172 
SEMI-TROPIC CALIFORNIA. 
gtpi gcprtmifiif. 
co!Ji>dcth> nr s. Ltvr.nmo. 
MINUTES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 
BEE-KEEPERS DISTRICT CONVEN¬ 
TION. 
L'n Asfor.i rs. Oi l. 20, 1880, | 
10 o'clock, a. si. I 
Southern California Hoe-Keeper District 
Convention convened at Good Templars' 
hull The President, C. J. Fox, not being 
present, Mr. J. S. Hiubisnn waflfllected leui- 
porury chninniiu, anil N Levering 
tary. Mr. Levering stnled (lint the object 
of the meeting was to give nu opportunity 
for exchanging ideas, utul the moir thor¬ 
ough organisation of the homy producer^. 
The boundnrieH of the district -were decided 
to ho the same as the boundaries of the 
Fourth Congiessiunnl District. On mo¬ 
tion , Hie chair appointed a committee on 
programme for business of ennveutiim, as 
follows: L. S. Butler. Frank Flint, and 0. 
N. Wilson. 
Adjournment until half past one f. m, 
AlTr.TlNOON RKSRIOX. 
Meeting called to order. J. S. Hurbisoti 
in the chair. 
The committee on programme reported 
business us follows: First, election of offi¬ 
cers; next, reading of address, written by 
President C. J. Fox; third, subjects for 
discussion. 
The election of officers resulted us fol¬ 
lows: 
President, J. E Pleasants, of Anaheim. 
Vice-Presidents, J. S. Hurhisou, of San 
Diego; A. W. Hale, of San Bernardino; 
J. W. Wilson, of Pasadena; K. Wilkins, 
of Ventura; Frank Flint, of Santa Barbara; 
G. M. Hnrington, Visnlin. 
Secretary, .1. A. Haskell, of San Fer¬ 
nando. 
Corresponding Secretary, 0. .J. Fox, of 
San Diego. 
Treasurer, E. F. Spence, of Los Angeles 
city. 
Mr. Flint was called upon and read the 
address of C J Fox, after which a motion 
was made and cm tied that the address he 
placed on tile and furnished for publication. 
An opportunity for joining the associa¬ 
tion wus then given, the membership Tee 
being 50 cents. Twenty-three persons 
joined. 
Next in order was the reading of essays. 
Mr. Gilchrist read an article on floriculture 
at the same time exhibiting specimens of 
the dillereiit plants. 
A vote of thunks was returned to Mr. 
Gilchrist, and a motion earned to pluco 
the essay on file for publication. 
Mr. J. W. W ilson was culled to the 
floor, and read an article on “ A Step 
Backward in Apiculture." 
The meeting adjourned until 0 o’clock, 
Thursday. 
ocioitca 21. 
Meeting called to order. President J. E. 
Plcusunts hi the clmir. 
Mi. Barber's ftrtieje on Apiculture was 
read and placed on tile. 
Dr. Galny spoke for some time on vari¬ 
ous subjects in apiculture. 
Mr. Harbison gave some of his experi¬ 
ence in the bee-lmsiness in California, and 
gave the association many points of interest, 
both in the management of the upiary, and 
also in the plan of marketing homy, He 
thought the mode of putting up honey for 
different markets should hr- in different 
packages. 
He placed great stress on the proper 
curing of extracted honey, and in having 
comb honey in straight full combs and 
neat, clean frames. 
Mr. Levering read an essay on the in¬ 
dustry of honey producing. 
Recess till 2 f. m. 
Meeting called to order, the President 
in the chair. 
A request was carried that IWr. Harbison 
should write the next annual address to 
the Bee-Keepers District Convention, with 
Air Flint as alternate. 
Mr. Levering had framed an act to he 
presented to the legislature, “after such 
modifications as the convention saw fit to 
make," for the suppression and extermina¬ 
tion of foul broad. The sarTlfl "'as referred 
to a committee, with power to act in the 
matter without further instruction, the 
committee being C. N. Wilson, L. S. But¬ 
ler, N. LdVci'ing, and IE. Pleasants. 
Adjourned till Friday morning. 
rniDAY, ocTOjuwt 22, 10 s. M. 
Meeting called to order, J. E. Pleasants 
in the chair. 
The subject of freights on packages 
was discussed, and left to local organiza¬ 
tions. 
