348 THE MOUNTAINS OF CALIFOKNIA 



dinary abundance of honey-bloom, and the high 

 price of honey during the early years. A few hives 

 are found here and there among settlers who 

 chanced to have learned something about the busi 

 ness before coining to the State. But sheep, cattle, 

 grain, and fruit raising are the chief industries, as 

 they require less skill and care, while the profits 

 thus far have been greater. In 1856 honey sold here 

 at from one and a half to two dollars per pound. 

 Twelve years later the price had fallen to twelve 

 and a half cents. In 1868 I sat down to dinner 

 with a band of ravenous sheep-shearers at a ranch 

 on the San Joaquin, where fifteen or twenty hives 

 were kept, and our host advised us not to spare the 

 large pan of honey he had placed on the table, as 

 it was the cheapest article he had to offer. In all 

 my walks, however, I have never come upon a reg 

 ular bee-ranch in the Central Valley like those so 

 common and so skilfully managed in the southern 

 counties of the State. The few pounds of honey 

 and wax produced are consumed at home, and are 

 scarcely taken into account among the coarser 

 products of the farm. The swarms that escape from 

 their careless owners have a weary, perplexing 

 time of it in seeking suitable homes. Most of 

 them make their way to the foot-hills of the moun 

 tains, or to the trees that line the banks of the 

 rivers, where some hollow log or trunk may be 

 found. A friend of mine, while out hunting on 

 the San Joaquin, came upon an old coon trap, 

 hidden among some tall grass, near the edge of the 

 river, upon which he sat down to rest. Shortly 

 afterward his attention was attracted to a crowd 



