Vol. VII. Ko. Id I. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



245 





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HONEY PRODUCTION 



CALIFORNIA. 



Bee kecpiiitr is an inipoitant indiistn' in tJalifornia 

 ;is may be jiKltjed tVdiii the iact that in a good season 

 as iniich as 9,000,000 lb. or 4,500 tons ot' honey are 

 jiroduced. Southern Califoinia furnishes the largest 

 contribution, the San Joacjnin valley coming next. 'J'he 

 Britisli Consul at San Francisco, in his latest report, 

 gives the tnllcjuiiig interesting particulars in regard 

 to the methods i'ollowed b_y the Califortiian apiai'ists: — 



ildst bee-kcei)crs in California consider lun to 300 hives 

 sutHcieiit for any fjue farm. The honey gathering i.s u?ually 

 from A[)ril to September, depentling u[)on the weather and 

 the length of the blooming [leiiod of the bee foi'age. The 

 extracting .sea.son commences in May or June and is u.snally 

 about six or eight weeks in duration. Much of the C'alifor- 

 nian product (insists of the famous mountain sage lioney 

 which is .said to be the mildest flavoured honey in the world. 

 In the northern part of California bees gather their stores 

 from the flowers of the carpet grass and the eucalyptus ; in 

 the central counties from alfafa and orange blossoms, white, 

 black, and pur|)ie sage, sumach and wild buck-wheat. 



The method of honey extracting i.s intere.-iting. Details 

 vary in different apiarie.s, but in one called the model apiary 

 the process is as follows : With a hand car or small truck 

 the apiarist stoiis be.^ide a laden hive ; this hive is of two 

 stories, .sometimes three. With a thin-bladed knife he loosens 

 one edge of the bd, whirh th« bees always glue fast, and 

 thrusts the month of the smoker beneath it. With i|nirk 

 pressure of tlie bellows he .sends the smoke into the chamber 

 and the liecs huiry below to avoid suttbcation. He lifts tlie 

 combs and brushes away the .stujjetied bees. If the hoiie3' is 

 capped over, or partially so, he jiuts the condjs into wooden- 

 handled baskets made for the purpo.se, and when he has 

 a load the car is pu.shed to the extracting house. 



Well-filled cond) hives weigh from S to 12 lb., acconling 

 to thickness of the condj and the specific gravity of the 

 honey. Inside the extracting house is a deeji tin-lined 

 tmcapping box occupying nearly one whole side of the room, 

 and in this box- the frames are suspended until wanted. 

 ITncapping is largely done by women. The frame containing 

 the comb is lialanced on one edge of the uncapping box and 

 the operator with a long knife dexterou.sly slices off a thin 

 sheet of wax, thus destroying the cell seals. As the combs 

 are uncapped they are placed in the baskets of the extractor, 

 which are reversible, and the honey is thrown out by 

 centrifugal force. From the bottom of the extractor runs 

 a 3-inch pipe on a gentle incline to'a taidi: outside the extract- 

 ing house. This taidv will hold several thou,sand pounds of 

 honey. Acro.ss the opening of the jiipe where it leaves the 

 extractor is fastened a .section of wire netting with rather 

 coarse nie.shes to keep pieces of comb or refuse from [jassing 

 into it. 



In the top of the receiving tank is susiiended a white 

 flannel bag 2 feet in length, in the upper part of which is 

 run an iron hoop some 1 ffiot 3 inches in diameter, and wliicli 

 just fits the opening in the tank ; this further strains the 

 honey. The honey is then drawn into tin cans, holding from 

 12 to 60 ft. each.~ 



RICE CULTIVATION IN HAWAII, 



Rice is the agricidtural product of second impor- 

 tance in Hawaii, coining next to sugar — although far 

 below it — in magnitude and value. The rice area 

 extends over more than 1,000 acres, and is carried on 

 chief! 3" by small proprietors and holders. The largest 

 plantations are not more than 100 acres in extent, and 

 the rentals <;f rice lands are high, ranging from .'^lO to 

 S^oO per acre per annum, including the y)rovision of 

 facilities for water supply. The fact that lemnnera- 

 tive returns can be obtained alter payment of the above 

 rentals itnlicates the profitable nature of the industry. 



Careful and continuous cultivation is practised, and the 

 crop yields obtained in Hawaii compare favourably with those 

 given in other rice-growing countries of the world. Two crops 

 a ye-ir are usually grown on the same land, thus occupying 

 the ground continuously, especially when slow-maturing 

 varieties are grown. The usual practice followed is to propa- 

 gate the seedlings in seed-beds, from which the entire crop is 

 transplanted by hand. 



The average aiunial yield (two cro|is) on good lands in 

 favourable localities is G,U0O lb. of paddj- per acre, while 

 8,000 lb. or more is not uncommon. At present prices, which 

 are exceptionally good, an acre will produce a crop valued at 

 from .$100 to .*:'00. The estimated annual value of the 

 Hawaiian rice crop in a favouralile year is approximately 

 $2,.500,000. 



In the year 1906, a series f)f experiments dealing with 

 rice cultivation was started at the Hawaiian Agiicultural 

 Experiment Station. The.se expei'iment.s, which ileal with 

 the fertilizer re(juirements of the rice plant and of rice soils, 

 the development of superior strains of rice of the old varie- 

 ties, selection of new varieties, a comparison of the yields 

 obtained from broadcasted, drilled, and transplanted rice 

 respectively, etc., were continued during 1907, and an account 

 of the progre.ss of the work is included in the report for 190T 

 of the Experiment Station. The land on which the trials are 

 being carried out has been under rice culture for a number 

 of years, and although it has received no fertilizer for several 

 seasons, yet it has invariably jdelded crops approxiniating 

 to 3,000 ft. of paddy }ier acre per harvest. 



One of the most interesting of the experiments, and one 

 which gave a definite result was that undertaken to test the 

 relative value, for Hawaiian conditions, of two distinct 

 methods of planting, viz., the direct sowing of seed, as practised 

 in the Southern United States, and the Eastern method of 

 transplanting, which, as already mentioned, is generally 

 ado[ited in Hawaii. Heed was broadcasted at the rate of .50 lb. 

 an acre, and another lot of the same stock of seed was drilled 

 in rows at the same rate per acre. When well established 

 the seedlings were thinned out to a stand of approximately 

 200,000 plants per acre, thus conforndng as closely as 

 po.ssible with the number of transplanted plants per acre, 

 One adjacent plot was set out with seedlings twenty days 

 old at transplanting, and a second plot with .seedlings thirty- 

 five days old at transplanting. By far the best return of all, 

 viz., 4,205 lb. of padily and 4,024 ft. of straw per acre, wa.s 

 given by the plot planted with the seedlings twenty days old 

 at transplanting. The cash value of the paddy return pet 

 acre from this plot was $ 105'12. The plot planted with the 

 older seedlings and that on which the seed was drilled gave 

 returns very nearly e(|ual, but about $56 less in value than 

 the return from the best plot. The plot o\\ which the seed 

 was broadcasted gave a return of slightly less value than the 

 plot which was drilled. 



