AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



481 



Texas Aiiicnltnral Notes. 



A. C. ATEN. 



These notes are for the benefit of 

 Southern bee-keepers — especially those 

 in Texas. To insure success, our man- 

 agement must often be different from 

 what it is further north. Even in dif- 

 ferent localities in Texas, quite often, 

 bees need different care. 



In this part of Texas we have been 

 having very cool weather for the last 

 four weeks. The mercury went below 

 the freezing point twice, but it was not 

 cold enough to destroy the fruit. There 

 were very few days that bee^ could 

 gather pollen or honey. We had very 

 little rain during this time, but to-day 

 we had a splendid rain, and for the last 

 few days it has been quite warm. Bees 

 are very busy, and appear to be in fine 

 condition. 



I consider a ten-frame Langstroth hive 

 the best for Texas. I would never con- 

 tract the brood-chamber, but give them 

 plenty of room. I usually have nine 

 frames in the brood-chamber. 



I never have less than two stories for 

 a full colony, and quite often three. In 

 the upper stories I generally have only 

 eight frames, so there is very little brood 

 reared in them. 



By giving the bees plenty of room I, 

 in a great measure, prevent swarming. 

 Last year only one swarm was cast from 

 over 160 colonies. Spring count, and 

 that, too, when I got nearly 60 pounds 

 of honey, on an average, per colony. 

 There is generally a honey flow all Sum- 

 mer and Fall, but seldom what might be 

 called a boom, so it is necessary to have 

 plenty of bees all the time, and by this 

 management I get them. 



If there is foul-brood in Texas, as is 

 claimed by one of your correspondents, 

 there should be some legislation on the 

 subject ; and the sooner the better. 



The writer of these notes kept bees 

 35 years ago, in Peoria county. Ills., 

 and sold comb-honey in the Peoria mar- 

 ket very readily at 25 cents per pound. 

 I recollect very well seeing Mrs. Har- 

 rison at her father's house, in Peoria, 

 when she and I were many years younger 

 than we are now. 



G. W. Demaree, on page 314, speaks 

 of fermented honey. I have had some 

 of that here — just such as he describes. 

 I always supposed it was caused by the 

 bees not being able to ripen it soon 

 enough after it was gathered, and, 

 owing either to the weather, or some 

 other cause, it soured a little before the 



water was evaporated. Sometimes, after 

 being capped, it breaks the cappings 

 and, of course, has a bad taste, and 

 should not be put with the good honey. 

 I have never had very much such honey 

 in any one year. 



Bees gather very little pollen and no 

 honey from rag-weed here, but it is in- 

 deed a pest. The roots of our rag-weed 

 live all Winter, but when we kill the 

 root we generally get rid of it, and it 

 does not trouble us as much as it does 

 further north. 



To A. N. Draper, in regard to pol- 

 len gathering by queenless colonies, I 

 would say that the reason they appear 

 to gather more than colonies in good 

 condition, is that they use none of it up 

 in brood-rearing, and it accumulates. 



To get rid of a drone-laying queen, or 

 fertile worker, shake all the bees off the 

 frames, and out of the hive, at least a 

 rod away, and the queen, or the fertile 

 worker, will not find the way back, but 

 all the workers will, and then you can 

 introduce a queen, or get them to rear 

 one of their own. 



Round Rock, Tex., March 24, 1891. 



Bonnty for Honey Jtc, 



BYEON HAMS. 



Our bees are tumbling over each other 

 in their rush to-day, and seem to be 

 bringing in considerable honey with the 

 pollen. I have heard of no Winter loss, 

 worthy of mention, in this vicinity. 

 Clover seems to be in very fair condition. 

 Fruit is all right so far, and if we have 

 no severely cold weather, our bees will 

 have a good start on fruit bloom. 



Would it not be well for all bee-keepers 

 to write to their United States Senators 

 and Representatives, and urge upon them 

 the necessity of giving us a bounty of 2 

 cents on our honey ? We surely have as 

 much right to a bounty as the New Eng- 

 land "sap boilers." How would it do for 

 bee-keepers to send in $1 or more, each, 

 to become members of the Union, and 

 use a part of the fund in looking after 

 our interests at Washington, in the way 

 of a bounty on honey. All bee-keepers 

 should, and, doubtless, would "shell out 

 the shekels'' when they could see a reason- 

 ably sure return for their investment. 



Now is the time to get your supplies, 

 if you have not already done so. Do not 

 wait until your earliest and best swarms 

 start for the woods, and your honey flow 

 is half over, before you think of getting 

 your hives and sections ready. 



