110 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1917 



catalog picture, were being dumped into a 

 hog-i3en by the cartload; and when a pro- 

 test was lodged by an onlooker fresh 

 from New York the rancher smiled and 

 said, " Oh ! but they make the finest kind 

 of pork." 



Another shock was to see gi"eat loads of 

 peaches, many of which would measure 

 from nine to twelve inches in circumference, 

 being thrown in as feed in the same way. 



Peaches brought so little last year for 

 canning that they were mostly fed to the 

 hogs, or were left to rot on the ground — 

 only the very finest clings being shipped 

 to market. This year, however, the peach- 

 gTowers have organized and now have the 

 whip hand. 



Watermelons bring so little, late in the 

 season, that any one who wants them for 

 feed can go to the field and pick them up 

 for fifty cents a load, using his own judg- 

 ment as to the size of a load. When the 

 farmer can get but a dollar and a half a 

 ton delivered at the cars, it doesn't pay 

 him to bother with them if he has much 

 of a haul. 



The Santa Fe Railroad had home-seek- 

 ers' excursions thru the great San Joaquin 

 Valley last fall (1915), with the idea of 

 showing people the possibilities of mak- 

 ing a good living by settling in this fertile 

 section of the United States. The very 

 first words any of them uttered were in 

 j'elation to the " waste " in California. 



On the gi'ainfields the grain lies so thick- 

 ly in some places after harvesting that 

 the wonder is that any of it found its way 

 into sacks. Of course it is fine feed for 

 turkeys, and in some sections great herds 

 are run after the harvester; but there are 

 huge tracts of thousands of acres where 

 a turkey never steps foot,' and all that 

 grain is plowed under in December or Jan- 

 uary when summer fallow plowing begins. 



Alfalfa seems to be the only crop that is 

 guarded closely, and of that there are tons 

 of nectar going to waste each year be- 

 cause of the lack of bees. The main fields 

 yield comparatively little nectar under ordi- 

 nary conditions, as the alfalfa is cut for hay 

 either just before or just as the first blos- 

 soms open, thereby not giving very much 

 chance for collection of neetar. How- 

 ever, there are always lots of places that 

 the mowing-machine doesn't reach on the 

 edges of banks and levees, also in corners 

 and against fences, and in poultry-yards. 

 Again, in an irrigated country like this 

 it is poor policy to have hay down in the 

 fields when an irrigation is due, and the 

 cutting is often delayed until the busy 

 beas have made a good deal of honey. 



The San Joaquin Valley is a big country 



in itself, and has a great diversity of crops 

 from north to south. There are no sections 

 (except those where grain is grown ex- 

 clusively) but that provide more or less 

 bee pasturage. The southern portion is 

 much like the country Mr. Chadwick tells 

 of; but as the central and northern parts of 

 the valley are reached, alfalfa is king, and 

 great herds of dairy cattle are found. Vast 

 stretches of tliis country aiso raise alfalfa 

 hay entirely to ship to the South, where 

 land is too valuable for a hay crop. 



The general topography of each section 

 — south, center, or north — is much the same 

 — foothills, floor of the valley, and bottom 

 lands along the rivers. 



The footliill sections have a great deal 

 of orange, lemon, and other fruit-bloom, 

 and sage and many other wild flowers to 

 yield nectar, also lots of bees. The floor 

 of the valley is the grape and alfalfa 

 portion, with also great acreages of fruit- 

 trees. Here, as well as in the footliills, 

 are immense tracts of grain. Compared 

 with the amount of available forage there 

 are few bees kept on the floor of the valley. 



The river bottoms are rich plunder, as 

 the great variety of weeds growing give 

 quantities of nectar for a long season. 

 Here grow the flowers from which just 

 about all the early brood is raised, for 

 alfalfa bloom comes in much later than 

 many of the nectar-yielding wild plants. 



The almonds also give a good deal of 

 early pollen, and possibly nectar, as the 

 majority of the trees blossom in March. 

 An almond-tree in bloom is about as beau- 

 tiful a sight as one would ask to see; and 

 standing in some lights, where a clear 

 sky can be seen back of the trees, there is a 

 continual rise and fall of insects going and 

 coming from the blossoms. The almond 

 is a shy bearer under certain circumstances; 

 but with right selection of varieties and 

 plenty of bees working for early brood- 

 rearing, a good crop may be expected. 



Queen-breeders are conspicuous by their 

 absence also. Having occasion to secure a 

 queen a year ago it was only after con- 

 siderable trouble that such a one as was 

 wanted was discovered. For every breeder 

 in California thex'e are ten in any eastern 

 state, and yet there is good opportunity 

 here for good breeding. 



This is but a bi'ief summary of the 

 situation, yet I think that many will be 

 able to see the possibilities of at least a 

 paying side-line business. The women in 

 particular on the ranches do not seem to 

 be nearly so much alive to this opportunity 

 a-! they might be, and are only making 

 cents on chickens where they might make 

 dollars with bees. 



