JUNE 1, 1914 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIFOMNIA 



^ c. 



March borrowed some fine days from 

 April, and in return gave April some of her 

 own kindi The past two weeks have not 

 been weather that makes the beeman glad, 

 and the week now ending (April 30) has 

 been one that would try the patience of Job 

 had he been a beekeeper. Think of the 

 maximum temperature on April 29 being 

 only 50 degrees ! There has been a great 

 storm on in the southern part of the State, 

 one of unusual note, in that the rainfall in 

 the interior foothill region was very heavy, 

 reaching a total of 2i/^ inches in the San 

 Bernardino Valley, gradually becoming less 

 until in the coast region it amounted to 

 nothing. There is no question but that the 

 quantity of honey from the button sage will 

 be less than it would have been had the 

 weather continued fair. That the flow from 

 the white sage, buckwheat, and later-bloom- 

 ing plants will be materially increased in 

 this section seems probable, the ground be- 

 ing thoroughly soaked to a good depth. The 

 blooming period of the button sage may be 

 prolonged, but it has only a short time long- 

 er to bloom at best. 



* * * 



Referring to the editorial, page 281, April 

 15, " More expensive to winter bees in the 

 South than in the North," I tliink that there 

 is food for thought on this subject, and our 

 California beekeejDers can study it with 

 profit — not alone the exact text, but also the 

 quantity of stores necessary to keep colo- 

 nies in good condition through the winter 

 with an additional amount sufficient to tide 

 them over through the seasons of dearth. 

 For such seasons come, and invariably they 

 spell disaster to many of our beemen be- 

 cause they provide only for the winter. 

 These seasons of extreme dearth are nearly 

 always followed by a good honey-flow when 

 the bees are apt to be in the worst shape to 

 gather it. That is the condition that pre- 

 vails in California to-day — a good honey- 

 flow and a small amount of bees to gather it. 



There are so many reasons why plenty of 

 stores should be left on the hive that I will 

 not attempt to discuss them all; but the fact 

 remains that, of all things that cause the 

 heavy loss of colonies during seasons of 

 dearth, the influence of lack of stores is 'he 

 chief cause. Mr. 0. 0. Poppleton is quoted 

 in the above-mentioned editorial as saying, 

 " My problem is not so much to encourage 

 brood-rearing as to keep it down." In this 

 respect we differ to some extent, for the 

 problem with us is generally to induce suf- 



ficient breeding in the autumn to supply 

 young bees to give the bees a good start in 

 the spring, before they are worn out by age. 

 Plenty of stores are advisable under almost 

 all conditions in which the rearing of brood 

 figures. I have followed closely the condi- 

 tion of stores of my colonies through the 

 winter of 1912, and on down the long dry 

 summer, following with an eye to ascertain 

 the condition of the colonies that give the 

 best account of themselves. Invariably I 

 find that the colony having the greatest 

 amount of stores is the one to respond most 

 quickly to the influence of some pollen-pro- 

 ducing plant that came into bloom without 

 nectar. To my notion pollen is the greatest 

 breeding stimulant of all. Yet pollen alone 

 in time of a dearth is not sufficient to induce 

 breeding if there is a shortage of old honey. 

 With an ample supply of old honey at hand 

 the response is noticeable immediately. 



The same may be said of stimulative feed- 

 ing. Colonies with ample stores will respond 

 moi'e quickly to stimulative feeding than 

 those with a very limited amount. This is 

 especially true in the winter and fall, for 

 nature seems to spur, the bees on to take 

 greater risks in the spring than at any other 

 time of the year. My heaviest colonies dur- 

 ing the past summer carried from forty to 

 fifty pounds of honey. These were not only 

 the strongest in stores but also in bees. In 

 the fall I began dividing their stores among 

 those having from nothing to a very small 

 supply. They were also low in bee force. 

 When through dividing I had sufficient 

 stores on all colonies to tide them over until 

 spring, but those from which I took the 

 stores were the heaviest in bee force, and 

 are to-day. It is from them that I am now 

 getting my heaviest surplus. I might modify 

 the above to cover a few colonies that had 

 old queens that were not able to bring thpir 

 colonies to their best. I have had the quick- 

 est and most satisfactory response to stimu- 

 lative feeding where fed in the open, with a 

 ten-per-cent-sugar syrup. This seems to 

 excite them to breeding in a more natural 

 way, as the active outdoor flight and the 

 thin syrup being carried into the hive, so 

 much like nature's way, gives the entire 

 yard a more natural activity. Much honey 

 is required to produce young bees, and this 

 should be figured on every year when leav- 

 ing the supply of stores, for the following 

 season may or may not give sufficient stores, 

 and on this account it is always best to be 

 on the safe side. 



