248 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



yield from that source was always good, 

 which it is not. 



3. It would not pay you to ship 120 colo- 

 nies and outfit to Florida. You had better 

 sell them where they are, and buy bees after 

 you get there. You could hardly ship bees to 

 Florida unless you send a whole carload of 

 between three and four hundred colonies, 

 then go in the car with the bees. 



4. We do not know anything about the 

 trucking business or the pecan crop; but as 

 a general proposition we may say that where 

 fruit-growing is extensive it is generally 

 fair for bees — that is, for a limited number. 

 If you keep too many bees in an orange 

 grove the yield per colony will be corre- 

 spondingly reduced. 



5. The Florida schools, generally speaking, 

 are good, especially in the larger towns. 

 They are the equal of any of the schools 

 in the North. 6. Yes. 



7. The majority of the population is white 

 and mainly northern people. As one Florida 

 cracker said, " 'Most everybody is from 

 everywhere else. ' ' There are a good many 

 colored people in the state, but as a rule 

 they live in isolated districts. 



8. Yes and no. A practical beekeeper of 

 the North would very soon be able to learn 

 the conditions in the South, so that he would 

 be able to handle the keeping of bees prof- 

 itably — that is, provided he could do so in 

 the North. 



9. We could not name any general figure, 

 but the price of land is anything you care 

 to pay. The closer the land is to towns or 

 to water frontage the higher the price. It 

 runs all the way from $2 and $3 an acre to 

 $10,000 and $50,000 an acre. Usually the 

 land in the large towns is rather expensive, 

 but a mile or so out it is comparatively 

 cheap. 



10. This is a hard question to answer. We 

 doubt if you could do any better by going 

 to Florida than where you are. If you have 

 made a success under the conditions in the 

 North with which you are familiar it is 

 doubtful if you would do any better in the 

 South, and it is probable you would not do 

 quite as well. 



11. Generally speaking, the opportunities 

 for a young man are better in the North 

 than in Florida. On account of the large 

 number of people who are compelled to go 

 to Florida for lung trouble or other diseases 

 the labor market is rather poor there. The 

 same is true of California. 



We would suggest that you spend two or 

 three months in Florida traveling about, 

 asking all the questions you can; but be 

 very shy about accepting the statements 

 made by the average real-estate man. Take, 

 rather, the statement of some conservative 

 person who goes down to Florida every year 

 for his health and is not in any way inter- 

 ested in the sale of land. There are plenty 

 of honest real-estate men there whose state- 

 ments you can rely upon; and while Florida 

 has its land-sharks that state is no worse 



than any other state where development is 

 going on. You will find conditions just as 

 bad in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Cali- 

 fornia, where there is a great onrush of 

 people on account of supposed get-rich-quick 

 propositions, or because people have to go 

 into other climates on account of their 

 health.— Ed.] 



What Section or Sections are the Leaders? 

 The Pound Section No More 



I have been ill for a few months, and 

 improved the opportunity of looking over 

 Gleanings for the last twenty years. It 

 made me notice more than ever before the 

 tremendous advance and improvement in the 

 bee industry, and especially in Gleanings. 

 It is a high-grade magazine, and I am sure 

 you may be congratulated for bringing it to 

 such a high standard. 



It has been about twenty years since I 

 have been in touch with the comb-honey 

 market. I am thinking of going or chang- 

 ing into comb-honey production; and should 

 ing into comb-honey production, and should 

 ent-day sections. 



Do the markets in Ohio and adjacent 

 states still prefer the tall section, such as 

 4x5f If not, what size has the prefer- 

 ence? 



Under the net-weight law, is it likely 

 that the heavier 4 x 5 x 1% will have the 

 preference over the lighter 4x5x1%? Or 

 is the latter about the right net weight? 



Do you know of any section besides the 

 4x5 and 41/4 x 4% which is likely to come 

 into the lead? I like the 4^4 x 4%"but don't 

 like the fixtures. Besides, there are too 

 many varieties already. 



I want to be sure to receive your. opinion 

 as to be best thickness of the 4x5 under 

 present conditions of markets and laws — for 

 instance, whether there are any signs of a 

 change in the future. 



Fremont, Ohio. Dr. C. G. Luft. 



[While the 4x5 plain section is very 

 popular, yet, taking the country as a whole, 

 it is not the leader. The 414 x 4^4 x 1% 

 beeway section is sold more than any other; 

 but the 4x5 section is gaining in popularity 

 everywhere it is sold, and we prefer it to 

 any other style of package for comb honey. 



So far as the net-weight law is concerned, 

 there is no advantage in the 4 x 5 x 1% 

 over the 4x5x1%. Since the net-weight 

 law went into effect, sections are not sold 

 by the pound any more, but by actual 

 weight, or minimum weight in ounces. We 

 do not know of any sections besides the 

 4x5 and 414 x 4^ regular beeway, 1%, that 

 is likely to come into lead. The last-men- 

 tioned section is already in the lead, and 

 very possibly may hold its lead. In the 

 western part of the country the 4% x 4^4 

 square section is used almost exclusively. 



As to the best thickness of the 4x5 we 

 recommend the standard 1% plain section. 

 There is no likelihood that the 4^ x 4% will 

 come into any general prominence. — Ed.] 



