G T> E A N I N G S IN BEE C U I. T U K E 



Ai'KiL, 1921 



fi) FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Southern California. 



_Thc Califor- 

 nia beekeep- 

 ers have one more crop to market thru the 

 Exchange under the present contract. When 

 the new contracts are written up, there is 

 every reason to believe that there will be 

 many improved features. For instance, the 

 tlio beeswax pool at present contains all of 

 wax for the year. Many of us think that 

 there should be two or more pools, making 

 it unnecessary to wait a whole year for the 

 final returns, if one puts wax into the ware- 

 house in January or early in the season. To 

 show the increasing popularity of co-opera- 

 tive marketing, when the California mar- 

 keting act went into effect, there were bvit 

 five marketing organizations. In 1919 there 

 were 35. 



The orange growers are inclined to leave 

 the fruit on the trees as long as possible this 

 season, owing to the low prices and the poor 

 market conditions in general. Just what ef- 

 fect this will have on the buds and blos- 

 soms, it is impossible to tell at the present 

 time. A tree, with an abundance of moisture 

 surrounding the roots, blooms much more 

 freely and the bloom stays on much longer 

 than where the ground is somewhat dry. As 

 long as the fruit remains on, it is sure to 

 take considerable substance from the tree. 

 We can hardly expect the average of the 

 past three years to be kept up in the orange 

 honey flow, as we have been exceptionally 

 well favored. 



The bees are in a fairly good condition. 

 Perhaps they are a little short of stores in 

 some of the apiaries; but, with good weather 

 conditions from now on, most of the ranges 

 will furnish a living for the average colon}'. 

 Disease is well under control, and only oc: 

 casionally an apiary is found where it is at 

 all bad. European foul brood crops out at 

 times, and it will be well to keep a close 

 lookout for this enemy until summer. It 

 comes on very rapidly at times and often 

 does much damage before it is discovered. 



Prof. Ealph Benton, of the faculty of the 

 California State University at Berkeley, gave 

 a very interesting talk before the beekeei)ers 

 of Riverside County recently. He said that 

 co-operation today is a movement toward 

 success along all lines of production. Public- 

 ity is all right, but the industry must be 

 built up by lowering the cost of production. 

 The dairymen found out by careful tests 

 that their profit was all coming from 50 per 

 cent of their herds, the other 50 per cent 

 being kept at a loss or barely paying ex- 

 ]>enses. Mr. Benton said that he often won- 

 dered if our profits do not come from 40 per 

 cent of our colonies. There is no doubt but 

 that great improvement can be made by 

 tlie proper selection of stock and by paying 

 closer attention to detail work. 



A range is often crowded because one 

 man has made a success on it; when, if the 



facts were known, it is the beekeeper and 

 not the range at all. The beekeepers of Or- 

 ange County have a department of the Farm 

 Bureau whose duty it is properly to locate 

 apiaries and to adjust locations in and near 

 the oranges. There is a great chance for co- 

 operation and education in getting ready for 

 the orange flow. 



Beekeepers should keep records in order 

 to know what it is costing them to produce 

 honey. When our committee was asking for 

 tariff protectio'i on hone}', they were asked, 

 ' ' What does it cost to produce honey in 

 these United States?" And no one could 

 answer. Can you? We will venture to say 

 that not 10 per cent of the beekeepers in 

 the United States can answer the question 

 with anything more than a guess. One man 

 paid $1200 for moving his apiaries and made 

 $1300 worth of honey. Did it pay? 



There are 5640 students taking the vari- 

 ous agricultural correspondence courses of 

 the State University extension work. Last 

 year only 300 students were taking bee- 

 keeping — not a very large per cent. 



J. D. Bixby in the Honey Producers ' 

 Co-operator says, "A careful survey of the 

 Covina citrus district, the first week in Feb- 

 ruary, failed to find a single available bee 

 location more than one-half mile from a 

 large commercial apiary already located." 

 This includes a large territory. 



Corona, Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



* * * 



Tj. TTexaS - February has been adverse 

 to the best development of 

 the honey plants. Eastern and north central 

 Texas have received a normal amount of 

 rain and there the conditions are normal. 

 The rest of the honey-producing area has 

 been too dry. Horsemint has suffered so that 

 it is doubtful if there will be much horse- 

 mint honey this year. A frost the latter part 

 of the month injured the agarita somewhat. 

 The rain coming at the end of February 

 gives hope for a good honey flow from spring 

 annuals. Everything indicates a honey flow 

 from mesquite. All things considered, the 

 prospects for a honey crop are good, but 

 one equal to last year cannot be expected. 



With the Biological Survey and the vari- 

 ous farm organizations calling attention to 

 the absolute necessity of fighting rats and 

 mice, we again have to report the work of 

 the rats on the honey plants in the South- 

 west. There is an area extending from 

 Uvalde to Crystal City in which very con- 

 servati^■e beekeepers estimate that fi'om 2/3 

 to 9/10 of the huajillo and catsclaw has 

 been killed by the rats peeling the bark 

 from the brushes. These same men have 

 given up hope of a honey flow from this 

 source. The mesquite, however, was not at- 

 tacked. It is suggested that the residents in 

 that district get in touch with the Biological 



