189] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JODRNAl.. 



775 



Mr. J. S. Harbisou, who may be truthfully called the 

 Father of Califoruia bee-culture, uiaiiitalned In his wriliugs, 

 over 3(J years ago, that the bee-ranges of northern California, 

 when developt, would be found to be something more than the 

 source"! of pasturage then known to bee-keepers of this State. 

 Of course, since then the- great honey-sage region of the south- 

 ern portion of the State was discovered, and tho that section 

 must be voted a wonderful honey-field, still there are any 

 amount of localities throughout the central and northern por- 

 tion of the State that yields honey of excellent quality, and 

 what is also of great importance, good yields are obtained every 



year. 



* 

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John Muir, the well known California scientist and trav- 

 eler, stated in an article on "California Bee-Ranches," in 

 Scribner's Magazine, 15 years ago (June and July, 1882), 

 that there were great bee-gardens in Northern California, 

 and that they were nowhere finer than about Mt. Shasta. To 

 my mind this article was the (inest from a literary standpoint 

 of anything every written about bees in this country. 



I met Mr. Thomas Wm. Cowan, editor of the British Bee 

 Journal, in Oakland, a few weeks ago. It was some months 

 previously that I saw him last. In the few minutes' chat I 

 had with him, he told me that he had spent most of the sum- 

 mer at Monterey — that quaint, old, sleepy town that was the 

 first capital of California. He was for a time at Pacific Grove, 

 a settlement adjoining Monterey, and supported mainly by 

 the annual gathering of the Chautauquans. Mr. Cowan was 

 looking well. He had not, up to that time, taken his pro- 

 posed trip among the bee-ranches of Southern California. He 

 was stopping in Oakland a couple of days, preparatory to 

 going to his son's fruit-ranch in one of the northern counties. 

 Later he intended to "do" the lower portion of the State. 



The distinguisht English visitor has not been "hiding 

 his light under a bushel " while sojourning in the Sunset land, 

 for while at Monterey he was called upon to deliver a lecture 

 before the farmers' institute. These gatherings are mostly 

 held under the auspices of the University of California. I 

 believe Mr. Cowan's subject was " Bees and Flowers." He 

 regretted that at the time of the institute he was suffering 

 from a cold, and his voice did not allow him to do the subject 

 justice. The lecture, however, was well received, and was 

 subsequently printed in the Pacific Rural Press. [We have 

 saved Mr. Cowan's lecture, and expect some day to give it in 

 these columns.— Editor.] 



I was very sorry to learn of the serious sickness of Mr. J. 

 H. Martin, at Los Angeles. I trust he will soon be well. I 

 shall never forget my rambling camping trip with Rambler 

 and Mr. U. E. Wilder, through a tier of the northern counties 

 of the State three years ago. We all enjoyed ourselves, but 

 he (Martin) had the best of me later by attributing all sorts 

 of ridiculous things to me (and Wilder, too) in his " Rambles " 

 (without number) in Gleanings. Mr. Martin is one of the best 

 men it was ever my lot to be cast with, and yet, withal, he is 

 not of the straight-laced order that some might think him to be. 



The illness of Mr. Martin reminds me that another gen- 

 tleman who has long been identified with apiarian interests 

 in that (Los Angeles) county, has been seriously sick the past 

 year, so much so at one time that it was thought that he 

 could not pull through. This was W. W. Bliss, or, as he is 

 getting to be commonly referred to, "Comb Fouudation Bill." 

 After a long siege among doctors, hospitals and surgical in- 

 struments, Mr. Bliss is restored to his family a well man again. 



My reference to Mr. Bliss just now as " Comb B'oundation 

 Bill," induces me to say a word about the gentleman's enter- 

 prise in the foundation line. " From little acorns great oaks 

 grow," may be used to exemplify the growth of his business in 

 that direction. From turning out a few pounds of comb-bases 

 at first, now he turns it out by the ton. I remember when I 

 called at his place, close on five years ago, his equipment for 

 this work was almost of the crudest nature. I have recently 

 learned that this gentleman is building a factory exclusively 

 for the manufacture of pure comb foundation, that will be 

 equal to any in the land ; and that it will be fitted with the 

 most approved appliances, some of which are of his own devis- 

 ing. Why should not Califoruia manufacture her own foun- 

 dation '? And why should not our apiarists use her home 

 product ? California bees do not send East for honey out of 

 which to make their wax; they use the, borne product. 



