A. AND M. COLLEGE APIARY. 11 



common Black or German bee. It is proposed to determine as nearly as 

 possible the comparative length of life of the bees in these different races. 

 This will be of immense value, especially if it be shown that any one race 

 of bees be longer lived than another. Other things being equal., that race 

 having the longest life will be best enabled to withstand the severe 

 drouths which at times afflict many of the very best honey-producing sec- 

 tions of the State. The main drawback to these honey-producing sections 

 lies in the fact that during a drouth the colonies become weakened. 

 When the honey flow again starts, if the bees have not perished in the 

 meantime, a considerable time is required for them to breed up to a prof- 

 itable working strength, during which time much honey remains in the 

 flowers ungathered and constitutes a heavy loss. To overcome this is one 

 of the problems to be solved, and it is proposed by experiment to deter- 

 mine the race or races of bees best adapted to such conditions. In addi- 

 tion to this an attempt is being made to find and cultivate some honey 

 plant, which during such dry seasons will yield sufficient honey to keep 

 up the strength of the colonies until the following honey flow. With this 

 object in view, one of the first lines of investigation inaugurated by this 

 department was that of making a close and critical study of the native 

 honey plants of Texas. To complete such a study will, of course, require 

 several years, but the work is now being carried on as rapidly as the time 

 and money at command will permit. At the outset, realizing the impor- 

 tance of finding some drouth-resistant plant worthy of cultivation for 

 honey, varieties amounting to forty different kinds and species were sown 

 each month during the season, and their adaptability to Texas climates 

 and soils, as well as their honey-producing qualities, carefully noted. 

 The greater number of these were found unable to withstand the drouth, 

 and therefore not adapted to the purpose. Those which were partial or 

 total failures were as follows : Astragalus sinicus, American varieties of 

 buckwheat, Alsike, Sweet, Crimson, Japan, Mammoth Ked, Eed, Sand, 

 Suckling, and White Clovers, Yellow Trefoil, Japanese Delchos, Euphor- 

 bia marginata, E. Heterophylla, Asdepias tuberosa, German Rape, Eng- 

 lish Eape, Soja Bean, Velvet Bean, Vicia sativa and Vica villosa. Austra- 

 lian Salt Bush was found to grow well and to withstand the drouth, but 

 it did not, under the prevailing conditions, yield honey. It would doubt- 

 less form a valuable plant for grazing and for forage, especially in those 

 sections where the soils contain a small or medium amount of alkali. Of 

 all plants tested, Japanese buckwheat gave the best results. With 

 medium or even poor soil, and a very small amount of moisture, this 

 plant can be depended upon to begin blooming thirty days after planting 

 and will continue to bloom for thirty days, at the end of which time the 

 seed is ready to gather. It will be seen that it is a very easy matter to 

 regulate the time of sowing, so that a honey flow will be had from this 

 plant at the beginning of a dearth of natural forage for the bees. In 

 addition to its value as a honey producer, the seed of this plant is made 

 into a flour which produces, among other things, fine cakes, highly 

 esteemed in the buckwheat regions of the North. Japanese buckwheat 

 thrives best when drilled in rows about three feet apart, and cultivated 

 during growth. The seed brings from $1.00 to $1.50 per bushel. In case 

 seed is not desired the buckwheat can be cut and cured as is other hay, 

 and is found to make valuable feed for farm animals. If grown more 

 extensively there is no doubt that such hay would bring a good price in 



