JULY 1, 1913 



Beekeeping in California 



p. C. Chadwiok, Redlands, Cal. 



telegram: (JUNE 17). 

 Crop conditions unchanged; worst ever. 



BEES IN EIGHT-FRAME HIVES ENTER THE 

 SUPERS QUICKLY. 



Mr. J, L. Byer, in American Bee Journal 

 for February, in commenting on my recent 

 note in Gleanings relative to the size of 

 entrances, upsets the theory of an eight- 

 frame hive for comb honey, and at the same 

 time upholds the idea that the larger the 

 hive the sooner the bees build up in the 

 spring. He says, " By force of circum- 

 stances I have almost all sizes in common 

 use, from the eight-frame Langstroth to the 

 ten and twelve frame Jumbo; and every 

 spring, without exception, the bees in the 

 eight-frame hives are the last to be ready 

 for the supers." I believe this is the first 

 time I have ever known a writer to advance 

 so strong a plea for a large hive; and if it 

 were not so absolutely at variance with my 

 own experience I would surely give it more 

 credence. Mr. Byer, no doubt, has some 

 reason for making such an assertion, and 

 under some conditions he may be correct; 

 but as a rule I am sure the eight-frame hive 

 will have bees in the supers before a ten 

 or a twelve frame. I have the three sizes — 

 not many of the eight-frame, about twenty 

 of the twelve, and those in the twelve sizes 

 are usually the last to enter the supers; 

 but when they do get started, there is plen- 

 ty of business, and plenty of bees to carry 

 it on. Many of our best beekeepers and 

 heaviest producers cut their hives to one 

 story during the winter and spring breed- 

 ing season to reduce the space that is to be 

 heated by the bees to make breeding possi- 

 ble. Now, if it were not considered neces- 

 sary to reduce the space during the breed- 

 ing season the extra work would hardly be 

 undertaken. 



PROFITS in beekeeping. 



Mr. Wesley Foster asks in the May 15th 

 issue where I got my information crediting 

 Colorado with 27,000 colonies of bees. If 

 I am not mistaken I got it from some print- 

 ed matter sent out by our State Associa- 

 tion ; and if it is not correct it was undoubt- 

 edly supposed to be, and was perhaps the 

 best at hand at the tim.e. I am glad Mr. 

 Foster has made this correction. If the 

 1910 census should prove to be no more 

 reliable in Colorado than in this State there 



might easily be twice the number given by 

 Mr. Foster. He also says, '' But we have 

 some of the best beekeepers to be found 

 anywhere, and the homes of our beemen 

 are a credit to the State;" to which I arise 

 to remark, " The same here." But do these 

 homes represent apiculture or agriculture? 

 I surmise the latter more than the former, 

 for the Colorado honey sections follow the 

 irrigated sections closely if I am correctly 

 informed. That is true in certain portions 

 of this State; but the greater portion of 

 our honey comes from the part of the State 

 that is considered at the present time to be 

 valueless for agTiculture. Perhaps 75 per 

 cent of the beekeepers outside of the Im- 

 perial, San Joaquin, and Sacramento val- 

 leys, live in the cities, and many have very 

 fine homes and all modern conveniences, 

 while their apiaries are back in the foot- 

 hills sometimes miles from a habitation. 

 But did they make these homes as a result 

 in beekeeping? In some cases they did, and 

 in some they did not. There are those who 

 have started in tlie business in a very small 

 way who have worked up, have secured 

 good homes, and have made a good living 

 while others have invested heavily in the 

 business at the start and have made a fail- 

 ure of it. One of the best -known producers 

 told me recently that he wished he had in- 

 vested in land yeai*s ago instead of bees, 

 as then he would to-day be a very rich 

 man. This is no doubt true ; but it must be 

 taken into consideration that he was figur- 

 ing on the increase of land values and not 

 altogether on what the land produced. 



Bees are a good investment when proper- 

 ly cared for. The banker loans his money 

 for 6 to 7 per cent on realty, and considers 

 it a good investment. He can invest, say. 

 $2000 in the bee business, rent the bees out 

 for half, and- about one year out of every 

 five he will get at least 30 per cent on his 

 investment. Two years he will get 10 per 

 cent, or an average of ten per cent for five 

 years, allowing failures for two years of 

 the five. Business and profassional men 

 care little for the business outside of re- 

 turns on their investment, yet we find many 

 of them owners of apiaries, which bespeaks 

 volumes for the industry. I believe I have 

 given conservative figures on the average. 



I invested in bees in this State nine years 

 ago. Two years, 1904 and 1913, I stand 

 to lose five per cent on my investment. No 

 other year have I made less than 20 per 

 cent, and one year I made 125. 



