The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-01-26
A Thief Among the Bees,

Ihc H0lucn DrOtnerS, toSWeu anu
Frank, went to California from q New
England town, in 1881, for the benefit
Of Roswelrs health, upon medical ad-
vice; and subs equcntly they found
themselves engaged in the business of
bce-kceping near Los Angclcs-for cir
cumstances, accident rather than de-
sign, first led them into it.
The children hal inherited o consti-
tutional tendency to pulmonary dis
eases, which had already begun to de-
vclop itself in Roswell. Indeed, he had
become so far an invalid that his friends
deemed it unsafe for him to set off on
so long journey alone. After many
family deliberations, it was arranged
that Frank, and Ellen, their sister,
should accompany him, and remain one
winter, if not longer, in the west.
As their means were limited, Frank
and Ellen began, soon after arriving in
California, to look about Tor some way
to earn living. Roswell, too, as his
health improved, wished for something
to do; and at length they were, by
chance, led to buy thirteen hives of
bees of lady who-hcrsclf formerly an
invalid-had been employing her leisure
in agriculture, but now was about re-
turning to her home in New York.
With these thirteen hives the young
Holdcns entered upon the honey pro-
ducing business carly in 1882. For a
year they resided in the vicinity of Los
Angeles, but finding that the bees, as
the number of swarms increased, were
unpopular among their neighbors, they
were led to move from so thickly inhab-
tied district, and lived for time near
Mojave.
Thence, however, early tho following
spring, they again moved to a tract of
unoccupicd country farther back among
the mountains, in kind of long deiile,
or crooked valley, inclosed by wooded
range on either hand, but which. from
tho great abundance of wild flowers,
affords good pasture for bees. Here
they arc at present dwelling, and it Is
from a number of letters from them to
their friends at home that the present
sketch is compiled.
The weather there is so favorable and
the climate so mild that bees require but
little feeding with artificial sweets,
though, of course, more honey can be
produced for market if, at certain times
of tho year, the swarms arc thus pro-
vided with food.
The hives are arranged so that
drawers, or boxes, when filled with
honey by the bees, can bo withdrawn,
and empty ones substituted in their
places.
Swarms of bees vary in size and in in.
dustry as honcy-gathcrcrs. Some swarms
produce in year not more than twenty
pounds that can prudcntly be with
drawn from them; some, indeed, from
certain causes, will not even gather
enough honey for their own support.
Other swarms produce forty or fifty
pounds, and still others much more.
| The Holdcns havo now between two
and three hundred hives, having made
it a rule so far to keep all the new
swarms which como out, though few
have escaped. The care of this nu-
merous colony occupies all their time
and attention, and they hire two Indian
girls to assist them to watch the nu-
merous sub b-colonies which they have
established in different parts of the val
ley, generally within mile of each
other. For it will not do to have all
these two hundred swarms, or more,
collected near one spot, on account OF
the pasture supply of flowers being over
fed, and the bees having to go too far.
The whole number of swarms is di-
vided up into groups of ten or fifteen
hives, and these are often shifted from
place to place rs the season passes.
For moving sub-colony to fresh pas
turagc, the boys have aplatfoIm set
upon four wheels, and drawn by two
steady mules Then, after the bees
have entered the hive at night, they arc
closed in, and the hives are transferred
to the platform. Very carefully then,
and slowly, so as not to jar the hives too
] much, the transportation of the colony