JIarcIi. 1910. 



American Hee Journal 



is much tlie same. The California bee- 

 keepers have not "caught on" to "canned" 

 comb honey. Probably it is because it 

 is a Southern idea, for most of the peo- 

 ple here are from the North, and do 

 not accept Southern ideas, not even 

 prohibition. 



It is my opinion there is a fine field 

 for canned comb honey. The local mar- 

 ket here for almost everything is good, 

 and it is not at all diflicult to 'introduce 

 a new thing. Any way, it strikes me 

 that a very large sliarc of the honey 

 produced in this State can be consumed 

 at home at better prices than can be 

 obtained abroad. 



At present, the bee-keepers are poorly 

 organized, or not organized at all, ow- 

 ing to the fact that they are so far 

 apart : but the country is being rapidly 

 opened up by means of good roads in 

 addition to more railways, and it will 

 soon be possible for all of them to get 

 together occasionally and discuss ways 

 and means for improving the industry. 

 It seems to me 2 cents, at least, could 

 be added to the prevailing selling price 

 of honey, and 5 cents to the price of 

 beeswax. I see no reason why the price 

 of good sage extracted honey cannot be 

 raised to 10 or 12 cents, or the same 

 figure that white clover honey will bring 

 in the East. This can probably be best 

 brought about by the canned comb 

 honey idea, which would pave the way 

 for better prices. 



I have talked over this matter with 

 several practical bee-keepers, but they 

 catmot make themselves believe there is 

 any profit in it. They have had it dinned 

 so incessantly in their ears that "ex- 

 tracted" honey is the only product for 

 them, that they cannot sw'allow the 

 Texas principle without protest. I in- 

 stance the fact that Dr. Miller and Mr. 

 Doolittle both do without an extractor, 

 yet they get good yields of honey. Still, 

 they shake their heads. Many Califor- 

 nia bee-keepers could do without extra 

 help in the apiary, if they could do away 

 with the heavy labor of extracting the 

 combs by centrifugal force. 



By selling more honey locally, much 

 heavy hauling long distances could be 

 avoided. ]\Iany farmers here are good 

 buyers, as they produce only one thing — 

 wool, raisins, lemons, oranges, walnuts, 

 etc. They even use the canned essence 

 of the cow. 



Good roads are going to help this 

 section wonderfully. San Diego County 

 recently voted bonds to the value of 

 $1,250,000 to build new roads, or remake 

 old ones. Los Angeles also voted some 

 $5,000,000 for the same p'urpose, and the 

 other counties will do equally well. This 

 will make a fine beginning, and I note 

 with pleasure that the money will be 

 spent for the purpose the people voted 

 it. Back in Ohio, I noted very much 

 good money was being wasted on "good 

 roads" ; that is to say, the road-makers 

 did not understand their business — pol- 

 itics was their business. 



The roads here wind in and out and 

 around mountain ranges, that are al- 

 most ideal for bee-keeping, but at pres- 

 ent it takes a 4-horse team to do the 

 work of one horse. Many a good bee- 

 location is entirely neglected just for 

 this reason. The day is not far distant 

 when this will be changed, and the bee- 



keeper of Southern California will come 

 into his own. At the same time, I 

 doubt very much, if the same amount 

 of honey exported will again equal some 

 of the fat years of the past. The local 

 consumption will leap up with bounds, 

 and possibly none at all will be sold 

 outside. 



It is something of a shame, that the 

 United States, and, more especially, that 

 part of it known as the "Pacific Slope," 

 should allow so rich a food product as 

 sage honey to go to foreign markets 

 to get a fair price. It looks as if the 

 Germans had more food-sense than 

 .Americans. To my mind, it is a dis- 

 grace, and something ought to be done 

 to remedy this disagreeable condition of 

 aflfairs. 



San Diego, Cabf. 



Bait-Sections Not So Important 

 as Changed Conditions 



BY RALPH P. FISHER. 



Mr. Adrian Getaz gave a few very in- 

 teresting remarks under the head of 

 "Swarming and Other Topics," in the 

 American Bee Journal for November, 

 1909, which I think can be substantia- 

 ted onlj- in part. 



In my candid opinion, from past ex- 

 perience, results go to show that too 

 much importance is given the matter of 

 coaxing bees by the use of bait-combs 

 in section-honey supers. This in due re- 

 gard for any advantages found in their 

 use, for we all know the importance of 

 having the bees of surplus colonies early 

 at work in the supers. 



