January, 1908. 



American Hee Journal 



was taken up and discussed. It was de- 

 cided that we refer the subject of pub- 

 lishing statistics to the president and 

 secretary. 



A motion was made and carried that 

 the report of this year's meeting be in- 

 corporated with last year's report. 



R. F. Holtermann was unanimously 

 elected a member of the Association. 



Mr. Hilton, of Michigan, gave a very 

 interesting talk on foul brood legisla- 

 tion. He urged that every member write 

 to his representative when the bill is pre- 

 sented, and then its passage is secure. 



A motion was made and carried that 

 we extend our hearty thanks to Pres. 

 H. C. Klinger for the time and money 

 he spent in behalf of legislation during 

 the past winter. 



Vice- Pres. George Rea suggested that 

 we publish notes on this meeting in our 

 local papers. 



On motion the meeting adjourned. 

 Franklin G. Fox, Ex. -Sec. 



Minnesota-Wisconsin Convention 



The annual convention of the South- 

 eastern Minnesota and Western Wiscon- 

 sin Bee-Keepers' Association will be 

 held in the Court House at Winona, 

 Minn., Feb. 26 and 27, 1908. Those in- 

 terested are invited to be present. 



OzRO S. Holland, Sec. 



Winona, Minn. 



Western Honey-Producers' Conven- 

 tion. 



On Thursday, Feb. 6, 1908, there wU 

 be a morning and afternoon session of 

 the Western Honey-Producers' Associa- 

 tion in Science Hall Library Building, 

 Sioux City, Iowa. 



Foul brood and the marketing of 

 honey will be the principal topics. There 

 should be a large attendance of bee- 

 kcepor.. 



,r?5^. 



RcfIectiotii5.^,^ 



California Bcc-Kccpcr 'J^yp J 



By W. A. PRVAL. Alden Station. Oakland,' Calif. 



The Weather in California. 



So far the coming year gives promise 

 of being a fruitful one, that is, if a 

 plentiful rainfall may be taken as an 

 indication. The holidays were moist 

 under foot, with evidence of lots of 

 water over head. The earth in this por- 

 tion of the State (Dec. 30) has been 

 sufficiently rain-soaked to allow of ex- 

 tended cultivation. When the sun shines 

 the bee is on the wing, so that the 

 eucalypts, acacias and other nectar-se- 

 creting trees harbor a merry multitude 

 of happy workers. 



clopedia of Horticulture, gives the name 

 as I have above, but 1 find that the Uni- 

 versity of California and Prof. W. K. 

 Morrison (the latter in the Roots' A B 

 C of Bee Culture) adds aibiis, which 

 seems unnecessary, inasmuch as there is 

 only the white variety. 



The Cytisus in California. 

 All through December and, perhaps, 

 for a rnonth or two later, Cytisus pro- 

 liferus is in bloom in Central Califor- 

 nia. I have noted this plant heretofore 

 in these columns, but as its season of 

 infloresence is again here, I must men- 

 tion the fact that the bees are working 

 on its blossoms with the same vim that 

 I saw them display last year. The tree 

 has only been in a flowering state on our 

 place now for the third time. At this 

 writing (Dec. 30) the tree is white with 

 bloom. Our trees are 8 or 10 feet high ; 

 they look like giant clovers— hence the 

 name, "tree-clover," as they are often 

 called. The plant is a native of the 

 Canary Islands. It is quite hardy in this 

 portion of the State, and, I should think, 

 it will make a splendid addition to the 

 bee-flora of the lower counties, where 

 it can be given a moist, sandy location. 

 The plant belongs, I believe, to the la- 

 burnum family. Prof. Bailey, in his Cy- 



Our Fair Bee-Keepers. 



Recently in casually looking over the 

 pages of the New Brunswick Magazine 

 for September, I noticed an article enti- 

 tled, "Woman and the Bee." Not hav- 

 ing time to read it I laid the pubhcation 

 down, first looking, however, to see who 

 was the author of the article. I was 

 pleased to find that it was by the daugh- 

 ter of one of our largest honey - pro- 

 ducers — J. F. Mclntyre. Miss Flora 

 Mclntyre was born and reared on a 

 Ventura-county apiary, and besides her 

 sire being a bee-expert, her mother and 

 grandfather were as well, the latter be- 

 ing the late R. Wilkin, a pioneer of the 

 lower counties of the early seventies. 

 The article is illustrated, and no doubt 

 very interesting. 



Wickson's Worth Wins. 



Some months ago I mentioned that 

 there was a rumor afloat that Prof. E. J. 

 Wickson, Dean of the Agricultural Col- 

 lege of the University of California, was 

 to be succeeded as dean by an Eastern 

 man. At the time I expressed a hope 

 that the change would not be made. 

 As nothing has been done to oust the 

 professor, it is likely nothing will be, 

 for over 30 years of service at the Cali- 



fornia College, and an experience in 

 California agricultural and horticultural 

 matters that is not possessed by any 

 one else, make him too valuable a man 

 to remove from the position he so well 

 fills. The Professor has been a good 

 friend to the bee-keepers of this State. 

 His position as editor of the Pacific 

 Rural Press has allowed him to uphold 

 the bee and honey industry, and he has 

 not neglected any opportunity to do so. 



Bees Still Shaded at the University. 



On a former occasion I took the op- 

 portunity to mention the fact that the 

 bees of the University of California are 

 buried in dense shade. A few days ago 

 I was visiting the University grounds, 

 and I found the colonies in the same 

 spot. The bees have to "sift" their way 

 through the foliage to get to their re- 

 spective homes. The location of the 

 apiary is in otherways a peculiar one. 

 It is on the bank of Strawberry creek, 

 right at the end of one of the main 

 streets that leads to Berkeley — in fact, 

 it is the most direct from Oakland to 

 the University. The colonies are just 

 inside the fence which comes very close 

 to the creek at this point. As few teams 

 come near this spot there is little dan- 

 ger of horses being stung. 



I am surprised that the Entomological 

 Department of the University does not 

 do something to find a better location 

 and build up a model apiary. I noted 

 that the number of colonies were 13. 

 The superstitious would likely say, "No 

 wonder they don't do better." But they 

 will, if given a proper show. 



Do Pleasures, like Bees, Carry 

 a Sting? 



In a brief note I received a short 

 while ago from the "Sweet Singer of 

 Santa Clara Valley," Miss Marcella A. 

 Fitzgerald, was this beautiful sentence: 

 "The bees: well, like all pleasures, they 

 carry a sting." 



Yes, I may add, to some who are 

 not over-indulgent, the sting never 

 pierces them, and how seldom is the 

 careful apiarist injured by the bee's 

 sting. To get sweets we need not be 

 stung. Neither when we inhale the de- 

 lightful fragrance of a rose need we 

 suflfer from the thorns that are every- 

 where about. It would seem that the 

 Creator fortified nearly all the sweets 

 he gave us with a sting or thorn of 

 some sort; and he gave us instinct to 

 be wary of the evil that lay in our way. 

 Perhaps it would be uncharitable to say 

 it is the fools that "run up against" 

 the stings, yet such seems to be the case. 

 And many of us are foolish, or do fool- 

 ish things, at times. 



Winter's Wintery Winds Withering. 



This heading is laid on heavily that I 

 may the better emphasize the necessity 

 of having snug quarters for the bees 

 during winter. While it is true the Cali- 

 fornia bee-keeper has none of the win- 

 tering problems of his Eastern brothers 

 to contend with, still, it is necessary 

 to see that bees are protected from the 

 rain and winds even in this State. The 

 two main things to guard against are 



