192 



American Vae Journal 



eep at work in the usual manner. If 

 during this time we have adverse 

 weather conditions, and the field-bees 

 are confined more or less to their 

 hives, tliey may naturally acquire the 

 swarming fever, for they seem to have 

 nothing else to do. Under the former 

 conditions the question of ventilation 

 would have had very little if any im- 

 portance, but under the latter it is the 

 deciding factor. 



Not many bees will be seen clustered 

 about the bottom of a well ventilated 

 hive during ideal weather, but when 

 the reverse comes, even the large well 

 opened entrances will be filled with 

 bees, and the spaces between the bot- 

 tom frames and up between the frames 

 for some distance will be found clogged 

 with bees. They have a job to main- 

 tain the heat of the colony and stay 

 about the bottom, and do not crowd 

 the upper part of the hive. As soon 

 as the weather clears these bees clus- 

 tered about the bottom will return to 

 the field, and there is no more added 

 to this swarming impulse than usual. 



There is nothing I dislike more than 

 to find a strong colony of bees with 

 only a small entrance, and with a great 



fanning corps all about the entrance 

 roaring as if about to smother. If they 

 are not clustering about the entrance, 

 you will find them in small clusters 

 up through the hives, and those scat- 

 tered about over the comb running as 

 if panic stricken. 



This method is poor policy, poor 

 beekeeping, and the cause of poor 

 honey crops. We have tested it too 

 many times. Bees cannot work prop- 

 erly in a hive under such conditions, 

 .neither can they evaporate very much 

 nectar, especially if it contains a great 

 amount of water, as it would naturally 

 make thin honey, if not evaporated 

 well. This makes the comb o[ cap- 

 ping brown over as fast as the honey is 

 finished, and it is hardly marketable. 



So we ventilate a reasonable amount 

 by placing under each side of the hive, 

 on bottom-boards, a square 'sinch 

 strip cut as long as the hive, which 

 gives a good vent from back to front, 

 and allows a good current of air to 

 pass under and up between the frames 

 if the bees need it; if not, they will 

 cluster there and shut it out. This is 

 also the only sure cure for hanging out 

 during a honey-llow. 



Caufornia ^ Bee-Keeping 



Conduclf d by J. E. Pleasants. Orange, Calif. 



Crop Notes 



On April 17, 18, and 19 there was a 

 very hot dry wind, the temperature 

 rising to 90 degrees one day. This, as 

 is always the case when the ternpera- 

 ture reaches that point early in the 

 season, did much damage to the plants 

 in bloom at that time. The black sage 

 (our best honey plant), which was well 

 in bloom, sulTered most. It looked for 

 a time as though it were wilted, but in 

 two or three days following the hot 

 wave the weather changed, and the two 

 weeks following were damp. During 

 this time I.:?.') inches of rain fell. This 

 gave new life to the plants, and bees 

 are still working on black sage. The 

 beauty of the sages is that they remain 

 in bloom so long, especially the black 

 variety. 



While the bees were checked some 

 in their work bv the rain and cloudy 

 weather, they have built up rapidly, 

 and most apiaries are stronr in bees, 

 and ready for the fine working weather 

 which we have been having of late — 

 fnggv mornings and warm sunny days. 

 While few have extracted much yet, 

 except from the orange flow which 

 was light, the outlook now is more 

 favorable. 



There is an excellent growth of 

 white sage, though little of it is in 

 bloom yet. It is too early to tell about 

 sumac, but it has come out well from 

 last year's freeze, and ought to give us 

 some yield. There is a report from 

 San Diego county of a lack of early 

 nectar and pollen, causing the bees 

 much 1"ss A shortage of pollen in 



southern California 

 thing. 



IS a very unusual 



Some Native Honey Plants of Southern 

 California 



As California ranks well as a honey- 

 pr iducing State, and as the native flora 

 shows a marked difi^erence from other 

 sections, perhaps a short sketch of our 

 wild honey plants may be of interest. 

 As we go from the cultivated valleys 



of the south where irrigation is univer- 

 sal to the foot-hills, we begin lo notice 

 that the distant purple of the moun- 

 tains is changing to a soft blend of 

 gray and green We go higher and are 

 in the midst of the great wild bee-pas- 

 ture of southern California, the home 

 of the sages, the sumac, and countless 

 others which make what the botanists 

 call the "chaparral belt." They form a 

 dense covering over the mountain sides 

 from the foothills up to about 6000 feet 

 elevation, where this dense growth 

 gi^es way to the pine forests. 



Along the canons are live oaks and 

 sycamores, whose decided dark and 

 light greens lend a pleasing contrast 

 to the duller tints of the mountain 

 sides. This is the bee-pasture which 

 furnished our large crops of the '70's 

 and '80's, before orange or bean nectar 

 were commercial assets. 



The black sage is king of them all. 

 When climatic conditions are favor- 

 able I think black sage can be relied 

 upon to produce more " gilt edge " than 

 any other plant in the West, and for 

 body and flavor it is hard to excel. It 

 blooms for weeks. The blossom is 

 small and inconspicuous, but what a 

 flow of nectar it can yield ! 



The white sage is a much prettier 

 plant. Its soft gray leives and tall 

 blossom spikes make it quite showy; 

 while its pleasing aromatic odor 

 breathes the very essence of wild per- 

 fumes. But this queenly plant is much 

 more inconstant than its plainer sister. 

 Some years it produces a good harvest, 

 others very light. 



The silver or purple sage, which has 

 silvery leaves and brilliant light purple 

 blossoms, is usually a good producer, 

 but is much restricted as to locality. 

 All the sages produce delicately-flavor- 

 ed white honey. 



The " wild alfalfa" is a small legume 

 much resembling alfalfa in habit of 

 growth, but has bright yellow blossoms. 



The California sumac is a dull green 

 bush, not so attractive as its eastern 

 relative. It is quite dependable, and 

 produces an amber honey of good 

 flavor. Last year the sumac was badly 



Ai'iARY OF H. E. .S(miN< uEi. IN California. 



