Junk. 1920 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



347 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Southern California.— ^/^^ 7«/^ 



ther during 

 tlie oiaiigc blooniing period has not been 

 wry satisfactory. Day after day it remain- 

 ed cold, cloudy, or foggy until well toward 

 noon. In many instances the bees during 

 each day would get only two or three hours 

 of Hying weather. This condition has pro- 

 longed the blooming period and has given 

 the weak colonies a good chance to build 

 up. Of course, better weather has prevailed 

 ]nirt of the time and, all in all, it is proba- 

 i>Iy an average year for orange honey. The 

 trees have been in full bloom now (May 3) 

 for over a month and will likely continue 

 one or two weeks longer, unless the wea- 

 ther should turn very warm, which condi- 

 tion always hastens the dropping of the 

 blossoms. There are various estimates of 

 the amount of orange honey likely to be pro- 

 duced this season, but the writer would ven- 

 ture to say that if an apiary averages 60 

 pounds per colony, Mr. Beekeeper should be 

 satisfied. In many instances the making of 

 increase has not been very successful. There 

 has been much trouble with the bees ' not 

 staying with the nuclei, often leaving 

 frames of brood to chill. 



The extracting of orange honey has been 

 going on for some time. We have been ex- 

 tracting enough well-ripened honey to re- 

 lieve the congestion in the hives and to dis- 

 courage swarming, but have been leaving 

 the unripeued honey on the hives. If an api- 

 arist has enough combs to hold the orange- 

 honey crop, it is an ideal way, as it happens 

 so many times that two or three supers will 

 be filled with thin nectar, and none of it will 

 be ripened enough for the bees to cap it 

 over. When ready, they seem to seal over 

 two or three supers almost as quickly as 

 one. Be sure to keep plenty of supers on 

 the strong colonies, as they are the ones that 

 bring up the average in production. 



The black sage is putting out a great sec- 

 ond growth, which promises well, and is 

 yielding honey quite abundantly in favored 

 locations. The wild buckwheat is showing a 

 good growth, but it also shows the effect 

 of the last two years of drought, and many 

 bushes are either dead or partly so. The wild 

 alfalfa is blooming profusely and is yielding 

 well. The apiaries on the wild ranges in 

 general are doing finely — in fact, better 

 than at any time in several years. 



Beekeepers who have for years produced 

 comb honey have turned to the production 

 of extracted, until now one can travel for 

 days and find scarcely an apiary run for 

 comb honey. Prices are not yet fixed, but 

 many beekeepers are of the opinion that the 

 white extracted should bring at least 20 

 cents per pound. The old crop is well sold 

 out, the State Exchange, I understand, hav- 

 ing cleaned up all of its 1919 crop. 



It is reported that the San Bernardino 

 County Club has been called upon to pay 



a reward for the arrest and conviction of 

 parties who were caught stealing from the 

 apiary of a member. Several of our county 

 clubs have offered a reward in addition to 

 that of $50 offered by the State Exchange 

 for the conviction of any one found stealing 

 or otherwise molesting the apiary of a mem- 

 ber. This, I think, has had a very beneficial 

 effect, even tho there have not been many 

 convictions. Our trouble has been to keep 

 the notices up. Vandals will shoot or tear 

 them to pieces, and so far we have not been 

 able to catch them at it. 



Such wholesale swarming has not been re- 

 ported in years. Every rancher who cares 

 to take the trouble to hive them has from 

 one to a dozen colonies. It is hard to ac- 

 count for this condition, for in many 

 instances a colony would swarm with only 

 five or six frames of brood and with empty 

 sjiace in the hive body. 



One of our apiaries is located so that part 

 of the colonies are very much in the shade 

 — especially in the afternoon. These colo- 

 nies often become so cross that it is neces- 

 sary to change over and work the colonies 

 sitting directly in the sun. This has been 

 a long-disputed question, and I am about 

 convinced that the colony sitting directly in 

 the sun will get the most honey, and will be 

 much more easily handled. 



The beekeepers of California have a rare 

 opportunity to place an exhibit of the bee 

 products of the State in the Exposition Parlt 

 Building in Los Angeles. C. A. Shirm, care 

 of the Miller Box Manufacturing Co., 201 

 North Ave. 18, is chairman of the committee 

 appointed last winter by the State Beekeep- 

 ers ' Association. If the beekeepers of the 

 State will send samples of honey to him, 

 he will see that it is properly placed. Send 

 about a quart of extracted honey with the 

 name and address of the producer, the source 

 from which produced, and also the locality 

 where made. Don't forget the choice comb 

 honey, too. Please send it by express, col- 

 lect. Let all help to make this exhilait a 

 credit to the beekeepers of California. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



In Iowa Thru the efforts of the county 



associations there are in pro- 

 cess of establishment demonstration apiaries 

 in the following counties: Chickasaw, Em- 

 mctt, Hardin, Johnson, Mills, Pocahontas, 

 Pottawattamie, Scott, and Van Buren. 

 These apiaries are to be established and 

 .maintained in the county as a means of co- 

 operating with the extension activities of 

 the College. These apiaries will serve as a 

 silent teacher to the beekeepers of the coun- 

 ty and will give the beekeepers a chance to 

 see the value of modern methods of beekeep- 

 ing. In many cases the summer meeting 

 and field meet will be held at these demon- 

 stration apiaries. The value of these dem- 



