1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



185 



CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AS A BEE COUNTRY. 



This is not an advertisement, and there is 

 no more room for the bee-keeper who is seek- 

 ing location; but Central California is about 

 as favored a locality for the honey-producer as 

 there is in the State. We always get some 

 surplus, and at times more. 



Hanford is our largest city, and is the busi- 

 ness center of the Central California Bee-keep- 

 ers' Association, of which there are four year- 

 ly meetings held each year, with good results. 

 We find that it is an easy matter to produce 

 honey; and it is also quite easy to get rid of 

 it. But the way that the most of the bee- 

 keepers have been disposing of their product 

 has been more profitable for the San Francisco 

 man than for the bee-keeper. 



But the organization of the bee-keepers in- 

 to the association has proved very beneficial 

 to the producer, and the commission man has 

 been compelled to share at least with us. 



Our honey-producing territory is small in 

 this vicinity; and if we get 20 cars of honey 

 to the season we do quite well ; and in a dry 

 year like the one just past we fall short of that 

 number, and get from 12 to 15 cars. 



Our range consists principally of alfalfa; 

 but there are many other plants that yield 

 well in their season. The bee (or Spanish) 

 clover is getting a good start in this part. The 

 honey is equal to that of the alfalfa. The 

 goldentop is a good producer of honey, and 

 makes its appearance each wet year. The 

 honey is what I call a bright amber color. 



At this writing, Jan. 16, our bees are gather- 

 ing pollen from alfilaria, and next month we 

 expect a little fruit-blossom honey; so by the 

 first of March they will be in good condition 

 to begin gathering honey to build up for 

 swarms and the alfalfa flow. 



The long-looked-for rain has come to a part 

 of the State; but it has not given us much here, 

 yet the clouds hang heavily about. While it 

 was raining elsewhere it was storing up the 

 snow in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains, 

 and that will be of untold value to us next 

 summer, as we here in this part depend on ir- 

 rigation for the alfalfa, and hence the honey. 



The ten -frame hive is universal here, al- 

 though I have tried the eight and also the 

 twelve. I find that the latter is just the size 

 for the mountains, as there it is often that the 

 honey-flow is over by the first of July, then 

 there is a long spell when there is no honey; 

 and if a small hive is used, the stores will not 

 be sufficient to run them through until anoth- 

 er spring. But here in the valley we have no 

 fear of such, and the ten-frame is large enough, 

 while we think that the eight is too small for a 

 good brood-chamber. F. E. Brown. 



Hanford, Cal., Jan. 16. 



OUTLOOK FOR CROPS. 



This year promises a better crop than 1898. 

 While a few localities in the San Joaquin Val- 

 ley enjoyed a splendid honey-flow, several 

 producers clearing about $2000 each, perhaps 

 over that amount, it is an open secret that the 

 average was very poor. Regardless of the 

 dry -year prophets, we are having a warm win- 



ter with considerable rain lately — as much as 

 25 to 75 tons of water falling in a day on an 

 acre of land. Grain is mostly in, and plow- 

 ing is the order of the day. Nearly all plows 

 have seeder and harrow attached. 



GLUCOSE. 

 The U. S. B. K. Union could accomplish 

 few things of more importance than ruling 

 glucose syrup compounds out of the market, 

 if my judgment is worth any thing. There 

 is a vast amount of such syrup sold on this 

 coast. They compete with extracted honey 

 very directly, and glucose hurts our business 

 just as severely when sold as syrup as when 

 called honey I don't object to running my 

 bees in competition against honest syrup, but 

 they are unable to make much headway 

 against the common adulterated stuff. 



THE DOOLITTLE HIVE. 



This is not admired so much as formerly bv 

 Mr. Doolittle in comparison with other hives, 

 it seems. A nine-years' study of hives con- 

 vinces me that a ten-frame L. hive will give 

 better results with his management than the 

 hive he uses. Doolittle's management is not 

 possible in a large business. He coaxes uni- 

 formly good results where the range admits 

 of it, as his does. The man with several hun- 

 dred colonies in several locations must have 

 what I call a " let-alone hive," such as the 

 Dadant or the ten-frame L. , when run to ex- 

 tracted honey, to be as much as three stories 

 high. 



The Heddon is a " coaxing " hive. The va- 

 rious manipulations necessary to achieve the 

 greatest success can be done " with a motion," 

 Mr. Heddon says. However, the "motion" 

 may be seriously needed when you are several 

 miles away at another apiary. To have a 

 splendid location, and keep enough bees in 

 one location to make it a fair business, no 

 other hive would suit me so well. It is a diffi- 

 cult bive to make properly. As nearly all 

 apiarists are trained to Langstroth manage- 

 ment it is quite an undertaking to train a hand 

 to the Heddon hive, especially when he shows 

 his disgust at the start by pointing at the 

 hives and saying, "Them things!" Tome 

 the question is still open, " Will it not pay to 

 use a let-alone hive and do all the judicious 

 coaxing you have time to ? " 



IMPORTING OUEENS. 



Being convinced of the superiority of the 

 ordinary Italians over mongrels (improperly 

 called hybrids by many), last year I conclud- 

 ed to import some queens. Of six queens 

 started from Italy, four died before reaching 

 me; lost one in introducing; the other one, 

 and almost all the bees in the hive, absconded 

 several weeks after she was introduced. Late- 

 ly a friend told me that daughters of imported 

 queens frequently abscond with their families. 

 My experience of last year has convinced me 

 that it is cheaper to send to the Eastern 

 States and buy of importers than to send to 

 Italy direct from California. Twenty days on 

 one trip is very trying on both queen and ret- 

 inue. W. A. GlLSTRAP. 



Grayson, Cal., Jan. 11. 



