GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIEORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, 



The fact that the honey crop 

 was very short in the northern 

 part of the state and shorter than 

 usual in Imperial Valley may have 

 a tendency to explain why our 

 honey market is now well cleaned 

 ^^^• * * * 



It was i^retty well agreed by inspectors 

 at the " state meet " that the symptoms of 

 all kinds of brood diseases converge until it 

 is a very difficult matter, in many instances, 

 to tell just what the disease may be. 



* * # 



Every beekeeper should send to the Unit- 

 ed States Department of Agriculture for a 

 bulletin known as Separate 637. It gives 

 some valuable hints on organization, and 

 incidentally tells some very pointed things 

 of the rural producer. 



^ ^ ^- 



Prospeets at this date, Jan. 20, may be 

 said to be exceedingly bright for a honey 

 crop. The late rains have soaked the soil 

 to a considerable depth. Honey-planis are 

 in a thriving- condition. We must remem- 

 ber, however, that a dry spring would yet 

 reduce our chances for a honey-flow greatly. 

 * * * 



The " Golden " came in for a few more 

 knocks at the State Association meeting, 

 and also received some praise. The pre- 

 vailing opinion is that golden Italians ai'e 

 not a mixture of races that have been 

 blended to produce color alone, but Italians 

 bi'ed to produce color as well as quality. 



* * * 



The heaviest floods for fifty years, if we 

 are to believe the local press, have just 

 passed (Jan. 20), and the damage has been 

 very heavy by washouts and washaways. 

 A Los Angeles paper is authority for the 

 statement that a thousand colonies of bees 

 were washed down one canyon. This is, 

 perhaps, overestimated; but that there were 

 many colonies washed away by high waters 

 there is no doubt. The government record 

 in some localities reached the proportion of 

 15 inches in three days. The loss of life 

 will figi;re close to a score. 

 » * * 



At the time the World's Fair exhibit 

 was in the hands of Mr. M. H. Mendleson, 

 he estimated that $20,000 Avould be needed 

 to make a creditable exhibit. This was 

 frowned upon by the association as vision- 

 ary, and they lost no time in queering the 



Redlands, Cal. 



work of the exhibit committee. Now comes 

 Prof. Lynch, who had charge of the small 

 exhibit displayed, most of which was mad^ 

 possible by his own means, who says thai 

 Mr. Mendleson's estimate was under rather 

 than over estimated. Prof. Lynch also says 

 that Mr. Mendleson was the man of all men 

 in the beekeeping fraternity to place an 

 exhibit in an artistic manner. 



At an early hour on the morning of Dec. 

 30 I was awakened by a snapping and 

 crashing noise, and was trying to decide 

 just what was causing this unusual disturb- 

 ance, as it did not cease. I had called to 

 my wife to learn if possible what the dis- 

 turbance was all about. At that moment 

 the telephone rang long and loud. I imme- 

 diately suggested fire. My wife bounded 

 for the phone, and I to the outer door. 

 Snow! Well, of all the surprises this was 

 the limit. The immense wide - spreading 

 pepper-trees on the street in fi'ont of my 

 home were breaking down under the weight 

 of snow. Sueli a beautiful and rare sight 

 is not often witnessed in this semi-tropical 

 clime. The whole valley was covered with 

 the " beautiful," while to the south the hills 

 where my bee-ranch is located lay under a 

 full foot of snow. It continued to fall 

 thru the day and night at inten^als, and, 

 tbo melting some all of the time, it reached 

 a depth of five inches in this city. There 

 was imminent danger of the most destruc- 

 tive frost for years on the following night. 

 The sky was clear and all indications at 

 eight o'clock at night were that there would 

 be a rapid decline in temperature, augment- 

 ed by the carpet of snow. But nature came 

 to our relief, a new storm moved in from 

 the ocean, and all was saved, for the tem- 

 perature the following morning had run up 

 to 35. I have some beautiful snow pictures 

 which I might submit to the editors for the 

 use of Gleanings, but I am timid on these 

 matters. At the time of the great freeze in 

 1913 I submitted an " ice picture " to 

 Gleanings, with an article describing its 

 destruction. ' I was liberally criticised by 

 California people for even daring to tell 

 the truth. So it is easy to see why I am 

 timid on this m.atter — not because it was 

 not all so, but because the Californian is 

 looking for tourists and investors; and any 

 words that might keep a dollar from the 

 state are looked upon as criminal utter- 

 ances, truth or no truth. 



