THE BEEKEEPERS' REVIEW 285 



some honey, providing we have a change in weather. The Re- 

 view hopes the weather conditions will be good during this third al- 

 falfa cutting, so honey producers will get a third of a crop at least, 

 California reports are vague, but it is presumed they will have 

 considerable honey for eastern shipment again this year. As a 

 whole, the crop will likely be considerably below normal. 



Florida Palmetto and Mangrove 



Under date of June 30th, we report the following for the saw- 

 palmetto yield in Florida this season. 



For the southwest coast, the bloom was blighted badly, from 

 too much rain. In the neighborhood of New Smyrna and in gen- 

 eral down the east coast the yield from Saw palmetto was only 

 about one-third a normal crop. 



Mangrove is just coming into bloom, but bees are not yet touch- 

 ing it. There is no great prospect of a good Mangrove yield yet. 

 Sometimes a week, hovv'ever, will change conditions altogether. 

 After Mangrove the Cabbage palmetto is the only source of honey 

 yet available. Fuller reports later. — E. G. B. 



A Peculiar Season 



1915 will go on record as a peculiar season. Bees wintered 

 well, followed with extra fine weather during March and April. This 

 fine spring weather, coupled with good wintering, brought the bees 

 up to a stage where they were in shape to take care of the main clo- 

 ver flow early in May. Thus far every thing promised well for the 

 bees to be in good shape for our main flow which usually begins dur- 

 ing early June. With May, we began to have weather that could 

 "lot have been worse, had it been ordered that way. This very cold 

 unfavorable weather continued until the nineteenth of June, since 

 'vhich time we have had weather so the bees could take advantage 

 of the honey flow about half of the time. When the flow began from 

 clover, or, rather, when the bees could take some advantage of it, 

 the nineteenth of June, colonies had actually reduced in numbers, 

 since, say the tenth of May. In a normal season, our bees are con- 

 siderably reduced in numbers at the close of our main honey flow, 

 but this year those April and early May hatched bees were actually 

 aged at the opening of the flow, consequently, the force dwindled 

 very rapidly when actual work began, so we did not have the large 

 force of workers we should have had, had breeding continued dur- 

 ing the seven weeks preceding the clover flow. 



