. 1 GLEANINGS IN B E F, ( • I ' 1 . f f K K 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



IS9 



Taken .-ill in all, it is not likely that south- 

 ern California will i.np.luce as large a crop 

 as last season. 



The prices of honey are likely to be iniu-li 

 lower than last year, as there is consider- 

 able honey being carried over from last 

 year's erojp. The price of supplies has not 

 dropped to any noticeable degree, and wages 

 are now about the same as during the war. 



Several prosecutions have occurred re 

 cently for moving or selling bees contrary 

 to the State laws or the county ordinances. 

 When operating as many as one or two 

 thousand colonies, it is very ditticult at all 

 times to comply with all the requirements 

 of the complicated rules and regulations. It 

 is unfortunate that we cannot have a State 

 law governing the moving of bees. Many 

 beekeepers have only a few colonies, and 

 yet they are the ones who have the most to 

 say when it comes to law-making. Sonu' 

 larger apiaries are being kept; and, while 

 the number of beekeepers may not be so 

 great, the production of honey is greater, 

 owing to the skill, knowledge, and general 

 intelligence used in conducting the busi- 

 ness. It is my opinion that producers will 

 eventually get together and have laws en- 

 acted that will not only protect the indus- 

 try but will also give a certain freedom of 

 action in running the business. 



Corona. Calif. L. L. Andrews. 



» « » 



T„ Xovic The condition of the honey 



plants and bees in Marcii 

 has been above normal. The dry weather 

 during the winter made it doubtful whether 

 there would be an early s])ring flow, but 

 the rains of the early part of this month 

 have made bloom enough to allow the bees 

 to produce brood early. In some of the 

 southern counties swarming was common l)y 

 the 10th. Where Demuth automatic feeders 

 were used (see page 216, April issue), many 

 hives now have two brood-chambers and a 

 shallow super of brood; while .where bees 

 went into winter short of stores, such colo 

 nies hn\'e not even commenced to prepare for 

 swarming. The horseniint, which was des- 

 paired of because of the drought, is now in 

 a prosperous condition. The mesquite. 

 which was thought to be good for a flow, is 

 not in so good a condition owing to the rain. 

 The Weather Bureau reports that the tern 

 perature for March was s(>ven degrees 

 above normal. The coldest day of wintei 

 occurred in November, 1920, when a tern 

 perature of 27 degrees was reached. Only 

 during four periods did frost occur. This 

 weather was such as to cause the bees to 

 use enormous amounts of stores. 



B. M. Caraway of Wyoming has started 

 a new line of migratory beekeeping. He 

 was unable to contract for queens at a 

 yirice that suited him, so he picked up his 

 suitcase and came to Texas. He expects to 



raise between 1,.500 and 2,000 queens to 

 take back with him and to get back to the 

 home place in time to catch the first honey 

 flow. 



Dr. Morris Fishbein, M. D., editor of the 

 .Journal for the American Medical Associa- 

 tion, writes that honey has received its 

 share of space in recent medical literature. 

 Two long papers on the value of honey in 

 medicine have been published in the past 

 two years. They are entitled, "The Anti- 

 scorbutic Value of Honey," by H. K. Faber, 

 published in the .Tournal of Biologic Chem- 

 istry; and "The Curative Properties of 

 Nectar, Corn Pollen, and Honey in Avian 

 Polyneuritis,'' by R. A. Dutcher and L. O. 

 France, published in +he same journal. He 

 also states that honey needs no recommen 

 dation to the medical fraternity. 



E. B. Anlt reports the first extracting of 

 new honey on March 7 when he obtained 

 several thousand pounds of como and pink 

 sage. This honey is from apiaries located 

 in the Rio Grande Valley. He also reports 

 the flow from huajilla in Duval County 

 commenced Maich 10. 



The response of the plants of the semi- 

 arid lands to rainfall is extremely rapid 

 and in a majority of cases certain. Last 

 month it was stated that an early honey 

 flow from mesquite was almost certain; and, 

 in fact, in a few localities it did commence. 

 The latter part of March a heavy rain fell, 

 and, true to the habit of the desert plants, 

 the mesquite buds ceased to open and the 

 trees put out new Viranches and leaves. This 

 habit of these plants comes from the fact 

 that they must utilize moisture while it is 

 a\ailable. Should dry weather occur in 

 May or June, the food and energy will ap- 

 pear then in a heavy bloom. H. B. Parks. 



San Antonio, Tex. 



* * * 



In Ontario.— V '"^^ 1^1^'' f^'fytTol 



drew attention to the fact 

 that reports had been received stating that 

 the consum])tion of stores in outside-win- 

 tered colonies Inid been abnormallv lieaxv. 

 Since then we have had an (>p]iortunity to 

 give a superficial examination to probably 

 over half of our bees, and we find every 

 colony heavy with stores. Outdoor-win- 

 tered bees have fared the best this year, 

 and many beekeepers report 100 per cent 

 of the colonies alive and most of them in 

 good condition. T' r season is about the 

 ejirliest on record, and, barring a s(>tback 

 of cold weather in the near future, it looks 

 as tho fruit bloom, dandelion, etc., will be 

 on at least two weeks earlier than usual. 

 Personally, T would prefer a season more 

 nearly normal, but we must take things as 

 they come and work accordingly. Many 

 are y>redicting heavy freezes later; but, with 

 the ice all -out of Georgian Bay, Lake Sim- 

 coe. and other waters to the north of us, 



