December, 1907. 



American Hae Journal 



plan here detailed another year, should 

 the year of 1908 prove something after 

 the fashion of this year. 



All colonies have sufficient stores for 

 winter, as those lacking have been sup- 

 plied from these combs of honey be- 

 fore the 45 pounds average was taken. 



As far as the yield is concerned, I 

 have done much better, but I think 

 nothing like it before when the poor- 

 ness of the season was taken into ac- 

 count. And I should not have given 

 the matter for publication only with 

 the hope of inspiring some one who does 



not have an "eye" on the season, to get 

 the bees and the season together in 

 some way, so that even a very poor sea- 

 son may count towards success. I know 

 that there is considerable fun poked at 

 "locality," etc., but I am firm in the be- 

 lief that those who know how best to 

 bring the locality, the season, and the 

 bees together, will be the successful 

 ones; while those who pay little or no 

 attention to these matters, or scout the 

 idea of there being anything in them, 

 are those who are the most liable to be 

 candidates for "blasted hopes." 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



--J^ 



RcflcctioiiLf 



California Bcc-Kceper 



■Ll^ t. 



By W. A. PRYAL, Alden Stati..n. 1 laklamJ.fCalit. 



In Union There is Strength. 



"Bees accomplish nothing save as they 

 work together — neither does Man." 



This is one of the mottoes printed in 

 good sized type that is conspicously dis- 

 played in offices in San Francisco. I 

 presume it is so posted to induce the 

 citizens of that unfortunate city to pull 

 together and rebuild their city as never 

 a city was built before. That's good. 

 But looking at the words in another 

 light, I am constrained to remark that 

 the fellow who wrote the motto never 

 had an opportunity to learn what one 

 lone bee could accomplish when she got 

 a genuine hustle on. A bull in a crock- 

 ery shop might do more damage, but 

 I 'am willing to go on record that he 

 could not "skidoo" a crowd quicker ban 

 a hybrid bee whose business end was 

 prepared for dire vengeance. For her 

 size, there's nothing in the world that 

 can put a crowd so quickly "on the run" 

 as a bee on mischief bent. 



each super turned off the hive instead 

 of $2.40, as formerly ! What a differ- 

 ence ! 



But how long will it last? I suppose 

 next year honey will be down almost 

 as low as ever. But the chances are 

 that it will not. I noticed to-day that 

 good eggs are quoted at 55 cents per 

 dozen; creamery butter is 80 cents per 

 "square" of two pounds. And these ar- 

 ticles, too, are higher than usual at this 

 time of the year. What must those 

 do who can not afford to pay these 

 prices? It is true that many men are 

 getting higher wages than they ever did 

 before, but then there are others who 

 are not getting a cent more than they 

 formerly received. I will leave the sub- 

 ject, as it is getting too grave to dis- 

 cuss in a bee-paper. 



Honey Prices Up. 



I was in one of the leading grocery 

 stores this afternoon in Oakland, mak- 

 ing some necessary purchases, when I 

 nearly lost my breath. Don't get scared, 

 ye buyers of the necessaries of life; 

 it was not from the fact that I went 

 into such a store, or because of any 

 ill effects of the commodities therein 

 sold, that I came near collapsing. No, 

 but it was this: Honey has jumped up! 

 Yes, jumped — "soared," might be the 

 better word. I saw one of the clerks 

 wrap up a small section of honey for a 

 lady customer and demand 25 cents for 

 the dainty morsel. And he got it. 



Just think! It was only a couple of 

 years ago when I could never get more 

 than a dime for the selfsame article. 

 My! If my bees had produced only a 

 few tons of comb-honey the past sea- 

 son, instead of a wheelbarrow full, 

 wouldn't I be rich? Si.x dollars for 



Death ol! A. D. Pryal. 



As the March 14th issue of this Jour- 

 nal (p. 207) contained a short bio- 

 graphical sketch of my father, who 

 could justly be considered one of the 

 pioneer bee-keepers of California, it now 

 becomes my painful duty to supplement 

 such record with the announcement of 

 his death. In the middle of last win- 

 ter my father fell a victim to a bad at- 

 tack of grip; for a time his life was 

 despaired of. Along with that malady 

 he was a sufferer from valvular heart 

 trouble. Fie was sufficiently recovered, 

 however, during April and May to be 

 about and attend to his usual busi- 

 ness, as he was always an active man, 

 and liked to be engaged. It was while 

 thus attending to business (he having 

 gone with some of hjs employes to one 

 of his places some distance from home) 

 that he fell while climbing over a low 

 rail-fence, and which fall is believed to 

 be the cause of the abdominal abscess 

 which terminated his life. 



Thus, at the age of y() years, passed 

 away one of the best of men — a man 



who had been identified with the his- 

 tory-making epoch of California, espe- 

 cially of Oakland and Alameda County. 

 The apiary he established on the old 

 homestead in 1865 is still in existence, 

 and is probably the oldest apiary in 

 California that has been kept contin- 

 uously in one place. 



The Pepper-Tree and Eucalyptus. 



In writing of the pepper-tree (page 

 3iZ), I mentioned that Prof. Cook was 

 wrong when he stated that it bloomed 

 in April. I have always found it in 

 blossom here in September; sometimes 

 it would commence in August and con- 

 tinue through September. Now, strange 

 to relate, I notice that a large pepper- 

 tree on our place is just showing signs 

 of blooming; in fact, a few blooms were 

 expanding the 26th day of April. In 

 May there was much more bloom. 

 But I notice that the clusters are dimin- 

 utive ones less than one-fourth the size 

 of the bunches of flowers we have in 

 the fall. The flowering of this tree at 

 this time must, therefore, be abnormal. 

 The tree must be getting the season 

 mixed up somewhat. 



This reminds me that some time ago. 

 Prof. Cook in writing about eucalyptus 

 for the American Bee Journal or Glean- 

 ings, I forget which, stated, as nearly 

 as I can remember, that as that tree 

 came from a country where it bloomed 

 in the summer, it bloomed in the winter 

 here. That does not seem right to me. 

 I should think that if it, for instance, 

 bloomed in July in Australia — which is 

 south of the equator and the dead of 

 "winter" of that end of the earth — it 

 would bloom in January here. Does not 

 a plant in the matter of blooming, etc., 

 follow the seasons no matter where it 

 may be transplanted? 



Aside from the odd time of blooming 

 I will mention this oddity of the pepper- 

 tree. Drop some of the leaves in water 

 and notice them sail about. They move 

 by "fits and starts." The water causes 

 little explosions in the leaves. 



California — A Modern Mecca. 



It may seem strange to some, never- 

 theless it is a fact, that a person who 

 had lived a year or so in California, 

 and for some reason or another was 

 called to reside in some other portion 

 of the world, is never contented until 

 he is again back upon the fruitful soil 

 and under the cheerful skies of the 

 Golden State. For years I have ob- 

 served how those who resided here for 

 a time would come trooping back one 

 after the other. A few months ago I 

 had a letter from A. D. D. Wood, of 

 Michigan, in which he stated he longed 

 to return to California, and that he 

 would surely do so as soon as certain 

 ties which held him in the east were 

 severed. I knew Mr. W. when he had 

 charge of an apiary near here. I think 

 he was in this State but 2 years. For 

 the past few years he has been engaged, 

 I believe, in rearing queens at his old 

 home. It may not be many years be- 

 fore we hear of him as the leading Cali- 

 fornia queen-breeder. And this is the 

 place to rear fine queens. The wonder 



