May, 191n. 



157 



American Vee Joarnal 



^ 



ANOTHER VIEW OF BROWN'S MOUNTAIN APIARY 



colonies, requeening most that were 

 left. Last spring, after counting all 

 that had bees, including a few nuclei, I 

 had 90 colonies left, mostly with good 

 Italian queens from the previous sea- 

 son. Of course, I could tell then that 

 we would have a fair season. So I 

 arranged to get as much honey as 

 I could with as little increase as possi- 

 ble. By the end of the season I had 

 125 colonies in excellent condition 

 with at least 1000 pounds of honey in 

 the supers. I took off five extractings 

 amounting to 9>^ tons (19,000 pounds). 

 " I believe if I had increased accord- 

 ing to the Alexander method I would 

 have had considerably more honey and 



all empty hives full of bees. This 

 would mean a great deal with our pres- 

 ent excellent prospects. 



"I am sure that a great many Cali- 

 fornia bee-men make a mistake by not 

 keeping young queens. I find that a 

 vigorous young queen, if well supplied 

 with stores, will have a hive full of 

 bees by the time the sage flow begins, 

 without stimulating. This season I did 

 not stimulate at all and will have to 

 divide some of my colonies now 

 (March 1-5) to keep them from swarm- 

 ing. I have rearranged this apiary and 

 expect to increase by the Alexander 

 method; also by bringing swarms 

 from the valley until I have from 250 to 

 300 colonies. 



"The other photograph is of my 

 Lemon Heights apiary. Although it is 

 in reach of considerable sage, the prin- 

 cipal honey flow is from oranges and 

 limabeans. It is located at the edge 

 of the San Joaquin ranch, where from 

 17.000 to 21,000 acres of beans are cul- 



tivated annually. The flow from the 

 beans is of short duration. The aver- 

 age yield runs from 30 to 70 pounds to 

 the colony ; but mostly a low average, 

 although one season some colonies 

 stored 2U0 pounds. The orange yield 

 is sometimes a failure, which was the 

 case last spring. 



"This apiary is run mostly for bulk 

 comb honey, a large part of which I 

 sell for bottling purposes. The past 

 winter I had a little experience in bot- 

 tling and selling honey which was very 

 successful. The market being very 

 slow, and not getting a fair offer for 

 my honey, I decided to find out if there 

 was a home market, as I had often 

 been told. 



" I got some Schram and Drey pint 

 and quart white flint glass jars and 

 some Kerr white glass jars. All of 

 them were good with the preference 

 for the latter. I cut up bulk comb 

 honey in nice wide strips, long enough 

 to reach clear down in the jar, filled it 

 with a clear light amber honey. This 

 made a very attractive article I then 

 called upon the grocers in my home 

 and neighboring towns and induced 

 some of them to handle my goods. 

 Some said they could not sell honey, 

 having tried different kinds before. I 

 did not doubt them. Well, I got my 

 honey started, and when I next carne 

 around they all wanted more of it. 

 They said that it was the best seller 

 they ever had. 



" People are ready to buy if it is put 

 up right. It must be attractive. Some 

 of my customers had in stock nicely 

 packed honey put up by Los Angeles 

 concerns, but in every case this honey 

 was a dead article where mine sold 

 quickly. This was not only because it 

 was more attract'vely packed, but be- 

 cause it was directly from the bee- 

 keeper and guaranteed pure. 



"Beekeepers should be encouraged 

 to put up honey in packages to suit 

 their trade. They should look after 

 their own market instead of depending 

 upon some one else and then kicking 

 about low prices. 



"And another thing. Do not try to 

 sell ncclur: sell honey. Well ripened 

 heavy honey always gives satisfaction. 

 "Tustin, Calif. Geo. J. Brown." 



Conducted by J. L. Byer. Mt Joy. Ontario. 



GEO. J. BROWN 



Kind of Weather that Favors Heclar 



Secretion Soils Best Suited to 



Honev Plants 



Interesiing reading that on page 79 

 of the March American Bee Journal, 

 relative to the kind of weather that 

 best favors nectar secretion, and the 

 kinds of soil best suited to various 

 honey-plants. As in many other things 

 relating to beekeeping, I expect that 

 our old friend "locality" cuts quite a 

 figure in these matters, as, for instance, 

 where temperatures are mentioned it 

 is given among the answers that from 

 80 to 100 degrees is best suited for nec- 



tar secretion. While the latter figure 

 may mean good honey weather in 

 localities farther south, after 90 de- 

 grees is reached here in Ontario, nec- 

 tar will, as a rule, cease unless we have 

 an abundance of moisture in the soil— 

 a condition we very seldom have. 



As to soil best suited for various 

 honey-plants, there are at least two 

 things that we feel fairly sure of. Good 

 strong clav soil is undoubtedly best 

 for clover-iioney production, while one 

 acre of buckwheat on sandy soil will 

 vield as much nectar as three or more 

 on clay soil. While not at all sure 

 about the matter, from the experiences 



