1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



23 



chamber. As will be seen from Fig. 8, each 

 frame consists of a top-bar, a bottom-bar, 

 and two end-bars. The top-bar is longer 

 than the bottom one, the projecting lugs 

 being the points of support when the frame 



BEE-KEEPING IN CALIFORNIA. 



is in the hive. Notice the end-bars partic- 

 ularly, for the ui^per third is wider than the 

 lower part, the respective sizes being 1^ 

 inch and 1 inch. Careful measurements 

 and experiments have proved that bees 

 build combs in the natural state very near- 

 ly one inch and a half from center to cen- 

 ter, so man secures the proper distance in 

 the hive by making the end-bars of the 

 frames the proper width. The space be- 

 tween the lower part of two frames is the 

 regular bee-space of three-eighths of an inch, 

 so as to facilitate the movement of the bees 

 from one part of the hive to another. 



DIVISION-BOARD. 



Since there is considerable expansion and 

 contraction in a hive, due to the presence 

 or absence of moisture it would be unwise 

 to make the frames a close fit, so the brood- 

 chamber is somewhat wider thin the frames 

 pemand. After the frames are all in, the 

 vacant space is partially reduced by the in- 

 troduction of a division-board, which, being 

 in contact with the last frame, really be- 

 comes the wall of the brood-chamber on that 

 side. 



The Sage the Principal Producer in the South- 

 ern Part of the State; the Lack of Fain 

 Prevents the Secretion of Nectar in 

 Most Years. 



BY p. C. CHADWICK. 



Fig. 9 shows one style of division-board or 

 follower. 



Mr. Root: — May I add something in line 

 with your comment on the articles of Mr. 

 E. M. Gibson and Mrs. Acklin? After care- 

 fully reviewing Mr. Gibson's article and 

 your comments, page 718, Nov. 15, I find 

 myself almost entirely in accord with you, 

 and with him in a few respects. 



I am not a "pessimist" who talks about 

 overproduction; but I am of the opinion 

 that production can be reduced by over- 

 stocking, much in the same way that a 

 small pasture would fatten four head of 

 stock while ten head would merely keep 

 alive. 



My object is not to discourage people from 

 casting their lot with us in this glorious cli- 

 mate, but, rather, to acquaint them with 

 difficulties that must be surmounted, and 

 at the same time give an idea of what those 

 who have been in the bee business for years 

 have accomplished and what they have 

 faced in the way of seasons. 



South of the Tehachapi Mountains lies 

 practically the entire sage of our State, not- 

 withstanding eastern people and many of 

 our westerners term every form of small 

 growth on the vast slopes of the Rocky 

 Mountains "sage brush." There is no de- 

 nying that the button (or black) sage is, of 

 all honey-plants, our chief surplus-producer. 

 Neither does it average a crop more often 

 than every other year regardless of rainfall; 

 for it seems necessary, from its semi-arid 

 nature, to be dried out or rested before it 

 comes back to its prime yielding condition. 

 I have seen it return some surplus for three 

 consecutive seasons; but the middle season 

 was not what could be considered a crop, 

 even after a sufficient rainfall. 



I am now speaking of Southern Califor- 

 nia, the sage-field — not any particular place 

 within that may have special producers, as 

 the orange at Red lands, Riverside, Pomo- 

 na, Monrovia, the lemon in San Diego Co., 

 etc. —for the portion of our territory covered 

 principally by the sage is so much more 

 vast in extent that the few thousand acres 

 of orange, lemon, or deciduous fruit are 

 a comparatively small factor in a good sage 

 year, and show no great results when the 

 sage fails; therefore if the sage fails every 

 other year, Southern California outside of 

 those districts above mentioned may well 

 be counted an every-other-year producer, 

 which means the greater portion of our 

 Southland. 



To quote Mr. Gibson: "There were scores 

 of bee-keepers who did not get a pound of 

 honey, but it was not the fault of the sea- 

 son rior of the bees." The implication fol- 

 lows that it was the fault of the bee-keeper. 

 Now, of the entire article the above sen- 



