GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



been inspector of apiaries in Kansas and 

 has also been connected with apicultural 

 work in the U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture. His first work is building up an api- 

 ary of 50 or more colonies, and students, 

 after having received a certain amount of 

 fundamental work at the university at 

 Berkeley, are then in a position to gain ade- 

 quate practical instruction at Davis. Ralph 

 de Ong has charge of the beekeeping work 

 at Berkeley. M. C. Eichter. 



Big Sur, Calif. 



In British Columbia.— ^^ ^P^*^ °^ ^ 



dry summer 

 and the smoke from numerous forest fires, 

 that veiled the sun and obscured the land- 

 scape for quite long periods in many dis- 

 tricts and prevented the bees from flying 

 freely, there has been an excellent honey 

 crop in British Columbia this season. In the 

 Eraser Valley, stretching from Vancouver to 

 bej^ond Chilliwack,- a distance of 60 or 70 

 miles, there has been a much heavier yield 

 than in the other parts of the province. 



Four years ago it was hard to find an api- 

 ary in this valley that was free from Euro- 

 pean foul brood. The introduction of Ital- 

 ian bees to replace the blacks, Avhich were 

 then so common, together with improved 

 equipment and better methods of beekeep- 

 ing, has worked wonders in a short time in 

 eradicating the disease and increasing the 

 crop. 



Fifteen Government demonstration api- 

 aries, under the supervision of the apiary 

 inspectors, were established at different 

 points in this territory for educational pur- 

 poses, and the wisdom of adopting this 

 course has become very apparent in the good 

 results that have been achieved. The aver- 

 age production of the hives under super- 

 vision in these demonstration apiaries this 

 season will be about 300 pounds of surplus 

 honey from each. Two hives in two of the 

 apiaries have exceeded the 600-pound mark. 



One of these produced 660 pounds and the 

 other 630 pounds, enough honey being left 

 in both for winter stores. 



A permanently packed outer ease is used 

 in all the demonstration apiaries that have 

 been established in the province, which now 

 total 40. It is proposed to add to this 

 number as soon as the necessary arrange- 

 ments can be made, so that in course of time 

 the whole province will be covered. The 

 queens, the stipulation being that they 

 should be young queens, are allowed a breed- 

 ing space of 20 Langstroth frames. It has 

 been found that the outer case, although an 

 additional expense to start with, very soon 

 saves its cost in the extra amount of honey 

 obtained. Colonies so protected winter bet- 

 ter and build up much quicker in the spring. 

 There is also less trouble from swarming, as 

 a more even temperature is maintained with- 

 in the hive. Comb honey can also be more 

 easily produced. 



In the Fraser Valley there is usually an 

 early spring flow, mainly from dandelions 

 and the broad-leaved and the red-flowered 

 maples, from which surplus honey is obtain- 

 ed. This is followed by alsike and white clo- 

 vers, and raspberries, which are grown com- 

 mercially in many localities, and later by 

 fireweed. The latter grows luxuriantly in 

 most places and yields nectar very freely. 

 In the dry belt of the interior, including the 

 Okanagan Valley, where there is sufficient 

 irrigation, good crops of honey can be de- 

 pended on from alfalfa, hairy vetch, sweet 

 clover, etc. In the eastern portion of the 

 province, adjoining the Alberta boundary, 

 where the natural precipitation is greater, 

 averaging about 28 inches per annum, there 

 is a wider range of nectar-bearing plants 

 than in the dry belt, such as fireweed and 

 the spreading dogbane (Apocynum andro- 

 saemifolium). The latter yields a water- 

 white honey, similar in appearance to fire- 

 weed, but with a better flavor. 



Nelson, B. C. W. J. Sheppard. 



A Government Demonstration Apiary in British Columbia. These are standard ten-frame hives all in 

 permanently packed outer cases. Note that, as supers are tiered up, rims are added to the outer case. 



