94 



G Ij E A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



Febrcarv, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



it with the tame carrot. These plants are 

 very different in the flower arrangement. 

 The flowers of the cultivated carrot are 

 worked very heavily by the bees wherever 

 the plant is allowed to bloom; but the wild 

 carrot, which occurs in immense quantities 

 wherever there is a limestone soil, appears 

 to be a nectar plant only on rare occasions. 

 The writer kept careful notes on this plant 

 for about four years, and only during one 

 period of two weeks were lioneybees ob- 

 served to work upon it. Its nectaries are 

 exposed, which makes this plant primarily a 

 fly plant, and the nectar does not seem to be 

 overly abundant. 



E. O. Timm of Bennington, Neb., who has 

 been secretary of the Nebraska Honey Pro- 

 ducers ' Association for several years, will 

 work for E. B. Ault of Calallen, Texas, dur- 

 ing the coming summer. The beekeepers of 

 Texas extend the hand of welcome to Mr. 

 Timm, and we are sure that he in turn will 

 benefit us by his presence. 



Frank Warmuth, who is well known as a 

 queen-breeder in Texas, will be with the firm 

 of Patterson & Winters in 1922. Mr. War- 

 muth has made a very enviable reputation 

 with Mr. Burleson of Waxahachie and Mr. 

 Ault of Calallen. 



The Texas Honey Producers' Association 

 will hold its annual business meeting on 

 January 17. Many matters of importance 

 must be decided at that time. As these 

 matters concern all beekeepers in Texas, all 

 beekeepers, whether members or not, are in- 

 vited to be present. Three directors and a 

 delegate to the American Honey Producers' 

 League meeting are to be elected. 



San Antonio, Tex. H. B. Parks. 



Ttt T r^iici-ina The continued summer- 

 in LOUSiana.— |.j^^ weather all thru the 



autumn and up to the present time (January 

 3) has kept a few fall honey plants bloom- 

 ing, and the bees have been constantly at 

 work carrying in some honey and a great 

 deal of pollen. Of course, this condition 

 does not apply to the extreme north end of 

 the state. In that locality, an early frost, 

 about October 20, killed everything, gnd 

 since that time, while the bees have been 

 flying, there was nothing in the nectar line 

 to gather. 



Today I noticed the fine condition of the 

 white clover. The growth had so far ad- 

 vanced that a great many blossoms were 

 noticeable. This is not unusual here, as the 

 clover begins to bloom at this time each 

 year. However, I have never seen a bee 

 working on white clover until about Feb- 

 ruary 15; after that time it may be depend- 

 ed upon as a nectar producer until about 

 July 1. 



About January 5 the soft maple comes in 



blossom and produces quite an abundance 

 of honey and pollen. It is followed from 

 that time on with blossoms of many minor 

 nectar-secreting plants without any inter- 

 ruption, until the big crops of tupelo and 

 black •gum, willow, holly and gallberry come 

 in April and May. 



I have found a great mistake committed 

 by many beekeepers in Louisiana, and that 

 is the small number of supers placed above 

 each brood-chamber. In many cases I find 

 only one shallow super is being used, while 

 the honey flow in that locality would enable 

 the bees to fill easily a half-dozen supers. 



Our spring flow comes in such abundance 

 that it is an easy matter for the bees to 

 store, at times, 10 to 15 pounds each day. 

 Why should we lose this valuable honey 

 when it is so easy to purchase extra sup- 

 plies? About March 1 at least as many as 

 three shallow supers can be placed above 

 each brood-chamber. This will help to pre- 

 vent swarming which occurs very early here, 

 and also will insure a good crop. 



The weather conditions are such in Louisi- 

 ana that this extra room may easily be given 

 without chilling the bees, and it will act as 

 a playground in bad weather for the young 

 bees that arc emerging from the cells so rap- 

 idly at this season. 



The United States Government, as well as 

 Louisiana State Government, has spent mil- 

 lions of dollars in building levees along the 

 rivers and in digging canals to drain dis- 

 tricts, and in these localities the bee flora 

 has become so great that it is possible for \,i 

 beekeeper to harvest as many as seven crops 

 each year. 



We have every grade of honey from water 

 white to amber. All of these flows are dis- 

 tinct, with the exception of our July flow, 

 and by extracting in time, the honey from 

 each can easily be kept separate. 



There are many intelligent beekeepers 

 here, and the industry is rapidly coming to 

 the front. In due time Louisiana will easily 

 rank among the foremost bee and lioiiey- 

 producing states of America. 



Baton Eouge, La. E. C. Davis. 



* * » 



In Alabama.— The winter till January 1 

 was very mild, and the 

 bees began gathering substitutes for pollen 

 just a few days before Christmas. If this 

 condition had continued all the queens would 

 have begun to lay and, of course, greatly re- 

 duced the supply of winter stores; but on 

 January 1 we had a cold spell that will pre- 

 vent any more trouble from this cause, for 

 a while at least. 



We have also had very little rain so far. 

 Wliile this has caused no damage yet, unless 

 there are more rains before March we shall 

 probably liavc a wet spring, which will 



