1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



577 



RAMBLE NO. 140. 



A Visit with Judge Levering. 



BY RAMBLER. 



Judge Noah Levering is another bee-keeper 

 who gave me a welcome to Sotithern Califor- 

 nia and to Los Angeles. He is one of the 

 veterans of the industry, and came to Califor- 

 nia about twenty-three years ago. Judge Lev- 

 ering was born in Ohio, and has lived in vari- 

 ous portions of the West. He prepared him- 

 self for law practice in the office of Leonard 

 Swett, who was afterward Lincoln's law part- 

 ner. Mr. L. was well acquainted with the 

 latter, and has many anecdotes and episodes 

 to relate about the martyred president. 



Mr. Levering practiced law 

 in Sioux City, and was there 

 elected County Judge; and 

 while residing there he held 

 several offices. He became in- 

 terested in bee culture while 

 living in Sioux City. His 

 office work was so confining 

 that he turned his attention 

 to the bee-hive more as a rec- 

 reation than for profit. His 

 attention was called to the in- 

 dustry from reading an essay 

 by Mrs. Tupper in the Patent 

 Office report. He noted in 

 said article a statement about 

 the bar hive of Germany; and 

 the idea came to him that, if 

 they would build a comb to a 

 bar, they ought to build it to a 

 bar all the way round or to a 

 square frame. At this time 

 he had never heard of a mov- 

 able-frame hive, and was quite 

 elated over his invention, and 

 proceeded to show his plans 

 to the land agent. This gen- 

 tleman blasted his hopes of 

 becoming the inventor of a 

 movable-frame hive by show- 

 ing him Langstroth's work 

 and the description of his hive, 

 which had been patented but 

 a short time before. This in- 

 terview resulted in an increase 

 of bee- fever, and it was not 

 long until he had a swarm of 

 bees in a movable-frame hive; 

 and the first new brood-frame 

 full of white honey looked so 

 charmingl}' beautiful that, like 

 a dutiful husband, he carried it over to the 

 house and showed it to his wife. Then he 

 carried it around and exhibited it to all of the 

 neighboring wives (of course it will be under- 

 stood that these other wives belonged to other 

 husbands). Through his enthusiasm he be- 

 came quite a noted bee-keeper as well as 

 County Judge. In course of time he retired 

 from the bench and removed to Independence, 

 Mo., and engaged in mercantile business. In 

 1875 he came to California and had charge of 

 a large apiary belonging to Judge Ross and 



others in Verdugo Canyon, a few miles from 

 Los Angeles. 



Mr. Levering has always been interested in 

 the organization of historical societies. He 

 was the leading spirit in such societies in Iowa 

 and Missouri, and soon after arrival in Cal- 

 ifornia he was the first to organize the Califor- 

 nia Historical Society which is now a valuable 

 factor in collecting data of historical events. 

 He has also been a leading organizer of bee- 

 keepers' associations in Los Angeles, both 

 county and State, and has worked untiringly 

 for the interests of bee-keepers in the unity of 

 action in selling honey. He has been quite a 

 prolific writer upon apicultural subjects, and 

 was the first to start a bee-keeping depart- 

 ment in one of the local papers, the Herald. 



JUDGE NOAH LEVERING. 



His later writings have been for the Califor- 

 nia Cultivator. 



In connection with Mr. Pryal, of Oakland, 

 he commenced the publication of the Califor- 

 nia Apiculiurist, the first California bee-pa- 

 per. Owing to various reasons the paper sus- 

 pended publication after running about one 

 year. Though this State has several thousand 

 bee-keepers they did not then seem inclined 

 to support such an enterprise any more than 

 they do at present. There have been several 

 papers devoted to the industry started since. 



