794 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



as might be required. Please let it be 

 known through our blessed bee-papers, 

 how and where to deposit this $1.00, 

 and I believe it will be forthcoming. 



It costs time, patience and money to 

 keep up bee-keeping ; time and money 

 to produce pure and delicious honey. 

 Then to have parties so nearly destitute 

 of principle as to place on the markets 

 spurious honey, almost ruining us, our 

 market and our honey production — we 

 cannot bear much longer. Let those 

 who pray remember us ; let those who 

 hope, do something ; let those who won't, 

 fear and tremble. Help ! Help ! the 

 monster is crawling — soon it will run ! 



With God, all things are possible ; 

 with man, many. 



Peabody, Kans. 



Bees in California — Their Intro- 

 duction ; Harbison, et als. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY W. A. PBYAL. 



(Continued from page 761.) 



Mr. Biglow then proceeds to state that 

 the queens he selected for shipment to 

 California were of Mr. Parsons' stock. 

 He prepared 113 packages with one- 

 third of a colony of common bees in 

 each, into each of which he introduced 

 an Italian queen. He left New York on 

 Nov. 1st, arrived in Aspinwall on the 

 9th, and remained on the Isthmus ten 

 days. The bees were allowed to fly fine 

 days during this stoppage. 



He left Panama on the 20th, and ar- 

 rived in San Francisco on Dec. 6th, and 

 immediately transferred the hives to the 

 river steamer, and arrived in Sacramento 

 the next day — one month and seven days 

 from New York. Out of the 113 colo- 

 nies, 111 arrived safely. One of the 

 colonies deserted its hive at Aspinwall. 



In closing this long letter, Mr. Biglow 

 says : 



"It is my firm conviction, from what 

 I have seen, that they are peculiarly 

 adapted to the Pacific Coast, especially 

 the mountainous regions of California 

 and Oregon, as the climate so nearly re- 

 sembles that of their native home." 



Mr. Harbison closes his chapter on 

 the Italian bee by some remarks upon 

 breeding them, which observations the 

 test of time has proved well founded. 



The "Bee-Keepers' Directory" was 

 probably the first American book to give 

 us any definite knowledge on the Ital- 

 ians. By consulting the third edition 

 of Langstroth on the " Hive and Honey- 



Bee," page 328, I find a foot-note where 

 the learned author briefly records the 

 fact that Mr. Wagner made an attempt 

 in 1855, to import Italian bees, but was 

 unsuccessful. Mr. Langstroth says that 

 Mr. Colvin and himself would attempt to 

 bring some over in the spring in which 

 the edition spoken of was published, 

 viz. : 1859. 



In *an edition of Mr. Quinby's "Mys- 

 teries of Bee-Keeping," which is before 

 me, I find that the author states that 

 "Messrs. Mahan and Parsons were 

 among the first to disseminate the new 

 bees," and that "afterward Mr. Rose, of 

 New York, obtained them direct from 

 their native Alps." 



Does not Mr. Biglow, in view of the 

 fact that he made so successful a jour- 

 ney — a distance of some 6,000 miles — 

 and only lost 2 colonies, deserve great 

 praise ? We wonder all the more at his 

 success, when we consider that he had 

 to carry his bees through such a hot 

 country as the Isthmus ! It seems to me 

 that if he had charge of the first impor- 

 tation brought over from Europe to this 

 country in 1855, he would have landed 

 his queens safe and sound in New York. 



MB. habbison's geeat bee-woek. 



As I have dwelt at such length upon 

 the portion of the book dealing with the 

 Italian bee, I shall endeavor to be brief 

 with my other observations on Mr. Har- 

 bison's work. 



From his writings we learn that his 

 father was a bee-keeper in Pennsylvania, 

 | and used straw skeps. Since 1843 this 

 distinguished California apiarist followed 

 bee-keeping. He soon tired of straw 

 and box hives, and the unnecessary mur- 

 der of bees to get their honey. 



He had thoroughly tried the several 

 hives patented up to 1848, but found 

 them valueless in many respects. He 

 set about improving the hives then in 

 vogue, and one of his discoveries at this 

 early date was the hive with the in- 

 clined bottom-board. Another want 

 which he felt was a hive so arranged 

 that the bees together with their combs 

 and contents could be transferred with 

 safety from one hive to another, either 

 for the purpose of removing, or the for- 

 mation of artificial colonies. " In other 

 words," as he says, "I wanted control 

 of the combs." 



MOVABLE PLATFOEM HIVE. 



In 1848 he perfected a hive that met 

 these requirements. It consisted of a 

 movable platform within the hive, on 

 which the combs were adjusted, and the 



