^L\R^^, 1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



157 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



new State Entonioloorist, and Mr. Rude will 

 begin work on Feb. 9. 



During the past year many of the bee- 

 keepers of southwest Texas have been some- 

 what disturbed because the honey plant 

 agarita, Berheiis irifoliolata, was on the list 

 of plants mentioned as carriers of the black 

 stem rust of the small grains, given in 

 Farmers' Bulletin 1058, "Destroy the Com- 

 mon Barberry. ' ' Agarita was included in 

 this list because all native barberries were 

 suspected. Dr. J. J. Taubcnhaus of the 

 experiment station is authority for the 

 statement that agarita is not a carrier of 

 rust, and as there is but a small acreage of 

 small grain in the agarita country little 

 damage would be done even if this plant did 

 carry the rust. 



A number of nectar flows of obscure ori- 

 gin exist in Texas. Several species of oak 

 are reported as giving a nectar flow at 

 blooming time. Last year certain post oaks 

 were, to the casual observer, secreting nec- 

 tar from nectaries located on the catkins 

 and at bases of the bud scales. In many 

 places, especially in central Texas, walnut 

 and pecan are reported as nectar-producers. 

 Whether this is true nectar or a secretion 

 from insect or insect in;jury is yet to be de- 

 termined. In the live-oak gall we have a pe- 

 culiar condition. In all parts of Texas 

 where live oak grows, nectar is collected from 

 these galls from August until winter. This 

 gall is a woody growth, caused by the work 

 of a wasplike insect. This nectar is not se- 

 creted by the insect but by the woody 

 growth, and it is in no way similar to the 

 aphid secretion called honeydew. 



Because of the various activities in bee 

 circles the past year the county beekeepers' 

 associations are more active than they have 

 been for years. In many counties where 

 there has been little interest the associations 

 have elected new officers and outlined good 

 programs for the coming year. 



College Station, Tex. H. B. Parks. 



* * * 



In Iowa "^^^ beekeepers of Marshall 

 County perfected a county as- 

 sociation at a meeting in Marshalltown on 

 •Fanuary 24. This meeting was called by the 

 county agent in co-operation with a few 

 beekeepers who were interested in organi- 

 zation. In preparing the mailing list for 

 notices of this meeting it was found that 

 there were more than 125 people in the 

 county who are interested in beekeeping. 

 The meeting was very well attended, con- 

 sidering the weather, and the interest dis- 

 played in the meeting was far above the 

 average. The program included talks bv 

 F. B. Paddock, State Apiarist, and E. W. At- 

 kins, Extension Specialist from the State 

 College. The "Value of Organization" was 

 discussed bj* Mr. Paddock, and "Prepara- 

 tion for the Coming Season" was the topic 



of the talk by Mr. Atkins. The organiza- 

 tion will bring the beekeepers of the coun- 

 ty in much closer contact, and thru the coun- 

 ty agent the assistance of the extension de- 

 partment will be brought to the county. 

 During the coming year it is planned to hold 

 a series of meetings thruout the county, at 

 which will be discussed the methods of bet- 

 ter beekeeping. The association hopes to 

 begin its good work at once by a co-opera- 

 tive order for bee supplies. It is expected 

 that the matter of marketing the honey 

 crop for the coming season will be given 

 consideration before the crop is ready to be 

 disposed of. Plans are being made to es- 

 tablish a demonstration apiary in connec- 

 tion with the extension work that will be 

 done in the county during the coming year. 

 By means of this the members of the as- 

 sociation will have an opportunity to study 

 the effects of the improved methods for 

 honey production. 



During the month of December another 

 county, Hardin, perfected the organization 

 of a beekeepers' association. The efforts of 

 F. 11. Stacey, formerly a director of the 

 Iowa Beekeepers ' Association, are shown 

 in this organization. The beekeepers of 

 Hardin County have also arranged for the 

 extension work in beekeeping to be con- 

 ducted during the coming year. They are 

 expecting to complete arrangements for the 

 establishment of a demonstration apiary for 

 the beekeepers of that county. The matter 

 of marketing honey will be given proper at- 

 tention by the association. 



The organization of these two county as- 

 sociations can be said to be the direct effect 

 of the movement started at the last Des 

 Moines convention. There are now 13 coun- 

 ties organized, and at least six more are 

 expecting to perfect an association in the 

 near future. The amount of good which can 

 come from these associations, scattered over 

 the State for the uplift of the industry, is 

 beyond estimate. The beekeepers are rapid- 

 ly appreciating the benefit of co-operation. 



There is now available to the beekeepers 

 of this and other States an Advanced Cor- 

 respondence Course in Beekeeping. Those 

 who have completed the elementary course 

 which has been offered during the past two 

 years will welcome this opportunity to learn 

 more of the exact details of beekeeping. 

 There are, no doubt, many beekeepers who 

 are producing honey profitably who want 

 still more information concerning the sub- 

 stantial facts of beekeeping. This course is 

 composed of 15 lessons, based on the text, 

 "Langstroth on the Honey Bee, Revised by 

 Dadant. " Further information on this 

 course can be obtained from the Extension 

 Department at Ames. 



The State Apiarist has recently under- 

 taken a survey of the beekeepintr industry 

 of the Stiite. This big ta^k needs the co- 



