316 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



June 



made. Now, I like Bro. Heddon tiptop, and I know 

 that he likes me too; but I do think that a little 

 grain of selfishness lies at the foundation of his 

 courteous strictures. In order to sugar-coat his lit- 

 tle pill, aud with an evident desire to divert suspi- 

 cion (a suspicion, too, which it is evident troubles 

 him), he siys he can not be accused of selHsh mo- 

 tives, because he is a supply dealer as well as a 

 honey-producer. True, he asserts that he has no 

 opposition at the present time; but the success that 

 has folljwed his labors at Dowagiao, as shown by 

 him in his rep )rts, may induce some one, if urged 

 strongly by some supply dealer who is not also a 

 honey-producer, to enter into competition with him, 

 and occupy a portion of the field now foraged by his 

 bees alone. The great danger that he seems to fear 

 is overstocking. Bro. Heddon is a practical bee- 

 keeper of many years' experience; he possesses a 

 vigorous and well-trained mind, and is a logical as 

 well as copious writer; he understands the science 

 of bee culture well; and as proof thereof he has 

 made a success of the business; but with all these 

 excellent qualities at his command, it strikes me 

 rather foi-cibly that his fear warps his judgment, 

 and causes him to, imagine trouble where none ex- 

 ists. Of course, I kuow nothing of the possibilities 

 of honey secretion in the West, save so far as I have 

 read reports from bee-keepers in its various sec- 

 tions; but I do not believe it will be possible to over- 

 stock that portion of the country with bees in this 

 or the next generation. There has been a great hue 

 and cry in regard to this subject ever since I first 

 began to keep bees; but 1 have yet to learn of the 

 first man who has been forced to relinquish the 

 business simply because too many bees were kept in 

 his locality. If the opinions that I have heard ex- 

 pressed were in any danger of becoming tacts, bee- 

 keeping, instead of attaining the high position that 

 it now occupies would long ago have sunk into utter 

 insignificance. As the flight-range of the honey-bee 

 is limited to a circumference whose diameter is 

 about 8 miles to an individual colony, it is possible 

 that some particular localities may become over- 

 stocked; I saypossiWe; but there is no probability 

 that such will be the case for many long years, if 

 ever. The flowers secrete and exude their nectar in 

 such a manner that, if a single colony of full 

 strength, and ordinarily vigorous, can gather abun- 

 dant stores, hundreds of colonies can do the same in 

 the same locality, if working under the same condi- 

 tions. We all know that a colony must be powerful 

 just when nectar is being secreted, to be of any val- 

 ue; and we also know that this nectar is being se- 

 creted continuously; and unless it is gathered then 

 and there, it is absolutely and for ever lost. If a lo- 

 cality is wholly unsuitable for keeping bees, a single 

 colony would overstock it; that is, they would be 

 unable to obtain a living from it; but such localities 

 are exceedingly scarce, and avoided by bee keepers 

 as they would a pestilence. 



Let us look for a moment at Germany. Mr. Wag- 

 ner has informed us that in Munich, Ehrenfels had 

 1000 swarms at three separate establishments, but so 

 near together that he could visit them all in a half- 

 hour's ride (six miles' in half an hour is a pretty good 

 rate for a horse to travel). He says, that in Russia 

 and Hungary, apiaries numbering from 2000 to 50OO 

 colonies are very frequent, and not far removed 

 from each other. 



If any desire to follow up this matter of proofs 

 further, I will]refer them to the article on over- 



stocking, in Rev. L. L. Langstroth's "Hive and 

 Honey-Bee," third edition, where they will find the 

 matter fully discussed. There is no doubt but that 

 the poorest districts in New England are equally 

 productive of honey as those of Munich, Russia, and 

 Hungary, already mentioned; and if this is true of 

 poor sterile New England, where the sheep have 

 their noses sharpened in order to pull the forage out 

 from among the rocks, what shall we say of the fer- 

 tile prairies of the West, where no rocks, not even 

 pebbles, are found, and where abundant foliage and 

 flowers are indigenous to the soil? If honey were 

 secreted on the same principle that grass grows, 

 overstocking would easily be accomplished. A flock 

 of sheep will soon graze down all the forage in a giv- 

 en locality, and it takes a long period of time for the 

 grass to again grow; but the flowers are constantly 

 secreting honej', while in bloom; and if the drop of 

 nectar is taken, it will require but a moment or two 

 to replenish it: if not taken, it is lost for ever. 



Prudence should be used in all our operations; 

 but that extreme prudence which is constantly look- 

 ing for dangers where there is noprobability of their 

 existing, is simply cowardice; and we, in the use of 

 proper prudence in relation to this matter of over- 

 stocking, must bear in mind that, while so vast an 

 area of land of the utmost fertility, unoccupied save 

 by the luxui-iant foliage which covers it, still exists 

 within the vast bounds of the United States, there is 

 no danger of overstocking the whole country; and, 

 also, that while the flowers in the unoccupied por- 

 tions of the country secrete their honied sweets in 

 the same proportion, and in the same manner that 

 they now do, no one need feel concerned, no matter 

 how many colonies he keeps, on account of encour- 

 agement given to parties to newly engage in bee 

 culture. J. E. Pond, Jr. 



Foxboro', Mass., April 0, 1883. 



Very good, friend P.; but why didn't you 

 in your " wind-up " advise all who feared 

 trouble from overstocking to " go to Texas" 

 and raise horsemint honeyV 



FliORIDA. 



BV KEV. JAS. n. WHITE. 



M MULTITUDE of anxious inquirers are turn- 

 J^\ ing their eyes to this fair "South Land," 



' with the thought of seeking here a home. 



Probably to-day no part of the earth is so earnestly 

 inquired about by so many people as Florida. Bee- 

 men, if possible, are more earnest than the general 

 mass. Not only do they want to know about " bees 

 in Florida," but about every thing that concerns a 

 man who is seeking a new home. Some months ago 

 I wrote for Gleanings an article entitled "Our 

 Bees," that brought me inquiries from most of the 

 Northern States in abundance. All who sent stamps 

 for reply have been answered, and I now purpose to 

 answer the same questions through the columns of 

 Gleanings for the benefit of its readers who are 

 looking this way, and thinking of a home where 

 snow and ice never come, and where bees need no 

 " wintering." By the way, all that part of bee 

 literature that relates to wintering is of no value 

 here. 



INDIAN UIVER. 



Who has not heard of this beautiful sheet of 

 water ? Indian-River oranges and Indian-River pine- 

 apples are names familiar to many ears, for these 



