DFCEMBFR 15, 1915 



BEEKEEPING EN CAUFOKNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, Redlaeds, Cal. 



Tliex-e was an annual meeting of 

 the California Slate Beekeeuers' 

 Association lield in San Francisco 

 in Augiist, at which tho election of 

 ollicers was reported. Now comes 

 tlie announcement (hat tlie Slate 

 Association meeting will be held in 

 Los Angeles in December. 1 am wondering 

 liow many annual meetings can be held 

 within one year. I had been led to believe 

 one annual meeting was all that was possi- 

 ble within a year, but it seems that I have 

 been mistaken. 



* « » 



There is a certain difference in colonies 

 of bees that is so striking that sometimes it 

 seems ihe apiarist must get acquainted witli 

 each colony. We come to a colony that 

 seems to have time only to rear brood; an- 

 other is in quest of honey, and the bees are 

 doing their best to store quantities of it, 

 jamming it into the brood-nest to the detri- 

 ment of the future strength of the colony; 

 another may be strong on pollen-gatheii'-.g. 

 To manipulate and regidate the course of 

 the individual colonics is the task of the 

 apiarist, and one that will often pay big 



returns. 



* * * 



It was my great pleasure recently to visit 

 one of the districts of the state where the 

 eucalyptus yields sufficient to give a sur- 

 plus. My bees are lying dormant or prac- 

 tically so, with very little if anything yield- 

 ing them a load of pollen or a stray load 

 of nectar, back in the foothill region. But 

 in this land of much eucalyptus I was sur- 

 l>rised as well as pleased to see them line 

 out for the blooming eucalyptus. The flight 

 roar was well defined and heavy; the un- 

 mistakable weary -winged fall upon the 

 aligliting-boards told of nectar in goodly 

 quantities. The inner life of the hive was 

 all excitement with the queens busy, and 

 all of the hive force diligentlj' bending to 

 their ta.sk. This flow will last several weeks 

 yet, perhaps until the middle of January, 

 by which time an abundance; of bees will 

 fill the hives. Those of us who are depend- 

 ing on wild flora are wondering if we shall 

 get sufficient rain to save our fast-drying 

 crops of filaree that we may have an early 

 source from which to stimulate our colonies. 



* • « 



The much-talked-of " new bee disease " 

 se<*ms to have found its way into the land 

 of sunshine as well as tlie upper coast re- 



gion, where they liave eleven months of wet 

 weather and August. So far as I know, the 

 only place it has appeared here is in the 

 vicinity of Fullerlon, Orange County. All 

 1 learned of it there was from Mr. J. E. 

 Pleasants, inspector of that county. Mr. 

 Pleasants said there was a small district 

 where several apiaries had been and were 

 still badly affected by a disease which he 

 remarked was much the same as described 

 in the October issues of Gleanings. There 

 are some queer citations in connection with 

 its appearance. If I am correct, Mr. Plea- 

 sants said the disease first made its appear- 

 ance in the apiary of Mr. Green, recently 

 of New York, who purchased the George 

 Emerson bees. 



Mr. Pleasants also told of visiting the 

 apiary of Mr. Seligman last spring, finding 

 them in perfect condition, strong and busy. 

 Within six weeks of that time he was called 

 back to examine them again, Mr. Seligman 

 having reported them dying. Mr. Pleasants 

 went at once, fearing black brood. When 

 he arrived he found the bees crawling out 

 of the hives by the thousands, some hives 

 having dead bees an inch deep in front of 

 them, and the hive force badly depleted. 

 The brood was dying, apparently in all 

 stages. I asked many questions, but Mr. 

 Pleasants seemed to think the disease was 

 distinguishable from paralysis. In many 

 respects he said it resembled that disease, 

 but he had never seen paralj'sis act just as 

 this disease did. 



From the description given in Gleanings 

 of its disappearance with good weather it 

 seems at variance with the conditions here. 

 The disease has been persistent during the 

 entire summer in some apiaries, and surely 

 a climate with open sunshine and no rain 

 would obliviate it if that alone were a cure. 

 Three miles from the apiary of Mr. Gi'een, 

 which had the disease so badly, he has an- 

 other apiarj', but over a range of hills. Of 

 the many queens introduced in an effort to 

 eradicate the disease, a part of each ship- 

 ment Avas introduced in the apiary last 

 mentioned. It remained in perfect health 

 and fine condition, while the other continued 

 to dwindle away. I sliould like very much 

 to visit this apiaiy for my own observation, 

 though I do not claim to be an expert on 

 disease. Mr. Pleasants' opinion should car- 

 ry considerable weight, as he has been a 

 beekeeper for more than forty years, and 

 inspector of Orange County for a number 

 of years. 



