1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Bee-keeping in Southern 

 California 



By Mrs. H. G. Acklin, Gi.endoka. Cal. 



Comb-honey production jseems to be go- 

 ing out of fashion in our part of the State. 



4?- 

 In hunting for pastures new, "look a 

 leetle out " for Redlands. By actual count 

 we found 5000 colonies on two sides of the 

 town. Many of these are too far from, 

 groves to store much orange honey. 



A bee-keeper told me recently that fifty 

 swarms were caught near his apiary in one 

 season. There are several live-oak trees 

 near, and "bait hives " were kept out. He 

 thought none of them were his own bees. 



There is an old saying that hope long de- 

 ferred maketh the heart sick. I wonder 

 how many bee-keepers feel that sickness 

 when watching for the gentle showers that 

 have not come up to this time — December 8. 



My ! what a crowd I pages 726, 727, Nov. 

 15. But those vacant steps at the rear and 

 sides look bad. Bring the National out to 

 California in the near future and we will 

 furnish enough more bee-keepers to fill a 

 vacant space like that. 



How about that pledge the State associa- 

 tion gave the president of the Los Angeles 

 Chamber of Commerce to put on exhibition 

 a fresh supply of honey ? If it has not been 

 redeemed, how can we have the audacity to 

 ask him to welcome us at our next meeting? 



In answer to Mr. Crane, page 716, Nov, 

 15, I will say that many of our bee-keepers 

 would not take the time or trouble to di- 

 vide, but they do take care of swarms and 

 do not want after-swarms; hence the " natu- 

 ral-swarm" man may benefit by my item 

 on page 546, Sept. 1. 



4f- 



I got track of a man the other day who is 

 actually getting rich on what other people 

 throw away. He drives around to different 

 apiaries and buys slumgum, takes it home, 

 and, by an ingenious process, gets a fine 

 grade of wax from it, and always has first- 

 class beeswax for sale. 



One of the happy surprises is the gentle- 

 ness of the average bee in this climate. I 

 have passed among the hives of many api- 

 aries, and never yet had a following of 

 "mad" bees. Sometimes half a dozen of 

 us will be scampering around to find the 

 best place from which to get a view, but 

 never a bee bothers. Perhaps they realize 



the importance of "looking pleasant" on 

 such occasions. 



I have been talking recently with differ- 

 ent bee-keepers regarding a honey exhibit, 

 from our section, at the State Fair. Some 

 think it is too far to send honey, and oth- 

 ers say it can not be sold to advantage after 

 the fair is closed. I admit it is a long way 

 from the southern portion of our State to 

 Sacramento — about two-thirds the length, I 

 believe; but I really believe it would pay to 

 put in an exhibit up there. Let the whole 

 southern part of the State unite in selecting 

 fine honey, both comb and extracted, plen- 

 ty to fill whatever space we could have, and 

 then put some competent person in charge. 

 If the premiums are as large as in some 

 other States they will pay all expenses. 

 Each bee-keeper should have his honey la- 

 beled; and among the thousands inspect- 

 ing it daily there will surely be some buy- 

 ers. I had considerable to do with State 

 fairs for many years before locating here 

 two years ago, and know whereof I speak. 

 Let us be public-spirited, even if it does 

 make us some extra work, and help out the 

 fair officials with a fine honey exhibit the 

 coming season. 



■^ 



How to keep extracting-combs in good 

 condition when not in use is a question 

 which has racked the brains of bee-keepers, 

 north, south, east, and west, for many years; 

 and in this climate, where Jack Frost sel- 

 dom comes, it is a continual question. Mr. 

 B. Ct. Burdick, of Redlands, president of 

 the State association, has solved this prob- 

 lem to his own satisfaction. Almost any 

 kind of building will answer the purpose 

 if the roof does not leak and the sides are 

 sufficiently open to admit of a free circula- 

 tion of fresh air. If the building is light, 

 screen wire will have to be used to keep 

 flies from entering and soiling the combs. 

 Comb-racks, securely fastened to the beams 

 on roof, can run the entire length of the 

 building. They should be a trifle narrower 

 than the length of a top-bar so the ends of 

 the top-bais can rest on them. There can 

 be as many racks on the first tier as the 

 width of the building will admit. More 

 racks can be placed under the upper row if 

 the strength of the supports above is suffi- 

 cient. Hang the combs in these racks far 

 enough apart to admit of a free circulation 

 of air, and also far enough apart so moths 

 can not nest between them. Mr. Burdick 

 claims he brought through several hundred 

 combs one season, in perfect condition, by 

 this method. He also leaves combs in su- 

 pers outside, slacked up so as to allow a 

 circulation of air all around them, and far 

 enough apart so they will not be attractive 

 to moths for nesting-purposes. The nights 

 being so cool here may be one reason why 

 moths do not flourish under all conditions. 

 If this simple method proves as effective 

 with other bee-keepers as with Mr. Burdick 

 it will be a great help to all of us. 



