The American Apiculturist. ^ 



% Journal btbohb ia practual §wlmpmg» 



KNTKUED AT THK POST-OFFICE, WENHAM, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER. 



Published Monthly. Henry Alley, Manager. 



VOL. VI. WENHA^, MASS., MAY i, 1888. No. 5. 



We deal in nist-class npiari- [ Established in 1S8:{. Terms : I Anv yearly subscriber is en- 



an supplies oI'mM Ivinds. lowest | 75 cents per year, 50 cents per | titled" to one of our selei-ted 



prices. Prompt shipment. six montlis, '23 cents per three I queens anytime l)etween .Tune 1 



I months. Cash in advance. | and Oct. l", by remitting: 75 cts. 



Address all communications, AMERICAN APICULTUmST, ^^enham, Mass. 



Notice. Some of our western friends have 

 an i'lea that tlie American .Ipiculturist is 

 imblislied for Ilie sole benefit of New Eng- 

 land l)eekeepers. This is a mistake. We 

 liave more than double the number of sub- 

 scribers in any one of the western states tlian 

 we liave in all the six New England states 

 combined. Nearly all of oui- contributors 

 are out-ideof New England. We never could 

 think of publishing a bee-paper for the few 

 beekeepers residing east of the Hudson river. 



After this issue our advertisements will not 

 appear again in the API. The change in the 

 form of our i)aper v.ill crowd them out. 



We sliall now send out a circular and price- 

 list, which anyone can have by applying for 

 it. 



For the Ainerican Apiculturist. 



BEE NOTES 

 FROM CALIFORNIA. 



A. Norton. 



THE HONEY SEASON. 



It is a singular fact tliatonr sur- 

 plus season or period of bloom and 

 honey-flow so closely coincides with 

 yours in the east. This results in 

 some advantage. 



It may be comprehended easily 

 from the following statement : The 

 time of honey-harvest is from the 

 middle of May or the first of June 

 to the middle of July or first of 

 August. 



But bees can fly most any time. 

 Raiiiy days will, of course, keep 

 them in ; but the percentage of 

 days, when it is too cold for them 

 to fly, is very small. Very early in 

 the season they can begin gather- 

 ing in a small wa}'. 



9 



I have seen them bringing in 

 pollen on New Year's day, proba- 

 bly from the Australian bUie gum 

 tree. But tliey find only an insig- 

 nificant supply of honey or pollen 

 before February 15 or March 1. 

 Then comes the filaria, covering 

 mountain and valley with its small 

 pink blossoms. Then the colonies 

 become busy. The little patches 

 of brood grow lai'ger, and the 

 empty combs receive deposits of 

 nectar, but i-emain unsealed for 

 quite a time longer. 



Thus the bees have a good start 

 in brood-reai-ing and can easily be- 

 come populous in time for the sur- 

 plus season. Were the sages, buck- 

 eyes and hosackias so constituted 

 as to bloom earlier ; were the many 

 flowers that do come eai-]y rich in 

 white hone}' ; or were the climate 

 such as to insure, white clover ; the 

 surplus inigiit begin to come in 

 much sooner than it does. 



At this writing, March 6, the fila- 

 ria has been in bloom a few days, 

 but bees have been putting fresh 

 honey in the combs for a couple of 

 weeks. Probably the willow blos- 

 soms have furnished it. Now it is 

 time to give the bees attention. 



I prefer to have them strong as 

 early as possible ; therefore I think 

 it better to double up all weak col- 

 onies making fewer and better 

 ones. 



If I want my number of colonies 



(97) 



