SEPTEMBER 15, 1916 



E.G.Baldwin 



FLORIDA SUNSHINE f^^'^i^^^^^- 



a FLORIDA A LAND OF SURPHISES. 

 Xo two years are alike in Flori- 

 da, except that they have 365 days. 

 1 refer to honey-tiows. Mention 

 lias already been made in these 

 columns to the very late orange- 

 flow. Even into mid-June honey 

 was stored in supers from the orange-blos- 

 soms. Orange usually ends in early April. 

 Our man at Gleuwood yard has just ex- 

 tracted (Aug. 6) a fair crop of late orange 

 and palmetto honey, " blended by the bees." 

 It is fairly light in color, good flavor and 

 body, tho not as clear as pure orange. 



By the way, it always seems to me about 

 any blend of two clear honeys is never quite 

 as light-colored as either one in its purity, 

 and I should be glad to know of others' ex- 

 periences in this line. 



Xow comes our second surprise. Cab- 

 bage palmetto is usually done blooming by 

 July 20. This year it yielded even up to 

 August 10 or 15, slowly but steadily, honey 

 of an excellent quality. Such a late yield 

 from this source is quite phenomenal. Nev- 

 er before have I known of so late a flow 

 from this, the tree-palmetto. The blossoms 

 are on huge racemes six feet in length, at 

 times of a delicate cream tint, as fragrant 

 as they are beautiful. 



The cabbage palmetto referred to seldom 

 yields oftener than once in thi'ee years, tho 

 it blooms regularly and profusely. Excess 

 of heat or rain is alike fatal to nectar se- 

 cretion. 



The late yield from this source is very 

 gratifying to beemen within range of the 

 trees, for the honey-outlook at the opening 

 of the year was very uniDromising. At the 

 beginning of the season Dame Nature said, 

 " Nothing for you this time," and then 

 flung wide her hands and showered out an 

 unexpected gift. 



SWARMING IN AUGUST. 



In our home yard there are signs of 

 swarming in August. It is the late and lin- 

 gering flow from cabbage palmetto that is 

 producing the condition. Swarming in Au- 

 gust is almost a thing unknown in Florida, 

 generally speaking. This year there was 

 practically no swarming from the orange- 

 honey flow. These two facts may give a 

 clue to the causes and effects in the matter 

 of .swarming. Here is the summary. Bees 

 do most of their swarming on the first main 

 flow; after that swarms are but desultory 

 and scattering, even if late flows do appear. 

 The .swarming instinct (whatever that may 

 be) seems satisfied. This year no swai-ming 

 from orange at the usual season (March) ; 



then late orange and a lingering flow from 

 palmetto with lesulting tendency to swarm- 

 ing. But tlie later flows never seem to pro- 

 duce so wild and intense a desire to swarm 

 as does the first early and profuse honey- 

 flow of the year. 



ANTIGONON LEPTOPUS. 



The common names are pink-vine, Me.xi- 

 can vine, and Sjaanish vine. It is a vigor- 

 ous, tho non-hardy, vine, with broad pen- 

 dant leaves and showy clusters of delicate 

 pink blossoms. It is cultivated, not wild, 

 and grows so easily, and is so widely culti- 

 vated, that bees in many localities are help- 

 ed materially in brood-rearing by it. From 

 early summer to late fall it blossoms, is al- 

 ways covered with flowers, and the flowers 

 are always alive with bees. Probably no 

 surplus is obtained from it, tho one of our 

 correspondents from Namjja reports that 

 his bees do seem to get even a surplus from 

 it. However, this latter fact is not yet 

 proven. Let all beemen note it well, and 

 encourage the planting. Once started, it 

 requires no further attention, and is withal 

 a beautiful and attractive ornament to any 

 arbor, trellis, or veranda-. 



POUR HONEY IN WITH THE QUEEN. 



Dr. Miller has asked me to describe in de- 

 tail the method of queen-introduction by 

 tlie daubing or smearing plan. Well, Dr. 

 Miller, as I said in my former note in 

 (jLEANIngs, neither is the idea new in the 

 bee-world, nor is this plan original with 

 mj-self. I can add very little to what I 

 stated before. The plan, in essence, con- 

 sists in dipping the queen to be introduced 

 into half a teacupful of honey and pouring 

 her, honey and all, down over and between 

 the frames of the colony to which she is be- 

 ing introduced. The merit of the plan — 

 nay, the secret of success, if secret there be 

 -—seems to lie in the completeness with 

 which the queen is daubed with the honey, 

 and the amount of the honey poured in 

 with her. That is' lo say, she must be 

 thoroly covered with honey. 



The amount of honey poured in with her 

 and after her seems also to aid — it may 

 even be essential. Then close the hive-top 

 and see that the entrance is narrowed to a 

 point where robbers can be kept out — ac- 

 cording to the strength of the colony. 



Since my former report T have lost no 

 occasion or opportunity to test out the 

 plan further; but I should like to hear re- 

 ports from others, and would advise experi- 

 menting at first with .some queens, not too 

 valualjlc (tt Jiist. 



