308 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



Now, while severe thunder storms appear 

 to be very detrimental to the flow of nectar, 

 a rain unaccompanied by electric display 

 does not appear to injure the flow of honey 

 unless it comes off cold after it. The wet- 

 test season I remember, and a particularly 

 good one for honey, was in 1872 ; but the 

 rain came almost wholly, not in thunder- 

 storms, but the sky would be covered by a 

 light haze which would be deeper and thicker 

 when the rain would come down, after which 

 it would break away without thunder or 

 lightning, only to be repeated a day or two 

 later. In fact, such weather at times seems 

 to increase the honey-flow. In 1880 we had 

 in this section a peculiar season . We had 

 little or no clover, owing to the previous 

 open winter. Early in May I went to a 

 neighboring county trying to find a place 

 where I could move my bees so they might 

 secure enough for winter. On my return I 

 found basswood was going to bloom full, 

 and I decided to leave them where they 

 were. Presently basswood came into bloom, 

 and the bees flew freely from their hives- 

 yes, and buzzed about the flowers, but 

 seemed to get little more than enough to 

 keep them from starving, until the very 

 last week of the bloom, when there came a 

 rainy day, and the basswood turned over a 

 new leaf, as we say, and the flowers gave 

 an abundance of nectar, so the bees worked 

 in the rain, bringing in what they had so 

 long been looking for. The next four days 

 were pleasant, and bees were able to fill 

 their hives and store considerable surplus. 

 Here the rain seemed to be a benefit, but it 

 was quite free from any electrical disturb- 

 ance, and was followed by warm weather. 



I have given these notes that others may 

 take up the subject where I leave it, that in 

 time we may be able to understand the sub- 

 ject more perfectly than at present. 



Middlebury, Vt., Dec. 14. 



[We should be pleased to hear from others 

 of our correspondents, for by a comparison 

 of notes we may learn something. — Ed.] 



CLEANlNCSFRi^THEpjVCIFlfCOAST 



By Prof. A.J.Cook. P^omqna Coi.i.Ec;E,:CAi.^ 



There was an interesting discussion in the 

 United States Senate a few days ago. The 

 subject under consideration was free- seed 

 distribution by the government. Senator 

 Lodge, of Massachusetts, referred to it as a 

 ' 'moss-grown humbug, ' ' while Senator Piatt, 

 of Connecticut, stated a truth when he said 

 that the seeds are often very ordinary, and 

 such as might be picked up at any mar- 

 ket. He further said, in effect, that the 

 spending of $300,000 annually in distributing 

 these seeds was an arrant waste. He also 



repeated Senator Lodge's epithet of "hum- 

 bug." I don't believe there ever was a 

 more senseless project in any government 

 than this matter which has been continued 

 for so many years in our own. It seems to 

 me we may almost call it a disgrace to the 

 Republican party ; and as I have always be- 

 longed to that party I feel more freedom in 

 expressing my feeling in the matter. I sug- 

 gest that we all write to our respective Con- 

 gressmen, urging upon them the discontinu- 

 ance of this colossal burlesque. I have 

 observed the matter for years, and I know 

 that Senator Piatt said truly that the seeds 

 are often only ordinary. When we add to 

 this the further fact that many a package is 

 simply put aside to remain unused till con- 

 signed to the junk pile, we certainly have a 

 prodigious count against this whole business 

 of seed distribution. Let us all send our 

 petition of don't ! 



Southern California is typical of arid 

 America. By arid regions we mean places 

 that receive annually less than 20 inches of 

 water. Our own Southern California aver- 

 ages considerably less than this. For a 

 series of years the average at Claremont 

 has been about 15 inches. Occasionally the 

 season's downfall is below half this average. 

 This matter is of great importance to bee- 

 keepers, as, with much less than the aver- 

 age, we are sure to get very little if any 

 honey. We may get a crop with some less 

 providing the rain comes late in the season 

 and in such fashion as to sink wholly or 

 mostly into the ground. There is one advan- 

 tage which arid regions have, which must 

 never be lost sight of. The few and sparse 

 rainfalls do very little leeching of the soil, 

 and consequently the soil fertility is some- 

 thing surprising to those who have always 

 lived in humid regions. In Ohio and Michi- 

 gan the subsoil is very barren, and, when 

 turned to the surface, will grow little vege- 

 tation for a series of years. Here, and in 

 most of our arid regions, we find it quite 

 otherwise. Our soil is rich away down. 

 That able scientist. Dr. E. W. Hilgard, puts 

 this very happily in the remark that the 

 rancher of California is in possession of sev- 

 eral farms, each on top of the other. From 

 this fact our plants make no mistake in 

 sending their roots away down deep into the 

 soil. Our plants and trees often send their 

 roots down five, ten, and even twenty feet, 

 and no doubt find abundant fertility in all 

 their quest downward. 



There is another advantage gained in this 

 deep rooting of our California vegetation. 

 During our long dry seasons the surface soil 

 becomes very dry and parched. In this the 

 rootlets could not slake their thirst, and so 

 could get no food. In pushing down, how- 

 ever, into the depths of the subsoil they find 

 the needed moisture, are enabled to drink up 

 the needed soil elements, and so live on. This 

 is why we find, in nearly all cases, that our 

 California plants, especially those native to 



