Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1876-11-16
A California Beehive.


MrrJ S. HARRISON, Ct San Di-
ego county, California, arrived in
New York with ten car loads Of
honey, e:-ch car containing 10000
pounds. This vast aggregation
of bee labor was taken from Mr..
lIarbison's aparies on the sides
of the coast range of mountains
rs near to the Mexican line as
they we'll can be and yet claim
American protection. The Cali
fornia bee season, Mr.. HARRISON
says, begins by February /. In
March or April the bees swarm,
and the bee culturist has lively
times IN saving the swarms.
The science has become so sys-
tcmatized now that the apicultu-
rist knows within "a day ortwo
when a given hive may be OK
pectcd to swarm, and as the
young bees always settle some
where near the parent hive at
least once before selecting their
new quarters, a swarm IS sell
dom lost.
The flowers are at the height
of their luxuriance in May and
June, and the taking Of honey
is begun usually about May 20,
and the bees are kept at work
as long as the flowers last. They
cease to bloom in sufficient
quantity to more than subsist
the bees in the early part of
August; but the little workers
are able TO find enough to live
on without consuming THEN
stores as late as October. II
will thus be seen that the har-
vest time is never longer than
three months, and is often much
less. After October begins, al
though the air is still mild and
springlike, the bees cease to
work, and retire into semi
dormant condition. Once every
eight or ten days a colony viii
turn out at midday and fly a
round for an hour or two in the
sunshine, but they never fly fal
from the hive, and are never
seen at work. lg,-lst..
The food Of the bees i'll the
bee belt is generally the flower
of the white sage, plant that
closely resembles the garden
sage. This is not to be con
founded with the sage brush of
Nevada and Utah, which is of
the NORWOOD species, and has
the family bitterness. Next tc
the,sage in Importance as bee
food is the sumac, a shrub thai
grows in California without pois.
Onous quality. In fact, there's nc
poisonous Towering plant in tn,
beeorange, land the honey has none
of the colicky qualities that
make Eastern grown honey OBJ
iectionable. The honey is gra-
ded by the culturist according
to the plant from it is derived
That made from sage flowers
being clearest and most aromat-
ic, is most valuable.
Mr.. HARRISON says that not
withstanding the great crop
that he has brought to this mar
ket, he will probably not realize
more than $1,000 after deduct
ing expenses and interest on
capital. He had to dig his bee
ranch out of the wilderness
The roads thereto, over rocky
mountain sides anddeepcanyons
were built at heavy cost. The
continuous labor of fifteen men
is needed in the care of propa-
cation and harvesting. The
hives, boxes for shipment, and
household supplies have all to
be transported from San Diego,
forty miles from his most re-
mote apiary. 1t costs about four
cents gold, to freight a pound
of honey by water to San Fran
cisco and by rail to New York.
Taking into consideration the
commissions and currency val
ues realized here, there is no
great margin left for profit
-Ne.o York Paper