THE BEE IN AMERICA. 291 



regions answer literally to the description of the land of prom- 

 fee — ' a land flowing with milk and honey; ' for the rich pas- 

 turage of the prairies is calculated to sustain herds of cattle 

 as countless as the sands upon the sea-shore, while the flowers 

 with which they are enamelled render them a very paradise for 

 the nectar-seeking bee." — Washington Irving, "Tour on the 

 Prairies," Chap. IX. (1832). 



Many Apiarists contend that newly-settled countries are 

 most favorable to the bee; and an old German adage runs 

 thus:— 



"Bells' ding dong, 

 And choral song, 

 Deter the bee 

 From industry: 

 But hoot of owl. 

 And 'wolf's long howl,' 

 Incite to moil 

 And steady toil." 



It is evident that the bees spread Westward very rapidly, 

 and to this day, many old bee-men can be found, who posi- 

 tively assert that a swarm never goes Eastward, even after 

 it is proven to them that they usually go to the nearest tim- 

 ber. Our United States are now occupied by the honey-bee, 

 from Maine to Calfomia, from Texas to Montana, wherever 

 man and moisture may be found. The irrigated portions of 

 the arid West, in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, have 

 proven an eldorado for them. 



At the National Convention of Bee-Keepers held at Los 

 Angeles, California, in August, 1903, Mr. J. S. Harbison, 

 gave an interesting account of his first introduction of bees 

 to the Pacific Coast. He took 116 colonies, in 1857, from 

 Newcastle, Penna., to Sacramento, by way of Panama and 

 the Panama railroad, with the loss of only six colonies and 

 when he reached California with them, he sold readily those 

 that he wished to dispose of, at $100 per colony. The reader 

 knows how successful bee-culture has become in California 

 since that early date. 



