THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



207 



and that he will carry out as near as pos- 

 sible whatever he promises. 



In my article on patre 181, 4th line from 

 the to)), for " far better than the crude 

 honey," insert " at least as good as the 

 crude honey ;" 19th line from botttmi, same 

 page, for "recurring" read "sewuring," 

 and in the 8th line tlie words " may have 

 been" for "might be," which will much 

 better convey the meaning intended. 



M. M. Baldridge. 



St. Charles, Illinois. 



For the American Bee Journal. 

 Bees in Southern California. 



A correspondent in San Diego 

 county, California, says in the July issue 

 of The American Bee Journal, that 

 bees in Harbison hives can be bought in 

 Los Angeles county for $3.50 per colony ; 

 and, that the honey of said county is not 

 salable " since San Diego honey came 

 into market." 



I spent the month of April last in 

 Los Angeles county, visiting the " bee 

 ranches," and collecting facts respecting 

 bee-culture in Southern California, and 

 can safely say that your correspondent is 

 mistaken in both of the above statements. 



During my visit, I found no bees for 

 sale in Los Angeles county, in any kind 

 of hive, or box, for $2.50 per cotony. A 

 few stocks of black bees, in box-hives, 

 could be picked up now and then for $4 

 or $5 in gold, per colony. In fact, there 

 were not manj^ bees for sale at any price, 

 as the swarming season and the honey 

 harvest were near at hand. I found one 

 man in an almost inaccessible canon, in 

 great need of money, and he would sell 

 for cash his apiary of 50 stocks for $3.50 

 each. These were black and hybrid bees, 

 in the cheapest kind of box-hive. As he 

 lived about 20 miles from "no where," it 

 would cost about 50 cents more per colony 

 to move them to some place where a white 

 man would be willing to live. But the 

 general price for black or hj^brid bees 

 ranged from |5 to $10 per colony, de- 

 pending on the kind of hive they were in. 

 I found another man who wovild sell 

 swanns for $5 each in case the purchaser 

 would furnish empty hives. Italian bees 

 ranged from $15 to $25 i)er colony. While 

 I was there, Mr. Harbison sold 50 stocks, 

 that he called Italians, for $15 each, to a 

 resident of Los Angeles city. As the 

 purchaser had to pay the freight on them 

 by steamer from San Diego to San Pedro, 

 and thence by lighter and rail to Los 

 Angeles, besides other incidental expenses, 

 these bees must have cost him about $20 

 in gold per stock. As yet there are not 

 many pw-e Italian bees in Los Angeles 

 county. 



The hives in use in Los Angeles county 

 consist chiefly of box, Harbison, and 



Langstroth hives. Nearly all the new 

 hives are the Langstroth. As made there 

 they are more simple and less expensive 

 than the Harbison, and are more generally 

 preferred. I found only two or three par- 

 ties who were making Harbison hives, 

 and they will change to the Langstroth as 

 soon as tliey get a little more experience 

 in the management of bees.' 



The choicest honey in Los Angeles and 

 San Diego counties is gathered mainly 

 from the white sage, button sage and 

 sumac, and, of course, does not vary 

 materially in quality. In fact, all the 

 mountain honey of San Diego, Los 

 Angeles and San Bernardino counties is 

 very similar, and it is simply nonsense 

 for the bee-raisers of these three counties 

 to be continually praising the good 

 quality of the honey of their own county 

 and speaking disparagingly of the honey 

 in the adjoining counties. It indicates 

 ignorance, or a contemptible jealousy, and 

 is disgusting to the investigator who 

 knows better. 



A large per centage of the valley honey 

 of Los Angeles county is of poor quality, 

 but it is good enough for raising bees 

 simply. This honey should never be 

 sent away to market, as it will injure the 

 general reputation of the Los Angeles 

 county honey. M. M. Baldridge. 



St. Charles, 111., July 26, 1875. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Cultivation of Honey. 



The article on this subject, by Mr. M. 

 Baldridge, in Tue American Bee Jour- 

 nal, for August, cannot remain without 

 answer. The subject, in spite of Mr. Bald- 

 ridge, is far from being exhausted, for it 

 shows another side of the question, and 

 not its less interesting side at that. 



I am not, and have never been a parti, 

 zan of Mr. H. A. King; j^et I find that he 

 has acted right in pointing out the ways 

 and practices of the honey dealers. 



Mr. Baldridge says: "The parties who 

 make the handling (i. e., the adulterating) 

 of honey their specialty, know better 

 what their patrons desire than bee-keepers, 

 and there is not the least danger of their 

 "cutting their own throat" by selling a 

 mixture that will ruin their business. It 

 seems, also, that it is for their interest to 

 sell an article that will give the best pos- 

 sible satisfaction. I have often seen Per- 

 rine's honey. I know it gives better satis- 

 faction than the crude honey sold by the 

 honey raisers. His honey is milder in 

 flavor." 



Now let us suppose that Mr. Baldridge 

 sends me ten dollars to get an imported 

 queen, and that, knowing the predilection 

 of Mr. Baldridge for the yellowest queen, 

 I send him a yellow queen of my own 

 raising, instead of one of those imported, 



