434 



of California know anything of bees or 

 honey until after the discovery of gold and 

 the influx of " Americans," as people coming 

 from our Eastern States were generally 

 called. 



The following letter gives the most re- 

 liable information I can obtain in regard to 

 the lirst importation of bees. It is quoted 

 from Harbison's "Bee-keepers' Directory; 

 or, the Tiieory and Practice of Bee-culture," 

 published in 1861. Mr. Harbison has been 

 and is the most extensive apiarist on the 

 Pacific coast ; the inventor of a hive and 

 section box for comb honey very generally 

 in use here ; has been constantly in the 

 business for over thii'ty years and is gener- 

 ally known among bee-men throughout the 

 United States. 



A large part of this article is from his 

 book or his personal experience since its 

 publication. The letter is as follows : 



San Jose, Jan. lltli, 1860. 



"The first bees introduced into California 

 was in March, 1853. Mr. Slielton purchased 

 a lot, consisting of 12 colonies ot some 

 person, to me unknown, at Aspinwall. The 

 party who left New York became disgusted 

 with the experiment and returned. All of 

 the hives contained bees when landed in 

 San Francisco, but finally dwindled down 

 to one. They were brought to San Jose and 

 threw off 3 swarms the first season. Mr. 

 Sheltop. was killed soon after his arrival, by 

 the explosion of the ill-fated steamer Jenny 

 Lind. 



" In December 2 of the colonies were sold 

 at auction to settle up lii>^ estate, and were 

 bonuht by Major James W. Patrick, at $105 

 and SI 10 respectfully. 



" Mr. Wm. Buck imported the second lot 

 in November, 1855. He left New York with 

 36 colonies and saved 18. I purchnsed 

 a lialf interest in them. I aHo, in the fall of 

 1854, boufrht 1 colony of Major Patrick, 

 from which 1 had an increase of 2. Mr. 

 Buck returm^d to the East, immediately and 

 returned in Febrnary, 18.56, with 42 colonies 

 of which he saved but 7. Our increase in 

 18.56 from the 28 colonies was 73 ; we also 

 had about 400 lbs. of honey in boxes, which 

 we sold at from .'51. .50 to .'$2.00 per pound. 



"Mr. Wm. Briggs of San Jose brought 

 out ill the spring of 18.56. 1 colony from 

 which he had an increase of 7 or 8 colonies 

 the following summer. 



" The aliove wei'e the only importations I 

 know of prior to the spring of 18.57. There 

 are in this county about 1,000 colonies." 

 F. G. Appi-eton. 



In November, 1857, J. S. Harbison started 

 from Lawrence Co..Penn., for California, 

 with 67 colonies of black bees. After a 

 journey of 5.900 miles in 27 days, during 

 which time the bees were allowed to fly out 

 once, at Aspinwall, they arrived at Sacra- 

 mento, California, reduced in number to 62 

 but as some of these were weak, they were 

 united witii others, reducing the nurnber to 

 50. Some of these were sold, and the 

 remainder, 34 in number, increased the fol- 

 lowing spring to 120 and were all sold but 6. 

 The price realized was .15100 pcv colony. 



In Decemlier, 18.58. Mr. Harbison started 

 again from New York with 114 colonies, 68 

 from Centralia, HI., and 46 from Lawrence 

 Co., Peun., and arrived iu California Jan. 1, 



1859, with 103 colonies living, but owing to 

 the season and unfavorable weather these 

 became reduced to 62. From these and the 

 fi previously remaining, during the spring of 

 1859, the number was increased to 422 by 

 "dividing.!' 



Of these, Mr. Edwin Sherman took to 

 Los Angeles county, in December, 18.59, 24 

 colonies, which were sold and distributed in 

 that and the adjoining counties, and their 

 progeny furnished most of the wild bees 

 ot Southern California, as well as the basis 

 of the recent increase in some localities. 



In the fall of 1859 also, Mr. J. Gridley 

 brought 4 colonies across the plains iu a 

 spring wagon, allowing them to fly out 

 occasionally in the aifteriioon, and they 

 arrived at Sacremento in good condition. 



The success of these ventures induced 

 other parties to import bees in large num- 

 bers, as many as 6,000 or 7,000 colonies being 

 brought from New York to California in 

 18.59 and 1860, but unfortunately "foul 

 brood" was introduced with some of them 

 and rapidly spread till the total destruction 

 of bee-keeping was threatened and many 

 persons lostheavily, the price rapidly declin- 

 ing from $100 per colony, till there was no 

 sale. 



Most of the apiarists had been located in 

 the Sacramento and other large valleys, and 

 the great floods of 1831-2, which destroyed 

 so much property, swept away many api- 

 aries ; only a few, located in the mountains, 

 escaped. 



For several years bee-keeping was in very 

 little favor, but little honey was put on the 

 market and but few cared to keep bees for 

 a business. In the southern counties that 

 have since proved to be the best locality for 

 bee-keeping in California, and taking into 

 consideration all conditions of climate and 

 flora productions, perhaps tlie best in the 

 wo'rid. it had not then become a business ; 

 the few colonies that were kept on the 

 ranches receiving very little atfention. I 

 have in my possession 2 of the original colo- 

 nies brought down by Sherman, and sold to 

 Col. C. J. Couts of San IJiego county, and 

 knpt on his place until I ac(iuired them in 

 187.5. They still contained bees, hut no 

 attention had been paid to them, the swarms 

 sometimes l)eing hived, but allowed to run 

 away and fill the trees of the mountains a 

 few miles distant. 



In 1860. Mr. A. J. Bigelowof Sacramento, 

 left New York with 113 colonies with Italian 

 queens raised by Mr. S. B. Parsons, of 

 Flushing, L. I., and reached California with 

 HI in good condition. These were the first 

 Italians brought to the State. In 1875 Mr. 

 J. S. Harbison imported 20 carefully selected 

 Italian queens, and from these two importa- 

 tions have been bred most of the hybrid 

 bees now generally kept here. 



After several years depression in the bee 

 business, Mr. Harbison who had bred up a 

 stock from the few that escaped foul brood 

 and the inundation, heard that 3 colonies 

 brought into San D'ego county from Los 

 Angeles, had done remarkably well, and 

 determined to try establishing an apiary 

 there. He and his partner, Mr. R. G. Clark, 

 arrived in San Die,2o in November, 1869, 

 with 110 colonies. The success of these 

 both in increasing and iu gathering honey 



