The Hawaiian gazette., 1897-03-12

wished, my brother and had TO pull /
weeds. On the last day, having finish
ed our task, l tried TO persuade my
brother TO ask permission of my father
TO go up in the mountain and find "Old
Oakum."
knowing well my fathers stern
ness, he declined Then l mustered up
the necessary courage, but when l |
cached the door of the house | be- /
came very humble, and in that con-
dition asked and received permission |
TO go 10 the mountains and find the /
man who had so often frightened us. /
Climbing over the crest, of Tantaius
and descending a hundred feet or
more, we found old Oakum" chop
ping away at fallen tree. He made
no objections TO our being there, but
cautioned us to look out for the bees.
When he had chopped sufficiently he
reached in with his hand and ex-
/ tracted the honey. He told us then
that he would sell the combs for $3.50
or $500 according to the size. One
! thing about Holeomb l could not I'M
derstand; he would handle the bees
without protection TO his hands or
! face, and was seldom stung. 0cca-
sionally he would get nip, but he
did not seem TO mind It. That was
thirty years ago, and as far as my in
formation goes, Dwight Holcomb was
the first man TO gather wild honey
for the Honolulu market"
Twenty years ago John Farnsworth
came here from Virginia City, Ne
vada A year later colony of bees
swarmed on his place. A day or two
after hiving them man came along
and claimed the bees, but settled for a
small sum, and from this colony Mr..
Farnsworth got a start from which
resulted most of the colonies in Ho-
nolulu.
After conducting the business alone
for a number of years, Mr.. Farms
; worth took in as partners U. Thomp.
son OF Kamehameha School prac-
teal apiarist. and E w. Jordan, and
nearly all of their hives are kept in
the neighborhoGd of kamehameha,
the conditions there being excellent
for the purpose. A few hives, how
ever, are kept ON the Waikiki road
in the vicinity OF the groves of Al
geroba trees, the blossoms of which
: furnish an excellent quality of honey.
In 1885 Thomas Newcastle decided
: to embark in the business, and pur-
chased stand of bees from Mr.
Farnsworth He has today about 300
: hives, 200 of which he keeps in Pawaa
and 100 hives on kinau street. During
the past few years he has found q
i fairly profitable market for his honey
in Liverpool and London. shipping
: This product through Theo. H. Davies
: & Co.
Mr.. Newcastle states that in 1896
he averaged between As and so pounds
of honey per hive, but in good years
the average will reach 60 pounds. His
colonies are located in places convent
ent TO algeroba trees, and his honey
is consequently of a beautiful white
variety Sometimes his bees go of
among the lantana, and the result is
honey of a darker shade and less
S sweet
: Mr. Newcastle considers that the
radius of the flight of bees is about
= a mile and half, and he believes thai
5 rival bee men make a mistake wher
r they put their hives at a shorter dis
lance than that from their neighbors
The bees in Honolulu produce honey
tbAlg Way July <aAN
e August, and. as the feeding ground!
f are limited the business of growing
! honey in the Hawaiian Islands is al
ready overdOne. The foreign marke
d is blockaded with duty of 8 cent!
u a pound in England and 10 cents /;
7 gallon for honey going into the Unit
II ed States. In Honolulu the market il
e limited, the sales not amounting II
$50 per month.
s The business being limited, Mr.
e Newcastle thinks the bee men of Ho
: nolulu should consolidate and pro
; tect each other, as they do in Califor
1t mia. Aside from the algeroba and ;
;. few flowers, the only honey bearin:
e blossoms in the Islands are those 0
d the Royal palm, and as the supply o
this is, TO an extent, limited, the re
suit TO the individual producers is no
large.
From another extensive dealer il
bees the following information is OBJ
A tanned:
During the past five years the car,
and culture of the honey bee has beer
q given the utmost care and attention
by experienced and capable veterans
in bee culture Blacks, Hybrids ant
II Italians have all been imported a
n great expense These are forwarded
i through the mail in small cells especi
. ally constructed for them; but as tn
time they are necessarily imprisOneC
) is long, many die before they reacl
e their destination, and as the queen
: cost upwards of IS each, the loss i
II considerable.
Regarding the honey producin:
3 plants here, every one, including tn
celebrated White Mountain sage, tina
d which has made California honey ia
* nous the world over, has been trie'
here, and so has the Eastwood tire
y from Ohio, but without success. Ha
= waiian honey has been on the marke
&c for twenty years. 1t is a fair color
u with a good taste. Recent shipment
to the English market have brough
PIP 10 1-2 cents pound. Tn
:. small area on which bees can be cult
Il waited is a great drawback TO the ex
tension OF the business. The lantana
9 too. which covers so much of GU
n waste lands, produces honey much to-
u dark for consumption
n Our bees gather the honey from
p the eucalyptus trees and the differen
L flowers which decorate so many 0
10 HonoIulu's beautiful gardens.
The center of all interest in a hiv
e is the queen She does little or nj