April, 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



j)lnTino(l for tho bookoopcrs ' sehool wliioli 

 was to have been held at Ames. The idea 

 is to have the all-day meeting and picnic 

 held at a conveniently located apiary. Spe- 

 cial programs will be arranged for these 

 meetings, and in some counties two meetings 

 will be held on successive days. Arrange- 

 ments for meetings must be made early. 



There is still some honey held by a few 

 of the larger producers. A little concern is 

 felt at times over the honey market, but the 

 available honey for trade purposes is com- 

 paratively small. There are many people 

 who are now trying to buy honey to supply 

 this trade. Those who have built up a year- 

 around trade seldom have enough honey to 

 supply the increasing demand. To increase 

 properly the use of honey in the homes it 

 will be necessary to supply trade every day 

 in the year. It is much easier to keep a 

 trade than it is to build up one each year. 

 Too many beekeepers fail to study markets, 

 the honey for sale now being in two 60- 

 l>ound cans, whereas the trade is willing 

 to consume six 10-pound pails. The increas- 

 ed cost of putting honey on the market as 

 is demanded, will be returned. Those who 

 are developing an exclusive trade with a 

 "brand'.' honey are now looking about for 

 honey to carry them thru the season. It 

 pays to put honey on the market in the man- 

 ner that the trade desires. 



A campaign for ' ' Better Queens ' ' in the 

 colonies in this State has been started by 

 the Iowa State College. The scrub queen is 

 a menace to the industry — banish it. A 

 small amount spent for a good queen will 

 be returned several fold in the honey returns. 



Plans are practically completed now for 

 the honey exhibit at the Mid-West Horti- 

 cultural Show this fall. The outstanding 

 feature of the premium list is a very large 

 prize for the best exhibit by a county as- 

 sociation. This is an entirely new feature, 

 and associations are urged to start their 

 plans now for entering a prize-winning 

 exhibit at this show. Prizes for individual 

 exhibitions will be far more attractive than 

 ever before; so every beekeeper will find it 

 worth while to contend for these prizes. 



Ames, Iowa. F. B. Paddock. 



In Northern California ^ur distrk^ 



a month 

 ago r('[)orted a very serious shortage of 

 rainfall. The conditions at present have 

 somewhat improved, but the moisture con- 

 tent of the soil is yet far below normal, so 

 that plant growth at this time is backward 

 and does not show its normal vigor. In the 

 northern part of our section the rainfall is 

 about one-third, of the normal, and in the 

 southern part is almost half the normal. 

 Altho likewise below normal, southern Cali- 

 fornia has received conside-rably more than 

 we have. Almonds have now been in bloom 



foi- two or three weeks, and the weather 

 (luring this time has been exceptionally fine, 

 enabling the bees to build up quickly. Most 

 colonies (those that were left with ample 

 stores) have the equivalent of seven to 

 eight frames of brood today (Mar. 5). The 

 almonds will last about two to three weeks 

 longer, after which time the bees should be 

 in splendid shape to go to either the oranges 

 or the mustard. 



Your correspondent notes with satisfac- 

 tion the editorial on ' ' The New and Old 

 National" in the March number of Glean- 

 ings. The criticisms that have been made 

 to the editor are in accord with my remarks 

 in my letter in the February issue of Glean- 

 ings. As Western beekeepers, we should 

 consider it absurd to expect our Eastern 

 bi others to help us dispose of our products 

 in their home markets. The East and the 

 West must have some point in common, a 

 problem that concerns both alike, that is, a 

 protective-tariff' and not a marketing prob- 

 lem, before a co-operative movement be- 

 tween the two should be considered. 



On page 167 of March Gleanings the edi- 

 tor gives the name and address of a Carnio- 

 lan queen-breeder, one Jan Strgar, and com- 

 ments that Gleanings knows nothing of Mr. 

 Strgar and, accordingly, will assume no re- 

 sponsibility concerning the information 

 given. In the spring of 1911 the writer 

 purchased from Johann Stregar of Post- 

 wocheiner Festritz, Oberkrain, two Carnio- 

 lan breeding queens. The queens so pur- 

 chased arrived in due time, and, of all the 

 importations that the writer has received, 

 none have given better satisfaction than 

 the two above-mentioned queens. These 

 queens were 32 days on the trip, were ship- 

 ped in excellently made cages, and not a 

 single attendant bee in either cage was 

 found dead upon arrival. If Jan Strgar is 

 the same as Johann Stregar, and it seems 

 likely that he is, the writer can heartily 

 recommend him as a Cariolan queen-breeder. 



Modesto, Calif. M. C. Eichter. 



•ir * * 



In Southern California Prospects 



for honey 

 in southern California have improved very 

 niuch since my last report. The weather has 

 been warm and balmy, and the rains have 

 been so gentle that every drop has gone into 

 the ground. Some localities report as much 

 as 15 inches of rain for the season, which we 

 consider sufficient to assure some honey. 



Many beekeepers are looking for a very 

 early honey flow from the orange and black 

 sage, but much depends upon the weather 

 conditions. Some sage in favored locations 

 is beginning to bloom, and the orange buds 

 are swelling. Bees that have had plenty of 

 stores are generally in good condition, with 

 not any more disease than is usually found 

 at this time of the year. 



