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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



EEKEEPING IN CALIFOENEA 



P. C. Chadwick, Redlands, Cal. 



The powers of Europe went 

 fi'azy one year ago to-day, July 

 29, and the end is not yet in sight. 

 The conditions of finances will not 

 be noi'raal for many years to come, 

 and the bee industry will probably 

 be one of the sufferers. 



June, so I am wondering what the real 

 length of the .season is at that altitude. 

 Frost is known to come very early. In fact, 

 there was a hea^'y frost one night wliile I 

 was there. It seems to me tliat three months 

 would be about the lengih of a season to 

 expect there. 



There is a movement on foot to market 

 honey through a local orange-distributing 

 agency. A splendid idea indeed ! The vast 

 distributing business of this agency should 

 be of immense benefit to the producer. 

 Now, if the beekeepers will pool their in- 

 terests as the orange men do, and will be 

 willing to take a uniform price for their 

 honey according to the gi'ade, we shall have 

 made a great step forward. Grading will 

 be a difficult problem. Blending should be 

 a feature of the business that a uniform 

 grade could be offered to the buyers, and 

 not to exceed four grades should be the aim. 

 * * * 



Among my visitors for the month was 

 Ml". S. M. Boschnogel, of Loudersburg, Pa. 

 Mr. Boschnogel has made very extensive 

 travels since leaving home the first week in 

 June. He traveled east through the New 

 England States, back through New York, 

 then into Canada, and as far west in the 

 Dominion as Calgary, thence south into 

 Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, 

 and to San Francisco, San Diego, and Red- 

 lands. He had covered over 7000 miles 

 when here, 400 of which he had walked that 

 lie might see more and study conditions 

 better. He will add several thousand miles 

 to his trip before he reaches home next fall, 

 and will have visited many prominent bee- 

 keepers and most of the scenic places in the 

 United States. 



During July I spent four days in the 

 higher San Bernardino Mountains, and, as 

 usual, kept my eye open for bees. I found 

 them quite numerous at Bluff Lake, a resort 

 over 7500 feet above sea-level. There were 

 numerous blooming flowers and shrubs for 

 them to work on; but what caused me the 

 g'reatest wonder was the immense amount of 

 honej'-dew ou the fir-trees. The leaves were 

 shining like crystals with the lioney-dew 

 tliat has dried and crystallized on them. 

 The bees seemed lo be able lo work it only 

 in the morning, to any great extent. There 

 v/as fifteen feet of snow at this point last 

 winter, some remaining until the first of 



In the issue for Jan. 1, 1912, is an article 

 by Arthur C. Miller entitled, " A few ran- 

 dom notes on the Avay bees ' make ' honey"." 

 At tlie time I read this article by Mr. MilhT 

 I could not bring myself to believe some of 

 his contentions, but resolved to give them 

 some careful consideration and study. I 

 haA-e had the above-mentioned issue of 

 Gleanings close at hand since that time for 

 reference to his article. Mr. Miller says 

 that a bee returning does not rush for a call 

 in which to store its nectar, but, on the 

 contrary, she spends a seemingly needless 

 amount of time wandering about and in- 

 specting cells. I have seen nothing in the 

 past three years that gives me any founda- 

 tion for believing that Mr. Miller is correct. 



Quoting again, '*Wben the bee has emp- 

 tied her sac she backs out of the cell, wipes 

 off her face, antennae, and tongue, stretches 

 and plumes hei^elf, and, likely as not, 

 crawls into some cell or hangs in some quiet 

 corner for a nap. Thus slie may stay for a 

 few minutes or for half a day." The above 

 is the hardest of all for me to believe, and 

 I regret that I must say it seems to me to 

 be without sufficient foundation. I have 

 made some experiments with field bees, and 

 the length of time it has required them to 

 return lo baits placed for the express pur- 

 pose of timing them. The tests have been 

 so conducted that there could be no reason- 

 able doubt as to getting the exact time it 

 took a bee to get its load and return for the 

 second and third. In none of tliese tests 

 ha\e I found any disposition on the part of 

 the bee to loaf on the job as Mr. Miller 

 suggests. 



1 will admit that I have not spent half a 

 day watching a single bee to see what its 

 actions are in the hive for that length of 

 time — whether it craAvls in a cell or hangs 

 up in a corner for half a day. I do not 

 believe tliat a single bee can l)e kept under 

 observation for that lengtli of time if the 

 weather is sulfieientl}' warm for them to 

 move around freely, and the bee is in active 

 condition. There are manj' things in the 

 entire article that to me savor of specula- 

 tion. 



