JANUARY 1, 1914 



Beekeeping in California 



p. C. Chadwick, Redlands, Cal. 



The Western Honey Bee, as edited by Mr. 

 J. D. Bixby, is in keeping' with the quality 

 of work of the former editor, Mr. Geo. L. 

 Emerson. Mr. Bixby will doubtless make 

 himself fit into the position admirably, as- 

 suring the success of the journal, with 

 proper support. There was no fault to find 

 witli Mr. Emerson, who, to the writer's per- 

 sonal knowledge, made a saci'ifice in his own 

 business to launch the journal successfully. 

 Success to you, Bro. Bixby. 



I quote the following from Orchard and 

 Farm: "A carload of bees taken into Im- 

 perial County from San Diego County, in 

 defiance of the quarantine on bees from that 

 section, were ordered returned to the con- 

 signor." In the natural course of events 

 there will be some beekeepers who will want 

 to get out of Imperial County some day, 

 and the task will be made no easier by the 

 attitude they are now assuming. Self-pro- 

 tection gives every one a right to protect his 

 own interests ; and if these bees were dis- 

 eased the action was right and proper. But 

 the chances are they were not diseased or 

 they would never have been shipped. 



* * * 



The year 1913 has closed, leaving a feel- 

 ing of no particular regret to the beekeepers 

 of California, especially those of the south- 

 ern part of the State. It was a most dis- 

 astrous season for the most of us. Some of 

 the favored few in the orange district made 

 a fair crop, but they Avere the exception and 

 not the rule. In the alfalfa districts a fair 

 to good crop was secured, the condition 

 there being about noi'mal. Disease has 

 spread in some localities at a rapid rate, 

 black brood (European foul brood) princi- 

 pally. This has added to the burden of 

 some, as it has been a year in which fighting 

 the disease has been very difficult, owing to 

 the almost entire absence of fresh nectar. 

 The rains have added a new hope to our 

 future, so we hope and trust that the season 

 of 1914 will bring new life and courage to 

 our beemen, as well as financial gain. The 

 writer wishes a prosperous new year to 

 those who have stood by their bees, giving 

 them all the attention consistent with their 

 time and means. 



« » « 



So this is the " Bee and Poultry " issue. 

 Well, T was never much of a " hen granny," 

 and my success with chickens was never to 



be bragged about. Once in my boyhood days 

 I went out to set a hen on Friday. My 

 mother told me I would have no success if 

 I set her on that day of the week. Mother 

 was not sui^erstitious, but liked to have 

 some fun with the boys once in a while. I 

 went ahead and set the hen just the same. 

 In about a week my mother came running 

 down to the hen-house to see what was caus- 

 ing the commotion among the hens, and she 

 arrived in time to see the last egg going- 

 after the hen that was set on Friday. She 

 had a good laugh at my expense, saying, 

 " I told you so." My answer was that a 

 Leghorn hen did not have sense enough to 

 sit, any way. 



Let me tell you something of my wife's 

 success with poultry, esjiecially with tur- 

 keys on a city lot. There are many people 

 Avho think a turkey must have at least 160 

 acres to run on. I once thought so ; but 

 Mrs. C. has proven to my satisfaction that 

 I was mistaken. For the past three years 

 she has kept a jDair of these fowls for breed- 

 ing purposes, allowing the hen to lay a full 

 laying, then hatch and raise her own brood. 

 This year she hatched 14, successfully rais- 

 ing ten of the brood, which is about as good 

 results as one ever gets with turkeys. But 

 she knows how to care for thera, Avhich is 

 half the battle. Two or three days before 

 time for the eggs to hatch, there is always a 

 noticeable decrease in the amount of milk 

 the family cow is furnishing the table. Oh, 

 yes ! clabber milk for the turkeys — no fur- 

 ther arguments needed. The chief food they 

 are given for several weeks is clabber cheese 

 and green onion-tops cut fine and mixed 

 with the clabber. My! how they grow if 

 kept warm and dry! and the old mother hen 

 knows how to do that. 



But how about chickens? Mrs. Chadwick 

 does well with them, but takes more interest 

 in the turkeys. We keep only the White 

 Plymouth Rocks, for the reason that we 

 have an exceptionally fine laying strain of 

 this breed, from which we get eggs the year 

 round. There are other breeds of chickens 

 that are good layers, but the objection with 

 us has been to get a strain that not only 

 lays well, but that is also of some value for 

 the table. For a general all-round chicken, 

 the breed and strain we liave can not be 

 excelled. Just the other day Mrs. C. sold 

 tlu-ee old hens for 20 cts. per pound, for 

 which she received $3.60. It is not so much 

 the breed as the utility of the strain that is 

 to be sought. 



