1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



891 



immense irrigation projects that are already 

 under way and in prospect will mean some 

 fine bee territory not now occupied. 



This country is so large that there will be 

 room for all; but in taking up these new bee- 

 ranges, bee-keepers both in fact and in pros- 

 pect should endeavor to abide by the golden 

 rule — that is, to be careful about overlapping 

 the other fellow's bee-range. Do not get 

 nearer than three miles, and four miles be- 

 tween the yards of bees would be better. It 

 will be well if the new settlers could so agree; 

 and in nearly every case, if not all, the first 

 bee-keeper on the ground should have the 

 the undisputed possession of the territory in 

 range of his bees. Let the rule of "live and 

 let live," rather than "get all you can, 

 whether it hurts the other fellow or not, ' ' be 

 the guide. 



While it is true that, legally, one will have 

 just as much right to a given bee range as 

 another, yet when one bee-keeper can make 

 a fair living off a given bee range, and three 

 would starve to death, why should not one 

 (the first on the field) be allowed to make 

 that living? There should be, and need l3e, 

 no dog in the manger about this business. 



NEW HONEY-PRODUCING TERRITORIES THAT 

 WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR BEE- 



KEEFER-S. 



We have already referred to the great ir- 

 rigation works now being constructed by the 

 United States government, and which form 

 only a part of the vast amount of land now 

 being recovered from the desert, and which, 

 when it has been planted, forms excellent 

 opportunities for bee-keeping on a profitable 

 basis. To give some idea of what a beneficent 

 government can do in this respect we may 

 instance the fact that recent maps of Idaho 

 show a new lake (Walcott), which is 35 miles 

 long, and, at its deepest, 300 feet. The largest 

 warship in the world could steam over it in 

 safety, and at a medium speed would take 

 two hours to cover the distance. A similar 

 lake will also be created in New Mexico, and 

 much larger ones are contemplated. 



The effect of these vast improvements is to 

 render bee-keeping a safe and profitable bus- 

 iness in the localities affected. On the other 

 hand, it is estimated that 60,000,000 acres of 

 really valuable land may be recovered from 

 swamps in this country by drainage. This 

 will be of great material benefit to the bee- 

 keepers by allowing a good class of honey- 

 plants to grow where sedges and canes for- 

 merly held the ground. 



There is also another sort of land which 

 is bound to be reclaimed at an early date. 

 This is ovei'flow lands subject to inundation 

 at times. California has a considerable quan- 

 tity of such land. It is good bee territory 

 except for the risk of losing one's all by a 

 flood. In most cases a simply constructed 

 levee would protect such lands and render 

 them perfectly safe. 



There is considerable prospect of much 

 land being deliberately planted out in for- 

 ests, and these, in most cases, will be formed 



of honey-producing trees. This has been re- 

 ferred to before. It is true, much of our 

 forest land is being ruthlessly cut down: but 

 in Michigan, Minnesota, and Maine, when 

 the white-pine forest is cut over, the fireweed 

 or willow herb and the raspberry, both of 

 them splendid honey-plants, take complete 

 hold of the soil. 



In the South, on the other hand, when the 

 yellow pine forests are cut, the gallberry 

 bush (another exquisite honey-plant) takes 

 full possession at once. 



Then also the modern farmer is more in- 

 clined than ever to use leguminous plants, 

 which are honey-yielders in nearly every 

 case. Moreover, w^e have the new pure- food 

 laws which give stability to honey prices and 

 prevent scheming men hammering the price 

 of pure honey down to a point where it does 

 not pay the producer. 



There is no exaggeration in presenting 

 these facts, hence it is safe to say the outlook 

 for the bee business was never better. 



HIVE-LUMBER SITUATION. 



Bee-keepers have been greatly exercised 

 for some time over the high price of hives 

 and other bee-supplies made of wood, and 

 some have flattered themselves that in time 

 prices would come down. There does not 

 seem to be much hope for this consumma- 

 tion; on the contrary, all signs point the oth- 

 er way, for, according to a recent bulletin 

 issued by the Forestry Bureau at Washing- 

 ton, we are using up the white-pine forests 

 at least three times as fast as we ought to, 

 though at present we are using only half as 

 much as we did in the latter eighties. 



At the annual meeting of the Northern 

 Pine-manufacturers' Association in Minne- 

 apolis, January 23, 1907, the secretary, J. E. 

 Rhodes, made this statement: 



"Since 1895, 248 firms, representing an ag- 

 gregate annual output of pine lumber of 4| 

 billion feet, have retired from business, due 

 to the exhaustion of their timber supply. 

 Plants representing approximately 500 mil- 

 lion feet capacity which sawed in 1906 will 

 not be operated in 1907." It may be argued 

 that we might use some other lumber — for 

 example, cypress or Douglas pine; but this 

 would hardly help us, for the freight rates 

 on either are very high, as one is produced 

 in the extreme south and the other in the ex- 

 treme northwest. 



Of course, we might use substitutes; but, 

 unfortunately, these are dearer in the end 

 than good white pine. It must be borne in 

 mind, also, that bee-keepers demand the very 

 best lumber in their hives. 



Luckily the ordinary bee-keeper uses only 

 a small amount of lumber each year. 



the difference BETWEEN SYRUP AND MO- 

 LASSES PRODUCED IN THE TROPICS. 



The two sweetening agents above mention- 

 ed come into open competition with honey 

 to a very considerable extent, and yet the 

 average consumer in the North can not dis- 

 tinguish between syrup and molasses, though 



