APBlii. 1918 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 225 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



lectively, and it promises to be one of llie 

 strong clubs of the State during 1918. 



Riverside County Club hold its regular 

 monthly meeting Saturday, ]\Iarch 2, in the 

 forenoon and the Neighbor Club of San Ber- 

 nardiiie County held its regular meeting in 

 the afternoon of the same day. Holding 

 these meetings on the same date, but at dif- 

 ferent hours, makes it convenient for bee- 

 keepers to attend both meetings. A large 

 number of beekeepers were in attendance 

 upon both gatherings. An interesting talk 

 was given by E. F. Atwater, Special Field 

 Agent of the U. S. Division of Apiculture. 

 Mr. Atwater is very desirous of helping the 

 beemen in any way he can and urges them to 

 call upon him for help with any of their 

 problems. 



Considerable disease is reported from dis- 

 tricts where there was much melting down of 

 combs during the hot wave of last June. 

 Many report an apparent loss of vitality in 

 queens and also some slowness about building 

 up in colonies in these same districts. Evi- 

 dently the loss of combs was not the only 

 injury from that unusually hot weather. 



The weather here up to Feb. 17 was almost 

 like a continuation of summer, with scarcely 

 a day when one could not open a hive for 

 several hours with little trouble from rob- 

 bing. Feb. 18, with but little warning, it 

 began raining and continued at intervals un- 

 til Feb. 27. The rains were general over the 

 southern part of the State, and while some 

 localities had much more than others, all have 

 been greatly benefited. Parts of Santa Bar- 

 bara and San Luis Obispo Counties had from 

 10 to 15 inches, while other districts iu south- 

 ern California got only from three to five 

 inches. 



While it is too early to predict the honey 

 crop for 1918, most local beekeepers feel that 

 some honey will be harvested. If the rains 

 continue thruout the spring months, a good 

 crop is possible. 



Since the appearance of the auto truck, 

 migratory beekeeping'is becoming very popu- 

 lar in southern California. Some of the most 

 successful apiarists move their bees as many 

 as three times during the year. Beginning 

 with the early winter months, they move to 

 a locality where the bees get pollen and early 

 honey from plants such as the willow, eu- 

 calyptus or pepper. This stimulates a colony 

 to brood rearing and gets it strong and ready 

 for the gathering of orange honey. Just as 

 the orange blossoms begin to burst forth, 

 whole apiaries are moved to the groves for a 

 period of six weeks or two months. At the 

 close of the orange blossoming season, some 

 beemen move to the wild buckwheat and 

 white sage ranges, and others move to the 

 purple sage of upper Los Angeles and Ven- 

 tura Counties. A little later the lima bean 

 fields prove a great attraction to some. Beaus 

 are now grown over a large area, and the 



.acreage is increasing every year. While there 

 are many varieties grown, the lima sccm.^ 

 to be the only variety in this part of the 

 country that produces sufficient honey to be 

 of any benefit to the beekeeper. With the 

 auto truck one can move bees from 30 to 50 

 miles in a few hours, while with horses it 

 would have taken a day or two. With our 

 fine concrete roads running over most of 

 southern California, one extensive beekeep }r 

 told me it was just fun to move bees. [ 

 never found any particular fun in it. but it 

 is certainly a satisfaction to know that ycu 

 have the advantage of several different 

 sources of honey. Climatic conditions and 

 seasonal rain-fall enter so largely into tlie 

 production of a honey crop here that the 

 moving of an apiary a comparatively few 

 miles often changes the balance from the 

 loss to the profit side for the year's ■work. 



More bees have been moved to the citrus 

 groves than ever before and this year will 

 certainly be a good time to ?olve the ques- 

 tion: "Can our southern California orange 

 districts be overstocked during ■^he honey 

 flow." In some districts, beekeepers, who 

 had locations almost to themselves and made 

 fine crops, have this year been surroiaideil by 

 nearly a thousand colonies within a radius 

 of a few miles. It has been said that it is 

 next to impossible to overstock the orange 

 district during a good honey flow and now 

 we will have a chance to know. 



L. L. Andrew.-!. 

 * * * 



Tj.. Idaho Climatic conditions in this ter- 

 ritory continue favorable to 

 the honey producer, the mild weather report- 

 ed last month still being with us. We had a 

 slight snow flurry about March first but this 

 only remained an hour or two. The nights 

 are cold, but after the sun is up for a few- 

 hours it seems much like late spring. The 

 first robin of the year was seen the first week 

 of March, and local papers report other 

 spring birds in the vicinity. One honey pro- 

 ducer reported his bees carrying pollen about 

 March first. 



Early reports indicate a very light winter 

 loss in this section. A ntimber of honey-pro- 

 ducers who should know, say that a cursory 

 inspection of their yards discloses a loss of 

 less than 10 per cent. One producer near 

 this city took advantage of a sunny day in 

 the week of Feb. 24 to go thru the hives in 

 his yard of 230 colonies and discovered a 

 loss of only 15 colonies, or 6^ per cent. 



A honey-producer of a near-by town in 

 Oregon, in making up his questionnaire, ask- 

 ed for exemption from military duty until 

 the coming fall so he might look after his 

 apiary this season. Information is now had 

 that he has been placed in subdivision C of 

 class 2, and will probably not be called in 

 191S — possibly not for 15 months. 



Coast buyers are insistent in their demand 



