c 



LJ 



February, 1917 



RAIN is iieed- 

 e d badly 

 over the en- 

 tire state. The 

 past four months 

 have been ab- 

 normally di-y. In 

 October the pre- 

 cipitation was 



well bolow normal. In November it was 

 decidedly deficient, and in December there 

 was almost a drouth. In this section the 

 rainfall deficiency is 8.23 inches for the past 

 four months. As a result of the .severe and 

 prolonged drouth the horsemiiit is suffering 

 badly. On account of the dry weather dur- 

 ing- the late summer the seed did not germ- 

 inate until so very late that the plants were 

 small when the cold weather set in. Now 

 the drouth is causing much horsemint to die. 

 Should a cold spell come before a rain it is 

 feared that there will be but little horsemint 

 next year. 



The beekeepers in the mesquite section do 

 not have to worry over a drj' winter, for 

 mesquite seems to yield most abundantly 

 after a drouth. 



Warm weather has prevailed for over a 

 month now. In protected places the fruit- 

 buds are beginning to swell, and consider- 

 able anxiety is felt for the fruit crop if 

 cold weather does not come soon. The bees 

 have been flying freely during the warm 

 weather. 



The beekeepers in the southern i^art of 

 the state are making preparations already 

 for the coming honey-flow. Many apiaries 

 are being moved to more desirable loca- 

 tions. Some of the older beekeepers are 

 buying what extra colonies they can. In 

 the northeni sections the fall drouth cut off 

 the honey-flow, and the bees went into the 

 winter with only fair stores. The same 

 condition prevails in the extreme southern 

 part. In the central and southwestern sec- 

 tions the bees are in good condition. The 

 beekeepers are coming to realize more the 

 value of having strong colonies when the 

 honey-flow starts; consequently they are 

 not robbing so closelj', and many are now 

 in favor of leaving on a super of honey for 

 early spring food. 



Most beekeepers are now wishing for 

 some of the honey that was almost given 

 away last summer. The price has advanced 

 3 and 4 cents per pound, but there is very 

 little honey left to offer at that price. It 

 is to be hoped that the lesson of the past 

 season will be taken seriously. There is 

 now a local demand for honey that can not 

 be met, and there is still call for carload 

 lots which are out of the question. It is 

 quite likely that the present honey prices 



GLEANINGS IK BEE CULTURE 



IN TEXAS 



By F. B. Paddock, State Entomologist 



1 



TU 



129 



will encourage 

 t li e beekee])ers 

 to give their bees 

 every attention 

 in order that 

 they may be in 

 the best possible 

 c o n d i t ion to 

 gather when the 

 spring honey flow is on. 



It has been variously estimated that the 

 honey marketed in this state during 1916 

 was five million pounds, three-fifths of 

 which was produced in the southwestern 

 section of the state. 



EXPERIMENTAL APIARIES. 



The legislature now in session is to be 

 asked to provide for the establishment of 

 experimental apiaries, to be conducted un- 

 der the supervision of the Director of the 

 Experiment Station. The need for such 

 work has been felt for many years by the 

 beekeepers of the state. It was some years 

 ago that L, H. Scholl, now a member of the 

 legislature, first suggested such a plan for 

 the benefit of Texas beekeepers. The prob- 

 lems of beekeeping in this state are peculiar, 

 and can not be solved by deductions made 

 from results obtained elsewhere in the 

 United States. The investigations con- 

 templated for this work will in no way 

 duplicate the excellent work conducted by 

 the Bureau of Entomology at Washington, 

 D. C, under the direction of Dr. Phillips. 

 The work of the Texas apiaries will be out- 

 lined with a view to solving the problems 

 of every-day management of bees and the 

 production of honey under the varied con- 

 ditions of this state. 



THE NEW DISEASE LAW. 



Circular 17 of the Texas Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, superseding Circulars 8, 

 11, and 14, is just being distributed among 

 the beekeepers of the state. This gives 

 tlie full text of the foul-brood law, and all 

 the regulations which have been issued by 

 the State Entomologist. The new regula- 

 tions are effective March 1, 1917. There 

 are now thirty-one counties quarantined 

 against the shipment into them of anj' bees, 

 honey, or appliances capable of transmit- 

 ing foul brood. Twenty-five local inspec- 

 tors are now employed to carry out the 

 foul-brood-eradication work. 



One of tlie greatest indirect benefits de- 

 rived from the foul-brood-eradication work 

 is tlie general improvement of the beekeep- 

 ing industry in the counties where the work 

 is now being conducted. The biggest factor 

 in this improvement has been the necessary 

 cliange from the old "gums" to movable- 

 frame hives, to comply with the law and the 

 regulations. 



