1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



723 



the live-oak thrives ; and, Mr. Richardson 

 having a good supply of large oak chunks, 

 they were piled into the fireplace, and the fire 

 roared up the chimney, giving us the very 

 best of cheer. 



Mr. Richardson came to California some 

 twenty years ago, and may be termed an old- 

 timer. The early portion of his life was passed 

 in New England. At the age of sixteen he 

 became possessed with that American trait, 

 restlessness ; and in order to fill the aching 

 void in his nature he ran away from home and 

 shipped on board a whaler. If his people had 

 caught him on the run he would probably 

 have found whaling enough for all present 

 needs at home. He, however, spent three 

 years on the ocean, and thinks that the hard- 

 ening of his physical forces has been of benefit 

 to him through all of these later years. 



W. T. RICHARDSON, THE LEADING HONEY-PRO- 

 DUCER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 



After leaving the whaler he turned his at- 

 tention to a trade, and became an expert 

 architect. I suppose that, owing to his love 

 for the troubled seas, he embarked for life 

 upon the matrimonial sea. I am assured, 

 however, that the voyage has been one of 

 calms instead of squalls (there are no children 

 in the family). 



While engaged in supplying the people of 

 Ventura County with dwellings of the highest 

 architectural skill and beauty he became in- 

 terested in bee culture, and became ambitious 

 to produce just as much honey as any other 

 person. At the time of my visit Mr. Rich- 

 ardson owned about 1200 colonies. They are 

 located in four apiaries in the Simi Valley. 

 The home apiary is on his own ranch of some- 

 thing over 300 acres. He also has the exclu- 

 sive right to the bee pasturage on 12,000 acres 

 of land, and that covers about all of the valu- 

 able pasturage in the valley. The main source 

 of honey is purple sage. 



The next morning Mr. R. started out with 

 his team to show me the beauties of a dry 



country and a few of his apiaries. The first 

 thing we encountered was a gate. The Simi 

 gates are nearly all barbed-wire affairs of an 

 apparently simple nature, but full of hidden 

 surprises for the fingers and shins, and it 

 requires an expert to handle them. I told 

 Mr. R. that I was an expert in the gate line, 

 and skipped out of the wagon, and won his 

 highest commendation for my skill. 



We soon found another gate, and another. 

 Mr. R. would halt before each, and exclaim, 

 "Here, Mr. Rambler, is another gate. I 

 would open it, but do not wish to deprive you 

 of the privilege, for I know you enjoy it." 



I do not remember how many miles it was 

 to the first apiary, but I do distinctly remem- 

 ber that it was six gates distant. 



Mr. Richardson numbers his apiaries, and 

 the one we now interview is No. 4. The api- 

 aries are worked exclusively for extracted 

 honey; and while for a greater portion of the 

 year Mr. R. is attending to his architectural 

 work he employs a reliable man to attend to 

 the bees. Mr. Day Norris has been in the 

 employ of Mr. R. for some time, and under- 

 stands his business, and performs it to the 

 entire satisfaction of the owner. In the early 

 spring Mr. R. gets out occasionally for a day 

 to make observations and suggestions ; and 

 unless an apiary is to be moved or extra work 

 to be done, Mr. Norris attends to the equal- 

 izing, strengthening, and getting the bees in 

 the best possible condition for the honey 

 season. 



With a full complement of extracting-combs 

 this is not so arduous a job as might appear. 

 When the extracting season opens, other 

 men are employed ; and instead of placing a 

 man in each apiary, with exclusive charge, 

 the men move from one apiary to the other in 

 a crew ; and, while there is an occasional 

 swarm, there are not enough to pay to employ 

 a man to remain in the apiary to watch them. 

 The hive used in these apiaries is a little deep- 

 er and shorter than the L. hive. I think the 

 frame is nearly 11 inches deep and 14 in length. 

 Each apiary has its complement of tools and 

 extracting-house, and there is no movement 

 of implements from one apiary to the other. 



I present in the accompanying photo one of 

 the finest of Mr. Richardson's apiaries, con- 

 taining 400 colonies, and located in the midst 

 of hundreds of acres of purple sage. In the 

 immediate foreground are stools of sage as it 

 appears in the early spring, while the hill 

 beyond is completelj' covered with it. There 

 is comfort in this ppiary from its being shaded 

 with a few live-oaks. The parties shown in 

 the foreground are Mr. Richardson and his 

 trusted helper Mr. Norris. In our next I will 

 give some further idea of the magnitude of 

 Mr. Richardson's honey-yields. 



BEE-KEEPING IN "MERRIE ENGLAND.' 



Apiary of S. Brooks. 



Our illustration represents the modest little 

 apiary of Mr. S. Brooks, who stands on the 

 left in picture. Mr. Brooks has some sub- 

 stantial claim to be considered a teacher in 



