GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIFORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, 



The warm open spring will be 

 beneficial in reducing paralysis lo 

 a minimum. 



* * * 



My bees are in fully 25 per cent 

 better condition than at this time, 

 March 13, last year. Wherever an 



old queen has been carried over, the results 



are not so satisfactory. 



* * * 



The orange will bloom fully two weeks 

 earlier than last season if the weather con- 

 tinues warm. The sage is little if any ahead 

 of last season's gi'owth. Should good weath- 

 er continue it may cause a prolonged sea- 

 son, the sage following the orange rather 

 than blooming at the same time. 

 » * * 



Word has just reached me that Prof. A. 

 J. Cook has been forced to resign as State 

 Horticultural Commissioner on account of 

 ill health. It is my sincere wish that he 

 will not be incapacitated any length of 

 time. His value to the beekeepers alone 

 has been worth while, yet beekeeping has 

 been only a side issue. 

 ^ * * 



The Western Honeybee for March con- 

 tains the announcement that a New York 

 concern will loan money on California hon- 

 ey if stored in a warehouse and guaranteed 

 by a state certificate. I have never had the 

 least trouble in getting a loan on any hon- 

 ey I had stored in a warehouse where the 

 warehouse receipt was presented at my local 

 bank. In fact, the local banks are always 

 ready to take honey for security on a loan. 

 I should very much prefer to get my loan 

 at home, even if I have to pay a little more 

 for the use of it. If you treat your local 

 banker properly you will be much more 

 likely to get a loan in time of need when 

 you have no honey to secure it. 



* * * 



Editor Bixby, in the Western Honeybee 

 for March, page 53, says : " A. I, Root, in 

 a recent number of GleaningS; inspired by 

 notes of Editor Chadwick, waxes eloquent 

 over sweet clover in the orange groves of 

 southern California." Mr. Bixby, kindly 

 read that matter over again, p. 130, Feb. 1. 

 See if the questionable matter was not cred- 

 ited as a clipping from the Redlands Daily 

 Facts. The words "orange groves of south- 

 ern California " do not appear at all. 

 While you are at it, observe the words 

 " sweet clover " are taken from the clip- 



Redlands, Cal. 



ping, also that the word honey does not 

 appear any place therein. The question of 

 honey-producing was not the point at issue. 

 The item appeared in Mr. Root's High- 

 pressure Gardening department. The laugh 

 is on you, Bro. Bixby. 

 * « « 



Mr. P. G. Snyder, of Aibonito, P. R., 

 wrote asking me if I knew of any bulletin 

 on the value of bees as pollinating agents 

 for citrus fruit. As I had no data on the 

 subject I began a search on that line. But 

 the very first round I was shocked by the 

 following : 



I am unable to give you the definite 

 information on this subject that is very 

 much needed. The following notes may be 

 of some interest in this connection: 



The navel orange, which is so commonly 

 grown in California, is, as you know, practi- 

 cally sterile, and develops no pollen or seeds. 

 I have never seen a perfect grain of pollen 

 developed in a navel flower. Again, we 

 know by careful experiments that the navel 

 develops fruits when the flowers are bagged 

 and no pollination is possible. Also, the pis- 

 til of the navel is very abnormal, the pollen- 

 conducting tubes, thru which the pollen- 

 tubes grow normally, being closed at the 

 top, which does not allow the entrance of 

 the pollen-tubes as in the case of the normal 

 orange. 



All of these facts would seem to indicate 

 that pollination in the case of the navel, by 

 either the honey-bee or any other insect, 

 would be of no particular value. To deter- 

 mine this matter finally, however, would re- 

 quire experiments in which bees were used 

 on navel trees in comparison with other 

 trees which were protected, giving as nearly 

 natural conditions as possible. Such experi- 

 ments have not jet been carried out. 



There is more evidence in favor of bees 

 being necessary and desirable in connection 

 with the other varieties of citrus fruits, but 

 here again we have no definite experiments 

 on which to base a conclusion. We do know 

 that many varieties of citrus fruits have the 

 power of developing without pollination. On 

 the other hand, in the varieties where seeds 

 are normally developed, we might expect 

 that there would be less set without the pol- 

 lination. In such a case bees might be an 

 important factor. H. J. Webber, 



Director Citrus Experiment Station. 



Eiverside, Cal. 



I cannot believe the foregoing letter is 

 correct, however, as I am quite sure the bees 

 gather pollen from the orange, for I have 

 seen them in the act. I am not positive 

 about the variety from which it was gather- 

 ed, but I will make some investigation. 



