GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1920 



ffi) FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



colony, and then feed it not later than the 

 first of October. F. E. Balmer, State Lead- 

 er of the county agents, read a paper on 

 "What Minnesota Beekeepers May Expect 

 from County Agents." This paper contain- 

 ed so many facts of interest to the beekeep- 

 ers of the State that we shall refer to it in 

 a future number, and likewise to the pajier 

 by Prof. L. V. France on "Minnesota Bee- 

 keeping Illustrated." Many others contrib- 

 uted towards making the meeting one of 

 the most successful held in many years. The 

 election of officers resulted in the re-election 

 of Prof. A. W. Eankin for president and 

 Otto L. Wille, 110 Bates Avenue, St. Paul, 

 as secretary-treasurer. Prof. France, the re- 

 tiring secretary, felt that he could no longer 

 devote the necessary time to the office. A 

 hearty vote of thanks was given Mr. France 

 for his faithful and untiring services as 

 secretary during the last four years. 



We are looking for a heavy loss of bees 

 this winter. Judging by the letters which 

 have been received from various parts of the 

 State, and by the discussions at the annual 

 meeting, many colonies went into winter 

 quarters with insufficient stores to carry 

 them thru the winter. Many others will 

 come thru the winter light in stores. These 

 should be fed as soon as taken from the cel- 

 lar. Anticipating a good flow, many sold 

 themselves short of white honey. But the 

 fall flow did not materialize and sugar could 

 not be purchased. Now, let us not forget 

 the lesson which experience has taught us. 



Dr. E. F. Phillips and staff are announced 

 to hold a Beekeepers' Short Course at the 

 University Farm, St. Paul, during the week 

 of February 16-21. We are sure that every 

 one who attended the course which Dr. Phil- 

 lips conducted there last April will make a 

 special effort to attend this course. 



Minneapolis, Minn. Chas. D. Blaker. 



• * * 



Tj, "Texas '^^^ Beekeepers' Short 



Course held at San Antonio, 

 Dec. 15-20, was a success in every way. In 

 spite of the rain and the cold there was a 

 regular enrollment of one hundred and 

 thirty. Besides Texas, 12 other States and 

 one country (Mexico) were represented by 

 beekeepers. In addition to the regular bee- 

 keepers a class from the high school attend- 

 ed each afternoon session. A number of 

 soldiers from the school at Fort Sam Hous- 

 ton took this work as a part of their regular 

 school course. 



A representative survey of the State, rel- 

 ative to the conditions of bees and honey 

 plants, was made Dec. 15. The findings are 

 peculiar in that they are contrary to the 

 common opinion. The bulk of the bees of 

 the State are in better than average condi- 

 tions . It is hard to account for the spotted 

 conditions found, for some good beemen 

 were compelled to feed; but the reason for 



the widespread cry that the bees are starv- 

 ing is that the newspaper accounts of loss 

 of bees in other States caused the bee-own- 

 ers who never care for their colonies to in- 

 vestigate, and, as a rule, these neglected 

 bees were starving. The report on honey 

 plants is all one could ask for. In every 

 instance the report is that all species are in 

 first-class condition and present in more 

 than normal quantities. The biennials, like 

 horsemint, aster, boneset, and broomweed, 

 are reported to be in the best condition 

 since the winter of 1913. Fall-sown sweet 

 clover has done remarkably well. 



One of the things brought out during the 

 Beekeepers' Short Course at San Antonio 

 was the fact that Texas, a great honey-pro- 

 ducing State, not only consumes its own 

 honey but imports large amounts from oth- 

 er States. This does not mean that Texas 

 exports no honey, but it does mean that 

 Texas people have learned to eat honey, and 

 when the home-grown article is no longer 

 available, they import it rather than use 

 cane or other syrups. If the west coast and 

 white-clover regions would follow Texas in 

 the matter of home consumption of honey, 

 the low price of honey would no longer be 

 the topic of beekeepers' meetings. 



Eeports indicate that the whole State is 

 suffering from a plague of mice and rats. 

 A similar outbreak was reported in 1918 in 

 several counties in east Texas, but now it 

 seems to have spread over the entire State. 

 As soon as winter caused the rodents to 

 seek protection and food they made them- 

 selves at home in houses, barns, and even 

 beehives. In many places the blocks, used 

 to narrow the entrances to the hives, have 

 been pulled away or gnawed out by the 

 pests. As usual the box-gum owner is the 

 greatest loser. Many of our beekeepers 

 have solved the protection problem by put- 

 ting a piece of queen-excluder as a guard 

 over the entrance. 



If we are to get the best out of our honey 

 flows in southwest Texas, it is evident that 

 brood-rearing must begin in early December, 

 if the bees are to be ready to care for the 

 agarita flow. It was brought out in the 

 Short Course that tulip-poplar became 

 known as a honey plant only after the bees 

 were so wintered that they stored the flow 

 instead of building up on it. The agarita 

 flow begins about Feb. 15 and lasts a month. 

 Eock brush, Mexican persimmon, and hua- 

 jilla give a continuous flow from March 12 

 until May 15. It is more than likely that 

 the reason for the big flows from huajilla, 

 catsclaw, and Mexican persimmon is that 

 the heavy flow from agarita enabled the 

 bees to build up by the beginning of the 

 second flow. If the proper stores and win- 

 ter protection were given, it is probable that 

 the bees would be able to build up to their 

 maximum and store part of the agarita flow. 



College Station, Tex. H. B. Parks, 