■» 

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The biggest bee-yarn 1 think I ever read was printed in 



the San Francisco Examiner, some weeks ago. It was from 

 the pen of Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, and, by the 

 way, a fellow townsman of mine. Well, Mr. Miller was sent 

 with one of the Examiner-Journal's expeditions to write up 

 the Klondike, etc. Our poet reported that while making his 

 way through the Chilcoot Pass, he saw a bee — yes, a honey- 

 bee — gathering honey from the flowers — and such flowers — 

 those of Paradise in the time of Adam could not have been 

 more profuse or gorgeous. One would almost think that the 

 poet had been sent North by the American Bee Journal to find 

 the bee-keepers' paradise, instead of by a dally newspaper to 

 tell about the Eldorado away up near the north pole. 



* * 



A writer in describing " tome Curiosities of Farming," in 

 the November issue of the Cosmopolitan Magazine, relates a 

 few funny things about bee-keeping. He tells of some bee- 

 hives exhibited at the Fair at Cairo, Egypt, that were made 

 out of coal-oil cans, that came from Russia. He also men- 

 tions how some youthful bee-keepers fooled the judges of the 

 Fair by an exhibit they made of 30 different kinds of honey. 

 The said judges awarded a number of premiums for this 

 honey. Of course there was a first prize for the best, and 

 minor prizes down the scale for others, according to quality. 

 The fun of it was that all the honey was from the same lot — 

 there was no difference. 



From the way many of the judges are chosen at our 

 American agricultural fairs, I am inclined to think they 

 would be as gullible as were those poor Egyptian ones, 

 who the fun-making youngsters so " sweetly " sold. 



What a great book-distributor Uncle Sam is getting to 

 be ! Before me lies quite a little pile of treatises issued from 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, and they are 

 all valuable ones, and I obtained them by expending two cents 

 for a postage stamp and sacrificing a sheet of paper and an 

 envelope, to say nothing of the ink. The first one I look at 

 is "The Sugar Beet," by Prof. H. W. Wiley (bee-keepers will 

 recognize the author, no doubt) ; it contains -i'i pages of read- 

 ing matter; then there is Benton's " Bee-Keeping," with 30 

 pages of how to manage bees. One of the pamphlets before 

 me is entitled " Standard Varieties of Chickens ;" 46 pages of 

 reading, and embellisht with numerous fine pen-drawings of 

 chickens. This bulletin (No. 51) forms part of the "Year 

 Book of 1896," of the Agricultural Department. Everyone 

 Interested in chickens should send for this and Bulletin No. 

 41, on the care and feeding of fowls. "Alfalfa, or Lucerne." 

 No. 51 (20 pages), is a pamphlet of Interest to bee-keepers. 

 These are a few of the 42 bulletins that are available for dis- 

 tribution by the Secretary of Agriculture. 



Alameda Co., Calif., Nov. 11. 



Honey as Food is the name of a 24-page pamphlet, 

 BKxbJi inches, which we are now printing fur general dis- 

 tribution among those who should be users of honey. It is 

 just the thing for bee-keepers to hand to every one of their 

 customers, and also to those whom they would like to have as 

 customers. It is very handy in size — just right to go into an 

 ordinary business envelope. It contains 12 illustrations, five 

 of which are somewhat comic, and help to make it attractive. 

 There is a blank space for your name and address. About 

 >g of the pamphlet was written by Dr. Miller, and then we 

 added thereto many new and valuable honey recipes — for 

 cooking and for medicinal purposes. In all, it makes a neat 

 little pamphlet. Send name and address and we will mail you 

 a sample of " Honey as Food." 



Prices for quantities, postpaid— 25 for 30 cents; 50 for 

 50 cents ; 100 for 85 cents : 200 for -SI. 40. By express, 

 not prepaid, 500 for $3.00; 1,000, So. 00. 



Langfstrotli on tlie Honey-Bee, revised by 

 The Dadants, is a standard, reliable and thoroughly complete 

 work on bee-culture. It contains 520 pages, and is bound 

 elegantly. Every reader of the American Bee Journal should 

 have a copy of this book, as it answers hundreds of questions 

 that arise about bees. We mail it for SI. 25, or club it with 

 the Bee Journal for a year — both together for only S2.00. 



Xlie McEvoy Foul Brood Treatment. Is 



given in Dr. Howard's pamphlet on " Foul Brood ; Its Natural 

 History and Rational Treatment." It is the latest publication 

 on the subject, and should be in the hands of every bee-keeper. 

 Price, 25 cents ; or clubbed with the Bee Journal for one year 

 —both for $1.10. 



