GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Southern California po"^^ ^' "^ « 



been mov- 

 ing quite freely since my last letter was 

 written. The orange honey has been bring- 

 ing nine cents, white sage eight cents, and 

 the darker grades as low as six cents. At 

 the present writing (Sept. 4) buyers are not 

 anxious to buy, as the shipping conditions 

 are so unsatisfactory that it makes it very 

 uncertain as to how long their money will 

 be tied up in the transaction. Few, if any, 

 are buying for speculation, and unless they 

 liave orders or are reasonably sure of mov- 

 ing the honey on to the market in a short 

 time, they do not care to buy excepting at 

 a very attractive price. A few beekeepers 

 are holding with hopes of better prices later, 

 but most of them are ready to sell when 

 the crop is ready, being satisfied to let the 

 other fellow do the speculating. 



When I read the editorial on page 507 of 

 the August Gleanings on "Inferior Stock 

 Reduces Value of Comb Honey," I could 

 not help but wonder if the same would not 

 apply to extracted honey. The word ' ' value, ' ' 

 however, would be applied to the quantity 

 rather than to the quality of the honey. The 

 propolizing tendency applies more generally 

 to both than is at hrst supposed. Especially 

 is this true if the capj^ing melter is used. 

 This colored material when heated has quite 

 a tendency to discolor the honey with which 

 it comes in contact. Hustlers, of course, we 

 want in either case. Comb-builders, whether 

 their product is white or watery, do not in- 

 terest us who produce extracted honey, just 

 as long as they keep busy capping. Finish- 

 ing is also of minor consequence, as 75 per 

 cent of the comb is all that is necessary to 

 be capped. Travel-stains we do not like; 

 but, if the honey is taken off when it should 

 be, little or no trouble will come from that 

 source. 



Most beekeepers have made some increase. 

 We all like to have enough new colonies at 

 the close of the season to make it reasonably 

 sure tliat we shall come tlirough the winter 

 with enough colonies to "keep our numbers 

 good," as the beekeepers say. Many decoys 

 have been set out this year, but the swarm- 

 ing has not been so general as in some sea- 

 sons. Consequently, many boxes are still 

 vacant. 



Queens can be r.-iised and increase made 

 quite late in soutlieni California. Opinions 

 differ as to the value of fall or spring in- 

 crease. If you have plenty of stores, it 

 might be well to m;ike some increase yet 

 this fall. I have had very good results as 

 late as November, and queens have been 

 known to mate every month in the yenr in 

 southern California. 



It is well to get all combs and wax taken 

 care of, as the wax moth is a busy fellow 

 during the fall months and, if given a 



chance, will soon destroy many dollars worth 

 of valuable material. 



These items are being Avritten at Idyll- 

 wild, a mountain resort 5,000 feet up on 

 the slopes of Mt. San Jacinto, where I have 

 just erected a mountain cabin. The An- 

 drews expect to spend many vacations here, 

 and hope that their friends will always find 

 that the "latch string hangs outside the 

 door." Yesterday we enjoyed a hike to the 

 lookout on top of Tahquitz Peak, at an ele- 

 vation of 9,000 feet. There is an old Indian 

 tradition that says that this mountain al- 

 ways gives out rumbling noises before there 

 is to be an earthquake. Quite a number of 

 earthquakes have occurred in this section 

 since the memory of man, and perhaps more 

 will occur in the future. Little or no thought 

 is given to them, and in many cases they 

 are looked upon as an experience to be 

 proud of rather than to be regretted. Some 

 property damage has resulted in the past, 

 but scarcely any loss of life has occurred. 



People who have never enjoyed the view 

 to be seen from one of these mountain tops 

 little realize just what it is. As I turned 

 from point to point of the compass, T could 

 see the great Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island, 

 Los Angeles, Mount Wilson, Mount San 

 Gorgonia and Salton Sea, with the numer- 

 ous valleys and cities lying between. 



T have observed bees around the cabin 

 and will try to locate them some day, as I 

 can hear of none being kept around the set- 

 tlement. L. L. Andrews. 



Corona, Cal. 



In Arizona '^'^^ summer season in 



southern Arizona has not 

 been a favorable one for honey production. 

 Following a spring season which seems to 

 have been very variable in the different val- 

 leys of the state, the summer seems to have 

 been uniformly poor. Although the July 

 and August rains have been about normal, 

 mesquite has almost Avholly failed to bloom 

 again. In fact, the number of trees that 

 may be seen v/ith even a few blossoms is 

 so small as to mean nothing to the bee- 

 keeper, while in covering perhaps 100 miles 

 of country roads I have seen just one mes- 

 quite bearing sufficient bloom to be con- 

 spicuous. Of other. flowers from which the 

 bees may so much as draw a, living, there 

 are practically none. 



Occasional areas of alkali weed nre in 

 luxuriant bloom. This provides a surplus 

 of dark, ])oorly flavored honey for the colo- 

 nies which may chance to be located ne;n- 

 by, useless for commercial purposes but valu 

 able for winter stores. This plant grows 

 densely in favorable areas but is wholly 

 lacking in large arena, so not all apiaries 

 will benefit by it. 



Those beekeepers who arc locfiti'd so as to 



