214 



American IBec Journal j 



July, 191 1. 



also realizing the fact that the rearing of 

 bees and production of honey and beeswax 

 in this section of the country are growing 

 each year, and would in the near future, if 

 it does not already, cut some figure in the 

 price of honey in the State of California, 

 they decided to pool their interests and ac- 

 cumulate their output in one place, and 

 advertise to the world the fact that we pro- 

 duce the purest and best honey to be found 

 in our country, and endeavor to create a 

 market for it. especially in the Blast. 



The business managers are making every 

 effort to reach the responsible buyers, and 

 have already received an offer of 7 cents per 

 pound for the entire season's output. 



Last year all of our honey was gold at sK 

 cents. Our neighbors in the Imperial Valley 

 got 6 cents for their inferior Quality. They 

 were organized — we were not. 



The conditions in our section are about as 

 follows: The bees, as a general thing, came 

 through the winter in good shape, there be- 

 inn very little mortality, the bee-men. as a 

 rule, having left them plenty of food to carry 

 them through. The season has been some- 

 what Ijackward on account of the cold 

 •weather, but the late rains were very advan- 

 tageous, and brought out and kept the flow- 

 ers in fine bloom, and the reports are that 

 the bees are now working over-time and 

 storing honev very fast. Should these favor- 

 able conditions last, theoutput will be some 

 larger than last year, and the honey will be 

 of a superior quality, there being a larger 

 Quantity of white than last season. 



W. S. Rather, See. 



Poor Prospects this Season 



This is mysecond year in the bee-business 

 I had 18 colonies, spring count, last year, in- 

 creased to ;8, and got iioo pounds of comb 

 honey. The prospects are very poor this 

 year. We have had no rain for 2 months, 

 and the clover is almost gone. Bees have 

 almost Quit work. I have had no swarming 

 yet. D. C. PuGH. 



Columbus Grove. Ohio. May 17. 



Poorest Season in 8 Years 

 This is the poorest season for bees that we 

 have had here for 8 years. Clover is all 

 dead, and the drouth has been so severe 

 that there will be no fall honey-flo.w. lam 

 feeding bees right now to keep them from 

 starvation, just when the flow should be at 

 its best. U. G. Little. 



Hartley, Iowa. June 28. 



No Honey this Year 



There will be no honey here this year, 

 either for home trade or for shipment. The 

 total gain for my strong colony on scales was 

 less than 50 pounds, and the white clover 

 flow is all over. I can remember but one 

 year so bad. I think that was in iqoi. and 

 the next year made up for the failure, as my 

 apiary in 1002 averaged nearly 250 pounds 

 surplus per colony. 



Well, we bee-keepers are a happy lot. 

 always looking ahead. I expect next year 

 to be in the game again, but we are surely 

 " out of running " now for this year. We had 

 a very wet spring, but it turned out very dry 

 at a fatal time for white clover. There is 

 probably enough honey to tide us over until 

 fall. If there is a good fall flow we may not 

 have to feed. Bees did not swarm at all 

 here. They seemed to know all about it 

 better than I did. Irving E. Long. 



Marceline. Mo.. June 13. 



Smoking Bees at the Hive-Entrance 



It is rather amusing as to the different 

 ideas that men have who have been in the 

 bee-business, and naturally have had the 

 same experience. One says not to inject 

 smoke at the hive-entrance; another, just as 

 good authority, says he always does when 

 manipulating. 



1 do not wish to comment on what Dr. 

 Miller. D. M. Macdonald, or W. Woodley 

 says, but it seems to me there are times 

 when it is best to use smoke, and other 

 times it is best not to use it. For instance, 

 when we are extracting, and a good honey- 

 flow, it only confuses the bees at I he en- 

 trance to smoke them, and has no effect on 

 the bees we are handling; but when there is 

 nothing doing, and the bees idle, we cer- 

 tainly need some smoke at the' entrance. 

 They are watching for a job. and will soon 

 get busy if smoke is not used. 



In many respects bees are much like peo- 

 ple. When men are idle, they are on the 



alert, noticing everything going on; but if 

 busy, and plenty of work, they take very 

 little notice of what is going on around them. 

 It is the same as with J. E. Chambers' plan 

 of prevention of swarming— the bees have 

 plenty to eat. and all the room they need, so 

 they are not crowded; of course they don't 

 care to move, neither would we. If Mr. 

 Chambers were in some localities, w-ith all 

 the ventilation and room possible, I think 

 he would have swarms, and plenty of them. 

 It depends much upon how the honey-flow 

 begins. With a light flow continuously, 

 bees will swarm, not caring much— are not 

 storing much, and would just as soon have 

 a big time as not: but if a heavy flow, they 

 haven't time to swarm; they wait until the 

 heavy flow is over, then swarm. They do here 

 in California, sometimes, at least. They 

 did 2 years ago. Quite a few colonies 

 swarmed in August, and the last extracting 

 was done about the first of July. 



This is a cold, late spring: bees were in 

 bad shape; at least so percent died; but they 

 have built up fast. "The honey-flow is on. 

 and we expect a fair crop. Geo. W. Rich. 



Simi. Cal.. May 22. 



Honey Crop Better 



The honey crop has been a little better 

 than ordinary in this locality this year, so 

 we have harvested a good crop. 



Lanark. Ark., June 20. E. M. Callaway, 



Looks Bad for Bee-Men 



It looks bad here for bee-men this year. 

 My prospect is for not over 300 or 400 pounds 

 from SQ colonies, from the clover and bass- 

 wood and I think mixed considerably with 

 honey-dew. and nothing so far to indicate a 

 fall flow. I have had only 2 swarms. Just 

 the " rompers " have put up any surplus, and 

 I will say the American Bee Journal and one 

 other strain have divided honors as leaders! 



