1102 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



article Prof. Cook says he has been criticised 

 by a Ventura County bee-keeper who says 

 that, while alfalfa in certain regions secretes 

 nectar and adds largely to the honey-yield, 

 in other sections, especially near the coast 

 in Ventura County, it seems of no value at 

 all as a honey-plant. Prof. Cook then theo- 

 rizes that the reason it does not secrete hon- 

 ey in these localities is because of their 

 comparatively cool and moist cHmates. A 

 hot dry climate, he concludes, is necessary 

 for alfalfa to yield honey; and he feels sure 

 that the southern counties, San Diego and 

 Riverside, must become excellent for honey. 

 While I believe his theory is all right, there 

 are other things to be taken in considera- 

 tion. I visited a district south of Riverside 

 where a great deal of alfalfa was grown, 

 but concluded it was not a good locality for 

 a bee-keeper. I based this conclusion, 

 though, and the apparent scarcity of bee- 

 keepers, on the fact that the alfalfa was 

 generally cut before it came into bloom, thus 

 giving the bees little chance to gather hon- 

 ey from it. It is undoubtedly true that at- 

 mospheric conditions greatly affect nectar 

 secretion. It is my experience here that 

 cool weather decidedly diminishes the yield 

 from alfalfa, and that rain is a detriment. 

 What alfalfa needs to yield honey well is hot 

 dry weather, with plenty of irrigation water. 

 I believe we have had some reports of good 

 honey-yields in Kansas and Nebraska from 

 alfalfa ; but it is my opinion that, even if 

 alfalfa can be made to grow well in the 

 States having a moister and cooler climate, 

 it will not be as abundant or reliable a 

 source of honey as in the arid regions with 

 irrigation. 



I wish that people would not act as if they 

 felt their own little corner of the universe, 

 with all its peculiarities, ought to be familiar 

 to all the rest of the world. Now there are 

 Coggshall and some of the rest of them who 

 have been talking for some time about using 

 old phosphate-sacks for smoker fuel; and 

 The A. I. Root Co. is talking of making it 

 up into cartridges to sell to those bee-keep- 

 ers who think they must buy every thing 

 they use. Most of the bee-keepers in the 

 States I am familiar with never saw a phos- 

 ■ phate-sack, and would not know of what 

 material it is composed. I don't myself. I 

 have seen phosphate-sacks in the Southern 

 States, but I do not remember what they 

 were made of. You of the effete East, with 

 your worn-out lands, may be thoroughly 

 familiar with phosphate-sacks, but you have 

 no right to assume that the rest of us are. 

 I suppose that phosphate-sacks are made of 

 jute or hemp, and are like what is common- 

 ly known as gunny sacking or burlap. If that 

 is so, you ought to speak of old potato-sacks, 

 then the Colorado ranchman would know 

 what you are talking about. Burlap is one 

 of the materials I find of great service as 

 smoker fuel in my inspecting-trips. In fact, 

 it is hard to beat for that purpose. The 

 smoker fuel almost universally used here is 

 cedar bark taken from fence-posts. A great 



many do not seem to know that any thing 

 else can be used in a smoker, and I have 

 gone into apiaries fairly littered with excel- 

 lent smoker fuel in the shape of old burlap, 

 cotton rags, chips, etc., where the owner 

 went to considerable trouble to bring me 

 some cedar bark. This bark is first-rate 

 fuel for a short job, but it makes so much 

 ash that the smoker soon gets choked up, 

 and must be cleaned out frequently. Away 

 from home I use almost any thing that will 

 burn, and nothing comes amiss. At home I 

 prefer planer shavings, which are easily 

 procured, cost almost nothing, and are easily 

 handled. If they are inclined to blow into 

 the nozzle of the smoker, I put on top of the 

 charge of shavings a piece of burlap, a few 

 leaves, a handful of weeds, or something of 

 the kind. To light the smoker I use a piece 

 of cotton rag soaked in saltpeter water, as 

 advised by Dr. Miller. 



MANY COLONIES OR GOOD MANIPULATION— 

 WHICH THE BETTER? 



"Say, Doolittle, have you seen that claim 

 being made in some of the bee-papers, that 

 success in bee-keeping lies along the line of 

 keeping a whole lot of colonies, and visiting 

 them only three or four times a year? " 



"Yes, I read mostly what was said along 

 this line during the past year. Do you in- 

 dorse this idea? " 



"Well, I hardly know what to think, and 

 so came over to have a talk with you on the 

 subject. If I adopt that mode of procedure 

 I must make a lot of hives this winter, so 

 it will be necessary for me to decide soon. 

 Then, as lumber is high now, the cost will 

 be considerable for new hives, and this 

 made me hesitate." 



"I am of the opinion that your hesitation 

 is well, for there are elements entering into 

 this matter that some seem not to see." 



" What do you allude to ? " 



"I noticed that one of the advocates of 

 this keeping a large number of colonies in 

 one place, so that the labor part of keeping 

 bees might be eliminated (which was loudly 

 endorsed by the editor of one of our pa- 

 pers) , told us very soon after, I think in the 

 next number, how he fed his whole apiary 

 of some 500 to 700 colonies during the spring 

 so that they might be in shape for the flow 

 of honey from white clover. And, strange 

 to say, the editor seemed to indorse this 

 feeding part; while, at the same time, ma- 

 nipulation along the line of spreading the 

 brood, etc., was thought to be unworthy of 

 the thoughts of those who would make the 

 greatest success in our pursuit." 



