(1 I. E A N I N G S IN BEE C IT I. T U R E 



July, 102C 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Southern California ^'le month 



or May was 

 probably one of the busiest months ever ex- 

 perienced by southern California beekeep- 

 ers. Especially was this true of the latter 

 half of the month. Extracting began about 

 May 20, with most beekeepers who liad bees 

 that had access to the sage and orange. 

 Many beekeepers report bees Hying to the 

 black sage and ignoring the orange, when 

 in reach of both. Otlier localities where 

 tlie orange was the only source of honey 

 report a very light surplus or none at all. 

 The sages are yielding very well and will 

 likely continue throughout the month of 

 June, weather conditions remaining favor- 

 able. All in all, the prospects are good for 

 an average crop of honey in southern Cali- 

 fornia. 



Prices of honey are not fixed yet, many 

 beekeepers preferring to wait until the en- 

 tire crop is made before selling. Buyers 

 have not seemed at all anxious to rusli 

 things, although several inquiries have been 

 received, with purchasers wisliing to know 

 what the producer would sell for. The or- 

 ange honey crop is sure to be a short one 

 this season and should command the top 

 market price. 



Eeports from an old resident of Ventura 

 County, in the Western Honey Bee, are 

 very discouraging for that locality. One 

 large producer in Eiverside County wrote 

 two weeks ago that it looked to him like 

 a two-case crop (240 pounds) per colony. 

 But this man is an exceptional beekeeper 

 and will produce nearly twice the general 

 average almost any year. 



Disease is well under control, and in only 

 a few instances has it ])roven a serious ob- 

 struction to honey [)ro(luction. Utah bee- 

 keepers, who annually shiji north after the 

 orange flow is over, are getting ready to 

 migrate from the eightli to the fifteenth of 

 June. They are to ship mostly increase 

 made this year, with all young queens and 

 principally newly drawn combs and new 

 hives and equipment. Nuclei that were 

 drawn out a month ago are now quite good 

 colonies, and the colonies from which they 

 were drawn are apparently as good as any 

 in the yard. Some beekeepers claim that 

 they can make 100 per cent increase and 

 still get the honey crop, and with good 

 strong colonies it seems to be possible. This 

 has proven to be one of those seasons where 

 it was profitable to have a large supply of 

 drawn combs on hand. Many colonies have 

 filled three, four and as mnny as five supers 

 witli nectar before any were capped and 

 ready to extract. 



The writer heard a very entertaining ;iiid 

 educational talk at a Knight Templar meet- 

 ing on tlie subject, "What is- it all about, 

 anyhow?" When we see a picture, as we 

 did today in a bee journal, illustrating a 

 beginner's outfit, in whicli is a beehive con 



taining frames with one-inch starters of 

 foundation, it makes us wonder what all of 

 this talk of full sheets of foundation is 

 about, anyhow. With our years of experi- 

 ence trying to weed out all of the drone 

 comb we can, and then to teach beginners 

 to use starters — to say the least, "Is it 

 consistent?" L. L. Andrews. 



Corona, Calif. 



* * * 



In OreCTOn "^^^^ general indications 



& * are now that tliere will 

 be a normal, if not better than normal, 

 honey crop in the Northwest. In spite of 

 the fact that tliere was a very heavy win- 

 ter loss and a very late spring, the bees 

 have built up fast in the last month and 

 are. in exceptionally good condition for clo- 

 ver in the valley. The honey flow from 

 maple, fruit blooms and dandelions came 

 almost simultaneously during late April and 

 early May, and, as a result, many of the 

 stronger colonies stored considerable sur- 

 plus beyond their needs and have built up 

 in nice shape for later honey flows. 



Tiie attention of all beekeepers in the 

 Northwest has been called to the summer 

 field meetings which are to be held as fol- 

 lows: June 15, North Idaho and Spokane 

 district; June 17, Yakima district; June 20, 

 Northwestern Washington; June 22, South- 

 western Washington; June 24, Portland; 

 June 27, Albany; June 29, Eedmond; July 

 1, Hermiston; July 3, Ontario (?). 



Arrangement has been made whereby it 

 is expected that several out-of-the-state 

 speakers will take in the series of summer 

 field meetings. 



There seems to be very little honey on 

 the market and the price is holding up 

 well. With the general business condition 

 getting back to normal, it is probable that 

 next year's honey crop, thougli likely large, 

 will move in a normal way. 



Corvallis, Ore. H. A. Scullen. 



■* » » 



In Wisconsin ^« /^i^"^^'" ^\y o|.^^7' ^'^^ 



ports, a rather high per 

 cent of colonies was lost during the past 

 winter. However, it should be noted that 

 this situation was more or less local. The 

 beekeepers in the northern half of the state 

 (lid not suffer as serious losses as those fur- 

 ther south. All reports indicate that on 

 June first the bees were in better than nor- 

 mal condition, most colonies liaving reared 

 an abundance of brood. Tlio clover was 

 ratlier badly injured in the southern part 

 of the state, and this may cause production 

 to be below normal. 



Present indications are that the nectar- 

 secreting plants in the northern part of the 

 state are in ])rinie condition, and, as we 

 have had an abundance of rain, our north- 

 ern beekeepers sliould get a bumi)cr (mo]). It 

 is interesting to note, that white (dover is 



