March, 1921 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



159 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Southern California. — There is lit- 

 tle or no sale 

 of honey except in small lots in a retail 

 way. Almost all crops are in the same boat 

 when we consider prices. All expected just 

 this reeonstrnetion period, and yet few were 

 prepared for it. Supply dealers are offering 

 ranch lower prices to the beemen than two 

 or three months ago. There is no cause for 

 any great anxiety in the matter. Prepare 

 for a crop and produce it just as economic- 

 ally as you can, consistently with the gen- 

 eral conditions. The writer has sold honey 

 in times past at a figure really below the 

 cost of jjroduction, if an honest labor and 

 expense charge were made. But with present 

 methods of marketing, it is not likely that 

 we shall be called upon to do so again. 



Southern California has had a fine lot of 

 rain during January. Plant life is about 

 normal for this time of year (Feb. 4). Eain- 

 fall first and then the right weather condi- 

 tions make our native ranges vield the nec- 

 tar. 



At a recent meeting of the Riverside 

 County Beekeepers' Club, one of the mat- 

 ters discussed was that of a state-wide law 

 regulating the moving of bees thruout the 

 State. The county-ordinance plan is becom- 

 ing a nuisance to many migratory beekeep- 

 ers. A committee was aj^pointed to take up 

 the matter and see if something cannot be 

 done or a law enacted .governing the mat- 

 ter. Reasonable protection from disease is 

 all right, but a law such as, "No bees to be 

 moved from a district or location within 25 

 miles of an apiary containing foul brood, 

 etc.," is preposterous. 



A letter was read from an Inyo County bee- 

 keeper describing the "contraption" found 

 when a thief was surprised at 3 a. m. in a 

 beeyard. This fellow had been shaking bees 

 from the hives into this wire box and had 

 been carrying them away, leaving the hives 

 to all outward appearances the same as be- 

 fore. But upon opening the hives the owner 

 found them almost depopulated. Several api- 

 aries have been almost ruined in this way. 

 The man who came on this thief had been 

 so worried about liis apiary that he could 

 not sleep and walked out into his yard at 

 this early morning hour. He so completely 

 surprised someone that the thief in his 

 haste to get away left his outfit. He left 

 also a gunny sack that had been wrapped 

 around his feet and some red hair as he 

 hurried thru the barbed-wire fence. 



Our committee on prevention of bee- 

 stealing reported progress and recommend- 

 ed one or two methods whereby beekeepers 

 might identify their ])ioperty at any time. 



Several rewards wei'C paid by the club 

 the past season for the conviction of per- 

 sons found guilty of setting fire to bee 

 ranges. The members present were not sat- 

 isfied with the results, and a resolution was 



l)asscd protesting against the leniency of 

 the punishment imposed. 



We are painting the hives containing bees 

 in our out-apiaries. Those in one story are 

 painted first, as we can paint the supers 

 that we take off to better advantage after 

 being removed from the hives. These colo- 

 nies were all examined during the fall and 

 left with enough stores to last until Feb- 

 ruary or March under normal conditions. 

 But this being an open, dry winter, it is 

 likely that a number will need some atten- 

 tion soon. Wo shall look into any doubtful 

 ones and give frames of honey from those 

 that can spare them. This condition we as- 

 certain by lifting the hive or else raising 

 the cover and glancing at the top-bars for 

 sealed honey. 



Members of the committee on advertising 

 for the American Honey Producers ' League 

 report progress and a willingness of both 

 supply dealers and honey producers to do- 

 nate liberally. to a fund to advertise honey 

 nationally. This seems to be a good way 

 to start, and, as the organization is per- 

 fected, all honey sold thru the efforts of 

 the organization should bear the greater 

 share of the expense. If the beekeepers 

 could be brought to realize the importance 

 of advertising, all would be willing to give 

 a small per cent of their income for this 

 purpose, and the rest would be easy. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



» * * 



In Northern California. >^«* ^p^^^s 



a number 

 of beekeepers from Merced County and 

 points north of Sacramento reported alarm- 

 ing losses of bees. The losses occurred in 

 isolated apiaries. In some cases there would 

 be but a handful or two of bees in a hive, 

 which otherwise had from six to ten frames 

 of brood. The bees remaining in the hives 

 were perfectly healthy, and there were no 

 indications at the hive entrances to suspect 

 poisoning or some new adult bee disease. 

 Frequently queens were missing as well as 

 bees, and in one yard in particular there 

 were not enough bees left in some of the 

 colonies even to start queen-cells. Further- 

 more, some colonies with full brood-nests 

 had supers partly filled with fresh uncapped 

 honey. The losses were due unquestionably 

 to bee-highwaymen or bee-gangsters, and 

 they occurred at a time when pound pack- 

 ages were very much in demand. In Stanis- 

 laus County several beekeepers discussed the 

 situation, and it was thought best not to 

 make the matter public but to try to catch 

 the thieves. There were no more losses re- 

 ported, which was, no doubt, due to the fact 

 that the demand for package business was 

 considerably on the decline. It appears that 

 the robbers ^vou]d drive u}) to a yard to- 

 wai<ls dusk and proceed to shake bees into 

 empty cages. Such a procedure takes but 



