Oct. 15. Ulll 



at night to save the worry of 

 the bees from heat and light. 

 Many bee-keepers in Imperial 

 Valley use ice in moving ;n 

 that climate. All this first 

 moving is done about the mid- 

 dle of Slarch. If the bees are 

 moved by car they are loaded 

 the same way, only more space 

 is allowed between the rows for 

 ventilation, though preserving 

 compact form, so as to have no 

 breakdowns in switching. A 

 common well-made cattle-car is 

 best suited for this purjjose. 

 For hauling small loads of col- 

 onies from one yard to another, 

 a light spring wagon, as shown 

 in Fig. 4, is used. With proper 

 care in loading and binding, 

 26 one-story colonies make a 

 nice load. 



The main honey-flow of this 

 mountainous section runs from 

 the first part of April until 

 about the first of July, and 

 comes mostly from the sages. 

 About the middle of March the 

 black sage (button sage ) makes 

 its first ai)iiearance, and blos- 

 soms more and more as the 

 season advances. Like most 

 honey-plants, its first flowers 

 do not yield any amount of 

 nectar, hence no flow for a 

 week or two. The little but- 

 tons are made up of flower- 

 buds, and the little white-lipped 

 blossoms commence to come 

 out on the outer edge of the 

 bunch of bud'*. The plant is 

 then in continual bloom until 

 each button is flowered out. 

 After the season is over, the 

 buttons and leaves turn dark, 

 from which I think it derives 

 its name. 



About the first of May, the 

 next and most important honey-plant to 

 come into bloom is ihe purple sage. This 

 plant is almost like the black sage, only the 

 flowering buttons are larger and the flowers 

 of a purple hue. While there are many 

 other minor honey-plants of some impor- 

 tance, such as the wild alfalfa, sunflower, 

 white sage, and wild buckwheat, none can 

 equal the purple sage, which produces the 

 celebrated water-white honey. This clear 

 honey, when taken out at its proper age, 

 has one quality above all other honeys — 

 that of remaining liquid in any climate. 

 Figs. 5, 6, 7, are good clear pictures of the 

 three important honey-plants of this sec- 

 tion. No. 5 is black sage; No. 6, jmrple 

 sage, and No. 7, wild buckwheat. 



The first of July, to many bee-men of this 

 section, means move again from this moun- 

 tainous country back to the coast or bean- 

 fields. This great Sania Clara Valley i 're- 

 duces more lima beans than any other sec- 

 tion in the world; hence if the season turns 







Fig. 5.- Black sage. 



good it pays to move into good locations 

 near these fields. (This point may also l>e 

 located on the niaii in Ventura County, be- 

 tween the cities N'entura and riaugus.) The 

 bean-bloom begins about the middle of July, 

 and continues for some weeks, giving a 

 white nectar. 



In comi)aring the crops, etc., of California 

 with the East, it is interesting to note that 

 We^teners estimate in tons and carloads, 

 and sell to the commission man generally. 

 The flow and quality are very good when 

 they have a good year; but it comes only 

 about once in four or five years, so that the 

 good sections of the East will balance up 

 by having something of a showing every 

 \ ear. (iood locations are hard to get, and 

 the sages are being cut and burned, making 

 r.iom for more cultivation, so that in the 

 near future California is destined to lose its 

 high rank among the first of the honey 

 States. 



The commission-man problem should also 



