GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



IN CALIFORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick 



124 



RAIN condi- 

 tions are 

 satisfactory 

 at this date. Jan. 



7. 



* * * 



The state con- 

 vention is said 

 to have been 

 postponed until seme time in February. 



* *• * 



Mr. W. H. Crawford, of Roswell, N. M., 

 has moved to our state and has taken over 

 a location near Santa Ana. 

 » « * 



Did you ever notice that the man who 

 knows all about bees is generally trying to 

 find out what his neighbors know? 

 « « * 



Bees, like men, work better under ex- 

 citement. When there is big work at hand 

 they are in a frenzy to secure their share 



of the spoils. 



* * * 



Well-ripened honey cannot be secured 

 with a single super in a heavy flow without 

 shortening the harvest or giving the colony 

 too much'of an inducement to swarm. 



* » * 



I am for a federal quarantine law, with 

 government inspection. It is the only way 

 that a man may be safe in the movement 

 of bees without keeping a library of local 



and state laws. 



* * * 



Useless equipment and valueless appli- 

 ances should be avoided; patent entrance- 

 guards, lid-fasteners, etc., are, as a rule, in 

 the way and occupy valuable time in their 

 care and manipulation. 



* * * 



The market is cleaned up, with pi'ices 

 high and strong. Now is the time to give 

 your bees every possible help. It may be 

 a chance to meet the high cost of living and 



smile in its face. 



* * * 



Mr. G. W. Dixon, of Beaumont, is fast 

 becoming known as the honey-man of Red- 

 lands. He is making a great success of 

 peddling honey. He tries to cover the town 

 once every thirty days, and his business is 



growing rapidly. 



' • « * 



Natural sw;irniing does not pay; in fact, 

 it may almost be called a willful waste. 

 Have the combs drawn by strong colonies 

 during the honey-flow, then divide just at 

 the close of the season before the flow has 

 entirely stopped. Young queens mated in 

 nuclei ready for the division are a big asset. 



1 



February, 1917 



Do not try to 

 nurse a little 

 bunch of bees 

 thru on ten good 

 combs if such 

 combs are need- 

 ed in the harvest 

 to catch the hon- 

 ey - flow. The 

 chances are that the queen is deficient or 

 the nucleus would be in a more prosperous 

 condition anyway. 



There is too much unmeaning business 

 and too little instructive knowledge in our 

 state convention. Many people come to 

 hear and learn, and care nothing about the 

 idle resolutions and dry business. The 

 Standard Oil Company could map out its 

 entire work for the year while we are hold- 

 ing a business session. 

 * * « 



The oranges will begin to put out their 

 tiny leaves by the middle of February. The 

 bloom will follow according to the warmth 

 of the days following; but it is to be hoped 

 that it may not occur as it did last season — 

 far ahead of the bees. From April 15 to 

 May 15 is an idisal time for their blooming 

 period. » * # 



The apiary of Mr. G. W. Dixon, of 

 Beaumont, was looted recently according to 

 the Beaumont Leader. Thirty stands of 

 bees were destroyed by the bees being smok- 

 ed out and their honey taken. Mr. Dixon 

 ■ has offered a reward for the apprehension 

 of the culpi'it. It is to be hoped that he 

 may succeed in getting the law into action, 

 thus making an object-lesson. 



* * * 



Ventilating hives by raising the fronts 

 is more than folly in this climate. This is 

 especially true where comb honey is being 

 produced. The conservation of all avail- 

 able heat during the cooJ nights is necessary 

 to tlie building of comb in the sections. 

 With exti*acted honey tho practice is nearly 

 as bad if the difference between night and 

 day averages around 35 degrees. 



* * * 



Recently a friend who had been reading 

 Dr. Phillips' work met me on the street 

 and straiglitway began to inform me that 

 Dr. Phillips said sage honey would granu- 

 late, and that I had said it would not do 

 so. I have samples of my croji of both 

 1012 and 1914 that show not the least sign 

 of any granulation. Besides this I know 

 of sage honey that has been kept for a 

 number of years that shows no sign of 

 granulating. The fact of the matter is, 



