546 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July, 1917 



Agriculture and Home Economies, from the 

 V. S. Dept. of Agriculture, and State Agi'i- 

 cultural Colleges co-operating, approved by 

 Bradford Knapp, Chief, Office of Extension 

 AVork in the South. The appeal to county 

 agents, by our own Dr, Phillips, Federal 

 Apiculturist, is to the point, stirring and 

 timely. Write for it, all beemen, if you 

 have it not already, and then act on the 

 suggestions given, Florida, especially, 

 needs an awakening, for we are further be- 

 hindhand in all extension work and state 

 insi^ection, etc., than probably any other 

 of our sister states. More efficiency, more 

 wise economy, more foresight, this is what 

 we need, what we must have. 

 « « « 



CLIPPING queen's wings WHILE SHE IS ON 

 THE COMB. 



Mr. F. M. Perry, of Bradentown, Fla., 

 writes : " The best and surest way is to 

 clip the queens right on the combs, not 

 touching them with your hands. I can 

 clip her this way while another man is catclv 

 ing her or trying to catch her." We sup- 

 pose that practice is evei'ything. Our 

 efforts to clip while a queen was running 

 loose have not been successful, either from 

 point of time saved or efficiency. Once 

 we nearly lopped a queen's head off, and 

 once did remove a leg as neatly as you 

 please, destroying a valuable queen. Our 

 practice, however, has made us dextrous in 

 catching queens, and probably every other 

 beeman who practices clipping regularly 

 becomes as dextrous as any one else. It does 

 not take long to clip the wing. The time 

 is usually spent in finding the lady. Some- 

 times she is most exasperatingly coy and 

 retiring. Our correspondent's remark re- 

 minds us of the reply a good housewife 

 made to a newspaper request for informa- 

 tion as to the best way to kill cockroaches. 

 She answered the notice by the following: 

 " The best way I find is to place them be- 

 tween the leaves of a large book, and close 

 the book violently and suddenly. Kills 

 them every time. Easy enough to kill 

 them. Trouble is in catching them." See 

 the point, friend Perry? 



first aid. 

 Dr. E. F. Phillips is issuing bulletins 

 and press notices to beekeepers of different 

 states, by states, as rapidly as possible. 

 The individual states are also taking af- 

 fairs in their own hands, and doing " their 

 bit." Mr. Wilmon Newell, of the Crop 

 Pest Commission, Gainesville, Flat., has 

 issued a press notice offering his services 

 to beekeepers of Florida during this time 

 of strain and stress, as well as time of 



grand opportunity. The federal office, 

 Washingon, has not yet got to Florida but 

 will as soon as possible. Dr. Phillips assures 

 me. Every beekeeper can do his share 

 toward the war, the country, and his state 

 by putting and keeping his apiaries in 

 very best possible shape, and working them 

 for all they are worth, this year and the 

 next, and then next. By that time it may 

 have become a habit, and a good one too. 

 We can not have too much efficiency. 



* * * 



THE DIFFERENCE IN LOCATIONS. 



This year illustrates, as never before, the 

 decided difference in value of locations in 

 Florida. Inland the bees have not gather- 

 ed enough honey, generally speaking, to 

 supply their brood-rearing needs since the 

 close of the fall flowers last autumn. Many 

 colonies, in apiaries not well kept, have 

 starved, and many more, right now,* need 

 attention. Along the river courses, how- 

 ever, and near hammock lands of the coasts, 

 bees have done better. And right now they 

 are storing some surplus — gallberry, pal- 

 metto, etc., being the chief sources so far. 

 Many beemen are moving their bees to such 

 more favored locations. We advise pros- 

 pective beemen to choose always sites bor- 

 dering some swamp, hammock, or river 

 course — the more the better. Orange loca- 

 tions will probably not be back into nor- 

 m.al again for honey for three years or more, 

 north of the middle of Florida. Further 

 south a year or two may repair the loss 

 that was occasioned by the freeze in Febru- 

 ary. DeLand is about the worst place pos- 

 sible for an ajDiary at this particular time. 



* » * 



THE CONDITION OF THE HONEY-PLANTS. 



Reports come to us of bees humming 

 briskly on the basswood in the vicinity of 

 Sanford, near the heavy hammock lands of 

 the river. They are also doing something 

 on it over in the East Coast section. If 

 any one doubts it, let him visit those sec- 

 tions at this writing (May 20), and he will 

 be convinced. We have the linden all 

 right; but it is only favored spots that 

 have enough to make a showing in supers. 

 Friend Baldwin, of Sanford, writes : " Clute 

 is going to extract his honey now on the 

 hives as far as justifiable, in order to make 

 room for basswood nectar. If he gets any 

 basswood honey it will be the first new 

 hor.ey this season." 



The cabbage palmetto is already showing 

 the long whip-like shoots of bud-stems that 

 appear long befoi'e they blossom out into 



* Most of the items on this page were written for 

 the June issue, but reached us too late for insertion 

 in that number.- — Ed. 



