charcoal-furnace, or a cheap fire- 

 pot made out of a five-gallon honey-can as 

 shown herewith. The spoons used are veiy 

 clieap (in ones, costing about ten cents a 



dozen. We bend the handles as shown, so 

 that they may be hung over the edge of the 

 stew-pot and not fall into the melted wax. 

 Tliis method can be employed for all kinds 

 of frames, as we use it for' deep frames as 

 well as the shallow ones. No grooves are 

 necessary under the top-bar to receive the 

 foundation sheet. On the contrary, they are 

 in the way, as it takes so much longer to 

 insert the edge of the foundation into these, 

 and, besides, they weaken the top-bars ma- 

 terially. And such grooves do us no good 

 when we fill our frames again and again, as 

 it is out of the question to clean the grooves 

 of the wax with which they are filled. The 

 same holds with the gToove-and-wedge plan 

 of fastening the foundation. After the fir«t 



Schoirs method of fastening foundation for Inilk comb honev 



lime we never use the wedges again, but 

 simply leave them in, stuck down with wax, 

 and fasten (he foundation right over them' 

 with melted beeswax. Thus they are a need- 

 less expense to us. What we want is just a 

 plain top-bar without any grooves or 

 wedges. ^ ^, 



CACTI AS HONEY-PLANTS. 



Ill reply to your inquiry from South 

 Africa regarding the above matter I wish 

 to say that this subject was discussed by me 



535 



in detail on page 542, April 15, 1907; and 

 since ] have had several inquiries on the 

 subject during the last year or so it may be 

 well to reproduce some of my remarks. ' 



The " prickly pear," the common name for our 

 large-leafed cacti {Opvutia Englemaviii Palm), is 

 sometimes of much importance to the beekeeper,' es- 

 pecially during a season of partial drouth. Several 

 years ago a late "cold snap" destroyed various 

 kinds of bloom in the latter part of March, and re- 

 tarded the blooming plants for April so much that 

 there was nothing for the bees from which to replen- 

 i-^h their stores, which were soon consumed since 

 heavy brood-rearing had been going on during the 

 extended favorable weather previous to the frost 

 It also happened that the season so far had been a 

 dry one, and there had not been an overabundance of 

 bloom. This, together with the late frost, made all 

 a very discouraging situation, and I was " figuring " 

 on how many barrels of sugar I should have to feed 

 when, lo and behold! a light rain saved me. The 

 " prickly pear " cacti came into bloom and yielded 

 such an abundance of nectar that not onlv the brood- 

 chambers were filled but some was stored'in the shal- 

 lov>' extracting-supers in a little more than a week's 

 time. The bees built up with astonishing rapidity 

 to rousing colonies in a short time, and were in the 

 best possible condition for the main mesquite flow 

 which commenced early in May, since it was also 

 delayed for about a month on account of the frost 

 otherwise blooming in April. These cacti are very 

 common throughout southern and western Texas In 

 southwest Texas, where the photo on page 558 was 

 taken, the ranches were covered over large areas 

 with a thick growth of prickly pear, so that neither 

 man nor stock could pass through except along the 



cleared roads or 

 a few open paths. 

 Often, as far as 

 \\ e could see, there 

 was nothing but 

 liriekly pear and 

 mesquite trees, the 

 < acti sometimes 

 towering from 

 eight to ten feet 

 liigh. The thick, 

 green, pear-shaped 

 leaf-like stems or 

 .ioints, from which 

 the plant gets its 

 name, are gener- 

 ally mistaken for 

 leaves; they are 

 very thick and 

 ucculent, and 

 1 nar bunches of 

 small stout bristles 

 and longer barbed 

 spines ; hence it 

 will be seen how 

 such a plant can 

 " keep on grow- 

 ing," even during 

 stored up in these 



dry seasons, from the "water ^„, 



jiiints. Consequently the cactus plants had liot'suf- 

 tered during the dry spring mentioned, as did other 

 plants; and as the roots are very shallow, or near 

 the surface of the soil, and widespread, the li-'ht 

 rain, coming at just the right time, helped thepe 

 wonderfully, while it had little effect on other vege- 

 tation. Both an abundance of honey and pollen were 

 obtained, the honey being light amber in color of 

 heavy body, but " string "—so much that it fairly 

 draws out into " strings " when very thick The 

 flavor is very rank; and from reports of other bee- 

 keepers, as well as from my own experience, it is too 

 rank for human food, while it is quite valuable for 

 relat d'*''''''"'^' ''^^'"''^"j' during an oflf-season as here 



