AUGUST 1, 1914 



575 



BEEKEEPINC IN CALIFOMNIA 



Occasionally we find a colony that forges 

 ahead and stores much more honey than the 

 others, though having only an equal show 

 with the others. 



* * * 



A part of my sage range is on red soil, 

 I^art on sandy loam, and a part on white 

 clay; but the honey from it all was while. 

 We had several different kinds of climate 

 during the season, but the honey remained 

 the same in color. 



* * * 



Little is heard at the present time of black 

 brood, but it should not be forgotten. An- 

 other season of dearth will bring it forward 

 again. Better get in some good Italian stock 

 while the time is ripe. It may save much 

 loss another year. 



$ ^ ^ 



Some peculiar conditions are noted in the 

 condition of bees in the San Bernardino 

 Valley. Many of the apiaries along the 

 south slope of the valley that produced 

 quite a few cases of honey last season are 

 this year far behind those on the south of 

 the valley that did not produce a pound of 

 surplus last year. 



* * * 



There are many times during the year 

 when I am working my way up the steep 

 rough road to my bee-ranch that I almost 

 make up my mind to move down further in 

 the valley ; yet when I get a good crop I am 

 ready to let them remain where they are. 

 With some labor I can keep the roads in 

 repair; but to find a location such as I have 

 is not an easy task. 



* * * 



I have some hive-lids, made five years 

 ago, of pulp board (commonly called heavy 

 pasteboard), such as is used to make heavy 

 boxes. The board is about % inch thick, 

 and is nailed to the lid-frame after having 

 been treated with crude oil — two layers of 

 board to each lid. It makes a cheap, light, 

 durable lid; but treating the board with 

 crude oil does not appeal to me. It's a 

 nasty job. 



The longer we live the more we learn, if 

 we don't think we know it all. My helper, 

 Mr. Byron Crawford, fixed up a robber- 

 trap when the robbers got to bothering him 

 about his work, and made increase with 

 them. After his trap got pretty well filled 

 he set it to one side until the bees rather 

 lost interest in home, then he gave them a 



frame of brood. Strange to say, they took 

 kindly to the joke, and went to work. To 

 be sure, some of them found their way back 

 to their own hives, but a sufficient number 

 stayed to start a good nucleus. 



* * » 



A western beekeeper shipped two cases 

 of fancy water-white sage to an eastern 

 customer. Shortly it came back with the 

 information that if the customer wanted 

 honey made from granulated sugar he could 

 make it himself. This customer is not the 

 only one in the world who has not seen 

 water-white honey. It is a fact that the 

 public prefers honey with color to the whit- 

 est, for they are better acquainted with it. 

 « * « 



A gentleman from the Hawaiian Islands 

 conceived the idea of growing sweet lemons 

 by selecting a certain soil rich with elements 

 that go to make fruit sweet. Just how he 

 is figuring this out I will not use space to 

 tell, but his theory is correct. I fear, how- 

 ever, he will come out like a neighbor of my 

 father's who once had a theory for raising 

 sweet potatoes. When the season was over 

 he said the theory was correct, but the 

 potatoes were not worth digging. We have 

 trees in California that bear both sweet 

 oranges and sour lemons. 



* * * 



Mr. E. E. Lawrence, a noted queen-breed- 

 er formerly of Doniphan, Mo., has come to 

 the golden West to spend the remainder of 

 his years. He has purchased property in 

 this city, and expects to continue the busi- 

 ness of breeding queens provided he can 

 find a location where he can secure pure 

 matings, and one that at the same time is 

 not too far from his home. I feel particu- 

 larly fortunate in having Mr. Lawrence only 

 a few blocks from my home, as he is a maji 

 well versed in the art of beekeeping, and 

 exchange of thoughts with such men is bene- 

 ficial. A matter of remark in his coming is 

 the fact that he came overland in a Ford 

 automobile with his wife, daughter, and 

 son-in-law, camping outfit, provisions, etc., 

 all of which made a combined weight of 

 1300 pounds. The party were 26 days run- 

 ning time coming through. 



Dr. M. M. Brashaw, of Roswell, N. M,, 

 has also moved to these parts, having pur- 

 chased an apiary in the vicinity of Loma 

 Linda. Dr. Brashaw is connected with the 

 Loma Linda Sanitarium, his son having 

 principal charge of the bee interests. 



