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(! 1. K A N I N (i S I X 



(' r 1,'r r i; k 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California. 



I'ri'scnt i II 

 d i V a t ions 

 point to luit lijilf' .'I nop ill our section of 

 tlie IStjitc. TluTC are a few districts, liow- 

 (•\er, tliat ali'cady liave secured or expect 

 to secure a full crop; hut the j>ieat nia- 

 jurity of heekee])ers iei>ort tliat tliey will 

 uet lint half the honey j>rodueed last year. 

 The entire season has been ilecidedly freak- 

 ish. In most places bees liaidly held their 

 own. On the deciduous fruits and mustard 

 and other sprinji bloom they fared better, 

 but the tlow was short from these sources 

 uwinjj to lack of nuiisture. The orange flow 

 was normal, but that from the sage was al- 

 most a total failure. Where the frost did 

 not injure the eucalyptus buds a good crop 

 of honey was harvested during May and 

 part of .lune. Ontinarily June is not a very 

 good honey month; but this season, in our 

 central part especially, it has proved one of 

 our best. Conditions at that time indicated 

 a good season, but July and August were 

 off months with very changeable weather. 

 Several times alfalfa started to How freely, 

 only to be interrupted apparently by atmos- 

 pheric changes. Honeydew along the rivers 

 started quite a bit earlier than last year, 

 but a week of very warm weather in Aug- 

 ust seems to have killed off a considerable 

 (juantity of the aphids. A thunderstorm 

 with rain in varying amounts in different 

 parts of the valley followed, and it is be- 

 lieved that the rain where heavy enough 

 washed a considerable number of the aphids 

 off the willows. The large green louse, rep- 

 uted to be the best of honeydew-producers, 

 has not Vjeen seen this year by Herbert 

 Lynch, a (dose observer, and since the lady- 

 bugs have been in large numbers it is be- 

 lievi'd that these jiredaceous insects are re- 

 sponsible. The fall bloom after the August 

 siiowers looked fine, but up to the present 

 time (Sept. r> / has been yielding nectar 

 \ ery sparingly. A well-known and large 

 honey-producer in Merced county reports 

 the total loss of 2ti0 colonies thru poisoned 

 nectar from jackass clover. In Stanislaus 

 County bees have Vjeeu' working this clover 

 for several weeks, with no losses reported 

 locally. 



We can report two eucalyptus groves less 

 than 20 miles apart, the one yielding sev- 

 eral tons of honey and the other less than 

 onelialf ton. Here the difference in yield 

 can be detected, as the grove that yields 

 so little has been subjected to a tempera- 

 ture se\eral degrees lower than the other, 

 causing the death of most of the buds. There 

 are also two honeydew localities less than 

 10 miles apart that show a difference in 

 yield per colony of from one to five jiounds 

 ilaily. The causes contributing to this dif- 

 ference may be too hot a temperature (pos- 

 sibly only a matter of two or three <]egrecs, 

 as the aphids may succumb at a certain 



Vcinperature ranging between lUU and llO 

 degrees), rain in sufficient quantities to 

 wash the aphids off the leaves, insect and 

 bird })ests, and unquestionably other causes, 

 principal among which are atmospheric 

 changes. We have also had this year al- 

 f;ilfa localities less than 15 miles apart 

 where one locality has produced over loll 

 I'ouiitls per colony and the other not nu»re 

 than 50 pounds. In these localities the 

 temperature and moisture conditions and 

 the amount of wind were apparently the 

 same, and the casual observer would be at 

 a loss to account for the divergence in 

 yields in the two localities, where, it must 

 be added, the amount of bloom and the 

 condition of the bees were nearly the same 

 for both sections. It is gratifying to know 

 that Dr. E. F. Phillips of Washington is 

 dee])ly interested in locality problems and 

 is at present carrying on investigation work 

 along such lines. Any and all observations 

 that beekeepers may make along these di- 

 rections are very valuable, and the writer 

 believes that there is no question but that 

 our bee journals will be glad to print such 

 observations. No doubt the character of 

 the soil, its moisture content, and tlie ques- 

 tion of soil drainage, as well as the all-im- 

 portant atmospheric condition, are import- 

 ant contributing factors toward the vari- 

 ance in nectar secretion. 



Modesto, Calif. M. ('. Eichter. 



In Southern California. 



The writer 

 has been 

 spending the month camping in the moun. 

 tains of Tuolumne County. About 15 were 

 in the party, and a gala time has been 

 enjoyed. The flora is very scarce at this 

 season of the year. The honeybee was 

 looked for but was found wanting. An in- 

 sect that looks a little like a honeybee was 

 found working on a small patch of blue 

 curls that was growing on the rocky hill- 

 side. Beautiful pines, firs, and oaks, to- 

 gether with buckeye and poison oak, cover 

 the mountains. Practically none of the 

 land is level enough for cultivation. 



Alfalfa as a honey plant yields much 

 better in some localities than in others. 

 I'sually the first crop, which has been grow- 

 ing in \arious degrees since the fall before, 

 is cut just as the first blossoms appear. 

 The secoufl cutting, which is the one that 

 furnishes practically all of the surplus 

 honey, is the one that blooms most vigor 

 ously. It seems to put forth all its efforts 

 toward a full bloom, and, if let alone, will 

 furnish the best seed crop. Localities where 

 the alfalfa is left for seed are the ideal 

 places for the beekeeper. When followed 

 by sweet clover, as it is in many western 

 sections, a combination is found that is 

 giving us much of our western honey crop. 

 Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



