AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



82T 



HARBISON'S HUMANE SPIRIT. 



His life among the bees shows what 

 intelligence and perseverence can accom- 

 plish. The myriads of bees he had toil- 

 ing on hill and dale in the "perennial 

 sun land," brought him a goodly store of 

 golden dollars. No longer does the in- 

 dustrious bees labor from early morn to 

 dewy eve for him. In truth, he has 

 emancipated the faithful little slaves. 

 He feels that they served him wellfand 

 he no longer desired to hold the whip 

 over them, as it were. Where in the 

 world can the whole race of bees find a 

 truer master — a better friend than they 

 did in J. S. Harbison ? It was his life- 

 long aim to give not only his bees, but 

 also everybody's bees, a comfortable 

 home where they would not be ruth- 

 lessly murdered when being plundered 

 of their well-earned stores, by man. 



MOST PROGRESSIVE AND INVENTIVE. 



"While not in one whit wishing to de- 

 tract from the fame which our friend, 

 Rev. L. L. Langstroth, has merited, I 

 think that Mr. Harbison stands to-day 

 the best example of a progressive and 

 inventive bee-keeper in the world. His 

 book is but little known to the present 

 generation of apiculturists ; it is a 

 classic nevertheless, and if it were not 

 for his active life and natural modesty, 

 the bee-keeping world would probably 

 to-day be indebted to him for other edi- 

 tions than the single one he turned out a 

 generation ago ; besides, we might have 

 read articles in apicultural publications 

 from his versatile and experienced pen — 

 articles bristling with practical informa- 

 tion which no other living apiarist could 

 impart. 



PROPHECIES MADE BY HARBISON. 



I cannot well close this series without 

 a further peep into the mine of wealth 

 which he has given us in his Directory. 



Right here I would remark that I 

 cannot help calling him a "prophet." It 

 is quite remarkable how he was able to 

 foretell to what proportions the honey 

 industry of this State would attain. We 

 must remember that when he prepared 

 this book for publication, he kept bees 

 upon the banks of the Sacramento river 

 — a region which is not now considered 

 a honey section, although much honey 

 of good quality is yet produced there. 



Where were more prophetic words 

 ever written than the following, taken 

 from page 193 of his "Bee-Keepers' 

 Directory," where he speaks of the 

 quantity and quality of California honey: 



" And the time is not far distant 



when, if the business of bee-rearing re- 

 ceives the attention that it deserves, the 

 export of honey and beeswax will be no 

 inconsiderable item of revenue to the 

 apiarists of the Pacific Coast. The moun- 

 tain honey will probably take the lead, 

 both for beauty and excellence of 

 flavor." The italics are the writer's. 



Yes, indeed, it has become a big item, 

 so much so that Californians point to it 

 with pride. When Mr. H. wrote the 

 foregoing quotation, the marvelous sage 

 region as a honey country was un- 

 dreamed of by the bee-keeper. But Mr. 

 Harbison well knew that California is a 

 vast bee-garden. Its mountains and 

 valleys, from Oregon to the Mexico line, 

 and from the Sierras to the Sea, abound 

 in honey-flora. Sites for apiaries in- 

 numerable are yet undiscovered in the 

 thousands and thousands of little valleys 

 and canyons nestling about its pretty 

 hills and grand mountains. 



INVENTION OF BELLOWS BEE-SMOKER. 



I have often heard the name of Mr. 

 Quinby mentioned as the inventor of the 

 bellows bee-smoker, but the edition of 

 his book published in 1865, makes no 

 mention of such smoker. On the other 

 hand, Mr. Harbison not only gives a 

 description of such a smoker, but a very 

 good wood-cut. He does not say who is 

 the inventor. He describes it so fully 

 that anybody could make one out of an 

 ordinary pair of hand bellows. This, in 

 itself, was information which was worth 

 more than the price of the book. And It 

 was in keeping with his usual plan of 

 doing everything to make the pursuit 

 easy for the bee-keeper, and less of a 

 hardship on the insects he thought so 

 much of. 



North Temescal, Calif. 



« Apicultural L.iterarlans " — A 

 Defense in Their Behalf. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY WM. F. CLARKE. 



In the American Bee Journal of 

 Nov. 24, 1892, on page 695, among 

 suggestions for the improvement of bee- 

 periodicals, is the following from Mr. 

 James Heddon : 



First, most, and all the time, wipe out the 

 perpetual curse of filling our bee-papers with 

 the writings of apicultural literarians, and 

 replace it with honest reports and opinions 

 from honey-producers who make bee-keeping 

 pay. 



This is not the first time Mr. Heddon 

 has written in this vein. In an article 



