NOVEMBEK, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE GULTUKE 



673 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California p\ «"^ ^''' 



tober c o r - 

 resijondence I intimated that early rains 

 might set in at any time and cautioned bee- 

 keepers not to extract too closely this fall. 

 As a matter of fact, there were intermit- 

 tent rains thruout September, and our fall 

 flow has been very considerably decreased. 

 Jackass clover, alkali weed, and bluecurls 

 were in excellent shape and it appeared that 

 they would yield their normal surplus. Many 

 beekeepers, especially in view of the fact 

 that alfalfa had yielded so poorly, moved 

 their bees so as to take advantage of the 

 above-mentioned bloom. The continual 

 rains, however, cut short the flow and the 

 surplus realized was but half what was ex- 

 pected. The fall bloom yielded best in 

 Kings, Tulare, Fresno, and Merced Counties. 

 Jackass clover has lived up to its reputation 

 as a honey plant, and yielded heavily until 

 the rains came. The honeydew along the 

 rivers in central California is practically 

 a total failure. Keports indicate that there 

 has been but one-tenth of a normal flow 

 from this source. It has been several years 

 now since this aphid honey, often termed 

 "bug - juice," "black - strap," "black- 

 jack, ' ' and ' ' wild rose, ' ' has produced a full 

 crop. It is regrettable that so little of this 

 honey has been produced, since the demand 

 for this grade by bakers and confectioners 

 has been out of all proportion to the supply. 

 The honey crop for northern California is 

 perhaps only 60 per cent of an average 

 crop. In the northern section of our dis- 

 trict the yield has been poor. The ravages 

 of disease had every bit as much to do with 

 the short crop from Sacramento north as 

 had the poor flow. 



Honey prices continue firm and the move- 

 ment of the product is commensurate with 

 market demands. During the past few 

 weeks the California Honey Producers ' Co- 

 operative Exchange has sold, net to them, 

 several thousand cases of honey at prices 

 ranging from 22 cents per pound for amber 

 to 24% cents per pound for white. The 

 Exchange has still many carloads of honey 

 which undoubtedly will be disposed of with- 

 in the next month or two according to mar- 

 ket demands. The bee-suppl,y needs of more 

 than 700 members of the Exchange are now 

 being handled by the supply department and 

 all members who have not already sent in 

 their requirements, or who do not fill out the 

 requisitions now being sent them, will not 

 receive the full benefits of the reduced 

 prices now available to the Exchange. 

 Prices of practically all bee-supply materials 

 are continually advancing, and it would be 

 poor policy on the part of the beekeepers 

 to unnecessarily delay in sending in their 

 requirements. The Exchange has commit- 

 tees working on the standardization of bee 

 supplies and honey, and also on bee-disease 



legislation. These three important matters 

 which concern our industry so vitally will 

 be taken up in a most thoro-going manner. 

 The Exeliange realizes fully the importance 

 of this work and is making every endeavor 

 to put forth the proper standards for bee 

 supplies and for the grading of honey. 



The bee-disease situation is lamentable, 

 and there is not a beekeeper in California 

 today that will not welcome a change in our 

 present law, which is neither checking nor 

 helping us to eradicate our brood diseases. 

 The Exchange will have a representative 

 present at Sacramento when our legislature 

 convenes this winter. The representative 

 will be in a position to set forth concisely 

 the needs of our industry relative to State 

 protection. M. C. Eichter. 



Modesto, Calif. 



« * * 



In Southern California — Honey 



prices are 

 firm and the demand is strong. In fact, so 

 little honey is offered for sale in these sec- 

 tions that wherever a few cases are report- 

 ed, several buyers are immediately out after 

 it. Twenty-one and a half cents' per pound 

 or more is offered for light amber, and for 

 strictly white orange or sage honey as high 

 as 24 cents. Only a few producers are 

 anxious to sell at these prices. The high 

 price of honey has made the demand for 

 bees very active, and many persons having 

 little or no knowledge of the business are 

 buying. Late honey plants have not been 

 in prime condition, and, consequently, the 

 bees have not filled up as well for winter 

 as they usually do. Many colonies are very 

 short of stores and will have to be fed in 

 order to get them in proper condition for 

 winter. This is especially the case where 

 the apiary has been run for extracted honey. 

 Brood-rearing has kept up well in most 

 cases, and with sufficient feed the colonies 

 should go into winter with plenty of young 

 bees. Contrary to the opinion of many bee- 

 keepers, I believe that plenty of young 

 bees in the fall is a great asset for strong 

 colonies in the spring. This is the case in 

 sunny southern California as well as in 

 colder parts of the country. 



With over 100,000 colonies signed up with 

 the State Beekeepers' Exchange, the advan- 

 tages to be obtained by co-operative buy- 

 ing can easily be seen. In the selling of our 

 products, it is reasonable to suppose that we 

 will be able to sell our honey for as much 

 as the commission men can sell it. If we 

 as an organization can handle the crop out 

 of which dozens of brokers have been mak- 

 ing money, we feel that we can save some 

 rnoney for the producer and at the same 

 time get the honey to the consumer just as 

 cheap as he gets it now. Of course, there 

 are some who will not join the Exchange. 

 There never was a movement for the bene- 



