706 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIFORNIA 



P. Co 



The later boneyflow seems to be quite 

 disappointing in many localities in tbe 

 southern part of the State. While there are 

 some locations where honey has been se- 

 cured in surplus quantities, no such flow as 

 had been anticipated has materialized. Since 

 the middle of July my bees have secured 

 only enough to keep them breeding well. A 

 few have gained a few pounds; but as a 

 rule they have made only a good living. 



On page 619, Aug. 15, Dr. Miller says, 

 " It would be much simpler if 'black brood' 

 could have been left as the name of the New 

 York disease, which is now being called 

 European foul brood, and ' foul brood ' had 

 remained the name of the other disease 

 called American foul brood." Some time 

 ago I was advocating the same thing, when 

 my attention was called to the fact that we 

 had no law covering " black brood," and 

 that it would be impossible for an inspector 

 to collect for his work in inspecting for the 

 black brood under the laws of California. 

 On this account I quietly came off the trail. 



offered. Trapping does not change their 

 dispostion to rob. 



* * * 



After reading the account of our editor's 

 experience in moving bees, with some knowl- 

 edge of recent experiments along that line 

 I have acquired from other sources, I have 

 begun to doubt if migratory beekeeping is 

 really a paying business. To move into 

 another locality is a different proposition ; 

 but to practice moving from place to place 

 is an expensive business. There are few 

 localities that are worthy of the name of a 

 '' bee country " but that will give an occa- 

 sional good crop that, when figured as an 

 investment, does not require the deduction 

 of an immense expense account before fig- 

 uring net profits. To my present way of 

 thinking it would be preferable to have 

 several yards in different localities. In this 

 way one would be almost sure to " get in 

 good " some place on his private bee map 

 every season, and once in a while several 

 would give good crops the same season, and 

 thus add greatly to the profits of the busi- 



In my opinion J. E. Crane is right, page 

 622, Aug. 15, when he concludes that super- 

 seding takes place at all times of the year. 

 My experience has been that there is more 

 superseding done in the height of the har- 

 vest, for at this time there are many old 

 queens being replaced by young ones. The 

 number of cases of supersedure outside of 

 the honey season is very small, and most 

 cases are forced by the faihtre of the old 

 queens. In the majority of cases a swarm 

 issues with the first hatched of the virgins 

 during the honey season. Out of 17 swarms 

 this season twelve were known to be indtieed 

 by supersedure. 



* « * 



In the Aug. 15th issue the editor calls oar 

 attention to A. J. Plummer's scheme to stop 

 robbing by trapping the robbers and hold- 

 ing them until they become harmonized. I 

 mentioned a scheme very much on this line 

 in the Aug. 1st issue, that was practiced by 

 Mr. Byron Crawford, my helper during the 

 season, he having copied it from Mr. W. H. 

 Crawford, bis father, who is a successful 

 beekeeper of Roswell, N. M., and to whom 

 the origin of the idea should be credited. 

 The plan is successful on general lines ; but 

 the bees are still robbers, and will be nosing 

 around the very first opportunity that is 



There is a common impression that foul 

 brood cannot be eradicated, and quite fre- 

 quently we hear expressions that it is here 

 to stay. As a matter of fact there is really 

 no reason to take such a gloomy look at this 

 situation. There is no question but that it 

 will take the combined efforts of the bee- 

 keeping public and the close scrutiny of our 

 bee insi^ectors, the latter more especially, to 

 look after the sjnall uneducated beekeeper 

 and the careless pltinger who takes little 

 interest in his holdings until about time to 

 extract. The apiaries of the majority of 

 our first-class beekeepers do not need to be 

 inspected, yet they should submit to and 

 rather encoiu-age the inspection of their 

 bees for the moral effect on the other fel- 

 low ; and I might add that there are times 

 when even the best and most careful of us 

 will pick up a case before Ave are aware of 

 the fact, which is rarely contracted from a 

 first-class beekeeper. Diseases of man are 

 not half so destructive as a whole as they 

 were before an organized fight was begun 

 on all kinds of contagion, with strict quar- 

 antine laws to aid in the fight. The same 

 rigid organized system back of the fight on 

 foul brood would at least reduce it to very 

 small proportions, and should eradicate it 

 entirely. 