How to do this efifectually has been a 

 matter of no little concern, and, to the 

 point of being satisfactory, bait-combs 

 cannot fully commend themselves, 

 though they are an aid to a certain end. 



I wish to describe a manner of oper- 

 ating dilatory colonies, showing that 

 changed conditions will produce results 

 far more satisfactory than the continual 

 use of baits. 



With me, it became evident that these 

 lingering colonies were the ones that 

 swarmed, and that those which entered 

 the supers w-ithout coaxing went through 

 the season without a sign of this ever- 

 existing drawback. Granting any pos- 

 sible exceptions to this rule, it is likewise 

 true that such lingering colonies, after 

 having been baited, will swarm out when 

 the sections are not yet one-half com- 

 pleted. In this case the baits served only 

 an end, but failed to pay the master for 

 the time used in the care and preparation 

 of the previous year's cull stock. Then, 

 on the other hand, the fact that a colony 

 was remarkably early at work in the 

 supers after being baited, is no criterion, 

 for very possibly that same colony would 

 respond as quickly without baits. So 

 often has this been the case that I feel 

 safe in writing this, knowing other 

 comb-honey producers are laboring with 

 the same obstinate troubles. 



Since arriving at the aforesaid con- 

 clusions, I began the practice of follow- 

 ing the large-hive idea and adopted the 

 lo-frame Langstroth, perfected a system 

 of operation including the hive of tiew 



swarms in small hive-bodies. I was as- 

 sured the carliness of section work is 

 due, not to the direct influence of baits, 

 but to the more remarkable condition of 

 the brood-nest and natual propensity of 

 the queen's progeny, more or less luani- 

 fest from the source of nectar. Hiving 

 these new swarms in small hive-bodies, 

 with a super added, has the effect of im- 

 mediate section work, with all the ad- 

 vantages favoring a full harvest. For 

 hiving purposes I use a Danzenbaker 10- 

 frame body with full sheets of comb 

 foundation, allowing the bees this domi- 

 cile throughout the surplus season, trans- 

 ferring in the fall to the standard lo- 

 frame Langstroth hive-bodies. At this 

 time, if the occasion requires, requeen- 

 ing is practiced, though in either case 

 the method used in transferring is quite 

 the same. I shake the bees from the 

 Danzenbaker frames as in "shook" 

 swarming, returning the combs to the 

 hive-body, then place the whole over the 

 Langstroth hive with an escape-board 

 between. After a proper time has been 

 allowed the transferred colony to get 

 reconciled, the bees are encouraged to 

 rob out their previously-gathered stores 

 when they are made ready for winter on 

 the summer stands. 



1 believe in large colonies, and conse- 

 quently a large hive is needed in spring 

 to permit of a prolific queen doing her 

 utmost. The 8-frame Langstroth hive 

 necessitates too much care and atten- 

 tion, often containing a surplus of last 

 year's honey and pollen, preventing the 

 queen's energy. With the lo-frame 

 Langstroth this predominating feature 

 is never a drawback, and it is easier to 

 add than take from, in the event of too 

 much dry comb, consequently this 

 standard is preferred, since crop results 

 are as satisfactory as when the 8-frame 

 Langstroth hive is used exclusively. 



From observation, it is also a simpler 

 matter to know which of the colonies 

 would need baits, and these are en- 

 couraged to swarm, as would be the 

 case sooner or later, anyway, while the 

 others are left alone, generally going 

 through the season intact. 



All this goes to show that there is 

 more in changed conditions than with 

 the trouble of depending on baits, in so 

 so far as this locality has to do with the 

 methods of production. Having a re- 

 gard for others differently situated, it is 

 desired that they consider these fuiida- 

 mental principles in lieu of bait-sections 

 in supers, and see whether production 

 isn't very largely increased. Because I 

 find the foregoing a direct iiriprovement 

 is no criterion, still the hiving of new 

 swarms n small hive-bodies for the sea- 

 on, must commend itself to comb-honey 

 producers more favorably than other 

 methods having less advantages. The 

 labor connected with the transferring 

 business is within itself a matter un- 

 worthy of consideration, as with large 

 parent colonies, swarming never exceeds 

 20 percent, and many seasons as low as 

 5 percent. 



Therefore my experience seeks sup- 

 port, and is given with a hope that at 

 least some one can add a mite to this 

 manner of getting dilatory bees in the 

 supers early. 



Vienna, N. J. 



