414 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



gave 309 lbs., with honey enough in the 9 

 combs for wintering, or a total of 24 L lbs. 

 for the long hive and 334 for the nine-comb 

 hive, counting all that was stored in sec- 

 tions and combs during the season, this 

 showing that the nine-frame brood-chamber 

 had an advantage over the 32-frame in some 

 way, saying nothing about the nine-frame 

 hives putting the most of theirs in a salable 

 form. And I find that, at the out- apiary, 

 where I use the ten-frame Langstroth-f rame 

 hive, it is a rare thing that I get more than 

 six frames solid full of brood at any season 

 of the year, or only about the same that I 

 get with the nine Gallup frames. To be 

 sure, I often have brood in the whole ten 

 frames, but not more than enough to fill 

 about six frames, or the equivalent of what 

 is put in the nine Gallup frames. Now if, 

 when working for comb honey, I get the 

 amount of only six Langstroth frames full 

 of brood out of ten frames, or only nine 

 Gallup frames full of brood where 18, 24, or 

 32 such frames are used in a hive, can Dr. 

 Miller say that nine Gallup frames or 6f 

 Langstroth frames will not entertain the 

 best queen to her full capacity in this locali- 

 ty? Perhaps my locality is quite different 

 from that of others; but I am more inclined 

 to think that, if any close experimenting is 

 done, what is applicable to my locality will 

 come very near the truth in other localities, 

 along this line of the capacity of queens 

 when the colony is worked for comb honey. 

 It has always seemed to me that the propo- 

 sition before the practical apiarist should 

 be, not how many eggs a queen can lay, but 

 what size of brood-chamber will give the best 

 ret^ults in surplus comb honey? 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



THE CATALPA-TREE FOR HONEY. 



Also Something in Regard to the Different 

 Species of Catalpa for Other Purposes. 



BY FREDERICK D. WEBLEY. 



Dear Mr. iJoof;— Will you or any of your 

 readers give advice as to the variety of catal- 

 pa most desirable to grow for honey-produc- 

 tion? On page 2b5, of 1904, Prof. W. J. 

 Green, states that the hardy catalpa does 

 not produce as much seed as the other vari- 

 eties. The inference is, that it does not 

 produce as many flowers, and therefore does 

 not yield as much honey. Is that correct? 

 If the hardy variety is as profitable to the 

 bee-keeper for its yield of nectar as the 

 others, its qualities as a timber tree, pro- 

 ducing wood that is both light and tough, 

 make it intrinsically more valuable. What 

 is the honey-value of the other varieties- 

 native, Japanese, and foreign? and what 

 are the distinguishing features of each? 

 Where can seed be obtained? In Santa Rosa 

 we have a free-flowering variety, used as 

 a shade-tree, and growing well in the streets 

 and avenues, and producing a fair amount 

 of honey of average quahty. The seeds of 



this variety I inclose, and I should be glad if 

 you can tell me what it is. 



If Mr. Otto Luhdorflr, of Visalia, Cal., 

 has had any experience in growing the 

 catalpa, and will communicate it, other read- 

 ers of Gleanings besides myself may be 

 interested. I should also like to hear of his 

 experience in growing the basswood in Cali- 

 fornia, which he was experimenting with, 

 and wrote about some four or five years ago. 

 The view given of the grove of catalpa- trees 

 on page 2110 shows the Japanese variety to 

 be distinct in growth and foliage from the 

 American. Did our venerable friend and 

 veteran bee-keeper, Jerry Wood, plant these 

 trees for bee-pasturage or for timber? 

 Probably only he could answer, unless the 

 writer of the article, Frank McGlade, knows. 



Santa Rosa, Cal. 



[As we have had but little experience with 

 catalpa here in Ohio, the above letter was 

 referred to our Ohio Experiment Station, 

 and below is the reply:] M 



Mr. A. I. Root:— Your letter to Prof. ^ 

 Green, inclosing a letter from Dr. Frederick 

 D. Webley, of Santa Rosa, Cal., has been 

 received. In Prof. Green's absence I will 

 reply to the same. 



I know very little about the comparative 

 merits of the different species and varieties 

 of catalpa for honey-producing purposes. I 

 will give, however, so far as I am acquaint- 

 ed with them, the characteristics of the dif- 

 ferent species. 



Catalpa speciosa, also called the western 

 or hardy catalpa. The tree is upright in 

 growth, with very large leaves and an abun- 

 dance of bloom, although not as free a 

 bloomer as the C. catalpa. The ind.vidual 

 flowers are larger and more showy than any 

 of the other species. 'The speciosa blooms at 

 Wooster from the middle to the last of 

 June. The bark of the older trees is fur- 

 rowed, somewhat like the walnut, but not 

 so marked; the younger trees also show this 

 characteristic to some exfent. The fruit- 

 pod is from 12 to 18 inches in length, and J 

 inch or more in diameter. The seeds are 

 broad, and the filaments (hairy projections 

 at ends) extend out straight. 



Catalpa catalj)a, also called C. bignonoides 

 and southern catalpa. The trees of this 

 species are low-branching, with long crook- 

 ed limbs. The flowers are somewhat more 

 profuse than on the speciosa, but not in the 

 same proportion as the fruit. The flowers 

 of this species apparently set a larger per 

 cent of fruit than the speciosa. 



The pods are from 8 to 12 inches in length, 

 and less than J inch in diameter, as a rule. 

 The seeds are not so wide as the speciosa, 

 and the filaments are drawn toward a point 

 at the ends. 



While there are trees that are clearly de- 

 fined in' all of their characteristics as either 

 the speciosa or the C. catalpa, there are 

 also trees which have some of the charac- 

 teristics of both. This makes the matter of 

 identification more complex; and because of 

 the apparent crossing or variation in type 



