292 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 9, 1901. 



*4Ji^K*iJ*.J*a^*4K*ViA.>^*i^*4J« 



Convention Proceedings. 



irTnrTn'fT*Tr>r'>'fTfTnrT«T5 



Report of the California Convention. 



The 11th annual convention of the California State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association was held in Los Angeles, Feb. 

 25 and 26, 1901. There was a small attendance, but all were 

 hopeful, and were preparing- for a good honey harvest. 



Secretary Mclntyre explained some of the advantages 

 of the new State Law in the interest of bee-keeping, 

 thru the efforts of Assemblyman R. M. Clark, of Ventura, 

 assisted by other southern legislators. The new law reads 

 as follows : 



AN ACT 



To promote the Apicultural Interests of the State of California b_v 

 providing County Inspectors of Apiaries, and defining their 

 duties, and providing for their compensation, and repealing the act 

 entitled. " An Act to authorize the Board of Supervisors of the 

 several counties of this State to apjjoint Inspectors of Apiaries, 

 and provide tor their compensation, and defining their duties, and 

 for the further protection of Bee-Culture." Approved March 1.3, 

 1S83. 

 The People or the State of California, represented in .Senate and 

 Assembly, do enact as follows : 



Section 1. Whenever a petition, is presented to the Board of 

 Supervisors of any county, signed by ten or more persons, each of 

 whom is a property-holder resident of the county, and possessor of 

 an apiary, or place where bees are kept, stating that certain or all 

 apiaries within the county are infected with the disease known as 

 "foul brood," or any other disease which is infectious or contagious 

 in its nature, and injurious to the bees, their eggs, or larva?, and pray- 

 ing that an inspector be appointed by them, whose duty it shall be to 

 supervise the treatment of said bees and apiaries as herein provided, 

 the Board of Supervisors shall, within twenty days thereafter, appoint 

 a suitable person, who shall be a skilled bee keeper. Inspector of 

 Apiaries. Upon petition of ten persons, each of whom is a resident 

 property-holder, and possessor of an apiary, the Board of Supervisors 

 may remove said inspector for cause, after a hearing of the petition. 

 Section 2. It shall be the duty of the Inspector in each county 

 to cause an inspection to be made, when he deems it necessary, of any 

 or every apiary, or other place within his jurisdiction in which bees 

 are kept : and if found infected with foul brood, or any other infec- 

 tious or contagious disease injurious to the bees, or their eggs or larva;, 

 he shall notify the owner or owners, person or persons, in charge, or 

 in possession of said apiaries, where bees are kept, that the same are 

 infected with foul brood, or any other disease infectious or contagious 

 In its nature, and injurious to bees, their eggs, or larva?, and he shall 

 require such person or persons to eradicate and remove such disease or 

 cause of contagion within a certain time to be specified. Said notice 

 may be served upon the person or persons, or either of them, owning 

 or having charge, or having possession of such infected apiaries, or 

 places where bees are kept, by any Inspector, or by any person depu- 

 tized by the said Inspector for that purpose, or they may be served in 

 the same manner as a summons in a civil action. Any and all such 

 apiaries, or places where bees are kept, found infected with foul brood. 

 or any other infectious or contagious disease, are hereby adjudged and 

 declared to be a public nuisance: and whenever any such nuisance 

 shall exist at any place within his jurisdiction, or on the property of 

 any non-resident, or on any property the owner or owners of which 

 can not be found by the Inspector after diligent search, within the 

 county, or upon the property of any owner or owners upon whom 

 notice aforesaid has been served, and who shall refuse or neglect to 

 abate the same within the time specified, it shall be the duty of the 

 Inspector to abate the same, either bj- treating the disease, or by des- 

 troying the infected hives, together with their combs and bees therein. 

 The expense thereof shall be a county charge, and the Board of 

 Supervisors shall allow and pay the same out of the general fund of 

 the county. 



Section 3. It shall be the duty of the County Inspector of Apia- 

 ries to keep a record of his official acts and doings, and make a monthly 

 report thereof to the Board of Supervisors; and the Board of Super- 

 visors may withhold warrants for salary of said Inspector until such 

 time as said report is made. 



Section 4. The salary of the County Inspector of Apiaries shall 

 be three dollars per day when actually engaged in the performance of 

 his duties. 



Section 5. An Act entitled, " An Act to authorize the Board of 

 Supervisors of the several counties of this State to appoint Inspectors 

 of Apiaries, and jjrovide for their compensation, and defining their 

 duties, and for the further protection of Bee-CuUure," approved 

 March 13, lSfS3, is hereby repealed. 



Section 0. This act shall take effect and be in force from and 

 after its passage. 



