278 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



the Governor and would represent the 

 several sections of the State. If such a 

 Bill was passed, it would have the efifect 

 of reducing the amount of money appro- 

 priated to the other societies, unless a 

 heavy drain was to be made on the 

 State funds. 



While the majority of the members of 

 the Association were sure that the bee- 

 men would not get anything, I was 

 more sanguine ; 1 thought that there 

 must be some way of helping the bee- 

 keepers, even before the next session of 

 the legislature, so I entered into corres- 

 pondence with some of the State officers, 

 and at last it appears that my labors 

 are to be crowned with sweet success. 



In reply to a communication I sent 

 to the State Board of Agriculture, in 

 which I inquired if ,that body could not 

 see its way clear to print the proceed- 

 ings and other documents of the State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association, I received a 

 letter from the Secretary, dated Dec. 

 23, 1893, an extract of which is here 

 given : 



We are always pleased to have the vari- 

 ous agricultural industries fully represented 

 in our Annual Report. We have been 

 greatly handicapped by the present Board 

 of Examiners as they have cut us down to 

 one-third of the usual space amount. 



Under the law we are compelled to print 

 the reports of the 41 districts, which, in it- 

 self, is quite a volume, and necessitates the 

 utmost care to get the amount of matter in 

 the limit required by the State Board of 

 Examiners. 



We will, however, do the best possible, 

 and at this time I think we can grant you 

 30 pages ; but as to the other printing I 

 cannot now say what the Board of Exam- 

 iners will do. You might send me an 

 estimate of the amount you will need dur- 

 ing the year, and I will endeavor to have it 

 passed upon by them. 



I fully appreciate the importance of the 

 great industry you represent, and, as I said 

 before, the State Agricultural Society is 

 only too happy to aid it in the way indica- 

 ted. 



Our endeavors are to encourage all 

 branches of Agriculture, and we recognize 

 this as a most important one. 



This shows that the State Agricultural 

 Society, which is under State control, 

 recognizes apiculture as an important 

 branch of Agriculture; this being so, 

 there is now little doubt but the bee- 

 keepers will receive that recognition 

 which California should have long ago 

 given them. If it were not for the way 

 the agricultural societies of California 

 have been run in the interests of horse- 

 racing, and, incidentally, for gambling, it 

 is probable the State Board of Examiners 

 (or Auditors, as they might be called) 



would be more liberal in allowing bills 

 for the society. As I understand it, 

 this State is divided into Agricultural 

 Districts, each of which has its Agricul- 

 tural Society and its officers. These 

 several societies receive support from 

 the State. In many of them, if not in 

 all, the main center of attraction is the 

 horse-races ; seldom is much done for 

 the other branches of Agriculture, 

 though, in some cases, it must be admit- 

 ted, the premiums for other branches 

 are pretty liberal. 



Casually opening the Report of the 

 Society for 1888, the first thing I meet 

 is the " Transactions of the 18th District 

 Agricultural Association " composed of 

 the counties of Inyo, Mono and Alpine. 

 These are out-of-the-way counties of 

 California ; they are mountainous and 

 sparsely inhabited, withal, they are. in 

 many respects, rich counties. Nine 

 pages are devoted to the report of this 

 District, three of which are covered by 

 the speed program and the animal show, 

 and the premiums awarded them. Just 

 two pages are devoted to other uses ; 

 one page being virtually blank, though 

 there is enough color of type on it to 

 have the printer measure it up as a full 

 page. This District has been more lib- 

 eral to the bee-keeper, than, perhaps, 

 any other District. Wm. Muth-Rasmus- 

 sen, the well known apiarist of Indepen- 

 dence, Inyo county, carried off two 

 premiums, the only ones awarded. For 

 honey he received $5, and for an apiari- 

 an display he was allowed $10. 



The 19th District is composed of the 

 county of Santa Barbara, one of the 

 honey counties of the state. The report 

 of this District covers 16 pages, one- 

 half of which is devoted to horses and 

 other live-stock ; the bee-business gets 

 the immense space of one line, for it is 

 stated that J. B. Thurman was awarded 

 $2 for honey ! 



The report just noticed contains 870 

 pages, and in form and mechanical 

 make-up and excellence of paper and 

 press-work is identical with the reports 

 of the National Department of Agricul- 

 ture. Aside from the U. S. printing 

 office at Washington, California is said 

 to have the largest and best equipped 

 government printing office in the world. 

 Most of its plant was put in to print the 

 series of public school-books which the 

 State provides at cost prices to all chil- 

 .dren below the high-school grade. 



The report of 1889 is a book of 1086 

 pages ; in it we find that some of the 

 Districts that were not representerd in 

 the bee-line in the previous report, have 

 a belter showing. The 16th District is 



