1807 



(;t,1':anin(;s in m-M cri/ruui'. 



(i.'i:; 



bec-kecpcrsof SouUktu California wcrr tVtliii.u 

 quite comfurlahk- from the fact that they had 

 secured what they considered ahout half a 

 croji. This half-croj) was estimated to he 

 from 12")() to MOd carloads ( 1"J tons to a car). 

 Some commission men had reported to me 

 that the crop would be ")()() carloads ; but Mr. 

 Martin, who is secretary of the Bee-keepers' 

 Ivxchanjje, and in a position to know, said 

 that half tliat amount would be a fair estimate. 

 San Diego Co. ak)ne produced about 60 car- 

 loads, or one-fifth to one-fourth of the whole. 

 Quite a number of cars of honey had already 

 been sent east, and some to Europe, by the 

 connnission men. The Bee-keepers' Exchange 

 had employed the Cutting Fruit Co. as their 

 selling agents, and also fixed upon the mini- 

 mum price for the different grades; and up to 

 tlie time I was there (July 20) had made 

 almost no sales. They had already ware- 

 housed quite a little, advancing to the bee- 

 keepers about half its value until it should be 

 sold. Some bee-keepers, who were anxious 

 to get their money, were selling outright to 

 dealers and commission men at lower prices 

 than those fixed by the Exchange. It will 

 take some time to clean up such lots of honey, 

 when the Exchange may hope to realize on 

 their honey. It will take patience and perse- 

 verance on the part of the members of the 

 Exchange till they become established. Some 

 changes in methods of management ma}- be 

 found necessary; but there is no question that 

 thev are on the right track, and that, if Cali- 

 fornia bee-keepers generally stand by the Ex- 

 change, they will be benefited in no small 

 degree. Exchange honey is sold imder a 

 trade-mark seal, and guaranteed. 



Perhaps nine-tenths of the honey produced 

 in Southern California is extracted. The pro- 

 portion of comb honey, however, is increasing, 

 and it would be hard to surpass anywhere 

 some of the comb honey I saw. 



One of the leading bee-keepers is M. H. 

 Mendleson, of Pirn City. He has 900 colonies 

 of bees, and up to the middle of July had 

 taken over fifty tons. He had just moved 

 his bees to the bean-fields, where he hoped to 

 .secure 12 to 15 tons more. If it were not for 

 the faithlessness of a tramp bee-keeper whom 

 he had engaged for the season he would have 

 had at least ten tons more. This man, a Mr. 

 Frank Curl, has lots of ability and a great 

 deal of experience, and can make himself 

 very useful. He has wandered about so 

 much, having been in almo.st everj- State in 

 the Union, and to Cuba twice, that he can not 

 control his wandering mania. He has been 

 here in Medina three times in the last twelve 

 years. He engaged to Mr. Mendle.son for the 

 season, and left him just when the honey was 

 coming in fastest and he could least afford to 

 spare liim. He even offered him double the 

 wages he had agreed to work for ; but nothing 

 would induce him to stay. I mention this 

 here that others may be warned. 



Mr. Mendleson put into use this season 80 

 of the Danzenbaker hives complete, and 500 

 of the Danz. supers, which he used over the 

 regular 10-frame L. hive. He had 30,000 of 

 the Danz. sections filled, and most likelv 



would have had forty to fifty thousand had 

 not iMr. Curl failed him at the critical time. 

 While he does not like the brood-chamber of 

 the Danz. hive, he is nuich pleased with the 

 super, and expects to get as many more for 

 next sea.son. The honey he produced in the 

 Danz. .sections, put up in our basswood ca.ses, 

 nicely labeled, was handsome indeed. He 

 was getting 11 ><c per pound from the fancy 

 grocery trade, while large lots in the regular 

 4>4 sections and pine ca.ses made on the coast 

 were bringing 8 to 9 cents. 



RAMBI^ER AND MENDLESON DISCUSSING THE 

 DANZENBAKER SECTION. 



While in Los Angeles I enjoyed the hospi- 

 tality of Rambler's "bachelor hall," and par- 

 took of the pancakes for which he is deserv- 

 edly famous. We had Mr. Mendleson with 

 us a part of the time, and I am pleased to be 

 able to give you a view of ' ' the other two, 

 with a rear view of the " hall " in the f)ack- 

 ground. 



Some C. E. ladies from the East called on 

 Mr. Martin after I left, and he writes me that 

 he could not prevail on one of them to remain 

 in Southern California. 



Although I visited the State at the worst 

 time to see it at its best, I was delighted with 

 it, and hope to go again before many years 

 roll by, and stay longer. 



The editor of the Review, in speaking of 

 the passage at arms between Mr. Newman on 

 the one side, and Messrs. Mason, York, ct al., 

 on the other, says he can not close without 

 "expressing regret at the spirit exhibited h\ 

 Mr. Newman toward some of his old friends 

 who have thought his course open to criti- 

 cism." That is the w-ay a great many more of 

 Mr. Newman's old friends feel about it. Not 

 one has had a desire to accuse him of being 

 "dishonest," neither have they felt "malig- 

 nant " or " .spiteful " toward him. 



