

VOL. LVIII— NO. 6 



HAMILTON, ILL., JUNE, 1918 



MONTHLY, $1.00 A YFAR 



BEES IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY 



The First of a Series of Articles on Texas Beekeeping by Frank C. Pellett 



TEXAS is a wonderful State with 

 a great diversity of soil and 

 climatic conditions, and with 

 history and traditions peculiar to it- 

 self. The naturalist, the botanist, the 

 historian, or the student of beekeep- 

 ing or other agricultural specialty, 

 can find within the State material for 

 years of investigation. For a stranger 

 to undertake to catalogue its re- 

 sources, after a brief investigation of 

 about two months, would be but to 

 outline his own limitations, for Texas 

 is too big to be contained within the 

 grasp of any individual. 



In order to appreciate the vast 

 stretch of country called Texas, one 

 must study the map of our country 

 and note something of the variety of 

 climate represented within its bor- 

 ders. Orange, Texas, is very nearly 



south of Des Moines, Iowa, while El 

 Paso is farther west than Denver, 

 Colo. The northern line of the State 

 is close to southern Kansas, while 

 Brownsville is a long distance south 

 of San Diego, Calif. One might 

 spend a lifetime in one section of 

 Texas and have little idea of the 

 State in general. The casual traveler 

 who visits one corner of the State 

 and comes back to tell you about 

 Texas, may describe an entirely dif- 

 ferent country from that seen by the 

 visitor to another part. One can de- 

 scribe almost any condition of soil or 

 climate with which he is familiar in 

 any part of the United States, and 

 say with truth that it is like Texas 

 for almost every condition of soil 

 or climate of the rest of the country 

 is to be found somewhere in Texas. 



Fig. 1 — Grant Anderson, of Rio Hondo. In many parts of the valley the bees must be 

 lifted off the ground to guard against, floods 



The climate ranges from a winter 

 temperature of some twenty degrees 

 below zero in the panhandle, to an 

 almost frostless condition in the Rio 

 Grande valley. In east Texas, there 

 is a heavy annual rainfall, with a 

 consequent luxuriant vegetation, 

 while in parts of west Texas one 

 finds a desert flora and little rain. 

 At one point we were told there had 

 been no rain for eighteen months, 

 and from the appearance of things 

 we could readily believe it. 



When it came to planning a trip to 

 see typical conditions in every honey 

 producing section of Texas in two 

 months, numerous difficulties pre- 

 sented themselves. The job was too 

 big for the time available. Prof. 

 Paddock, the State Entomologist, 

 outlined the trip from beginning to 

 end, and it is doubtful whether it 

 could have been planned better. 

 Numerous well-known beekeepers 

 were missed, and it was not possible 

 to spend as much time as was desir- 

 able in some sections, but train 

 schedules, distances to be traveled 

 and opportunities in other places, all 

 had to be considered. 



Either W. E. Jackson, chief Bee In- 

 spector, or Prof. Paddock, State En- 

 tomologist, accompanied the writer 

 for the entire trip. E. G. LeStour- 

 geon, manager of the Texas Honey 

 Producers' Association, and H. B. 

 Parks, of the Extension Department, 

 also were with the party on part of 

 the journey. At some points, three 

 or four auto loads of local beekeep- 

 ers would join us for a trip to the 

 country, to visit the apiaries and 

 study the honey plants. The informal 

 discussions of bees and beekeeping, 

 ranging from hive stands to honey 

 flows, were most interesting, and the 

 impromptu field meetings in the vari- 

 ous apiaries were very enjoyable. 

 Looking back on such a journey and 

 remembering all the interesting 

 places visited, the many new ac- 

 quaintances made and the various in- 



