HONEY. 193 



The manner of placing the honey in the cell is as 

 follows : The loaded bee enters the cell head foremost, 

 it then commences to regurgitate, and as the honey 

 passes from the proboscis, it is kept in motion, brush- 

 ing it first on the bottom of the cell, then advancing 

 it regularly on all sides so that the air is expelled, 

 and the honey is kept concave and in its place, by 

 the pressure of the atmosphere. In this manner the 

 bees will fill the underside of a comb when the mouftis 

 of the cells are placed downwards, without the honey 

 running out. 



This very interesting operation may be witnessed 

 through glass, when the bees join their comb to it and 

 make it serve as a portion of the wall of a cell. 



In California the quantity of honey gathered by a 

 single hive in a year, is greater, and the quality 

 better than is usually found in any other country. 

 Owing to the peculiarly dry climate the honey is more 

 dense, weighing nearly one pound more per gallon 

 than that usually made in the Atlantic States ; in con- 

 sequence of which it will keep good for years, and 

 can be transported to the Atlantic cities and to 

 Europe in prime order, and at a profit to the pro- 

 ducer. And the time is not distant when, if the bus- 

 iness of bee-raising receives the attention it deserves, 

 the export of honey and bees-wax will be no inconsid- 

 erable item of revenue to the apiarists of the Pacific 

 coast. The mountain honey will probably take the 

 lead, both for beauty and excellence of flavor. 



Honey gathered on the plains and in the. valleys 



