miles in extent, like a resurrection of the bloom of April.  I have counted upward of 3000 flowers, five eighths of an inch in diameter, on a single plant.  Both its leaves and stems are so slender as to be nearly invisible, at a distance of a few yards, amid so showy a multitude of flowers.  The ray and disk flowers are both yellow, the stamens purple, and the texture of the rays is rich and velvety, like the petals of garden pansies.  The prevailing wind turns all the heads round to the southeast, so that in facing northwestward we have the flowers looking us in the face.  In my estimation, this little plant, the last born of the brilliant host of compositae that glorify the plain, is the most interesting of all.  It remains in flower until November, uniting with two or three species of wiry eriogonums, which continue the floral chain around December to the spring flowers of January.  Thus, although the main bloom and honey season is only about three months long, the floral circle, however thin around some of the hot, rainless months, is never completely broken.

How long the various species of wild bees have lived in this honey-garden, nobody knows; probably ever since the main body of the present flora gained possession of the land, toward the close of the glacial period.  The first brown honey-bees brought to California are said to have arrived in San Francisco in March, 1853.  A bee-keeper by the name of Shelton purchased a lot, consisting of twelve swarms, from some one at Aspinwall, who had brought them from New York.  When landed at San Francisco, all the hives contained live bees, but they finally dwindled to one hive, which was taken to San Jose.  The little immigrants flourished and multiplied in the bountiful pastures of the Santa Clara Valley, sending off three swarms the first season.  The owner was killed shortly afterward, and in settling up his estate, two of the swarms were sold at auction for $105 and $110 respectively.  Other importations were made, from time to time, by way of the Isthmus, and, though great pains were taken to insure success, about one half usually died on the way.  Four swarms were brought safely across the plains in 1859, the hives being placed in the rear end of a wagon, which was stopped in the afternoon to allow the bees to fly and feed in the floweriest places that were within reach until dark, when the hives were closed.

In 1855, two years after the time of the first arrivals from New York, a single swarm was brought over from San Jose, and let fly in the Great Central Plain.  Bee-culture, however, has never gained much attention here, notwithstanding the extraordinary abundance of honey-bloom, and the high price of honey during the early years.  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,