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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,. 



We "Bee-Kings" in California. 



WM. G. HEWES. 



Most of the California bee-keepers as- 

 pire 'to be "bee-kings," but which they 

 will not be until more attention is given 

 to the management and care of the bees, 

 and less to the acquisition of monstrous 

 honey-tanks and jumbo extractors. 

 There are many apiaries here where the 

 honey-tanks have a capacity of from 20 

 to 40 tons — more than the apiary can 

 fill in three seasons on an average. 

 These jumbo extractors, which most of 

 the bee-men think a necessity, a little 

 reasoning will show to be a useless ex- 

 pense. 



I have alone taken in one day, with 

 Thomas G. Newman's Excelsior non- 

 reversible extractor, 1,000 pounds of 

 honey. Four persons can take 3,000 

 pounds. A good season here lasts eight 

 weeks. Working six days a week, and 

 taking out 3,000 pounds a day, we have 

 144,000 pounds of honey. Is there 

 any bee-keeper in the world who ever 

 took that much honey from one apiary ? 

 The largest amount I have ever known 

 taken from one apiary in one season 

 was 80,000 pounds. That was in 

 1884, when the honey-flow continued 

 for four months. In that time that 

 amount could be taken on the small 

 machine. 



But it is useless to go on ; for anybody 

 can see that $50 machines are money 

 out of pocket, not to speak of 30-basket 

 steam-power affairs, such as one of the 

 fraternity in Cuba uses. The climate of 

 Cuba must be very enervating. In none 

 of the reports from Mr. Osburn, which I 

 have seen, does he claim a crop of 

 80,000 pounds. His season lasts, ac- 

 cording to his statements, four months. 

 Why ! fie upon you ! I can take single- 

 handed, with the meanest little machine 

 ever constructed, that amount of honey 

 in that length of time. If this last 

 statement of mine smacks of bragga- 

 docio, remember that the habit of lying 

 is said to be superinduced by our glori- 

 ous California climate ! 



Reversible extrators are a good thing, 

 as the combs do not break down so 

 badly as in the non-reversible ones. 

 When my extractor is worn out, I shall 

 get a Cowan extractor. I believe that 

 the biggest crop in the biggest season 

 that ever has been or will be taken 

 from one apiary, can be handled easily 

 with a $ 10 Cowan. 



In Gleanings I have sometimes se"en a 

 statement by the editor, which reads 



something like this: "In California, 

 where crops of from 50 to 100 tons are 

 taken in a single season," etc. Mr. Root, 

 will you please name an individual who- 

 ever secured a crop of 100 tons of 

 honey ? Have you not been imposed 

 upon by the formidable array of tanks ? 

 Seeing the tanks, you naturally thought 

 they were sometimes filled. I have lived 

 in and kept bees in Ventura and Los 

 Angeles counties now for nine years ; 

 and the biggest crop I ever heard of was 

 that of Easley, who, in 1884, from two 

 (and I am not sure but that there were 

 three) apiaries took 87 tons of honey. 



Two years later, from the same api- 

 aries, Mr. W. T. Richardson, then and 

 now the proprietor, canned up some 60 

 tons. Mr. Wilkin scattered bees all 

 over Ventura county in 1884, and sat- 

 isfied his ambition with a crop of 50 

 tons. Mr. Moffitt is reported to have 

 had two crops of 50 tons. Mr. Mitchell, 

 of Soledad Canyon, Los Angeles county, 

 has had the pleasure of some 40 tons of 

 honey as the product from his bees for a 

 single season, and a few more I can 

 name who have secured from 20 to 

 30 tons. But a large majority of the 

 would-be " bee-kings," among whom is 

 your humble servant, have never topped 

 10 tons. 



The largest yield to the spring colony, 

 of which I know anything definite, is 

 that of Mr. Wm. Whittaker, of Piru 

 Canyon, Ventura county; in 1884, from 

 some 150 hives, he took over 30 tons; 

 419 pounds per colony is, I believe, the 

 exact average. Mr. Nathan Shaw, also 

 of Ventura county, somewhere back in 

 the seventies, averaged more, I believe, 

 than Mr. Whittaker, but I have not the 

 exact figures. — Gleanings. 



Newhall, Calif. 



Honey-Vinegar from Cappina Etc, 



H. FITZ HART. 



Drain the cappingsdry, and put them 

 into a barrel that they will about two- 

 thirds fill ; cover with water, and let 

 stand 48 hours. Drain the liquor off, 

 press the cappings tightly together, and 

 in 24 hours the heat will rise (like a 

 hot-bed) to about 120°. 



The sweetened water is now taken 

 and tested with an egg ; if too weak, 

 add honey, if too strong, add water. It 

 is then heated over a fire to about 110° 

 (part can be heated sufficiently to bring 

 the whole to that point, but unless the 

 weather is cold, the heating is not abso- 



