

A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers. 

 $L00 A YEAR. 

 W. Z. HOTCHINSON, Editor and Proprietor. 



VOL. XV. FLINT, MICHIGAN, JAN. 10, 1902. NO. 1 



COLORADO'S CHARACTERISTICS. 



BY W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



The Advantages of Irrigation; and how 



Western Bee-Keeping Differs From 



That of the East. 



" Westward, ho 1 the con 



i believe brotlier Root of Gleanings has 

 prophesied that, within a few years, 

 the great bulk of the honey crop of this 

 country' will be produced west of the 

 Mississippi. I'roni a week's visit in 

 Colorado, during which I visited several 

 apiaries, and questioned many bee keep- 

 ers regarding the apicultural characteris- 

 tics of the great West, I am inclined to 

 think that brother Boot's prophecy will 

 prove correct. This part of the countrv 

 is progressing and developing at a rate 

 of which Flastern people have but a faint 

 conception. Those wlio look upon this 

 country as the land of a burning sun, of 

 shifting sands, coyotes and cacti, will 

 do well to lay aside that delusion. The ex- 

 planation of this wonderful change can be 

 given in a single word, the key that has 

 unlocked the great a^jricultural wealth 

 of the West, is W A i E R. The great 



rse of Empire takes its way. " 



backbone of the continent, the Rocky 

 Mountains, some of vertebrse of which 

 are thrown up into the air to the height 

 of three miles, makes a radical change in 

 the climate of this region. The clouds 

 laden with moisture from that great 

 reservoir, the Pacific, are wafted gently 

 Eastward, occasionally giving up a portion 

 of their precious btirden on the Western 

 slopes, until they reach the snow clad 

 peaks of the Rockies. Here the exceed- 

 ingly low temperature cau.ses a most com- 

 plete precipitation of moisture in the 

 shape of snow. When the clouds slip 

 over tipon the Eastern slopes, they may- 

 be compared to a squeezed out sponge. 

 Showers upon the Eastern slope during 

 the summer are rare; and are usually the 

 result of an east wind that brings up 

 moisture laden clouds from the Missis- 

 sippi valley. The warmth of spring 



