ORANGE 
637 
easy way to do this is to shake into a box 
the bees from a comb from some thrifty 
colony in the apiary, and cover the box 
with a piece of wire cloth. Carry it to the 
observatory hive and fix it so the edge of 
the box is close to the opening to the tun¬ 
nel. Remove the wire cloth over the box 
and the bees will soon enter the hive. 
The same manner of weakening and 
strengthening may be followed with the 
prevailing types of observatory hives, but 
it is often easier with them to remove the 
comb and bees and restock the hives com¬ 
pletely. 
The new type of observatory hive is good 
for about two years without renewing the 
comb, but by that time the comb becomes 
dark and opaque and the glass more or less 
coated with wax lumps, propolis, cocoons, 
etc. Therefore it has proved more satisfac¬ 
tory to restock the hive every year. 
Bees Avinter nicely in these little hives 
provided the temperature of the room does 
not go to freezing nor stay below 40 de¬ 
grees E. very long at a time. A room tem¬ 
perature up to 65 degrees or even 70 de¬ 
grees does not cause trouble in the winter, 
provided the hive entrance is wide open. A 
few bees may venture to go out; but by the 
time they reach the outer end of the tunnel 
they meet the cold air and turn back. A 
window facing south is the best for winter; 
but any exposure will do for summer, tho 
one not facing the prevailing winds is to 
be preferred. 
All types of observatory hives should 
have the ventilating space solely at the 
bottom of sides or ends, and with double 
glasses with a confined air space between 
them. Extra space into which the bees 
may spread and yet not build comb is 
greatly to be desired, particularly in single¬ 
comb hives. This and ideal ventilating 
conditions are secured by having the floor 
wider than the hive and having such exten¬ 
sion covered by wire cloth spaced half an 
inch above it. 
ORANGE ( Citrus Aurantium) . —The or¬ 
ange is a native of southeastern Asja, 
whence its cultivation has extended since 
the tenth century thruout the warmer re¬ 
gions of both worlds. It is believed that 
the Arabs carried it into Africa and Spain, 
and that the early Spanish settlers intro¬ 
duced it into Florida. Later colonists 
found large groves of wild orange trees. 
There also belong to the genus Citrus the 
grapefruit ( C. Decumana ), the lemon (C. 
Limonium ), and the lime ( C. Limetta ) and 
the mandarin or tangerine ( C. nobilis). 
All the species are evergreen trees or 
shrubs. Most of them have fragrant 
white flowers, tho those of the lemon are 
purplish. 
The cultivation of the orange and other 
citrus fruits is confined in Florida chiefly 
to the southern half of the peninsula, altho 
when given special care and protection 
during cold winters, they will flourish as 
far north as Jacksonville. In northwest¬ 
ern Florida, west of the Suwanee River, 
and northeastern Florida north of St. Au¬ 
gustine only a very small area of citrus 
fruits is under cultivation. In the central 
lake region comprising the eight counties 
of Alachua, Marion, Putnam, St. John, 
Volusia, Orange, Lake and Sumter there 
are over a million and a half of trees. 
Along the west coast in Citrus, Hernando, 
Pasco, Hillsboro, and Manatee Counties 
there are also numerous orange groves, 
Hillsboro reporting a larger acreage than 
any other county in the State. Farther 
south} Polk, Brevard, and De Soto Coun¬ 
ties each contain over 200,000 trees. Lee 
County, the seat of the Big Cypress 
Swamp, commonly regarded as a wilder¬ 
ness, has also many orange groves. Lemons 
are produced principally in southern Cali¬ 
fornia ; but there is a small acreage in south¬ 
west Florida, chiefly in Monroe County. 
The grapefruit orchards are found largely 
in western Florida, in Lee, Manatee, and 
Hillsboro Counties. Limes are grown com¬ 
mercially only in the southern tip of Flor¬ 
ida (Monroe County) and the adjoining 
islands. It has been estimated that there 
are in this State 10,000 square miles adapt¬ 
ed to orange culture. 
The date of the beginning and the length 
of the period of blooming vary greatly ac¬ 
cording to the variety of the fruit, the ex¬ 
tent of cool weather in winter and early 
spring, and differences in rainfall and soil. 
For instance, in the middle of the State 
flowers have been seen on the round orange 
as early as Feb. 6; but in 1912 the first 
bloom did not appear until March 15. On 
an average Feb. 20 is the date on which 
