Connecticut western news., 1888-02-01
A Thief Among the Bees.

A Thief Among the Bees.
 The Holden brothers, Roswell and Frank, went to California from New England town, in 1881, for the benefit of Roswelrs health, upon medical ad- vice; and subs equently they found themselves engaged in the business of bee-keeping near Los .Angeles-for cir cumstances, accident rather than de- slgn, first led them into it.
 The children had inherited a consti- tutional tendency to pulmonary dis eases, which had already begun to de- velop itself in Roswell Indeed, he had become SO far an invalid that his friends deemed it unsafe for him to set of 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 for 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-herse!f formerly an invalid-had been employing her leisure in apiculture, but now was about re- turning to her home in New York.
 With these thirteen hives the young Holdens entered upon the honey pro- ducing business early 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- ited district, and lived for time near Mojave.
 Thence, however, early the following spring, they again moved to a tract of unoccupied country farther back among the mountains, in kind of long detile, or crooked valley, inclosed by wooded range on either haud, but which, from the great abundance of wild flowers affords good pasture for bees. Here they are at present dwelling, and it IS from number of lett,rtfrom thom to their friends at home that the present sketch is compiled t.
 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 the year, the swarms are thus pro- vided with food.
 The hives are arranged so that drawers, or boxes, when filled with honey by the bees, can be withdrawn, and empty ones substituted in their places.
 Swarms of bees vary in size and in in- dustry as honey-gatherers. Some swarms produce in year not more than twenty pounds that can prudently 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 Holdens have now between two and three hundred hives, having made it rule so far to keep all the new swarms which come 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-colonies which they have established in different parts of the val ley, generally within mile of eact other. For it will not do to have al these two hundred swarms, or more, collected near ono spot, on account o 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 fifteer hives, and these are often shifted iron place to place as the season passes.
 For moving ub-colony to fresh pa
 .urage. the boys have platform SC
 upon four wheels, and drawn by tw' steady mules. Then, after the bee
 have entered the hive at night, they ar' closed ID, and the hives are transferre, to the platform Very carefully then and sloxlxy;ae as not to jar the hives to- ' nueh, sststieaset tho colon,