JULY 1, 1916 



523 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIFORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, Redlands, Cal 



Mr. Crane says, page 328, May 



1, in speaking of out-apiaries for 

 comb honey : " Much of one's suc- 

 cess will depend on doing every- 

 thing when it should be done." Is 

 not that the case in managing for 

 any kind of honey, Bro. Crane? 



Mr. L. E. Webb, of Morgantown, N. C, 

 says his bees gather sourwood honey from a 

 mountain location that is two and a half 

 miles distant at the nearest point, and as 

 far as five miles distant. Mr. Webb must 

 have obtained his stock from some of those 

 long-winded stout-winged fellows west of 



the Rockies. 



* * * 



Allen Latham saj'S, page 362, May 1, that 

 one year he jjroduced a honey crop which 

 netted him over $60 per day for time actu- 

 ally on the job. This leads me to reflect 

 that I have known beekeepers who have 

 doubled that amount per day for time actu- 

 ally put in, but which does not say by any 

 means that several additional days could not 

 have been put in at a like remuneration, by 

 doing, as Bro. Crane says, " the right thing 



at the right time. 



* * * 



I am in receipt of a copy of the report 

 of the state bee inspector of Iowa, for 

 which I am indebted to Inspector Frank C. 

 Pellett. What a contrast indeed to the way 

 things are can-ied on in this state ! Mr. 

 Pellett's report, consisting of seventy pages, 

 neatly bound in cloth, is brimful of things 

 that must interest Iowa beekeepers, with 

 much information valuable to any of us. 

 This man Pellett seems to be one who does 

 things, and would be an asset at the head of 

 such a department in California. There is 

 no question but that we are falling behind 

 in the inspection line — far behind many 

 other states. Our inspection is divided into 

 county units that are more or less subject 

 to political influence, and our state associa- 

 tion is as full of wire-pulling as an egg is 

 of meat. And, sad to state, we seem to be 

 going to stay where we are, which I believe 

 would be just as well as to have some men 

 at the head of the state department who 

 have been slated for the place. If we had 

 a man like Mr. Pellett, what a boon to our 

 industry it would be ! 



* * # 



rOLD- WATER PAINT FOR HIVES. 



The editor, on page 343, May 1, has vir- 

 tually recommended a paint which, if I am 



correct, is called '' powdr " or cold-water 

 paint, it being mixed with water instead of 

 oil, and is much cheaper to apply the first 

 coat. But is it cheaper in the long run? 1 

 have had it under my personal observation 

 this season with the purpose in view of de- 

 ciding its value as a hive paint. I cannot 

 say, however, that I have been altogether 

 pleased with the results of its use. In the 

 first place, it i? a wood protector and not a 

 preserver. On any surface where its appli- 

 cation can protect all of the exposed parts of 

 wood it will work very well, but in no other 

 places. The outside coating is simply all 

 there is to it. After it is applied the water 

 evaporates and leaves a cement-like crust on 

 the wood. But, unlike oil paints, where the 

 surface is not entirely free from moisture 

 it has no penetrating or preserving power, 

 and leaves the wood open to the elements of 

 the weather to such an extent that season- 

 cracking is not stopped, while the same 

 wood with oil paints applied, and the oil 

 penetrating into the wood, would preserve 

 and prevent the cracking. When a beekeep- 

 er goes down into his pocket to pay for lid 

 material which calls for a board 17 inches 

 wide, and of clear redwood, he is naturally 

 a little " peeved " when he finds that his 

 paint experiments have caused some very 

 wide rents in those beautiful one-piece lids. 

 Then do you wonder that a fellow-beekeep- 

 er hastens to admonish all to go a bit slow 

 on the proposition? Try it out a little for 

 yourself and see if I am right. Meanwhile 

 let me recommend to you good white lead 

 and pure raw linseed oil as being the very 

 best white paint you can find. For dark 

 colors there is nothing better than red paint 

 commonly used for roofs, called "piince 

 metallic." Hives should not be painted 

 dark colors in this region, as the sun's ravs 

 are too strong, causing more intense heat. 

 [Cold-water paint is certainly better than 

 no paint at all. A large percentage of bee- 

 keepei-s don't paint their hives. The hot 

 sun checks the wood because the dark color 

 of the weather-stained wood draws the heat, 

 and the combs inside are sometimes melted 

 down. " PoAvdrpaint," if white, would over- 

 come the difficulty. Of course, no water 

 paint can be equal to an oil paint ; but look 

 at the difference in cost, and think how 

 swarming is increased because the hives are 

 too hot! Tliere are many places where 

 tliere is no shade. Oil paint is expensive. 

 Why not use water paint or cement paint? 

 —Ed.] 



