THE BEE-PASTUKES 367 



the warm, moist dells in a very storm of exuber 

 ance. Wild buckwheat of many species is devel 

 oped in abundance over the dry, sandy valleys and 

 lower slopes of the mountains, toward the end of 

 summer, and is, at this time, the main dependence 

 of the bees, reinforced here and there by orange 

 groves, alfalfa fields, and small home gardens. 



The main honey months, in ordinary seasons, 

 are April, May, June, July, and August ; while the 

 other months are usually flowery enough to yield 

 sufficient for the bees. 



According to Mr. J. T. Gordon, President of the 

 Los Angeles County Bee-keepers' Association, the 

 first bees introduced into the county were a single 

 hive, which cost $150 in San Francisco, and arrived 

 in September, 1854. 1 In April, of the following 

 year, this hive sent out two swarms, which were 

 sold for $100 each. From this small beginning 

 the bees gradually multiplied to about 3000 swarms 

 in the year 1873. In 1876 it was estimated that 

 there were between 15,000 and 20,000 hives in the 

 county, producing an annual yield of about 100 

 pounds to the hive in some exceptional cases, a 

 much greater yield. 



In San Diego County, at the beginning of the 

 season of 1878, there were about 24,000 hives, and 

 the shipments from the one port of San Diego for 

 the same year, from July 17 to November 10, were 

 1071 barrels, 15,544 cases, and nearly 90 tons. The 



1 Fifteen hives of Italian bees were introduced into Los Angeles 

 County in 1855, and in 1876 they had increased to 500. The marked 

 superiority claimed for them over the common species is now at 

 tracting considerable attention. 



