THE BEE-KEEPERS- REVIEW 131 



Rather meet your debts and be done with it than keep on meet- 

 ing the duns. 1 he Rk\ IKW debt. 



\\\' ijuote from a letter from Director Buchanan, Frankhn, 

 Tenn., under (kite of March ;5rd, as follows: Bees l)reeding- nicely 

 here. Soft maple in bloom, though it has been pretty cold for a few 

 davs. Clover is coming on fine. Came from St. Louis down to Mem- 

 phis, and ha\ e just got home from a triji through the western part of 

 the State. Prospects look pretty good. 



drite is the saying, Ijut true, that "It is always summer somc- 

 ulicre." Readers of tlie ivi:\ii:w in the frozen north (literally true at 

 this writing, March Kith.) will be even more forcib!}- reminded of 

 this old adage by comparing the weather they were having at the 

 beginning of the second week in March with the weather in Florida at 

 that date. Orange trees are just opening their snowy buds, in the 

 central portions of the state — in the southern extremities of the 

 peninsula the bloom is at its height. Prospects are good this year 

 for a fine orange honey yield, so far as condition of colonies and 

 amount of bloom is concerned. For the past week, however, the 

 heavy snows, e\en far down into the tier of states on our northern 

 border, have gi\en all Florida a long continued chilly spell that is 

 very hard to combat. Brood-rearing progresses more slowly, and 

 powerful colonies, if in eight-frame hives, can hardly hold their own, 

 for the amount of honey left in the brood-chamber at this time is, 

 or should be, very small. An}- excess of honey is almost sure to be 

 dark honey from the pre\ious summer, and in the middle of orange 

 bloom, when the queens are literally "spreading themselves," this dark 

 honey goes up into the supers, to taint and dull the clear lemon hue 

 of pure orange honey. Hence it is, in most localities in the state. 

 that but little honey should be left in hives at the opening of orange 

 bloom. For the reasons above mentioned, therefore, the })rotracted 

 cool weather is very trying to the bee-keeper who is attempting to 

 secure a choice quality of orange blossom honey, by so timing the 

 end of the dark stores as to leave almost a ho!iey-less hue at the 

 opening of orange bloom. 



Of late we have practiced h()lding enough full frames ot liglit 

 honey o\er from the pre\ious year to be used in tiding colonies over 

 or through just such cool periods before orange bloom. Just at this 

 stage we ha\e Ijecn going through the home yard and giving a heavy 

 frame of sealed white honey to nearly every colony in the apiary, and 

 it is a comfortable feeling to know that there are stacks of more such 

 rombs in the honey-house, readv for the same use, if need should 

 nrise. — F. G. B. 



