528 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



nightfall there would be few bees left in 

 many hives unless the cage containing the 

 new queen to be introduced is placed 

 among or above the combs. The queen may 

 be introduced in any of the good ways, but 

 I have had the best results when using the 

 tobacco-smoke method, which is quickly 

 done with no bad results. I have never 

 killed a queen or worker by this method, 

 and I believe it is perfectly harmless. I 

 get from 90% to 100% safely introduced. I 

 proceed as follows: I have a good fire in 

 the smoker and then place in a good quan- 

 tity of strong tobacco. With a good volume 

 of smoke I give five or six puffs in the en- 

 trance, and in about one minute or so I re- 

 lease the queen at the entrance and follow 

 her up with a puff of smoke. If introducing 

 a number of queens, I smoke six or eight col- 

 onies and follow up immediately with the re- 

 leasing of the queens. 



It is well to remember that colonies will 

 rob now, and that the entrances should be 

 reduced except in very strong colonies. 



If one gets the honey off and extracted or, 

 if comb honey, cleaned and cased, the in- 

 crease made and properly cared for, the sales 

 of honey nicely started, and the old worn- 

 out queens and even many that did excel- 

 lent work this year replaced with young 

 vigorous ones, he will be busy enough. 



The other fellow will compete with you 

 for sales; but rather than cut below the es- 

 tablished price, unless that price is held be- 

 yond its proportional value with other goods, 

 prepare your product just a little more nice- 

 ly and neatly and give just a little better 

 service, and you will be both surprised and 

 pleased with the final results. 



East Jordan, Mich. Ira D. Bartlett. 



with one of the many caravans headed to- 

 ward College Station. 



The migration of plants is a very interest- 

 ing and little-understood subject. Just what 

 conditions start it and bring it to an end are 

 yet to be learned, but it is safe to say that 

 very favorable weather conditions and the 

 breaking up of the old plant growth due to 

 farming activities are the main factors. 

 Most beekeepers recall the migrations of 

 the dog fennel, Canadian lettuce, Eussian 

 thistle and buffalo burs. Of particular in- 

 terest to the Texas beekeepers is the mi- 

 gration of the Texas marigold (Guillardia 

 pulchella). Less than 20 years ago this 

 plant was noted as a honey plant in north 

 Texas. ' Today it is the main plant that 

 builds up the bees to a strength to care 

 for the cotton flow. About five years ago 

 this plant came into notice in southwest 

 Texas, and this year it had increased in 

 numbers, to where, despite the cold and 

 rains, it gave some surplus. 



It seems to be one of the provisions of 

 nature, that the weather conditions favor- 

 able to one plant are not to another. Thus 

 the plants do not come into competition, 

 and bees do not starve. This spring when 

 huajilla was blighted by the rain, guayacan 

 (Guincum angnstifoUum) gave a good sur- 

 plus, and now, when everything else has 

 failed, brazil {Gondalia ohorata) is furnish- 

 ing a living for the bees. 



It seems that everyone has something to. 

 say about catalepsy in queens. I hardly 

 like to think of Her Koyal Majesty having 

 fits or stumping her toes, and believe this 

 peculiar action is related to the "death 

 faint" or playing possum which is very 

 common throughout the whole insect world. 



San Antonio, Tex. H. B. Parks. 



Tj^ Texas '^^^^ month of June has 



brought much disappoint- 

 ment to the beekeepers. Cold periods, rains 

 and floods have put an end to any hope for 

 a honey crop in southwest Texas. The 

 drought of last fall cut off hope of a horse- 

 mint flow. The rains ruined the huajilla 

 and mesquite, and now the only hope for 

 a honey crop in Texas is cotton. In some 

 small isolated sections a fair crop from 

 horsemint and marigold is reported. At the 

 present time the bees are just making a 

 living, and unless a very favorable fall 

 bloom occurs wholesale feeding must be re- 

 sorted to. 



The summer meeting of the State Bee- 

 keepers' Association will be hehl during 

 the Farmers' Short Course at College Sta- 

 tion on July 25 and 26. The program will 

 be very interesting, as many of the speak- 

 ers are old as beekeepers in Texas but new 

 as speakers before the association. Last 

 year the auto caravan trip was started, and 

 this vear most of those attending will come 



In Pennsylvania. 



Slow honey floAv, 

 lots of swarms and 

 little surplus honey make up most of the 

 reports from Pennsylvania beekeepers so 

 far. This condition is found in all of the 

 demonstration meetings in various parts of 

 the state. The average surplus of white 

 honey to date is not over 10 pounds per 

 colony. Two frosts in June in the moun- 

 tainous districts and alternate cold and 

 warm spells all over the state have inter- 

 fered seriously with nectar secretion. In 

 spite of these conditions we find an occa- 

 sional beekeeper with a small but satisfac- 

 tory surplus. Management, or lack of man- 

 agement, more than the season is the great- 

 est factor after all. 



The great factors in honey production are 

 in turn the factors that prevent the bad 

 conditions so prevalent at present. In our 

 extension work we are teaching frequent re- 

 queening, more food for winter and spring, 

 more brood-rearing room, especially for 