On request, the Secretary rend an article 
in the AV-t/j Ynrl' Anju*. entitled "The 
Stingless Money Bee." 
Ou motion, the executive committee was 
authorized to co-operate with the vice- 
presidents of the different counties in 
gathering statistics relative to the present 
crop utul also nf the crop of 1881; the 
vice-presidents reporting, from time to 
lime, to the committee, and they in turn 
reporting the aggregate to each of the vice- 
preHidelite. An invitation was extended 
to all apiarists to communicate anything 
of importance to the commit,tec. 
A vote of thanks was then tendered to 
tlm officers of thu association for the cour¬ 
teous and impartial tnuunoi' of conducting 
the business of the session. 
The meeting then adjourned until fair 
week, 1881. J. A. Haskism., 
Secretary Southern California Bee-Keepers 
District Convention. 
adwhksb 
By Charles J. Fox, President District Bee¬ 
keepers Association: 
Fellow Bee keepers-: It has been found 
h.v c-xperitnee that, in most uecilpalion#. 
co-operation is exceedingly useful, and of 
lute years almost u necessity. It is especi¬ 
ally advantageous to farmers and produ¬ 
cers, There am fruit growers', who) gtow- 
i'iV, wine growers', and other associations 
the members of which meet from time to 
time for consultation ami to arrange plana 
for mutual counsel and assistance. 
and have belcl conventions nt different 
During the past five years, the bee-keep¬ 
ers all over the country have formed 
county, Slate, and national associations, 
times and places where much good has 
been done, by exeiiange of ideas and opin¬ 
ions, and by comparison of different meth¬ 
ods of managing bees, securing honey, and 
marketing it in the best way. 
Knepiug berg and obtaining or, ns we 
say, raising honey have been practiced by 
people in all ages and countries, and at 
times in the past honey has been a more 
important article of food tlmu now, when 
so mam other art idles are used ns sweets, 
few of them, however, so healthful as pure 
honey is. 
But past history does not inform us 
whether bee-keeping was ever pursued as 
systematically as it has been during the 
last five years. All of us can remember 
the commencement of the present era of 
scientific bee-keeping and its wonderful 
progress from small beginnings to its pres¬ 
ent position, as one of the important- in¬ 
dustries of our country, and especially of 
Southern California- San Diego county, 
where I reside, has the largest number of 
bee keepers, and produces the largest 
amount of honey of any county in the 
State, or perhaps of the same population 
in the world, and I may be pardoned for 
referring to its progress as an illustration. 
Thu business commenced in 1871 by 
Messrs, Harbison A Clark bringing there 
one hundred stands of bees. There had 
been a few there before, but scattered 
about, very little attended to, and only 
used for home consumption. This was 
the first attempt at establishing 1 an apiary 
or making a business of bee-keeping. At- 
present Messrs. Harbison & Dowling are 
owners of over three thousand stands of 
bees, and tin- total drop for the present, 
year is 110,000 pounds not. Harbison A 
Dowling have shipped to the various mar¬ 
kets in the Eastern States ami California 
in the year 1880. 205,000 pounds gross, 
a an have on hand yet to ship about 113, DQ0 
pounds gross, all comb honey, except 
about 2.IJ0I1 pounds. In 1874-5 11 S’ 001 ] 
many others engaged in the business, ami 
in 1878 there were over 20,000 stands of 
bees in the county, and the export of 
honev exceeded two million pounds. 
The following figures represent, ns 
nearly as I cun obtain them, the condition 
of tlio business the present year: nan 
Diego county bud March I, 1880, ns re¬ 
turned to the assessor, 331 beo-keept-rs, 
15,021 stands of bees, and lias exported, 
including the amount m>w ill store in tlm 
city of Ssu Diego. -118.700 ptfuftda net of 
Ciual.' honey, and -188,700 pounds net of 
liquid honey m barrels and cans. A con- 
si. Icrable amount bus not been brought in, 
and the total product will bo about 1.000,- 
000 pounds. 1 could not. obtain exactly 
the number of stands of bee* at present, 
but Mr Hni'hison and 1 estimate it at from 
2-1,000 to 25,000. 
Santa Barbara county, by ft report from 
Ml Frank Flint, Secretary Bee-keepers 
Association, bad Mill'dl I, 1880, 31 bee¬ 
keepers, 1,757 stands of bees, and bus pro- 
