GLEANINGS IN BEE CULT U K E 



•lui.v. 19J1. 



@) FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



beekeepers are holding their honey, and just 

 as soon as these small beekeepers have mar- 

 keted their crop the price will again become 

 normal. 



Dr. G. S. Flaps, of tlu- Division of Cheni 

 istry of Experiment Station, College Station. 

 Tex., has just issued a bulletin entitled. 

 "The Chemical Composition of Texas 

 Honey and Pecans." This paper gives the 

 analysis of a large number of samples of 

 honey from different Texas locations and 

 flowers. Every person interested in the sub- 

 ject of honey and its care, should obtain 

 one of these bulletins. This, exclusive of 

 the government publications from the Bu- 

 reau of Chemistry, is the only paper of its 

 sort available to the public. Careful study 

 of the tables given explains quite a number 

 of points of interest relatixe to honey. Hon- 

 ey that granulates very quickly is very low 

 in water content, while those that ferment 

 have an extremely large amount of water. 

 The locality is brought out even in chemical 

 analysis, as the same-named honey from 

 the eastern part of the State has a larger 

 ash content than that over in the westerji 

 part. This bulletin can be obtained from 

 the Director of Experiment Station, College 

 Station, Texas. 



R. E. Ecppert, Extension Entomologist, 

 and Don G. Griswold, County Demonstra- 

 tion Agent of Denton County, ninde an ex- 

 tensive campaign for hi'ttei- beekeeinng in 

 that county May 5, 6, 7. The first two days 

 were spent in visiting the beekeepers of 

 the county, and on the last day a number 

 of demonstrations were given, including 

 transferring, working the hive, and properly 

 distributing brood. At the same time, a 

 county beekeepers association was perfect- 

 ed. There is no class of extension work for 

 which there is greater demand and which 

 give better results than the work done in 

 beekeeping. The only trouble in Texas is 

 that there are too few men who are in a 

 position to do this work. 



Thruout quite a consideiablo extent of 

 territory south and east of San Antonio an 

 adult bee disease has put in its appearance 

 within the past two weeks. It has been very 

 severe in some apiaries, and in one case the 

 loss of 100 colonies was reported. This 

 trouble, like all of the others of similar kind, 

 is called by the beekeepers paralysis or dis- 

 appearing disease. The trouble undoubtedly 

 is a form of indigestion, and conditions in 

 the field indicate that it must be caused by 

 the bees living entirely upon the pollen and 

 nectar from the spring-blooming flowers. 

 The nectar from these plants produces a 

 dark-amber heavy honey which is high in 

 ash content. Because of the similarity in 

 chemical composition between this nectar and 

 that of honeydew honey, it is quite probable 

 that there is a close rehitionship between 



this disease iind the one which affects l)ccs 

 that are fed on aphid honey. The feeding 

 of sugar syrup to the bees has been recom- 

 mended, and where the colonies had not al- 

 ready been depleted a very marked inipro\e- 

 ment has been noted; but where the major- 

 ity of the old bees had died the remaining 

 were not able to save the brood, even when 

 fed syrup. 



A very peculiar and serious occurren<-e 

 hajipeneil the first of this month when tlie 

 S. P. Eailroad sprayed its roadbed with an 

 arsenic solntion to kill weeds. This railroad 

 runs thru the heart of the beekeeping sec- 

 tion of Texas, and quite a number of api- 

 aries are located very close to its right of 

 way. In one instance one man lost almost 

 the entire adult population of a 50-colony 

 apiary. Just why the bees would collect 

 the poison liquid as it lay on the railroad 

 rails and ties, is hard to understand, but 

 they did. One apiary, which was within 

 200 feet of the railroad, was almost wiped 

 out: another one, a trifle farther away, did 

 jiot lose so many bees; and those a quarter 

 of a mile from the track were hardly af- 

 fected. It was a very peculiar sight to see 

 a hive having brood enough for 50,000 bees, 

 containing only a queen and perhaps 200 

 adult bees. A rain came a few days after 

 the poison was put on, and no trouble has 

 been reported since. 



San Antonio, Tex. H. B. Parks. 



* * * 



In North Carolina.— This state has 



not in years ex- 

 perienced so short a honey yield as this 

 promises to be, especially in the eastern half 

 of the State. Two heavy frosts about the 

 middle of April, the second one accompanied 

 by a freeze, literally killed the early bloom 

 and young twigs on most of the wikl honey- 

 bearing trees and shrubs, leaving only a 

 limited pasturage in the more protected and 

 widely scattered places. Now the hot 

 weather is coming on apace, and there is 

 very little secretion of nectar on hot nights. 

 Beekeepers are hoping for a good fall flow, 

 but this will little more than enable the 

 bees to lay by stores for the winter. 



The central and western sections of the 

 State did not suffer anything like as severe- 

 ly from the frosts as did the eastern sec- 

 tion, due to the fact that the flora was not 

 so far advanced as in the coastal region. 



Beekeepers are taking their 1921 setback 

 ]ilulosophically and making the best of it 

 by striving in every way to get the bees to 

 work to their utmost capacity and increas- 

 ing colonies and building up for the 1922 

 season. 



Bruce Anderson of Terra Ceia, Beaufort 

 County, chosen president at the January 

 meeting in Wilmington, has an aggressive 

 program of activities for the North Caro- 



