Al-GlST, 1019 a I. K A N I N G R IN BEE CULTURE 521 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



tliat our iM'op will be sliort. It is the writ- 

 er 's belief tliat light umber honey will sell 

 from 13 to 15 cents per pound, and that 

 white (15 to 30 per cent of our honey grades 

 is white) will bring from 15 to IS cents. 

 At present it seems that the U. S. crop will 

 be slightly less than normal. During the 

 past three years the value of honey imported 

 into the country increased about eight times 

 the normal, and the value of honey exported 

 increased nearly ten times, During the 

 same period exports of sugar decreased to 

 about one-third the normal amount, and the 

 three-j^ear period likewise shows a falling 

 off of over four million tons in the world 's 

 production of sugar. For some years to 

 come Europe will need sweets, and with in- 

 creased shipping facilities the demand for 

 this food should be met. Furthermore, the 

 above indicates that honey is being recog- 

 nized to a much fuller extent. Prior to the 

 war, the United States produced a full crop 

 of honey which was almost entirely con- 

 sumed in the country. It is up to our Ex- 

 change to make the most of this demand, to 

 analyze the markets thoroly, and to distrib- 

 ute the crop thru the best possible channels. 

 It is a big task and a hard one. 



Last week the writer had a very pleasant 

 visit from E. E. Eoot. He seemed to like 

 our section and was much impressed with 

 the wonderful apportunities which it af- 

 fords. Mr. Eoot concurs with the writer 

 that the migratory beekeeper has a great 

 future. This phase of beekeeping may be 

 summed up in the following few words — 

 it 's hard work but it pays. 



Modesto, Calif. " M. C. Eichter. 



* * * 



In Southern California.— ?^o»ey mar- 



ket condi- 

 tions are at present hard to ascertain. The 

 greater part of the crop of the State is to 

 be handled by the California Co-operative 

 Exchange. A few producers outside of the 

 Exchange report sales at 18, 19, and 20 

 cents per pound for extracted honey. 



It is now a demonstrated fact that the 

 honey crop of southern California is to be 

 a very short one. In ordinary seasons, June 

 first finds your correspondent with about 

 half of his honey crop made. This year I 

 have made no surplus honey since that date. 



On a recent trip (June 17 and 18) of 

 about 160 miles across much of the honey- 

 producing territory of Eiverside and San 

 Diego Counties, very little honey had been 

 extracted. The vegetation looked well in 

 some sections where the spi-ing rains had 

 been quite plentiful, but those sections are 

 scarce. In most locations a light crop was 

 predicted, but in some places no surplus 

 honey was expected. 



A large producer, one with long experi- 

 ence also, reports about 65 per cent of a 

 crop for Imperial County. The cool nights 

 during May and the first Half of June cut 



the How from the alfalfa very materially. 

 While these large irrigated valleys always 

 j)ro(luce some honey, it takes ideal weather 

 conditions to make a big crop. 



The oranges, as has already been report- 

 ed, yielded from 20 to 60 pounds per colony. 

 Sixty pounds were produced in only a few- 

 cases. An estimate of between 35 and 40 

 cars of orange honey (250 cases to a car) 

 for California was made at a recent meeting 

 of beekeepers. A large per cent of this will 

 be consumed on the Pacific Coast. 



Many more beekeepers than usual moved 

 to the orange groves last spring. The same 

 is true in regard to the lima-bean fields this 

 summer. Many who in ordinary seasons 

 would move from the oranges to the sages, 

 this year moved from the oranges to the 

 bean fields. As the beans are just begin- 

 ning to bloom, it is yet too early to tell how 

 plentifully they will yield nectar. Some of 

 our old-time Ventura beekeepers have for 

 years successfully moved from the purple- 

 sage ranges to the bean fields of Ventura 

 Co. Originally Ventura County was con- 

 sidered the bean county when we spoke of 

 lima beans; but for the past 12 or 15 years 

 the industry has grown until now Los An- 

 geles and Orange Counties stand as close 

 rivals in the quantity of beans produced. 

 Some growers recognize the value of the 

 bees as a pollenizing agent and welcome the 

 beemen. Others are not so friendly when 

 a man is looking for a location for an apiary. 

 Many beekeepers feel it is a profitable step 

 to take, and they move to the beans even 

 tho the bees may get only enough honey for 

 winter stores and to build up well in the 

 spring. Any late flow that will give this 

 result, allowing one to extract all of the 

 orange honey, will pay for moving this year. 



Chas. Kinzie of Eiverside caught a large 

 swarm of bees on April 22. It was put in a 

 ten-frame Langstroth hive, comfortably fill- 

 ing the body and two supers. Drawn combs 

 were given as needed. On May 22 the colo- 

 ny had 28 frames of brood, and 165 pounds 

 of orange honey were extracted. On June 25 

 seven supers were on, containing lots of hon- 

 ey, brood, and bees. Can you beat it? 



A beekeeper came today (July 2) to get 

 permission from the county inspector to 

 move his bees from an orange location to 

 one in the San Jacinto Mountains in the 

 eastern part of Eiverside County. This last 

 location is at an elevation of nearly 5,000 

 feet, and the white sage and wild buckwheat 

 are just coming into bloom. These higher 

 altitudes got more rain and will produce 

 honey later than those lower down. The 

 mountain ranges are hard to get to, as most 

 of the roads are poor. The bee pasturage 

 being thinly scattered over large areas 

 makes it necessary to have small apiaries 

 smaller and further apart than when located 

 in the orange and bean sections. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



