The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-10-29
BUSY ARIZONA BEES.
Large Store ST Sweets Laid Up ii
Hidden Places.
Tons Of the Treasure Taken from rhe
Flowers OF the Southwestern
Desert - Grent Sport for
Honey Hunters.

The greatest crop Of honey ever
known in Arizona is that oi the pres
ent year. The average product OF the
territory is somewhat III c;,cess OF
100000 pounds. Ti.is year it will be
far in excess Of that ";ncunt-proo-
ably double. The grea;,r part OF
this honey will find market i'll Chi
cago, reports the Chronicle.
Sfr&mg. a. il may see:l, the mes
quite ard cactus, which flourish with
out water, provide the bees with
honer far Superior t. that from cu!-
tivated plants, and the blossom and
fruit OF the cactus are even beti"r
than the mesquite blossom. Ihe
NEST handsome Of desert flowers
grow On the hundreds OF varieties Of
cactus. cne o: :hc mos beautiful! is
that CT the CcreuS GigaHa"uS. the or
gan cactus. generally known by its
s;:&:.:si, aprc. .at!Uil of the .,&%uara,
Arizoua'a Lest typical plant, that
towers III ::r:.a:, green, Huted shafts,
th= NOS. CONSPICUOUS and oldest sub
j,"i OK Ill the pia.ns. In tIc late
sprlngtime each sagua!a Is crowned
by mass of brilliant, S:!ken white
flowers, sometimes over 100 III
bunch. Each blossom is about four
inches across. Nearly all develop to
fruit, the 'petahaya," the most
palata Die or the wild products, and in
the blossom and the frui5 the wild
bees ard the tanned ones t;rd the es-
sence o. honey. The pric<ly pear, the
night-bloorlirg cereus, the cho!!a, the
doubly barbed terror Of the desert,
the ocatil.a and many others give
honey to the bees, while the wild
roses of the rocks and the thousands
of smaller flowers aid III furnishing
the most de!icately favored honey
known to the apiaries.
In the Salt River valley bees work
for longer period than i'll any other
locality, Z crop Of 200 pounds of
honey to each hive being not unusual,
while an average of 100 pounds for
the season is maintained. From
Phoenix and Tempe alone are shipped
about 100000 pounds of honey each
year, nearly all of it being separated
or strained.
The wild bees Of the desert and
mountains provide an interesting
study and honey-hunting is most
unique sport, which is not without its
dangers, but with recompense sufi-
cient!y delightful to repay one for its
difficulties. In the cavities of the
highest rocks the bees gather in
great swarrns and store their supply
of food. With remarkable sasacity
they choose the most inaccessible.
spots and frequently find places
which battle all ingenuity Of even the
Indian, the most persistent seeker OF
honey. Frequently great boards OF
honey are found in caves and down
the sides of steep cliffs, where thou
sands OF bees have stored their
products for perhaps scores Of years,
and sometimes as much as thou
sand pounds of honey are taken from
such places. The Indian bee hunter
many times risks his life to obtain
the nectar of the wild bees, and
swings himself at the end of frail
rope, far down the sides of a steep
precipice. Neither is his danger end
ed there, for if not we'll protected
from the onslaught Of the bees, some
times IN dense swarms of thousands,
he is likely to become victim Of the
angry defenders Indeed, not long
since Papago young man was stung
so badly while robbing wild hive
that he died soon after his comrades
had pulled him up to the top of the
cliff.
On the desert, too, the bees make
their homes, sometimes swarming in
the she'll of the decaycd cactus and
often in caves along arroyos and the
beds of the large streams. Very often
they swarm close to the agricultural
districts and it is a frequent and very
easy thing for the ranchers to gather
them into hives and hold them. One
rancher a few miles southeast of
Phoenix has on his property small
isolated butte, near the top of which
is small cave. From this piece of
rock the owner has gathered honey
enough to pay for his ranch. Several
years ago great swarm of bees set
tied in the cave and the owner has
gradually tanned them, and each year
gathers from 1000 to 1000 pounds of
honey from them.