156 



GLEANINGSaiNfBEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1. 



eral times annually, and it is an inspiring sight 

 to a bee keeper to see the bees scrambling over 

 each other after the abundant sweets. I think 

 the honey from this variety of gum is not so 

 strong as that obtained from the blue gum. 

 This tree is being largely planted at present, 

 and in a few years we predict a marked im- 

 provement in honey-production, especially near 

 our large towns. Nearly all species of the gum 

 family are of rapid growth, and their chief sea- 

 son of bloom is during the winter months. As 

 before stated, the blossoms are in great variety, 

 size, and color. The general color is a creamy 

 white; then there are others of a scarlet hue. 

 The latter is named E. FicafoUa and has the 

 reputation of producing a honey that kills ev- 

 ery bee that partakes of it. This charge is, 

 however, not substantiated by good authority. 

 The evidence is merely hearsay, and needs fur- 

 ther investigation before we give it credence. 



Bee-keepers in California should interest 

 themselves more in the planting of honey-pro- 

 ducing trees. Mr. N. Levering, of this city, is 

 advocating the establishment of an arbor day 

 by legislative enactment, just as they have al- 

 ready done in many Eastern States. An arbor 

 day would be of benefit in this State, where so 

 many wide areas are devoid of trees or even 

 bushes. Let us plant trees, and extend our 

 honey pasturage. Remember that the man 

 who plants a tree causes unborn generations to 

 rise up and bless his name. 



[The eucalyptus has been spoken of many 

 times, and very favorably, in our columns, for 

 years back; but this is the first time we have 

 shown a picture of the tree itself.— Ed.] 



ALFALFA IN ARIZONA. 



CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR HONEY SECRE- 

 TION; THE AMOUNT OF IRRIGATION NEC- 

 ESSARY; hatch's 70,000 LBS. OF 

 ALFALFA HONEY. 



By C. A. Hatch. 



This is the honey-plant of the Salt River 

 Valley, where most of the honey produced in 

 the Territory comes from, and is not only a 

 grand honey-plant but the king of forage- 

 plants. Here in this warm country it can, with 

 plenty of water, be mown as many as five times 

 in a year, yielding at a single cutting from one 

 to two tons per acre. The usual method is to 

 mow twice, and pasture or grow seed the other 

 crops. 



The first crop, which is usually cut the last 

 of May or first of June, does not afford much 

 honey, although the bloom is seemingly more 

 profuse then than on later crops. It seems to 

 be necessary for honey secretion that the bloom 

 should be old, the same as in white clover, 

 basswood, and perhaps other plants. The 

 fields left for seed are the ones in which bees 

 truly revel, the flow being, when conditions are 



right, equal to the best clover, and lasting much 

 longer; in fact, during the last year, with an 

 exception of about two weeks, caused by rains, 

 there would have been a continual flow from 

 June 15 until Oct. 1, if insects had not destroy- 

 ed the bloom. 



It has two insect-enemies — a small three- 

 cornered bug, green in color, and a yellow but- 

 terfly about the size of the cabbage-moth. The 

 bug feeds on the leaves and blossoms, but I 

 could never see that the butterfly did any thing 

 more than suck out the honey from the blos- 

 soms left by the bugs, but presume it must feed, 

 in the larval stage, on the roots or something 

 near by. This season there were so many of 

 them that it gave alfalfa-fields a golden hue, 

 and the whole field seemed to be alive. I am 

 sure I could have secured another 10,000 lbs. of 

 honey this season if it had not been cut off by 

 these two pests. The entomologist who will 

 discover some practical remedy for them will 

 confer a great favor on bee-keepers of Arizona. 



The manner of preparing the alfalfa-fields 

 for the crop may be of interest to your readers. 

 First it is well to remember that it is a strong 

 grower and rank feeder, and requires a large 

 amount of water for its development— almost 

 twice as much as for any other crop— and is 

 essentially an irrigation plant. It may grow, 

 and even be profitable, without irrigation; but 

 to bring it to the highest development, water 

 so arranged that it can be given at any time is 

 essential. 



This whole valley (Salt River) has quite a 

 uniform slope in one direction, of from 13 to 18 

 feet per mile, and seems to be especially ar- 

 ranged for irrigation. There are two plans of 

 irrigation used here — "flooding," in which the 

 water is allowed to flow over the whole surface; 

 and " trenching," in which it is allowed to flow 

 only in trenches, cut for the purpose, around 

 the plants or trees to be irrigated. Flooding is 

 used for alfalfa, barley, wheat, or any sown 

 crop; and the other system, for fruit-trees, 

 vegetables, strawberries, corn, etc. 



Water is brought in broad ditches called 

 canals, but these se^m too small to an Eastern 

 man to merit the name, sometimes coming 30 

 miles before any of the water is used. When 

 the arable land is reached, these canals are tap- 

 ped by smaller ditches called "laterals," which 

 carry the water to the farms, where they are 

 in turn tapped by an opening under a lock and 

 key, which is under control of a public officer 

 called "zanjero" (pronounced zaiikero), whose 

 duty it is to open and close the head gate, and 

 see that every man is getting no more than his 

 share of water. The flow through the head 

 gate is regulated according to the number of 

 inches the land-owner has paid for, the price 

 being so much per square inch; that is, what 

 water will flow through an inch opening under 

 a 5-inch head. One inch is counted great plenty 



