1881 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



539 



GALIiUP AND HIS CAIilFOKMA BEE 

 RANCHE. 



BEES IN CAVES AND SQUIRREL-HOLES. 



MSI have a great many inquiries from parties 

 J^\ in the east, wishing to come to California, 



' about price of bees, healthf uloess of climate, 



etc., I will endeavor to answer these questions par- 

 tially through Gleanings by your permission. Bees 

 can be purchased in nail-kegs from 50c to $1.00, and 

 in all kinds of shaped liives, movable, immovable, 

 and all kinds of frames and boxes, for from one to 

 two dollars per stand, black bees at that, and some 

 of them badly infested with moths; or you can go 

 into the hills and take them out of caves, hollow 

 trees, squirrel-holes in the ground, etc. I took out 

 five swarms three weeks ago, and while digging out 

 one swarm, another came and clustered on a bush 

 close by. Last Sunday evening I found a small 

 swarm clustered on a little bush. Where I have 

 them located now they are gathering honey, build- 

 ing comb, and breeding rapidly. 



I think I can raise queens almost every month in 

 the year, and increase, but I expect the quality of 

 honey will be inferior. Good stocks from practical 

 bee-keepers are from three to five dollars each; de- 

 pending somewhat upon the season of the year, 

 whether spring or fall. 



Every bee-keeper in California should have a 

 ranche where he can raise fruit, vegetables, etc., or 

 he should have capital enough to live upon through 

 bad seasons as well as good ones, and he should be 

 able to hold his honey or sell, just as he sees fit. 

 Many start in with no capital, and perhaps run in 

 debt for bees and every thing. Such parties usual- 

 ly fail, and their ranches are sometimes sold very 

 cheap. There is a mistaken notion by people at a 

 distance, and that is, ihoy think that San Diego 

 County is the best in the State for bee-keeping. 

 That is certainly a grand mistake. That San Diego 

 County ships more honey, usually, than other coun- 

 ties, is a fact; but that does not make it the best 

 county. Mr. Harbison went into that county in an 

 early day, and established his large apiaries, and 

 others followed suit, before the other counties even 

 commenced. If I should select to-day, for bee-keep- 

 ing exclusively, I know of no better county in the 

 State than Ventura, taking all things into consider- 

 ation. As to health. Southern California can not be 

 beat in the whole wide world, for you can select 

 your own locality. From 15 to ~0 miles takes you in- 

 to the mountains, and you have your choice, coast, 

 . valley, or mountain. Some invalids are benefited in 

 one locality, and some in another. Many hopeless 

 cases, too far gone for any thing to help, come to 

 Southern California; but such cases had better stay 

 at home, and die among their friends. I have seen 

 many an invalid that came to California a few years 

 ago, and are now enjoying comparatively good 

 health. A person can make a good living from a 

 very few acres of ground as soon as he gets a little 

 start, and almost without an exception the longer a 

 person lives ia California, the better he likes it. I 

 have purchased 30 acres, for $30 per acre, in a beau- 

 tiful valley, intending to go into fruit in company 

 with my youngest son, who has just arrived from 

 Iowa. He is perfectly delighted with every thing 

 here, and so is his young wife. I shall probably 

 keep some bees for pastime. I have not sold out my 

 bees in Ventura County. I came into the State in 



1878. That season was an extra good one for honey; 

 1879 was an entire failure; 1880 was good; 1881 but 

 little honey made, and in many localities a complete 

 failure. Good honey (extracted) is now selling in 

 San Francisco from 10c to lie, and retailin.^ at about 

 15c. There need be no loss of bees, if they are man- 

 aged as they should be, in any season. They willbe 

 self-sustaining. Where I am locating my bees now, 

 they will store honey, and increase, the poorest sea- 

 son that was ever seen in California; but it will be 

 lowland honey instead of mountain. In the moun- 

 tain apiaries there is scarcely ever any swarming 

 after the 1st of May. E. Gallup. 



Santa Anna, Cal., Sept. 21, 1881. 



FR07I THE BOX-ELDEKS. 



^^iEATED under the vines that hang on the shady 

 ^)) side of Mr. Duster's honey-house, that gentle- 

 man opened the conversation by saying, 

 "This season has been a somewhat unusual one in 

 many respects, and especially so as regards the 

 honey crop. The spring opened late; it was the 

 middle of April before I got my bees out. I felt 

 very uneasy about them, for when I placed them in 

 the cellar I do not think the hives would average 

 more than 15 lbs. each. I had requeened them late 

 in the fall, and they went to breeding; this used up 

 their stores so that when I moved them into the cel- 

 lar I was surprised to find them so light. However, 

 my bees came out all right, except one swarm, and 

 went to work in good earnest at once, taking flour 

 only two days, and after that bringing in natural 

 pollen. In about four weeks the hives seemed full; 

 never saw bees increase faster, and recuperate 

 from their winter confinement quicker. The white 

 clover, from which we expected most of our honey 

 crop, came in abundance, both in the grove and 

 prairie, but hardly a solitary bee visited it. I never 

 saw it so common when it did not secrete more 

 honey; I got but little from it. But, now came the 



BLUE VERVAIN 



to the rescue. Once in about live or six years this 

 plant makes its appearance on the low lands bor- 

 dering Inlet Creek, in great quantities. I had seen 

 the young plants last fall peeping up their heads 

 quite thickly on these lands, so I did not feel alto- 

 gether discouraged at the loss of the white-clover 

 harvest. I kept my bees, sections, hives, etc., well 

 in hand— waiting." 



Just here Mr. Duster called my attention to a hive 

 of beautiful Italians, where the workers were march- 

 ing out the drones. 



MR. DUSTER MORALIZES. 



"Just look at those drones the worker-bees are 

 trotting out on that front board. That's what I call 

 female ingratitude! That is just like humanity 

 over again, as I sec it. Nine times out of ten you 

 will see a great big good-natured lubberly fellow, 

 in whom there is no guile, mated to a little bit of fe- 

 male humanity, and yet it will not be a year before 

 that little piece of femininity will be leading that 

 big fellow around just as you see these little female 

 bees do these big drones, and he will seem to like It 

 too, eh? Look at that large beautiful golden drone 

 yonder, with his great wings as bright and clear as 

 isinglass, and that little insignificant female bee, 

 just worrying the life out of him! See! she has got 

 him by the nape of the neck; got him where the 

 hair is short, and she won't let up; female instinct 



