GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Northern California.—'^ h e 3 3 r d 



annual con- 

 vention of the California State Beekeepers' 

 Association has taken place. It was a suc- 

 cess, and the future of the association and 

 tJie industry are assured in no uncertain 

 terms. Many of the older members were 

 quite skeptical concerning the ability of 

 the state association to thrive under the 

 trying beekeeping conditions of the time. 

 The association leaders today have the prop- 

 er spirit. It is a liberal spirit, and it is 

 the same spirit that imbued that little band 

 of beekeepers that met on tlie sixth day 

 of January, 1892, in the Los Angeles Cham- 

 ber of Commerce for the purpose of organ- 

 izing the California State Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation. Those present at this memorial 

 gathering said that they wanted to organize 

 an association that would "represent the 

 beekeepers' industry of the whole state of 

 California." Today the stationery of the 

 Association bears the inscription, "No 

 Nortli, No South, No East, No West— Just 

 California." From this little gathering in 

 1892, we have today only J. C. McCubbin 

 and M. H. Mendleson. Mr. McCubbin was 

 present at the convention, and the associa- 

 tion voted unanimously to make Mr. Men- 

 dleson, who has worked untiringly during 

 these many years, second vice-president. 



Another indication that the bee industry 

 is thriving in our section of the state is the 

 fact that during the past few years no less 

 than eight county beekeepers' organizations 

 have sprung into existence. The counties 

 are Alameda, Butte, Fresno, Glen, Napa, 

 Shasta, Solano and Tulare. It is expected 

 that during March there will be organized 

 a beekeepers' association in San Joaquin 

 County. We hope that this good work will 

 continue. It is the plan to affiliate the 

 county organizations with the state associa- 

 tion, and we hope that local bodies will 

 sjjring up overnight, as it were, in all parts 

 of the state. 



February weather Avas unusually cold and 

 wet, and spring bloom will be two to three 

 weeks late. The ground is sufficiently Avell 

 soaked and there will be good crops, de- 

 pendent on late spring rains and favorable 

 bee Aveather. Unprotected bees have suf- 

 fered somewliat from tlio cold and continual 

 moisture up to the present time. 



Big Sur, Calif. M. C. Eichter. 



In Southern Califomia.-JJ'e^n;?,; 



cold, cloudy and rainy the x>ast montli. Work 

 of all kinds is, therefore, held back very 

 much. I have never before experienced 

 such a continued cold and cloudy spell at 

 any one time in my 26 years in soutliern 

 California. However, there are enough wil- 

 lows and other blossoms out so that the 



bees could soon make a living if the weather 

 would moderate a little. On account of so 

 much rain, the beekeepers are very optimis- 

 tic and feel that the prospects for a crop of 

 honey in 1922 are as good as they have ever 

 seen. 



Many beekeepers are of the opinion that 

 the orange honey crop will be very late if 

 any crop is secured in those sections where 

 the oranges are badly frozen. We feel that 

 most of the prophecies on the orange crop 

 are only a guess at best. As the leaves on 

 the trees dry up and drop off, it makes the 

 prospects look the more gloomy for honey 

 from that source. But this is one of the 

 seasons wlien one does not have to depend 

 on the orange, as the black sage will be 

 just as early and this year just as sure a 

 producer. 



Some apiaries are offered for sale and a 

 few sales are reported, the prices ranging 

 from six dollars per colony up. 



Quite a large per cent of the beekeepers 

 who are members of the Exchange have 

 signed the new contract. They feel that 

 the sj^stem is the proper one. With the 

 pros]iects for a crop so promising and three 

 years of experience back of us, the Ex- 

 change should give good satisfaction to its 

 members during the next few years. 



Steady work in the apiary Avill be the 

 order this month. A few days will occur 

 when it will be unwise to open tlie liives; 

 but there are always hives to get ready, 

 frames to wire, foundntion to set, and other 

 bee-work to do. A glance in a hive will 

 often suffice to keep one in touch with con- 

 ditions, and, just as soon as the hive is 

 well filled with bees, one can put on a super. 

 Even if the weather is cool no harm will 

 result, if no brood is put above. Treat 

 those colonies that show any signs of dis- 

 ease. The colonies on Avhich drawn combs 

 are placed for extracted honey can, in most 

 cases, just as Avell draw a few sheets of 

 foundation and be all the better for it. 

 Til ere are some cases and conditions where 

 a colony will not draw comb when it will 

 store surplus honey. It is better to have the 

 surplus super on a few days in advance than 

 to have the bees idle because they have no 

 room. Surplus honey is generally stored the 

 last part of April in southern California and 

 extracting is usually necessary. But if a 

 beekeeper has combs enough so that the bees 

 can store all of the orange honey or other 

 first crops Avithout any extracting, it is 

 money Avell iuA'ested. He should be in no 

 hurry to extract this early honey; for if lie 

 has any trouble about unripe honey, it is 

 sure to be this new honey, stored Aviien the 

 Aveatlier is still cool and in many cases 

 cloudy. Plenty of tank room is also essen- 

 tial, as a continued settling tends both to 

 clarify and ripen the honey. 



Corona, Cal. L. L. Andrews. 



