716 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



E.G.Baldwin 



FLORIDA SUNSHINE I d--"^. ^^- 



Continued from Jvly 15th issue. 



" Are there many beemen about 

 DeLand? I used to think there 

 was not much chance for an apia- 

 rist anywhere in the high pine- 

 lands; but conditions may have 

 changed." 



More all the time, or would be, did not an 

 occasional bad year like the present, for or- 

 ange honey, keep over-enthusiastic begin- 

 ners or recruits from the business. Our 

 only source of good table honey here is, 

 however, that from the citrus fruits (orange, 

 gTapefruit, etc.). 



"Do you have trouble with dragon-flies? 

 We do, and also from skunks at times." 



About every other year, on an average, 

 the dragon-flies " gobble up " half our vir- 

 gins on their wedding-tours! This year, 

 happy to say, they have been conspicuous 

 by their absence. As a result, our virgin 

 queens have mated beautifully, and with al- 

 most no loss. 1 wish I knew the cause and 

 remedy. I am still hoping that the U. S. 

 Department, under the direction of Dr. Phil- 

 lips, may be able to get at some method of 

 exterminating the pests. "Jimmy Skunk " 

 does not bother us here at all, nor anywhere 

 else where I have ever run an apiary. 



"In spite of all the pests we have, I aver- 

 age about 120 lbs. per colony, in fair years, 

 and as high as 150 lbs. in good years. One 

 year I extracted 10,680 lbs. of honey from 

 88 colonies (121 lbs. per colony). The best 

 I ever did was to get 183 lbs. per colony 

 from 20 colonies extra strong in one sea- 

 son." 



Your average is good for any part of the 

 state. Especiallj' does it seem to me that 

 your average of 121 lbs. per colony, which 

 you say was from saw palmetto, is a re- 

 markably fine showing. I should say that 

 this can not be duplicated from that source 

 oftener than once in a dozen years. Do 

 you? Your record of 183 lbs. per colony, 

 Avhile not bad (indeed, very fine), is not 

 anywhere near the state record for a rousing 

 yield. A record of 400 lbs. per colony has 

 been made on the East Coast. Mr. W. S. 

 Hart, of Hawks Park, secured 41,000 lbs. of 

 fine honey from 116 colonies, spring count, 

 being an average, you will see, of 353 lbs. 

 per colony for the season for the entire yard 

 (extracted honey). But that was "before 

 the freeze " in 1894-'5 (will A. I. R. note 

 this, see p. 335, April 15?). 

 • « • 



The June bloom of orange-trees in the 

 state this vear was a marvel. It was never 



before so profuse. Tho it did not last as 

 long, nor yield generally as much as the 

 same bloom would have done in March, 

 some report as much as 60 lbs. per hive 

 from this source in June. Mr. Harry Hew- 

 itt, of Apopka, Fla., seems to have won the 

 prize for big yields from it. We congratu- 

 late him, especially as his early crop was 



a failure. 



« * * 



OUR bp:es have good wings and stings. 



" Brother Baldwin, were it my privilege 

 to assign you a task I would give you the 

 problem of introducing a bee into your 

 state that would fly more than 11/4 miles for 

 nectar," p. 429. Eriend Chadwiek, did I 

 think for one minute that we have not al- 

 ready such a bee with us, I would take the 

 first train for California and secure some 

 of the good Sunset stock of the State of the 

 Golden Gate, with which to improve our 

 flying qualities. The oi'ange-trees, for ex- 

 ample, near us, bloom at varying periods. 

 I have traced my flying bees directly and 

 unmistakably hj their route thru the air, 

 straight from the yard to groves 2 and 2^/2 

 miles away, many times. I have done this 

 with honey coming in at profitable rate too ; 

 and I have known them to go two or more 

 miles to the mangrove islands, and gather 

 successfully and profitably. Moreover, there 

 is no saw palmetto within a radius shorter' 

 than two miles from my home yard; and 

 yet my bees gather considerable palmetto 

 honey. So you see, friend C, I do not 

 accept the premise you assume. I am won- 

 dering if possibly you do not confuse the 

 initials of my name with those of a good 

 friend of mine, Mr. P. M. Baldwin, of 

 San ford, Pla. His remark in a previous 

 number of Gleanings seems to have sug- 

 gested your reply. I am sure his conclu- 

 sions would not hold for the state as a whole, 

 however true he may have found it on spe- 

 cial occasions. No, our bees, our " Cracker 

 bees," can fly as far and sting as hard as 

 any in the Union. 



* * * 



SHALL WE DESTROY THE BEE-MARTINS? 



No matter how well "prepared" a teacher 

 may be, now and then will come a query 

 that seems at first somewhat of a " poser." 

 Such was our experience lately. A good 

 friend of our fraternity, and a successful 

 real-estate man as well, Mr. S. H. East, of 

 Clearwater, Fla., sent us the following: 



What information can you give me about 

 bee-martins or kingbirds, as enemies of bees? 



