AUOUST 1. 1916 



BEEKEEPING IN CALIFORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, Redlands, Cal. 



Weather conditions have been 

 most pecnliar since early in June. 

 It rarelj' hap^Dens that so mneh fog 

 is pi'esent during that month; but 

 what is still more peculiar is that 

 it has continued down into July. 

 Today, July 13, the fog was ex- 

 ceptionally heavy in the early morning, with 

 a sultry heat during midday that was tor- 

 ture, and this is only one day of most of 

 them so far this month. 



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A joke is going" the rounds which involves 

 one of our honey-buyers in a not altogether 

 favorable light. Honey sartfples sent this 

 particular buyer were believed to be grad- 

 ed far from the lines that their similarity 

 in color would justify, and so to test the 

 matter four samples were taken from the 

 same 60-pound can and mailed to the 

 buyer by four different beekeepers, and, 

 strange to say, each was given a different 

 grade, and a different price quoted. 



G. W. Bercaw, page 489, June 1, after 

 reciting approved plans for handling bees, 

 says, " When putting the excluders between 

 the supers it' is a very good plan to examine 

 each comb below and cut out all drone comb 

 that may show up." Well, Bro. Bercaw, in 

 this daj' of foundation and wired frames the 

 beekeeper is not suiDj^osed to be parading 

 around his apiary with a big knife and 

 basket to round up drone comb. Besides, if 

 he is the right kind of beekeeper he would 

 know long before spring time that there was 

 drone comb in his frames and where to find 



it. 



* * * 



Mr. Editor, you say, page 523, July 1, in 

 your footnote to my paragraph on powdr- 

 paint. that " Cold-water paint is certainly 

 better than no paint at all;" then, further, 

 " the hot sun checks the wood because the 

 dark color of the weather-stained wood 

 draws the heat." If color is all that is 

 desired, why not use whitewash as a still 

 cheaper article? I have a friend who uses 

 whitewash on all his metal covers to reflect 

 the heat, and claims it to be better than 

 paint. Of course, that is on galvanized 

 metal that needs little or no protection 

 from the "weather; but if it will reflect 

 heat from metal it will also from wood — but 

 paint for mine. T have hives in my apiary 

 that have been in constant use for 28 yeai's 

 that are in perfect condition, and I will not 

 trade even, with a gentleman whom T know 



who has some hives 18 months old that have 



not been painted. 



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A CASE OF UNEVEN EXCHANGE. 



A short time ago I found a colony headed 

 by a laying worker; and as it was an un- 

 usually strong colony I decided to give it 

 a queen at once. I removed two combs 

 from the center of the brood-chamber and 

 filled tlie vacancy' with two combs of brood 

 with adhei'ing bees and queen from another 

 colony. The two fertile worker combs with 

 the adhering bees were placed in the colony 

 where the queen had been removed. I was 

 gratified to find the queen I had transferred 

 to the laying-worker colony busily laying 

 the following day. As I was engaged in 

 raising some virgins I decided to give the 

 queenless colony a stick of cells to care for 

 and finish. In a few days I examined to see 

 what progi'ess they were making with my 

 cells, when, to my astonishment, I found no 

 cells at all. I made a thoro search to find 

 the trouble, and, to my surprise and disgust, 

 discovered that I had transferred the laying 

 worker to the other colony, and the bees 

 seemed to think I had done them a great 

 favor in the transaction. Well, the joke is 

 on me. 



* * 5iJ 



THE LIFE OF A BREEDER. 



The purchasing of high-priced breeding- 

 queens to be transported a long distance 

 tliru the mails is very discouraging, to say 

 the least, when mailed in the ordinary 

 breeding queen-cages. It is my opinion 

 that all breeding queens that are very 

 valuable should be shipped only in nucleus 

 hives accompanied by sufficient young bees 

 to keep up their normal condition while 

 in transit, old bees being eliminated as 

 much as possible. This season I ordered 

 queens for trial purposes, both the Goldens 

 and ordinary Italians. For these I paid 

 anywhere from $3.50 for extra select tested 

 to $10 for guaranteed breeding queens, to 

 saj' nothing of those that were sent me free 

 of charge to enter the tryout. One of these 

 queens was sent in a three-frame nucleus, 

 and is in the best condition of any. One, 

 after twelve days, had laid no eggs, and 

 was returned to the sender. One disappear- 

 ed after some two hundred queens had been 

 raised from her. One, after ten days of 

 open-hive life, has laid but a few eggs. One 

 shows ordinary laying qualities, while the 

 tendency of all much traveled queens seems 

 Id be to retire in favor of younger ones,, 

 sliortlv following tlieir iiitioduction. 