Cainsville, Mo., June 28. J. French. 



Poor Prospect for Iowa White Clover 



Unless Dame Nature supplies a substitute 

 for white clover. I fear Iowa will not flood 

 the market with honey this year. Except 

 for a very few much-favored places w'here it 

 was protected by snow, or supplied with 

 moisture in some other way. white clover is 

 all dried out. In open fields one would need 

 a "search warrant " to be able to find even 

 a lonely plant. What is true of tliis locality 

 (Buena Vista Co.) is also true of the entire 

 northwest corner of this State, at least. The 

 meager rains, along with the small amount 

 of moisture from the winter snow, have 

 been ample up to the present time for cul- 

 tivated crops, but unless we can get fre- 

 quent showers even the corn and other 

 grain will suffer. It has been too dry for 

 the germination of the clover seed; hence, 

 unless lieavy rains come very soon to start 

 the clover from the seed, the effects will be 

 felt for another year or two. 



Both yellow and white sweet clover are in 

 good evidence along roadsides and waste 

 places. This will help out considerably. 

 Milkweed, too, will not be affected by the 

 drouth, and is in good evidence, probably, 

 all over the State. Good weather through 

 fruit-bloom has resulted in fine fertilization 

 of the bloom by the bees, and the trees are 

 already groaning under the weight to which 

 they are subjected. F. W. Hall, 



Storm Lake. Iowa, June 5. 



Special Car for Minneapolis, — We have 

 arranged with the Chicago & North- 

 western Railroad for a special obser- 

 vation and electric-lighted Pullman 

 sleeping car to leave its New Chicago 

 Terminal (see last page) at 6 :45 p.m., 

 Aug. 2!)th, and arrive in Minneapolis 

 the next morning at 7:')') o'clock — in 

 ample time to attend the first session 

 of the National convention. The round- 

 trip railroad fare from Chicago will be 

 $16.00, with a return time-limit until 

 Oct. 81, if desired. The berth rate in 

 the Pullman sleeper is $2. HO for a lower 

 berth, or $1.0o for an upper. 



We hope that just as many bee-keep- 

 ers from the East and South will plan 



to assemble here in Chicago on Aug 

 211th, so as to go on " in a bunch " from 

 here to Minneapolis. It will give us a 

 pleasant evening together. We will be 

 glad to make berth reservations for all 

 who will notify us up to the day before 

 starting. Next month we may have 

 more particulars to announce. In the 

 meantime make your arrangements to 

 join this car-load unless you live in the 

 wrong direction to avail yourself of it. 



California Honey Crop and Prices 



Mr. W. A. Pryal, of Oakland, Cal., who 

 is not only a bee-keeper, but keeps in 

 close touch with things apicultural on 

 the Pacific Coast, and particularly in 

 California, has sent us the following 

 paragraphs taken from the Oakland 

 Enquirer, on June 23, lilll, which 

 shows the honey conditions and pres- 

 pects in California for 1911: 



With fewer bees because of the hard win- 

 ter and a shorter time for them to work, due 

 to a late season, the price of honey stands at 

 such a high level that there is no specula- 

 tion on the present market, buyers say. 



The total honey crop this season, it is pre- 

 dicted, will be a little more than half the 

 production of a normal year. Honey brokers 

 say the buyers they have sent out report 

 that the prospective yield in the seven 

 Southern California counties and the Sacra- 

 mento Valley, a total of 225 carloads from 

 the State. 



The yield in a normal year is between .350 

 and 400 carloads. Last year's crop was little 

 larger than that predicted for tnis year. 



The season, which lasts for about 100 days 

 ordinarily, started about 10 days late, and 

 will be that much shorter. The white honey 

 crop now is at its best. The amber season 

 will be at its height in a week or two. 



White honey started the season and is 

 liolding firm at around 7'! cents a pound, 

 carload lots to Eastern buyers, which level 

 was not reached until late in the season last 

 year. 'This season's present price is from i 

 cent to ih cents above normal for the whole 

 crop. Amber is holding firm at from b/i to 

 6->s cents, carload lots for the East. The 

 market is stable for both grades. Trading 

 is as required for actual orders only, dealers 

 say. 



It is to the hard winter that the honey 

 shortage generally is attributed. The first 

 rains of the season were early, and when the 

 late, cold rains came the bees w'ere in a 

 weakened condition and could not combat 

 the elements. Apiarists generally report 

 their losses from one-third to one-half their 

 colonies. 



However, conditions are not so bad as first 

 seemed probable. The alfalfa is in excel- 

 lent shape, it is reported, and the few bees 

 are doing their best work now in favorable 

 weather. 



Connecticut Field-Day Allen Lath- 

 am, ,\. VV. Yates, and E. C. Griswold 

 will give demonstrations at the annual 

 Field-Day of the Connecticut Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, Saturday, July 

 1.5, at the apiary of Mr. Yates, Foul 

 Brood Inspector, 3 Chapman St., Hart- 

 ford. All welcome. 



J.\s. A. Smith, Sec. 



Hartford, Conn. 



«' The Amateur Bee-Keeper" 



This is a booklet of 8(5 pages, written 

 by Mr. J. W. Rouse, of Missouri. It is 

 niainly for beginners — amateur bee- 

 keepers — as its name indicates. It is a 

 valuable little work, revised this year, 

 and contains the methods of a practical, 

 up-to-date bee-keeper of many years' 

 experience. It is fully illustrated. Price, 

 postpaid, 25 cents; or with the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal one year — both for 

 $1.10. Send all orders to the office of 

 the; American Bee Journal. - 



