472 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



from out-yards, and the convenience of hav- 

 ing' all the bees together, he concludes he 

 makes more money b}' massing' the bees to- 

 gether. 



At the time of my visit he had 610 colo- 

 nies. He starts in the spring- with about 

 400, and increases to 600 during- the height 

 of the flow, then reduces back to 400. 



SOME REMARKABLE YIELDS PER COLONY IN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



In asking Mr. Mclntyre something about 

 the amount of honey California could pro- 

 duce in a good year, he told me of one in- 

 stance where a Mr. MofFatt actually secur- 

 ed an average of 400 lbs. per colony from 

 400 colonies, or an aggregate of 160,000 lbs. 

 or 80 tons. If this honey sold at 4 cts. per 

 lb., that would make a gross total of $6400. 

 Mr. Mclntyre's average has varied all the 

 way from 15 lbs. per colony, during poor 

 years, up to 275. In 1878 his average was 

 275 lbs.; in 1880, 175 lbs.; 1884, 100 lbs.; 

 1886, 175 lbs. From that time on till 1891 

 the average ran all the way from 10 lbs. up 

 to 60 — quite a dropping oft". But even tak- 

 ing the low averages, and multiplying them 

 by 500, you will see that Mr. Mclntyre is 

 able to get more than enough to pay the in- 

 terest on his investment. 



nThe largest amount of honej^ that was 

 ever shipped from California was 9,000,000 

 lbs., or what would be an aggregate of 

 about 300 carloads. It has been estimated 

 that California is capable of producing in 

 a good year 500 carloads. Perhaps that is 

 possible; but the year must be exceptional 

 in many ways. If during the year when 

 the 9,000,000 lbs. or 300 carloads were pro- 

 duced, there might have been 200 carloads 

 consumed in the State, an amount that hard- 

 ly seems probable. If so, then the aggre- 

 gate would reach 500 cars. Somehow when 

 I hear about such an amount of honey I 



can't credit it, and, if I mistake not, the 

 most extensive and conservative bee-keepers 

 of California are likewise skeptical. But 

 even supposing that only 200 carloads were 

 dumped here in the East — why, the mar- 

 kets would go all to pieces. The fact is, 

 California honey does not greatly affect 

 the market even in a good year. 



Now, while I have given some big figures 

 of the possibilities in California, I wish to 

 emphasize what I have said before — that 

 the average bee-keeper in California, I do 

 not suppose, in a period of ten years, se- 

 cures any more honey for the number of 

 colonies invested than his brother will in 

 some of our more Eastern States — Minne- 

 sota, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylva- 

 nia, for example. As I have intimated be- 

 fore, I would not urge anj'^ one to go to Cal- 

 ifornia to keep bees expecting to increase his 

 average per colony very materially. Even 

 if the average should be higher, the price 

 on the product will be lower; so there is 

 just as good a chance for a man to make 

 money in the East as there is in California 

 — the State where gold nuggets glitter on 

 the mountain-side, and honey runs like wa- 

 ter; but the man who goes to find this ex- 

 pectation realized is almost sure to be dis- 

 appointed. 



THE ORANGE-GROWING BUSINESS. 



In Fig. 3 we have a very characteristic 

 view of some of the immense orange-groves 

 in California. This one picture was taken 

 while out driving with Mr. Mclntyre, a 

 mile or so from the railway station of Fill- 

 more, and while we were on a bluff over- 

 looking the grove; and as it looks exactly 

 like hundreds of other groves seen in South- 

 ern California, I g-ive it here as a fair spec- 

 imen. 



One might think that these groves com- 

 prise little trees about as high as currant- 



FIG. 3. — ORANGE-GROVE, NEAR FILLMORE, CA L. 



