1008 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



ered from wild buckwheat and sumac as 

 there is from sage. Usually it is about an 

 equal amount, so that, when the sage is in, 

 it is a safe matter to order an equal number 

 of cases for the wild-buckwheat and sumac 

 honey. The buckwheat and sumac honey is 

 gathered at the same time, the bloom start- 

 ing at about the time the sage is going out. 

 The bees, however, will usually work on 

 the sage as long as they can get it. That is 

 one of the best;; tests of the working qualities 

 of different varieties of bees here. Let me 

 explain ;; here what . this* test is so you will 

 understand clearly. 



Almost all apiaries in'this' 'section are sit- 

 uated .; in ,' the mountains, and the flowers 

 bloomjfirst in the valleys; and as the season 



THE COLONY WE DIDN'T "DEMONSTRATE' AT 

 THE FIELD DAY AT JENKINTOWN: 'fHE 

 "Z Z" STANDS FOR "ZIP, ZIP, STING- 

 GET OUT!" 



advances the blooming belt gradually passes 

 up the mountains and away from the lower 

 ground. The apiaries are usually situated 

 at the base of the hills; and as the season 

 advances the bloom recedes. Now, there is 

 no better judge of fine honey than the bees. 

 They will gather the lightest honey they can 

 find. Here is the point in determining the 

 best bees. While the sage is blooming near 

 the apiary, all the hives will have sage hon- 

 ey; but as the sage bloom gradually recedes, 

 some of the bees will stop bringing in from 



the sage and start on the sumac. They are 

 like a great many people— they take that 

 which ; is the easiest to get, regardless of 

 quality. The others, which bring in the 

 sage the longest, are invariably the oest col- 

 onies. 



The season this year opened better than it 

 has for years; but the promise did not hold 

 good. The early rains of November were 

 followed by severe frosts which killed the 

 blojm of the manzanita and the old-man 

 sage. This was rather bad, as last year the 

 manzanita did not yield honey on account of 

 the severe drouth. In good years the bees 

 bring in and cap quite an amount of surplus, 

 which is a great help in brood-rearing later 

 on. We count on the manzanita bloom to 

 start brood- rearing, and the bloom invariably 

 comes just one month after the first heavy 

 rain of the season. 



The "shooting stars" are blooming (pol- 

 len) ; also the oak, the willow, and some 

 varieties of the eucalyptus, while a few 

 early blooms of the alfileria are to be seen 

 out here and there. 



Before closing I wish to speak of the dod- 

 der. In one of Prof. Cook's articles he says 

 the best way to get rid of the plant is to 

 burn the hills clear of brush. It does not 

 work in practice. A year ago last October 

 we bad through here a wild fire that swept 

 the hills clean and bare, not leaving a single 

 bush While passing through a portion of 

 this burnt district 1 was surprised to see 

 quite a good deal of the dodder growing at 

 least a mile from the edge of the fire-swept 

 district. I have seen it in half a dozen dif- 

 ferent places since, all where the fire had 

 burned. The bee-feed will not be as good in 

 the district for three or four years, and fire 

 did not kill the dodder; so Prof. Cook's advice 

 to burn off the hills does not answer its pur- 

 pose. 



Bernardo, Cal., Jan. 30. 



A COLONY OF BEES LIVING OUTDOORS 60 FEET 

 FROM THE GROUND. 



I have noticed that you wish reports from 

 any one who knew of a swarm of bees locat- 

 ed outside on the limb of a tree. I took 

 down one such that was at least 60 feet high, 

 on a limb about six mches through It had 

 made five combs at least IJ feet long by the 

 same in depth We cut the Hmb off at the 

 outer end past the bees, and let it fall to 

 the ground. Then we sawed the limb off 

 close to the bees next to the tree, and let it 

 to the ground with a rope. This was late in 

 November. Bees were first discovered in 

 July. One noticeable feature showing bee 

 wisdom in this hive was that the two out- 

 side combs were made with the outside cells 

 protruding downward to protect them from 

 the rain. I left them on the limb and incas- 

 ed them in a box, and up to date they are 

 all right, and I am sure they have plenty to 

 do until they can make more. If not, I 

 shall feed them. George W. Rich. 



Trezevant, Tenn. 



