A few hives are found here and there among settlers who chanced to have learned something about the business before coming to the State.

But sheep, cattle, grain, and fruit raising are the chief industries, as they require less skill and care, while the profits thus far have been greater.

In 1856 honey sold here at from one and a half to two dollars per pound.

Twelve years later the price had fallen to twelve and a half cents.

In 1868 I sat down to dinner with a band of ravenous sheep-shearers at a ranch on the San Joaquin, where fifteen or twenty hives were kept, and our host advised us not to spare the large pan of honey he had placed on the table, as it was the cheapest article he had to offer.