THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



425 



■was unknown here. The Hist hives of 

 bees were brought across the plains 

 and commanded fabulous prices. But 

 so finely adapted is this country to the 



Eroduction of honey, that swarms can 

 e found in nearly every suitable 

 tree, as well as iu rocks, crevices, etc. 



Rocky Mountains, never occurs here. 

 While the mountainsabound in white, 

 purple and black sage, wild alfalfa 

 with wild buckwheat, sumac, and 

 other summer bloom, the foothills 

 and valleys in the spring are covered 

 with aiaieria, the bloom of which. 



Tliere are probably nearly 20,000 

 colonies of bees in Ventura county. 

 Three years ago the county produced 

 about 3,000,000 pounds of lioney, but 

 the next year was not so favorable, 

 and but about lialf that amount was 

 obtained. In many cases 400 pounds 



BEE-llANCH OF MR. K. WJLKIN, OX TIIK SESPE. 



The mountains yield the sages and 

 other bloom which affords the finest 

 yield of honey. The mountainous re- 

 gions which greatly predominate in 

 the State, will ever be a prominent 

 bee-pasture, while the wholesale 

 slaughter of bees by cold, which is 

 frequent in the States east of the 



with mustard, enables the bees to fill 

 their hives with bees by the time the 

 finer honey-producing plants are in 

 bloom. Honey is collected every 

 month in the year. Southern Cali- 

 fornia is noted for producing more 

 and finer honey than any otiier por- 

 tion of the world. 



to the colony have been produced 

 One apiary of 700 colonies, and sur 

 rounded by bees amounting in all to 

 1,800 colonies, within the radius of 

 one or two miles, averaged 130 pounds 

 each. Another apiary containing 445 

 colonies in the spring, increased to 

 1,200, and yielded 80 tons of honey. 



