304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1"). 



may account in part for this, the following ex- 

 ample will illustrate: 



I knew a young man in Salinas of this 

 ( Monterey ) count}', who was far gone with 

 consumption. Salinas is near the mouth of 

 Salinas River, only ten miles or less from 

 Monterey Bay, and only 50 feet or so above 

 sea-level, with uniform but moist climate. 

 This young man was taken, when life appar- 

 ently couldn't last much longer, to an inland 

 elevation in the county, of over 2000 ft. alti- 

 tude, and with dry climate. He improved 

 wonderfully and marvelously, and lived there 

 two years. Then he went into the same de- 

 cline. He was removed to Denver, Colorado, 

 where tne same rapid apparent recovery took 

 place, and was followed in a year or so by 

 the inevitable decline again. He was then 

 brought home to low, moist Salinas again, as 

 all thought, to die speedily. To everybody's 

 surprise, however, he picked right up again 

 as he had with each of the other changes, and 

 finally, after two years, some of it spent in 

 comparative comfort, he died at home. 



The location I mentioned in connection vdth 

 Mr. Harnbaugh is, as I take it, in the low land 

 around Los Angeles. I have known doctors 

 to discourage patients from going anywhere 

 there. But all along the Coast Range, espe- 

 cially south of San Francisco, are many dry, 

 sheltered locations with sufficient elevation, 

 and with such delicious, balmy air as simply 

 can not be described. These regions are gen- 

 erally well covered with bee-pasturage, and 

 make fine locations for apiaries. I remember 

 one case of a young man who came to San 

 Buenaventura with consumption in 1SS4, hard- 

 ly hoping to recover. He was weak and lan- 

 guid. But in a few weeks he was working in 

 one of Mr. Wilkin's mountain apiaries, get- 

 ting stronger continually. He got his health 

 again, married, and, so far as I know, is still 

 alive and hearty. I know of a similar case in 

 the mountains of Santa Cruz Co. 



The Sierra Nevadas furnish perfect summer 

 conditions; but the winters there are too se- 

 vere and trying. The southern portion of that 

 range is, of course, more favorable than the 

 northern part. Nevada, Utah, and Colorado 

 are not to be excelled for summer residence 

 (only four or five months), and are cold dur- 

 ing winter, with much danger from pneumo- 

 nia. Southern and Central Arizona, though 

 not so elevated, are very dry and generally 

 equable, winter and summer, with alfalfa re- 

 gions that make good locating-points for api- 

 arists. 



But if a person with weak lungs chooses the 

 coast mountains of the southern half of Cal- 

 ifornia (south of San Francisco, in other 

 words), he will be pretty sure to find plenty 

 of delightful localities to choose from. He 

 could find fine climate in abundance north of 

 San Francisco, but would not be always sure 

 to find good bee-pasturage. One or more 

 ranges inland of the many parallel ranges are 

 always safest. 



Monterey, Cal. 



[Partially in corroboration of what friend 

 Norton has said, I might mention that one of 



our townsmen, far gone with consumption, 

 went to California. Within a month after 

 arrival he experienced great relief, and in two 

 years he seemed nearly cured; but in about a 

 year more the disease came back, and he 

 finally died. An uncle of mine, Mr. Marshall 

 S. Root, contracted the disease on the coast. 

 The doctors all advised him to leave Califor- 

 nia and go back to his own home here in Ohio, 

 where it was colder. He did so, and the 

 change was beneficial for a time; but after he 

 became acclimated, the disease hegan again 

 and he finally died. It is true that change, 

 no matter where one goes, often gives relief. 

 —Ed.] 



ANSWERS TO 



SEASONABLE 



QUESTIONS 



r ^oi.y^ ^ ^ ^^ ^i 



COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY; STRONG COL- 

 ONIES FOR EXTRACTING, AND NO IN- 

 CREASE; HOW TO PRODUCE COMB 

 HONEY, AND INCREASE. 



Ones/ ion. — I have 110 colonies of bees, and 

 intend to work for both comb and extracted 

 honey the coming season. I allow natural 

 swarming, and have enough extra brood- 

 combs on hand to fill 75 eight-frame hives. 

 Forty of the colonies are in ten-frame hives, 

 and 35 of these will be used for extracted 

 honey. They will have to build a good part 

 of the combs to be used in extracting from 

 foundation, as I use combs only oj4 inches 

 deep in the extracting-supers. Our surplus 

 comes from white clover, which begins to 

 yield honey about June 10th; then basswood, 

 which blossoms about July 3d, lasting about 

 ten days; and, lastly, from goldenrod, which 

 begins to yield honey the latter part of August, 

 and continues nearly through September. 

 My principal trouble has been swarming dur- 

 ing the honey-flow, this interrupting work in 

 the supers. Supposing the above to be your 

 case, how would you handle the bees so as to 

 secure the best results? An answer in 

 Gleanings would be esteemed a favor. 



Ansiver. — In the first place, I should not 

 expect to "allow" many, if any, natural 

 swarms from the colonies that were worked 

 for extracted honey; for I believe more ex- 

 tracted honey can be obtained where the colo- 

 nies have no desire to swarm than can be by 

 any plan which inclines the bees to swarm. 

 Mr. Quinby told us years ago, that, if a colony 

 were given from 5000 to HOOO cubic inches for 

 a hive, and this space were filled with comb, 

 such a colony would not be liable to swarm; 

 and in all of my operations with bees I have 

 found Quinby to be very nearly correct on 

 this point, and especially so if the honey is 

 extracted from the combs not occupied with 

 brood as soon as the most of it is sealed over. 



Now let me digress a little. Why do you 

 wish to use combs for extracting purposes, 

 only 5^4 inches deep? I have never been 

 able to see any particular reason for using 



