GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May, 1921 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California. J ^ ^,^ f ^'| 



meeting of the California State Beekeepers' 

 Association was truly a pretentious affair. 

 April "Gleanings" acquainted you with 

 the fact that the Governor of the State des- 

 ignated March 1 to 7 as California Honey 

 Week. This proclamation proved univer- 

 sally beneficial, for it stimulated the con- 

 sumption of honey to a very considerable 

 extent. The attendance at the meeting was 

 unusually good^ and some of the sessions 

 were attended by 400 to 500 persons. The 

 credit for the success and the great enthu- 

 siasm displayed at the convention was due 

 entirely to the efforts of the Alameda Coun- 

 ty Beekeepers ' Association, and the presi- 

 dent and secretary of this organization were 

 duly rewarded by being elected to similar 

 positions in the State Association. We look 

 for big things at the next annual meeting. 

 It was regretted, tho, that none of the 

 Washington officials were present to advise 

 us on some of the more knotty problems of 

 beekeeping. Their presence was unquestion 

 ably missed, for at one of the sessions a 

 petition was circulated, requesting a con- 

 tinuance of the winter short courses in bee- 

 keeping held jointly by the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and the Universitv of 

 California Agricultural Department. Hav- 

 ing a seat where I could view the beekeep- 

 ers at this session, I noticed that every bee- 

 keeper present signed the petition. Prof. 

 W. B. Hermes, head of the Division of En- 

 tomology of the University of California, 

 gave us an outline of what he proposes to 

 accomplish for the beekeepers of the State, 

 His talk impressed us favorably, and we 

 have reason to believe that California bee- 

 keepers are going to receive what they have 

 long been waiting for, namely, aid in api- 

 culture — aid worthy of the fair name of our 

 university and of our State. 



Low prices for honey and the (-(lut iiuicd 

 high cost of production are the chief <-on 

 cerns of beekeepers today. It is presumed 

 by most of us, according to present indica 

 tions, that alfalfa honey will bring about fi 

 to 7c, and sage about 10 to l'2c a pound — 

 about half the value that our jn-oduct 

 brought us one year ago. On the other 

 hand, when we analyze our exjtenses we find 

 that aur auto expenses have suffered prac- 

 tically no reduction, and that our labor and 

 container accounts have undergone but a 

 reduction of 10 per cent over last year's 

 figures, and our other operating expense ac- 

 counts remain materially the same. Bee- 

 keepers' supplies, our chief capital expendi- 

 ture, are but little cheaper than they were 

 a year ago. It seems that our best bet lies 

 in creating more of a demand for honey. 

 There is no other one thing we can do that 

 will increase more the value of our prod- 

 uct, unless it be a higher ta^riff, than to 



popularize broadcast the good values of hon- 

 ey as a food. The United States is now a 

 very wealthy nation, and many countries 

 today, including some of the European ones, 

 are sending us honey. Obviously this fact 

 makes it all the more difficult for us to 

 dispose of our ju'oduct. The New Zealand 

 Co-operative Honey Producers' Association, 

 Ltd., seems to be more optimistic than we 

 are in regard to honey prices. It is the 

 undei'standing that this association will ad- 

 vance to its members for white and light- 

 amber grades 12c per pound. Our Exchange, 

 I believe, will not make an advance of over 

 6c per ])ound. We liope our New Zealand 

 friends are correct in their interpretations 

 of marketing conditions, but we are inclined 

 to believe that our Exchange will place it- 

 self in a much more satisfactory position if 

 it places its advance in the neighborhood 

 of 6c. M. C. Richter. 



Big Sui', Calif. 



» * * 



In Southern California, f \" ^" '^ '">; 



last report 

 some European foul brood has appeared. At 

 no time since the first outbreak has it been 

 found in so virulent a foiin as in a few 

 places recently. Whole frames of brood will 

 die within a few days. There appears to be 

 no accounting for its return. The amount 

 of stores seems to make no difference, as 

 many afflicted colonies have an abundance 

 of honey. Italian bees are supposed to be 

 immune from this disease, but not so in 

 the present epidemic. It is found among 

 the colonies which had an abundance of 

 early pollen, as well as among colonies that 

 were located away from the early pollen 

 and were late to start breeding. One thing 

 is certain — it is here and the beekee]iers 

 liave a fight on their hands again to eradi- 

 cate it. Some cases of American foul biood 

 are also found, but this has not gotten such 

 a hold as the European. 



The prospects for a crop over southern 

 California are no brighter. The oianges 

 are blootning, and the strong colonies are 

 getting a little more than a living. The 

 sages promise little or no honey; for the 

 plants, in general, are suffering for moist- 

 ure enough to give them a normal growth. 

 The prospects for more rain are not at all 

 encouraging, as the average rainfall after 

 this date is very small. The alfalfa should 

 furnish the usual amount, and the mesquite 

 about the same. Beans, which have fur- 

 nished considerable honey the ])ast few 

 years, have dropped in price so much that 

 the acreage is likely to lie very much re- 

 duced this year. 



More bees have been moved to the or- 

 anges this season than ever before, one com- 

 pany alone having about 2,000 colonies. 

 Generally s])eaking, the bees will hardly be 

 up to normal for the early honey flow. 



