Mav, 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U Ij T U K E 



285 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



fidiii cMcli ot' till' ten Idcnl oxcli;i ni^i^s vvcri' 

 piosi'iit. Reports of business transacted 

 during; the first year's worlt were given and 

 sliovved that about $7r)(),000 vvortli of honey 

 was sold by the Kxcliaiige. For one of our 

 sliort-crop years, this is considered a good 

 showing. A board of seven directors to 

 serve for one year were elected as follows: 

 Gunternian and Culver of Imperial County 

 local, Calahan of San Diego County local, 

 Home of orange belt local, Trickey of Inyo 

 County local, Lynch of Central Valley local, 

 and Orr of South Coast local. This boarcl 

 will have the selection of a manager and 

 the outlining of a policy for the coming 

 year. 



Supply houses report a very heavy de- 

 n an<l foi- sujiplies of all kinds. There is 

 apparently not so great a demand for one 

 or two colonies as last year, but a much 

 greater demand for small apiaries of from 

 25 to 100 colonies. Some sales of large api- 

 aries have been made, but most beemen who 

 have shown ability enough to accumulate 

 an apiary of from 200 to 300 colonies hesi- 

 tate to put a price on them. Therefore, 

 very few are for sale at all. One man, 

 whom I know, sold about 50 colonies for 

 $600.00. The offer was too great to refuse 

 and he could not resist the temptation. 

 When he came to look around for bees to 

 biiy, he found that he could not replace his 

 original holdings for the same money. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andj-ews. 



« * * 



In Iowa ^^^ increased number of 



county associations will find 

 their efforts unified thru the State Associa- 

 tion. With such effort and support the State 

 Association will be in a ])osition to render 

 more efficient service to the industry. In 

 response to a recent api)eal the number of 

 individual beekeepers who have joined the 

 State Association is very gratifying. The 

 Association is for the beekeepers and by the 

 beekeepers and represents their industry. 

 Therefore their united support is needed to 

 accomplish the most for the work. 



With the increased interest in county or- 

 ganizations and the State associations it is 

 only natural that the beekeepers of this 

 State will be vitally interested in the Ameri- 

 can Honey Producers' League. This organi 

 zation which was perfected at Buffalo in 

 March, a.s described in these columns last 

 month, has already the hearty endorsement 

 of all of the nine progressive States. Full 

 details of the League will be given to the 

 beekeepers in the near future. The League 

 icpresents the necessary co-ordinating force 

 for indivi<lual State effort. The work of 

 the League is already under way and the 

 results will be of value to every lieekeepcr 

 in every State. 



It is to be hoped that satisfactory resu'ti 

 will be obtained from the package bees and 

 nuclei. Several tons of bees were shipped 



into tliis State this year. Hopes were big 

 for results, and there should be no disap- 

 pointment if the simple directions are fol- 

 lowed. As yet, we have practically no exact 

 knowledge on the merits of such" bees, but 

 the results which have been obtained by 

 practical beekeepers seem to assure the 

 \alue of this method of securing bees. 



Included in the instruction in apiculture 

 for the present term at the Iowa State Col- 

 lege is a course given to girls. In taking 

 the combined course, Home Economics-Agri- 

 culture, the girls are fitting themselves to 

 meet better the problems of rural life today. 

 Not all of those who are taking the apicul- 

 ture are unfamiliar with bees and much in- 

 terest is taken in the work. 



Winter losses are reported to be heavier 

 than was anticipated. This makes a sad 

 story. When will the lesson be learned? 

 Of the average reported annual loss of 12 

 per cent, as compiled by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, the beekeeping 

 industry of Iowa suffers each and every 

 year a loss of over $500,000. If a tax of 12 

 per cent was imposed on beekeepers, there 

 would be no end to the comment; yet our 

 winter loss comes each year, and now it is 

 almost considered necessary. This spring 

 we heard of very extraordinary losses. In 

 one instance the owner expected to winter 

 in a cellar, and in waiting for a last good 

 flight day the bees were left outdoors all 

 winter. In another instance insufficient pro- 

 tection was given for outdoor wintering 

 which resulted in a loss of almost 50 per 

 cent. To winter bees requires care and an 

 investment. Too many are now trying to 

 winter in poorly constructed cellars, right- 

 fully called "pits." Outdoor packing cases 

 ajjpear to be a very considerable expense, 

 which is to be avoided if at all possible. 

 The facts must be faced and met squarely; 

 the issue cannot be dodged. 



Ames, Iowa. F. B. Paddock. 



* * * 



In Minnesota Pl-^f^fi"* weather pre- 

 vailed during the lat- 

 ter part of March, and probably most of the 

 bees were removed from their winter quar- 

 ters in time to get a cleansing flight before 

 the first day of April. 6n that day the wea- 

 ther changed, and for one week the ther- 

 mometer registered aroun<l 20 to 25 degrees 

 during the daytime, going down to about 10 

 degrees above each night. During two or 

 three days and nights the wind blew very 

 hard and considerable snow fell. This was 

 the coldest week of April weather that has 

 been known here in many years. At this 

 writing we are not able to tell how much it 

 has added to the winter loss of colonies, 

 but probably, as a result, many weak colo- 

 nics will not be able to survive. 



The Heniu'iiin County Beekeepers' Asso- 

 ciation held its annual spring "experience 

 meeting" on April 7. Some of the members 



