550 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



condition to take care of the cotton fiow 

 that is to come. In the eastern section the 

 honey yield this season will nndonbtedly be 

 above normal. In tliis section the bees win- 

 tered nnusually well. There was an abun- 

 dance of early flow, and the bees are now in 

 prime condition to take care of the bass- 

 wood flow. Thruout the north section the 

 prospects for a honey-yield are good from 

 hoi-semint, sweet clover, and cotton. 



Upon such prospects as just mentioned, 

 the honey market is very unsettled. How- 

 ever, there is an upward trend in honey 

 prices, but even at that little honey is being 

 offered for sale. Thruout the sonth and 

 southwest sections honey is being listed at 

 11 cents for extracted and 13 for bulk comb. 

 Vei-y little honey has been listed for sale 

 over the remainder of the state, but the 

 prices prevail strong and are continually 

 going up. There is a general feeling among 

 those who are best informed on market con- 

 ditions that future prices for honey will 

 be much higher than they are now. There 

 is also a general trend toward the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey. 



* * » 



Since the last notes were written the 

 efforts of the Director of the Experiment 

 Station and the beekeepers have resulted in 

 the legislature providing for $5000 for foul- 

 brood-eradication work. The appropria- 

 tion has not yet been signed by the Govern- 

 or, but it is hoped that the item for this 

 work will be allowed to remain in the 

 budget. 



* * * 



The program for the 21st annual meeting 

 of the Texas State Beekeepers' Association 

 has just been completed. This meeting is 

 held each year in connection with tlie Texas 

 Farmers' Congi-ess at College Station. This 

 year the meetings of the Beekeepers' Asso- 

 ciation are held during the last two days of 

 the congress, which is in session August 1, 

 2, and 3. The president of the association, 

 Mr. E. G. LeStourgeon, of San Antonio, is 

 making every possible effort to have this 

 meeting the best that has yet been held. It 

 is hoped that the beekeepers of the state will 

 help their president attain his goal. Many 

 beekeepers have already signified their in- 

 tention of coming to the meeting and a 

 large attendance is expected. The topics 

 which are found on the program are cer- 

 tainly as interesting as any that have ever 

 been presented to the association. .They 

 are timely, and should be of much interest 

 to every beekeeper in the state. 

 * * * 



Up to the present time there has been but 

 very little demand from the beekeepers of 



July, 1917 



the Rocky Mountain region for combless 

 packages of bees. Many of the larger deal- 

 ers in this state were already well fiUed with 

 orders when the emergency call came from 

 Dr. Phillips for an additional supply. The 

 gi-eatest difficulty in tliis trade the past sea- 

 son has been to furnish queens when re- 

 quested. The queen-breeders of the state 

 have been forced to turn down more orders 

 than they filled. General unfavorable con- 

 ditions for mating is given as the chief rea- 

 son for the shortage in supply. 



A REAL WINTERING PROBLEM IN TEXAS. 



It seems that the wintering problems in 

 this state are not solved, contrary to the 

 common belief. The winters here are mild, 

 and over the entire state no extra attention 

 is given the bees to cari-y them over the win- 

 ter. Occasionally, for one reason or an- 

 other, a beekeeper will leave on a super of 

 sealed honey. There are those who will 

 argue against this, saying that tlie addi- 

 tional room to keep warm will tax the bees 

 and cause loss. The fact remains that we 

 have so much mild weather during the win- 

 ter that there is no way to keep the bees 

 from flying, and at such times they need 

 stores. The time is at hand when the bee- 

 keeper must see that his bees go into the 

 winter in good strong condition and with 

 plenty of stores. Even with honey at a 

 high price it is not advisable to dispose of 

 all the_ crop and allow the bees to suffer the 

 following spring. Every one who has had 

 to feed 10-cent sugar this past season wishes 

 that he had some of the 5 and 7 cent honey 

 that was sold last fall. Every beekeeper is 

 anxious to have his bees up to the greatest 

 possible strength at the time the honey-flow 

 comes on, but it often happens that the bees 

 cannot reach this condition without assist- 

 ance from the beekeeper. 



FEATURING HONEY AT THE FAIRS. 



Each year -county fairs are held in various 

 localities over the state. At roost of these 

 fairs a display of honey will be found, 

 usually in some inconspicuous place. At 

 a few of the fairs there is a department for 

 apicultural products, and small prizes are 

 awarded to the exhibitors. Generally 

 speaking, the beekeepers have not yet come 

 to realize fully the value of such exhibits in 

 increasing the consumption of honey. To 

 the few beekeepers who exhibit at the larger 

 fairs it is a matter of astonishment how little 

 the public knows about honey. They feel 

 that they are conducting an educational cam- 

 paign for the betterment of the industi-y at 

 large. It is good, however, to note the in- 

 creased interest in apicultural displays at 

 the larger fairs. Each year sees new in- 



