BEEKEEPING FOR THE BEGINNER IN CALIFORNIA (CLASSIC REPRINT)

Excerpt from Beekeeping for the Beginner in CaliforniaCalifornia is less noted for honey production than for the production of bees and queens for sale to Canadians and to other western bee keepers living under severe winter conditions. The 1928 sales were 70 tons of bees and queens.Comparatively few persons are likely to become successful com mercial beekeepers, as few possess the necessary temperament, the frugality, insight, and skill required. A prospective commercial bee keeper should go very slowly until he has had considerable actual experience. The majority of farmers and many residents of small towns can, however, successfully keep a few stands of bees with little expense and time.Beekeeping in Relation to the 0rchardist. - Perhaps the most important, but not the best known, work of the honeybee is the conveyance of pollen from flower to flower, thus assisting in the fertilization of plants, and assuring their fruitfulness. Bees are so necessary for the successful pollination of many fruit trees, nut trees, and seed plants that the growing of certain horticultural products has been handicapped by the recent decline in beekeeping. Among numerous reasons for the growing difficulty of successful bee culture may be mentioned, as chief, the wide dissemination of organisms causing death to the bee larvae and thus increasing expenses, and secondly, the replacement of vast areas of native nectar-yielding plants by the expansion of cultivation. In spite of the increased difficulties, however, the keeping of a few colonies of bees is still possible for many. It must be emphasized that bees will not work free and pay their own board as many uninformed enthusiasts suppose. Bees require consistent effort to keep them in good con dition if they are not to become a. Complete nuisance and a focus of infection to other bees nearby. For the good of the industry, the smaller beekeepers should become familiar with bees, their habits, and their diseas