VMn 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



943 



NOTES OF TRAVEL. 

 The Arizona Bee Paradise ; Shaded Apiaries. 



BV E. K. ROOT. 



In our last issue I referred to the won- 

 derful fertility of tlie soil in that bee-keep- 

 iug" paradise — so fertile, indeed, that alfal- 

 fa and other honey-plants (frow more luxu- 

 riantly there than anywhere else in the 

 United States. But cf this I shall have 

 more to saj^ at another time. For the pres- 

 ent I desire to call attention to the universal 

 method of furnishing- artificial shade for 

 whole apiaries. When it is remembered 

 that Arizona is one of the hottest resfions in 

 the United States, and that one of its towns, 

 Yuma by name, on the Southern Pacific 

 R. R-, has the reputation of being- the "hot- 

 test place" in the whole country, one can 

 readily see the importance of providing" 

 shade for bee-hives. But, like all hot dry 

 climates, that of Arizona is not so insuffer- 

 able as one mig-ht imagine. Notwithstand- 

 ing- the temperature goes up to 110, and 

 sometimes temporarily to 120 in the shade, 

 one does not suffef- from the heat nearly as 

 much there as he would in the East v ith 

 the mercury at 90 or 100 in the shade. 

 Why this difference? It is simpl}^ a mat- 

 ter of humidity. A large amovmt of moist- 

 ure with a high temperature is killing, as 

 I have before stated. But a hig-h tempera- 

 ture and a low Innnidity is (juite endurable. 



as I found it in Arizona, or, as some of the 

 old residenters prefer to call it, "God's 

 country." But, moisture or no moisture, 

 unless the hives are shaded combs will 

 surely melt down, and it is absolutely nec- 

 essary to provide shade. Trees are rather 

 scarce in that irrigated country; and, be- 

 sides, their shade would not give jirotection 

 during- the u'liolc day; so the bee-keepers 

 have found it necessary to construct a sub- 

 stitute in the form of a large trellis, wide 

 enoug-h to shade at least two rows of hives, 

 and long enough to take in 100 colonies, 

 hives spaced about 4 inches apart. But, 

 mark you, these trellises run in the direc- 

 tion of east and west; so when the sun rises 

 in the morning and passes on its onward 

 journey' through the heavens, and down 

 again in the west, it never gets a chance to 

 pour its direct rays on the hives. It can be 

 readily seen that, if the trellis ran north 

 and south, the hives would be shaded only 

 in the middle of the day. While that might 

 do for the East, it will not answer for Ar- 

 izona. 



While I was visiting Mr. J. W^ebster 

 Johnson and Mr. Wm. Rohrig, both of 

 Tempe, I took three or four views that show 

 ho-w these sheds are constructed. As will 

 be seen, they consist of ordinar}' skeleton 

 trellises. The uprights in some cases are 

 2x4's, and in other cases they consist of 

 poles. In some across the tops a bracing 

 of wire is used ; in others, light strips of 

 wood. All that seems to be needed is a 



FIG. 1. — J. WIOBSTKK JOHNSON'S APIARV. 



