March, 1923 



GLEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE 



163 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



signs of swarming by the last of the month. 

 To lose any of these will be a loss, indeed; 

 for if "A swarm of bees in May is worth 

 a ton of hay," as the old saying goes, what 

 is it worth in March? 



Early in the season we often have morn- 

 ings that stay cool until well into the fore- 

 noon. This gives much time to set founda- 

 tion, wire frames and do odd jobs. But he 

 who is wise will have as much as possible 

 of this kind of work done before the real 

 bee-work begins. L. L. Andrews. 



Corona, Calif. 



* * * 



In Arizona. — Tjie probability suggest- 

 ed an our last report tor 

 this department, that a large proportion of 

 the bees in Arizona were entering the win- 

 ter without adequate stores for the season, 

 has been verified by further reports from 

 beekeepers. The winter, especially the 

 month of January, has been below normal 

 in temperature, at least in southern Ari- 

 zona. This has doubtless had a tendency to 

 conserve the scanty stores up to the present. 



In this month, however, in the southern 

 region (in which are located nearly all of 

 the apiaries of the state) may confidently 

 be expected the beginning of spring, mark- 

 ed by the opening of cottonwood catkins 

 and the blossoming of the sweet-scented 

 leafless mistletoe on mesquite trees. The 

 pollen available from these sources, with 

 possibly some nectar from the mistletoe, to- 

 gether with the rising temperature, stimu- 

 lates brood-rearing and consequent rapid 

 consumption of stores. It therefore be- 

 hooves the beekeepers of this region to ex- 

 amine into the condition of their colonies 

 at this time and to feed those requiring it 

 until nectar from outside sources is avail- 

 able. 



Tlie winter rains for the months of No- 

 vember, December and January, taken to- 

 gether, have been somewhat below normal, 

 but for January alone slightly above normal 

 at Tucson. It therefore appears probable 

 that conditions may again be favorable for 

 an early spring nectar- flow from various 

 wild flowers, sufficient for spring upbuild- 

 ing, prior to the regular mesquite-catselaw 

 flow. The rainfall for February and March 

 is, however, the determining factor for tliis 

 early flow. If this occurs, feeding will be 

 necessary for only a short period. It will 

 be remembered by Arizona apiarists that 

 this early spring flow was very fine in 1920, 

 coming on strongly in March and yielding 

 some surplus in April, but that it failed en- 

 tirely in 1921. Should this flow develop 

 well, beekeepers will need to be on guard 

 with swarm-prevention measures against un- 

 controlled increase. Chas. T. Vorhies, 



Tucson, Ariz. 



Tj, Texas '^^^^ weather in January has 

 been extremely variable and 

 not advantageous to tlie bees. The first 

 part of the month was very warm and dry. 

 The bees were active every day, and the 

 amount of stores consumed was great. In 

 many cases bees were observed carrying in 

 supplies of pollen and nectar. It was very 

 interesting to see the number of bees en- 

 gaged in carrying water into the hives at 

 this time of year. It is reported that there 

 has been enough blooming along the Kio 

 Grande to cause a considerable amount of 

 brood-rearing and a nectar flow sufficient to 

 warrant the queen-breeders in starting work. 

 The latter part of the month Texas suffered 

 from a blizzard. 



The reports from various parts of the 

 state relative to the honey plants are very 

 contradictory. Observant beekeepers, liv- 

 ing but a few miles apart, report very dif- 

 ferently. Dry weather during November, 

 December and January has very much de- 

 creased the chances for a horsemint honey 

 flow. It seems to be the opinion of the 

 majority of the beekeepers that we must 

 have rain in the next month if we have 

 anything like a normal honey flow. A num- 

 ber of old-time beekeepers, however, predict 

 that we shall have a good honey flow from 

 huajilla and mesquite, as they say that these 

 plants always give a good surplus following 

 a dry winter. 



The Texas Honey Producers' Association 

 lield its annual meeting on Jan. 17 when 

 the membership was well represented. A 

 policy of retrenchment was agreed upon, 

 and the membership in the American Honey 

 Producers' League was continued. E. G. 

 LeStourgeon, W. O. Victor and Miss Alma 

 M. Hasslbauer were elected to succeed them- 

 selves as directors, and T. W. Burleson of 

 Waxahachie was elected to fill the unexpired 

 term of W. C. Collier, resigned. Ambrose 

 Johnson of Laredo was elected president; 

 E. G. LeStourgeon, manager; and Miss Alma 

 M. Hasslbauer, secretary. 



There seems to be more activity among 

 the beekeepers than for several years. Many 

 of the large beekeepers, who have made no 

 increase for the past three years on account 

 of the high price of fixtures, are now plan- 

 ning on increasing their number of colonies 

 considerably. Numbers of men who own 

 box hives will transfer this spring because 

 of the lower price of hives. During the past 

 four years, a great deal has been printed 

 relative to beekeeping on the farm, and this 

 publicity is commencing to bear fruit, as 

 during the coming spring there will be 

 many farmers who will install a few colo- 

 nies of bees. Mr. Reppert, Extension Ento- 

 mologist, A. & M. College, informs us that 

 the bee interest is becoming very strong in 

 the southeastern portion of the state and 



