California Honey Crop. 



Knowing that our readers not only 

 in the West but also in the East, will 

 be interested to get facts, relative to the 

 California honey crop, we give place to 

 the following extract from a letter from 

 Mr. J. S. Harbison, the bee-king of 

 California, who has ah'eady sent 

 several car-loads of honey to New 

 York : 



" I am now satisfied that the product 

 of this county (San Diego) will be in 

 the vicinity of 15,000 cases of comb, 

 and extracted enough to run the ag- 

 gregate up to 1,000,000 lbs. If reports 

 from the four counties outside are to 

 be relied on, the yield will fall materi- 

 ally below that of 1876, say one-third. — 

 The above is the nearest approach to 

 quantity this year that can be arrived 

 at until the crop is forwarded for 

 market. I cannot give any estimate 

 of the amount required for this coast. 

 There will be heavy shipments of ex- 

 tracted honey by grain ships to Europe. 

 The volume of the white sage honey 

 has not yet begun to arrive from 

 apiaries. 



The extracted honey is nearly all 

 being put up in pine barrels, weighing 

 about 300 lbs. gross weight; 6 cents 

 for good to prime, in bbls. as above, is 

 now the price with merchants here ; I 

 look for lower rates soon." 



Relative to improvements in packing 

 honey, the San Diego Union remarks as 

 follows : 



" Letters received here last winter 

 from Thomas G. Newman, editor of the 

 American Bee Journal, and from 

 Thurber & Co., of New York, advised 

 our Bee-keepers' Association to pack 

 their honey in " small, neat, attractive 

 eases," in order to compete with those 

 used in the East, and recommend the 

 use of the " Prize Box." The Presi- 

 dent of the Association was requested 

 to correspond further on the subject, 

 and in doing so, had sent to him by 

 mail a sample "■ Prize Box." This was 

 found to be unsuited to our require- 

 ments, as it needed glass, and the cost 

 and risk of breakage would be too 

 great. Setting his wits to work, the 

 President, Mr. Chas. J. Fox, invented 

 a sliding lid, placed in each side of the 

 box, the use of which enabled the 

 dealer to exhibit the honey without 

 taking off the lids of the boxes, even 

 when they are piled i;p several tiers 

 high. We saw a sample box to be 

 sent by mail to Chicago, to show the 



dealers there in what a neat and at- 

 tractive shape our producers can put 

 up their honey. They have before 

 acknowledged that our honey could not 

 be beaten for quality ; and now they 

 will find we are not going to be behind 

 the times in putting it up for sale. 



Mr. Fox, who seems to be quite an 

 enthusiast in the business, has corres- 

 ponded a good deal all over the world, 

 and made several suggestions and im- 

 provements of considerable value to 

 our bee-keepers." 



It^" Our brethren of the press are con- 

 stantly placing us under renewed obliga- 

 tions, for the very kind but unsolicited 

 notices they are giving tlie American Bee 

 Journal. Though they are fully appre- 

 ciated, we could not copy them all. The 

 following, from the American Grocer, of 

 New York, is but a sample of the many.— 

 As heretofore, we shall endeavor to further 

 all the interests of the honey-producers of 

 America, and make the Bee Journal so 

 interesting and valuable to them, that no 

 one who is interested in Bees or Honey will 

 willingly do without it. If this course 

 shall bring us the approbation of good men, 

 as well as the praises of the Press of this 

 Continent, we shall be amply paid. Here 

 is the notice of the Orocer : 



"American Bee Journal. — We recog- 

 nize the fact that this journal is pre- 

 eminently above all its competitors, that it 

 is full of fire, enterprise and vim ; that it 

 discusses the various questions pertaining 

 to bee-culture with spirit and energetic 

 thought ; that it is an honor to its Editor 

 and to the interest which sustains it. It 

 has no individual axe to grind, but it is the 

 fearless champion of all that is useful and 

 good ; steadfast, unwavering, honest ; 

 never vacillating or swerving, but true as 

 the needle to the pole to the interest of bee- 

 keepers. It should be taken and supported 

 by every one interested in bees or iioney. — 

 As an advertisintr medium, for reaching an 

 enterprising, thrifty class of farmers, such 

 as bee-keepers always are, it certainly has 

 no equal." 



Cook's Manual of the Apiary. 



The following is what the Press has said 

 about the above book this month: 



" Treating the art in all its different branches in a 

 clear, concise and interesting manner, showing the 

 author's thomngh knowledge of the subject on which 

 he writes."— T7ie Cdnddlan Entomnlnqist. 



" This volnme must rank with Henderson's manu- 

 als, and share with thera the praise of being an 

 indispensalile adjunct to every specialist's library, 

 and to every beginner and person interested in bees. 

 It Is a scientific book, a practical book, a book of 

 ' how to do ' and ' why to do,' tersely written, yet 

 fully expressed ; a book for the people ; a book to 

 the credit of American literature. The printing is 

 well done, the illustrations are of fine order, the 

 binding is attractive."— Scieuti^c Farmer, Boston. 