JOINED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION. 



J. H. Martin then brought up the question of the advis- 

 ability of the members of the State Association joining 

 the National Association, and after a discussion of the 

 proper method of taking this admittedly wise act, it was 



agreed that the Association join the National organization 

 as a whole. 



.\DI-LTKR.«ION OF HONEY. 



G. S. Stubblefield spoke of the prevailing flagrant adul- 

 teration of honey, and urged that steps be taken to fight 

 the evil. He said he knew of two or three parties who are 

 handling adulterated goods, and remarkt that no matter 

 how dry the year, there always seemed to be plenty of 

 goods on the market. The stuff is concocted in syrup fac- 

 tories, from glucose, he said. He thought there ought to be 

 a committee appointed to investigate the matter. The 

 State law covered the evil, but was not enforced. The dis- 

 trict attorney had promist to take up any case of honey 

 adulteration brought before him. 



Secretary Mclntyre suggested that every member of 

 the Association consider himself a committee of one, 

 authorized to investigate honey adulteration in their 

 respective districts. 



ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 



At the time of the election of officers the following 

 were chosen to serve the coming year: President, G. S. 

 Stubblefield ; vice-presidents, H. E. Wilder, G. W. Brod- 

 beck, Robert Wilkin, E. A. Roney, and T. R. Canady ; sec- 

 retary and treasurer, J. R. Mclntyre, Sespe ; executive 

 board, J. H. Martin. E. Hart and G. W. Brodbeck. 



A general discussion of the aifairs of the bee-keepers' 

 exchange which has frequently lapst and languisht in late 

 years, followed ; but while the necessity for an exchange 

 was admitted, no tangible results came of the arguments. 



President Wilkin gave an interesting talk on the prog- 

 ress of bee-keeping during his forty years' experience, 

 recounting the many mechanical improvements that have 

 been made, and emphasizing the need of co-operation 

 among apiarists. 



CONDITIONS IN LOS .ANGELES COUNTY. 



President Brodbeck, of the Los Angeles County Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, stated after the close of the session 

 that conditions in Los Angeles county were favorable on 

 account of the rains, but that the continued drouth had 

 greatly decreast the number of colonies. Four years ago 

 the estimated production was 4,000,000 pounds. Since then 

 75 percent of the bees have died. This season, however, is 

 so far much more favorable than the season four years ago, 

 and therefore there may be a verj- fair yield, notwithstand- 

 ing the decrease iu colonies. Most of the apiaries in this 

 county are situated along the lower mountain sides, from 

 San Fernando to the eastern count}' line, and in the hills 

 around San Pedro. 



T. O. Andrews, of Orange county, described the state 

 of the honey-business along the Santa Ana river, where he 

 has owned several apiaries. Seven years ago he took 18 

 tons from 325 colonies, distributed in four apiaries. Later 

 on, when there was a good tiow, he took 27 tons. That year 

 he could grasp with one hand seven kinds of growing wild 

 iiowers, but now there is nothing blooming but alfileria, 

 and even that was not good for honey purposes last year. 

 He had lost heavily, his stock dwindling to 150 colonies. 

 He was hopeful for the near future, however. 



Mr. J. H. Martin read the following paper on. 



Strenuous Queen^Rearing. 



In these twentieth-century days we hear much about strenuous 

 living and working. I suppose strenuous is only another term for 

 high-pressure, and we have had high-pressure farming, high-pressure 

 poultry rearing, high-pressure commercialism, and high-pressure many 

 other things : but I have never heard much of high-pressure bee-keep- 

 ing. 



High pressure is, however, too much out of date to apply to twen- 

 tieth century bee-keeping, and " strenuous " is the term : and I have an 

 idea that, to commence at the root of tlie matter, we need a more 

 strenuous queen-rearing. 



Let us consider the subject. During the past season I found a 

 strain of bees in the apiaries I was managing that were so far superior 

 to the rest that, had the bees all been bred from the t|ueen of that col- 

 ony, our honey crop would have been increast by several tons. 



The discovery that this strain were such good rustlers for honey 

 was not made until the season was well advanced; and now, in order 

 to get the full benefit from that strain, it must be gradually diffused 

 thru the whole apiary. 



When I find a strain of bees like those mentioned I am impatient 

 to get the whole apiary up to that standard, and the need of queens 

 when I want them, and the lack of itime to rear them when ray 

 energies are devoted to the extractor or at other work. In fact, I am 

 strenuous at something else, and need an extra-strenuous plan to sup- 

 ply the queens. 



I think every bee-keeper present has observed that not one apiary 

 in a hundred is properly queened, and I think we all have a dim sus 



