January, 1917 



GLEANINGS TN BEE CULTURE 



or semi-tvopioal plants, and are fonnd in 

 the country lying south from southern 

 Texas to Chile, the mesquite of Texas being- 

 one of the number. 



The size and height of the Hawaiian tree 

 depei^d on conditions. If conditions are 

 favorable tlie tree reaches a height of forty- 

 five or fifty feet, and the trunk a diameter 

 of two feet or more. In Hawaii the tree 

 grows very rapidly, in that respect surpass- 

 ing the eucalypti that have been introduced 

 into Hawaii. As to the jieriods of bloom, in 

 Hawaii the first bloom commences in May 

 and the last generally ends some time about 

 the first of October. 



ALGAROBA WOOD AS FUEL 



Algaroba is the chief source of fuel in 

 the territory of Hawaii. It also makes 

 excellent charcoal. In addition to being 

 valuable as fuel, the tree furnishes a gum 

 suitable for use in varnish, and the bark 

 contains tannin. Then, too, the tree being 

 a legume, it is a soil-maker of some im- 

 portance. The wood is also suitable for 

 short-length piles, as the wood is relatively 

 free from attack of the toredo, the great 

 enemy of wood that is submerged in salt 

 water. 



WHERE ALGAROBA WILL GROW 



The algaroba is an evergreen ti'opical gr 

 semi-tropical tree, and there is no reason 

 to suppose that it Avould be possible for it 

 to grow further north than does its sister, 

 the mesquite of Texas and Mexico. 



gOIL WHERE ALGAKOBA WILL GROW 



It is found along the coasts of most of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, and thousands of acres 

 are growing on the sea-level. In some 

 places the waves splash on the foliage, so 

 near to the sea does it grow. But the tree 

 seems to do best at a slight elevation, and 

 no doubt it will grow at any elevation where 

 the mesquite will grow. At the present 

 tim.e I think that about 2000 feet is as liigh 

 an elevation as the tree has reached. All 

 that the tree seems to want is a place to 

 find a foothold, a little soil, and some mois- 

 ture. As the Hawaiian Islands are all of 

 i-ecent volcanic origin, the kinds of soil here 

 are limited, which likewise limits observa- 

 tion as to what soil is best for the tree. 



As to climate, a semi-arid climate seems 

 to suit the tree best ; but, as in the case with 

 soil and with altitude, the algaroba is not 

 very partial, and seems willing to accommo- 

 date itself to conditions. 



EXTENT OF ALGAROBA FORESTS IN THE 

 HAAVAHAN ISLANDS 



On the lee side of practically all of the 

 islands there are enoi'mous forests of al- 

 garoba, the forests extending from the sea- 



shore to an altitude of a thousand feet or 

 so. As most of tho.se who read this are not 

 personally acquainted with the Hawaiian 

 Islands, a word of explanation concerning 

 the so-called lee side of the islands will not 

 be out of place. The reason for there be- 

 ing a lee side is the trade-winds. These 

 are easterly winds that blow, -with but few 

 exceptions, during the entire j^ear. The 

 easterly side of the islands is, therefore, 

 spoken of as the windward .side, and the 

 westerly side as the lee side. The trade- 

 winds cause an entire change of climate 

 to exist on the opposite sides of the islands, 

 even tho the island is but a few miles across. 

 On the windward sides there is a heavy 

 rainfall, some places in excess of 200 inches 

 for the year, and at times it reaches 400. 

 On the lee side there is less rain, in some 

 instances being an almost total lack of rain- 

 fall, causing deserts to exist in some places. 

 It is where the heavy rainfall exists that 

 the algaroba does not thrive, or is entirely 

 lacking. 



ALGAROBA AS A HONEY-PLANT 



Algaroba is the only good floral honey 

 that the Hawaiian Islands produce to any 

 extent. In color the honey is almost water- 

 white, and has about the same body as 

 white clover. The flavor, aside from being 

 good, is distinctive, and no doubt the public, 

 wherever the hone,y is sold, acquire a pref- 

 erence for it the same as with alfalfa, sage, 

 white clover, etc. 



ANALYSIS OF ALGAROBA HONEY 



As is well known, most of the Hawaiian 

 honey is not normal. As is shown by 

 Bulletin No. 17, " Hawaiian Honeys," by 

 the Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, the honey fi-om the algaroba is the 

 nearest normal. Its only difference from 

 normal honey is in the matter of having a 

 high ash content. The ash in algaroba 

 honey varies between 0.44 and 0.59 per 

 cent, while, according to the official stand- 

 ard, pure honey should not exceed 0.25 per 

 cent of ash. 



WHAT PROPORTION OF HAWAIIAN HONEY IS 

 ALGAROBA 



According to the last-mentioned bulle- 

 tin, in 190G the Hawaiian Islands produced 

 a total crop of about 600 tons of honey. 

 Of this amount some 200 tons was from 

 algaroba. Since 1906 there has been con- 

 siderable advance in the number of bees in 

 Hawaii, and I suppose an increase in tlie 

 amount of honey, but just what percentage 

 of the honey during the past few j'ears 

 lias been from algaroba I have not been 

 able to ascertain definitely. Some claim 

 that it is now half. This may be true, as 



