Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-10-25

cry was not confined TO q single spot
John d. Lee was tried and found
guilty of participation in this massa-
ere, and on Tuesday, October 10th,
1876, at Beaver, Utah, Judge Borman
passed sentence upon him. The pris-
oner had the right, under the laws of
the territory, to cboosehis death by
hanging, shooting or beheading, and
having chosen to bcshot, was sentenced
to be shot to deathJanuary 26, 1877.
SWEETS BY THE CARLOAD.
TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS OF
r.l CALIFORNIA HONEY.
[From the Now York Sun, Oct ll1
Mr.. ], S. HARRISON, of San Diego
county, California, arrived in this city
yesterday with ten carloads of honey,
each car containing 10000 pounds.
This vast aggregation of bee labor was
taken from Mr. Harbson's six apiarics
on the sides Of the coast range of noun
talns, as near to the Mexican line as
they can well be and claim the protec-
tion of the Stars and Stripes. Twenty
five years ago Mr.. HARRISON made
stir in the bee world by selling at one
time two thousand pounds Of honey,
the product of his apiary, near New
Castle, Pa. So much honey had never
before been raised by single producer,
and the sale led hundreds Of staid
farmers to embark in what looked like
a most profitable field of industry. The
result was not hattering. Short seasons
and limited bee pasturage forbade profit
able bee culture Old-fashioned hives
were then the only kind known. The
modern means of robbing bees without
killing them had not then been thought
Of. Having invented a hive that en-
abled the culturist TO obtain successive
crops of honey from the same colony
of bees, Mr.. HARRISON began to look
for region that would supply the
food for the bees. He searched for
this in the equable climate of the Pa
cihc coast, and found it in narrow
strip of country in the extreme south
western corner of the United States,
now known as the bee belt of California.
Bheep-raising was the only industry Of
the natives found by Mr.. HARRISON
when he first visited the country. The
country inland was thought good
orsheep-pasturing but no one dreamed
that the soil could be made to produce
grain in paying quantities. Timber
was confined to the bottom of running
streams and to the canons, the valleys
and hill.sides being covered with
growth of white sage, sumac, and 9TH
er Towering shrubs, which bloom there
nine molths of the year.
Mr. Harbison's first apiary was
started on a mountain-side twenty
miles east tofSan Diego. He embarked
for the West with seventy-fve hives
of bees, but these were reduced to six
ty.two by casualties. From them he
now has six apiaries, and total of
5000 hives. He employs fifteen men
constantly, and is reaping rich profits
from many thousands Of acres that
must otherwise have been barren
waste. He soon had many imitators,
and now not less than three hundred
persons are taking honey along the
"Bee Belt"
The California bee season, Mr.. Harbi-
son says, begins by February LIST. In
March or April the bees swarm, and
the bee culrurist has lively times in
saving the swarms. The science has
become so systematized now that the
apiculturist knows within day or two
when a given hive may be expected to
swarm, and az the young bees always
settle somewhere near the parent hive
at least once before selecting their new
quarters, a swarm is seldom lost. This
flowers are at the height of their luxuri-
ance in May and June, and the taking
of honey is begun usually about May
20th, and the bees are kept at work as
long as the flowers last. They cease
to bloom iu sufficient quantity TO moro
than subsist the bees in tho early part
of August; but the little workers are
able to find enough TO live on without
consuming their stores as late as Octo-
Der. 1t will thus be seen that the
harvesttime is never longer than three
months, and is often much less. After
October begins, although the air is still
mild and Spring-like, the bees cease to
work, and retire into scmi-dormant
condition. Once every eight or ten
days colony will turn out at midday
and fy around for an hour or two in
the sunshine, but they never fly far
from the hive, and are never seen at
work.
: The food Of the bees in the bee belt
is generally the flower Of the white
sage, plant that closely resembles
the garden sage. This is not TO be
coniounded with the sage brush Of
Nevada and Utah, which is Of tho
wormword species, and has the family
bitterness. Next to the sage in impor-
tancc as beo food is the sumac, shrub
that grows in California without poi
sonous Towering plant in the bee range,
and the honey has none OF the colicky
qualities that make Eastern.grown
money OnJccuOnauio' iho honol IN
graded by tho culturist according to
the plant from which it is derived. That
made from sage flowers, being clearcst
and most aromatic, is most valuable.
Mr.. HARRISON saysthat notwithstand-
ing the great crop that he has brought
to this market, he will probably not
realize moro than $1,000 after deduct
ing expenses and interest on capital.
He had TO dig his bcc ranch ont Of the
wilderness. The roads thereto over
rocky mountain-sidcs and deep canons,
were built at heavy cost Tho contin-
uous labor of fifteen men is needed In
the care of propagation and harvesting.
The hives, boxes for shipment, and
household supplies have all to bc trans
ported from San Diego, forty miles
from his most remote npiary. ltcosts
about four cents, gold, TO freight
pound of honey by water to San Fran
cisco and by rail to New York. Taking
into consideration tho commissions and
currency values realized here, thcro 70
no great margin left for profit