198 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



T 



C 



'ALK about 



winter 



weat her ! 

 At this writing, 

 Feb. 7, we are 

 just emerging 

 from the worst 

 week of weather 

 since 1894 - '5. 



Last Friday night the temperature in this vi- 

 cinity (29th clegi-ee) dropped to 20; and the 

 next night, Saturday, to 14 degrees; and 

 since then we have had frost and freeze, 

 one after another, till today for the first 

 time the keen cutting edge of that north- 

 west wind is losing its sharpness a little. 

 All small orange-trees as far south as 

 Kissimmee are doubtless cut down to the 

 banks. Here many of the large trees are 

 hurt — how badly no one will know till warm 

 weather comes. All fruit is frozen, save 

 possibly some groves that were warmed by 

 fires, and it is doubtful if all of even that 

 is saved. Too bad ! Yes, bad ; but it might 

 be worse. If the larger trees are saved they 

 will put out new growth with returning 

 warmth, and may even have a crop of bloom 

 and fruit. No use to cross a bridge till one 

 comes to it, nor cry before one is hurt. It 

 looks as if our orange honey would be at a 

 premium this year. Cheer up, brothers ! 

 Another year is coming, and other sources 

 of honey are available. Plan right now for 



bigger things. 



* * * 



Be&s on the East Coast, and along river 

 courses, where early pollen is available, 

 have been building up with phenomenal 

 rapidity. On Jan. 25, at the Wilson yard, 

 we found drones flying from many colonies, 

 and brood in five or more frames. That is 

 very unusual for this vicinity. DroTies sel- 

 dom fly here before the middle of February, 

 and often not till the latter half of that 

 month. This was nearly a month ahead of 

 the average time for drones. The warm 

 month of January is accountable in part, 

 and the excellent condition of the colonies 

 last fall also. I believe strong colonies, 

 with plenty of late-reared bees, and a hive 

 stocked chock full of honey, two stories, 

 will come about as near to insuring big 

 colonies in early spring as anything on 

 earth can do. But early pollen, from 

 nature, is also essential to the most rapid 



early breeding. 



* * * 



Honey is well sold in Florida. Nearly 

 all has been disposed of, and very little left. 

 Many beekeepers are asking for more honey 

 to supply their local demand. It is a 

 pleasure to record this fact, and to note 

 the same as being true in most states fur- 



FLORIDA SUNSHINE 



1 



E. G. Baldwin 



%J 



March, 1917 



ther north. More 

 lioney is being 

 used right here 

 in our own state 

 than ever before. 

 A cracker - fac- 

 tory in Jackson- 

 ^^^e will take all 

 that is not fit for 

 table use; and the tables of our hotels and 

 boarding-houses are now ofi'eving honey ten 

 times to once a decade ago. All this is as it 

 should be. It used to be said that Florida 

 shipped everything out of the state, and 

 then bought everything back again. Those 

 times are no more. Now for the next crop ! 



# * * 



We have been asked time and again for a 

 booklet of information regarding conditions 

 of beekeeping in Florida. Our peninsular 

 position makes our environment unique, and 

 hence our management distinct and different 

 from that of any other state. Most of the 

 printed matter of our bee -journals and 

 bulletins and bee-books has been written 

 with special reference to states furthei 

 north. Florida sadly needs a manual espe- 

 cially designed for her own borders. The 

 time seems ripe for such a handbook. It is 

 needed, not only for beginners here, but also 

 for incomers from other states who, tho they 

 understand bees, do not know Florida in 

 relation to bees. If some one does not 

 throw a club at the editor of this depart- 

 ment he may be foolish enough to attempt 

 something in the booklet line himself. 



* « * 



The eucalypts of all northern and central 

 Florida are frozen to the heart. Some of 

 them had reached very commendable pro- 

 portions, and bees were beginning to notice 

 their blossoms not a little. These trees in 

 this state seem to bloom almost every njonth 

 of the year, depending on the variety and 

 the soil. • « « 



This is the quiescent period of bees in 

 the high pine lands, and, to a great ex- 

 tent, of those on the East Coast also. In 

 the regions further south, the pennyroyal 

 (Hedeoma pulegoides) is yielding, and 

 has been doing so for a month or more. In 

 those sections the bees are building up 

 rapidly, and may even swarm 



Dr. Bonney, December American Bee 

 Journal, advises naphthalene instead of car- 

 bon bisulphide for keeping combs free from 

 moth, and says that it will even kill the 

 larvffi of the wax-moth. The powdered 

 naphthalene will last much longer than the 

 carbon bisulphide. {American Bee Journal, 

 Jan., 1917.) 



