The San Francisco call., 1906-09-02


IA California university-thereif That is
brief summary. but does II not give
wonderfully Interesting hint of ambition and
endeavor OF purpose. energy and achievement?
Every one who is interested in bee culture in
Sespe, in the southern part of the Golden State.
It's rows OF white bee hives arranged with martial
precision and looking for all the world like big
encampment Of tiny tents. stretch over Ascertain
sunny Aat-lands boEdered5 BY the Sespe River,
them snow-cIad in winter but most of them COW
cred in summer with sweet cling underbrush
much approved by the fastidious. bee palate IL
bee may be said 10 have a palate. sszF4l
For many years the fame o. the white-sage'
honey has been known throughout the State.
in fact all oyer the country and in foreign
kets but il was only recently that Sespe apiary~
largest and finest queen bees to be found And
it IS a California girl who has wrought this
change. She wanted university educaton; she
raised queen bees, and now she is in college The
queen bees. did it,
Miss Mcintyre Takes Up Bees.
Aboit three years ago Miss Flora Mcintyre,
daughter of J. T. Mcintyre, who owns three
apiaries near sesPe. decided to make serious
study Of bee culture. which had been almost the
Ifework Of her father and grandfather. So at
tEe big apiary she began making Investigations
and experiments of her owc, hardly noticed at
first by thn busy workers in the fields and honey>
2 house. But before long Mr.. Mcintyre found cnat
his daughter was accomplishing some very inter
esting things and more and more attention waz
drawn to the work OF the girl bee-rafser Finally
she left the general study of bee culture and de-
veIoped along special line the rearing of queen
bees The result has been thai This summer
some two hundred little cages. each containing
a captive queen bee and a =nalI company of
workers. waiting have gone to all parts OF
the State, while seven Travelled across the
border into other States. and the california girl
has found herself welI-known and acknowl-
edged success in her chosen work. And the
ransom you must pay for a queen--even a queen
bee-as not small.
But this is by no means the end OF the story
for this ambitious young woman. besides being
bee queen. is resolved to become also a B. A
The money which she so cleverly~ made during the
vacation this year is put aside to help her in
obtaining the college education upon which she is
determined So at the University of California
just now Greek roots and old English absorb
ing her attention.
But to come back to the bees June is the
moBth when you should visit Sespe. Then all
the sweetest flowers are in bloom the noun
tains and the tiny hewers of and drawers
of honey positively delirious with work which
is also theft JOY. The aerial routes of travel
through the apiary thick with traf1ckers
and fairly huns with Industry Now is
the time when, II you are fortunate enough to
know Miss Mcintyre, you will deIIght in spending
a day with her amid these marvellous and fas-
cinating mites of creation. II you are girl a
short dress, heavy leggins and gloves to protect
you from any wrathful bees whom you may
disturb a broad hat and sort of helmet of
black and white netting to shelf the face COM
pietes your costume. Thus arrayvd you may pass
lations Of your deft- fingered guide. She will
show you how combs are extracted from the
jealous guardians of the hives. how honey is
drawn from the combs. hcw .swarming' is man
aged, and explain the disciplinary methods OF
~
listening TO her account of her own work in rear
ing queen bees
sBees have racial. .peculiaritie, and personalities
Just as people do the bee queen will tell you;
.the habit Of regarding them living au-
donations is false Some colonies are Industrious
and Will bring large returns their owners,
while others indolent and scrape through life
with as little labor possible; some are always
intelligent and irascible+ and give the beenae
world Of trouble. while others much more
blish friendly relations withstheir
owners Some. too. stronger than Others.
Now, since the queen beeslarge1y- determines the
character OF the coming generations of workers 1t
is essential to who possesses in the
highest possible degree all the desirable qualities
So this is where my work comes in You see. i
strive produce queens that snail come of the
strongest, mildest and most industrious races"
There seven processes to be gone through
with bringing forth one perfect queen bee. each
step requiring a great deal of patience dexterity
and care. First. you must understand that a
queen is produced from just the egg that
under different care. would have brought forth
a worker In the tiny cells that make the
cradles of the coming generation OF bees lie the
eggs which the old queen has carefully tucked