156 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1920 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California. 



We are 

 again jsass- 

 ing thru another winter with a shortage of 

 rain. In the northern part of our district 

 the rainfall is but one-third of the normal, 

 and in the southern part less than half the 

 normal amount has fallen. The foothill hon- 

 ey trees and shrubs will be the greatest 

 sufferers, as the deeper soil is lacking in 

 sufficient moisture to insure the proper 

 vigorous growth which results in the best 

 nectar-secreting conditions during spring. 

 Such plants, then, as manzanita, wild cherry, 

 poison oak, sage, yerba santa, cascara, 

 sumac, wild alfalfa, and wild buckwheat are 

 considerably below par at this writing (Feb. 

 5), and will need several inches of rain this 

 month and next if even half a crop is to be 

 expected from these sources. The willow 

 along the rivers is now in bloom and during 

 the warmer hours of the day is worked quite 

 freely. 



Answering a letter of a correspondent rela- 

 tive to the two principal brood diseases, the 

 editor of the California Honey Bowl in the 

 October issue, page 9, makes the following- 

 statement: "Friend R. I have for years 

 believed that European and American foul 

 brood was one and the same thing. As you 

 say, different stages of the disease cause it 

 to look like different diseases. ' ' Again, an- 

 swering a correspondent on page 15 I 

 quote the following: "* * * and right 

 now I will take the opportunity to mention 

 the name of another foul brood which is 

 the worst of all, and does more to keep bees 

 from turning out a profit to the bee grow- 

 ers than all the other diseases put together. 

 It is the invisible bee disease. ' ' Owing to 

 the fact that not a few subscribers to the 

 California Honey Bowl are likewise sub- 

 scribers to this journal, the writer believes 

 tliat it is his duty to warn beginners in bee- 

 keeping that there is a difference between 

 European foul brood and American foul 

 brood. During the past few years Califor- 

 nia beekeepers have lost several thousand 

 colonies because they could not differentiate 

 these two diseases. Elsewhere in the same 

 issue of the California Honey Bowl the edi- 

 tor recommends introducing a few drones 

 into each nucleus so as to insure the mating 

 of the queen and says, "As the queens fly, 

 drones fly with them and the queens are 

 mated with drones from their own hives. ' ' 

 Following this plan presumably, one of the 

 editor 's correspondents writes that he in- 

 troduced "about 2 drones to each hive that 

 had virgins and fed a syrup. Today is a 

 clear day and I have every right to expect 

 a mating." The writer has never seen any- 

 thing to indicate that virgins and drones 

 possessing the same colony odor showed any 

 greater attractiveness, one for the other. 

 Furthermore, he does not recall ever having 

 seen such a statement in print. 



The exports of honey from California by 

 water to European ports for the year 1919 

 amounted to 3,687 cases. During January 

 there arrived in San Francisco from the 

 Hawaiian Islands 511 tons of honey. 



Modesto, Calif. M. C. Eichter. 



* » » 



Tj, Texas "^^^ beekeepers of Texas are 



justly proud of the fact that 

 in the newly formed American Honey Pro- 

 ducers ' League they are represented by two 

 officers. E. G. LeStourgeon of San Antonio 

 is president of the new organization; and 

 F. B. Paddock, formerly of College Station 

 but now of Ames, Iowa, is one of the di- 

 rectors. While Paddock is no longer in 

 Texas the Texas beekeepers know that he 

 will yet look after their interests. 



The condition of the honey plants of the 

 State is still normal. From every section 

 come reports that prospects of a horsemint 

 crop were never better. In the semiarid 

 section the abundant rainfall of the past 

 year caused most of the chapparal plants 

 to produce an enormous growth of wood; 

 should rainy weather continue, it is proba- 

 ble that these plants will again this sum- 

 mer produce wood instead of fruit. If dry 

 weather occurs from and after March, a big 

 yield may be expected from huajilla, cat- 

 claw, mesquite, and the other chapparal 

 plants. Over most of the State between 

 Jan. 20 and Feb. 1, mistletoe, elms, peach, 

 and several other plants were furnishing 

 pollen for the bees. As early as Jan. 20 

 large areas south of San Antonio were yel- 

 low with the early Texas primrose, Oeno- 

 thera laciniata grandis B. Bees were col- 

 lecting pollen from it abundantly. Three 

 species of composite plants were also in 

 bloom, supplying pollen and slight amounts 

 of nectar. At College Station, Feb. 3, the 

 bees were bringing in much pollen. The 

 spring beauty, (Jlaytonia virglnicu, is bloom- 

 ing abundantly, and, along with elm, mistle- 

 toe, and peach, is furnishing pollen as well 

 as small amounts of nectar. It seems from 

 this that the natural impulse for extensive 

 brood -rearing comes between Jan. 15 and 

 Feb. 1. 



The Texas Honey Producers' Association 

 held their annual meeting in San Antonio 

 Jan. 20. As a proof of their satisfactory 

 service, the old officers were re-elected. An 

 eight per cent dividend in cash and a twen- 

 ty-five per cent dividend in stock were is- 

 sued. The capital stock was increased from 

 i}il5,000 to $50,000. The results obtained by 

 this organization are equaled by few other 

 co-operative bodies. 



Director Youngblood announces that C. 

 S. Eude of Garden City, Kan., has been se- 

 cured as deputy foul-brood inspector to take 

 the place of W. E. Jackson, who resigned 

 that position last November to take up 

 commercial work. Dr. M. C. Tanquary, the 



