1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



169 



no neighbors' bees it is altogether the easi- 

 est and cheapest way to do it; and I suspect 

 that syrup fed very thin, and carried through 

 the air a distance, is more thoroughly ripen- 

 ed than the same amount of sweet of the 

 same dilution given to the bees in the hive 

 direct. This should be said, however, that 

 there is possibly and probably a loss in bees 

 owing to the hard labor of struggling against 

 each other in their mad haste gathering the 

 syrup and carrying it home. Just how much 

 this may be I do not know. -Ed.] 



Beekeeping in theSoithwest 



BY LOUIS H.SCHOLL. COLLEGE STATION TEXAS 



The bees at home began this season in 

 December on mistletoe, which is very abun- 

 dant. 



J& 



The weather was warm this winter, and 

 bees flew nearly every day up to Jan. 10, 

 when a cold spell came, lasting several 

 days. 



Bulk comb, extracted, and section honey 

 are the three kinds produced in Texas, the 

 most of it bulk comb honey with the great- 

 est profit. 



Heavy rains have fallen, and prospects 

 are good. The up-to-the-times bee-keeper 

 is making ready for a honey-flow while the 

 other kind still has plenty of time. 



What a difference! Snow and ice here in 

 the North; at home, in the South, my bees 

 are working busily on mistletoe, which 

 is still in bloom, and agherites {Berberis 

 trifoliatum) , one of our best early bloom- 

 ers, is coming in to stimulate early brood- 

 rearing. 



Texas has eight bee-keepers' associations, 

 and there is something doing. They are 

 now pulling hard before the legislature now 

 in session, for a pure honey-law, and for an 

 amendment to the foul-brood law, providing 

 for an appropriation of $1000 annually for 

 carrying out the work. 



The Washington State Bee-keepers' Asso- 

 ciation, according to its convention report in 

 the American Bee Journal, has appointed a 

 committee to seek the co-operation of the 

 bee-keepers' associations of the States of 

 Oregon, Idaho, and California, such commit- 

 tee to make a grand display of honey, bees, 

 and by-products at the Lewis and Clark 

 Exposition, to prepare literature and circu- 

 late it, and see to it that a booth is arranged 



at which the public shall be feasted on hon- 

 ey, hot waffles, etc. There is nothing hke 

 organized effort, push, and advertising. 



The botanical name of ' ' catsclaw ' ' is 

 Acacia greggii, A.Gray; and of "guajilla," 

 Acacia berlandieri, Beuth. These names 

 have been asked for recently. They are 

 two of our leading honey-yielders of South- 

 west Texas, and are both shrubs or shrub- 

 by trees belonging to the acacia. 



Three times during the fall and this win- 

 ter have I been guilty of letting the man- 

 ager of my Texas apiaries jog my memory 

 about ordering our necessary supplies early; 

 and when he wrote me that I'd better order 

 them right away if I expected him to pro- 

 duce any honey for me, they were ordered. 

 Of course, being away from home and other 

 matters accounted for the delay. A card 

 now tells me that the supplies were just re- 

 ceived; heavy rains had set in, and nothing 

 to do but to fix them up for the honey-flow. 



In consequence of an editorial by the editor 

 of Gleanings in the Jan. 1st issue, relative 

 to Southwest Texas as a bee country, many 

 letters asking for more information have 

 come to me, and I should like to say that it 

 has been impossible for me to answer them 

 properly on account of my school work and 

 other duties. Some time soon I shall pre- 

 pare for this department such information 

 as has been asked for, together with a map 

 of Southwest Texas showing the location of 

 counties, cities, and towns, and the railroads 

 in this section. This will then serve as an 

 answer to all of the letters. 



How would these be for get-rich-quick 

 schemes? I have had these in mind for sev- 

 eral years, but could not carry them out 

 myself, so here they are: 



One is, to keep bees in Texas for the early 

 honey-flows, which last until June, then 

 move to Colorado and catch the alfalfa flow 

 there. The bees are to be returned to Tex- 

 as to winter them for early flows the follow- 

 ing season. 



Another is, to run bees in Texas during 

 the summer, and then spend the winter with 

 bees in Cuba while the honey season is on; 

 come back to this country at the end of the 

 season there, and work the Texas bees again 

 next summer. 



By following one method the bee-keeper 

 could keep cool all the time, and by the 

 other he could keep warm year in and year 

 out. This would be working bees the year 

 round provided the bees wouldn't work the 

 bee-keeper. 



MOVING BEES SHORT DISTANCES. 



To move an apiary of bees only a few hun- 

 dred rods has been a serious problem with 

 us during some of our winters. The bees 

 flying more or less all the time will return 



