714 



AMERICAN BEE lOURNAL 



Nov. 7, 1901 



^ The Home Circle. ^^ i 



Conducted bij Prof. fl. J. Cook, Glaremont, Calif. 



KINDLY INFLUENCE OF FLOWERS AND BEES. 



I want to thank Prof. A. .1. Cook for the "Home Circle " 

 in general, and in particular for what he said about flowers, 

 on page 63-t. The ladies — wife and daughter — of this ranch 

 are great lovers of flowers, and have about if) plants of differ- 

 ent varieties in the house; but I never thought flowers had any 

 particular moral eftect on the behavior of our farm dog— a 

 thoroughbred shepherd ( 15 years old now), that has always 

 been very strict about keeping the other animals about the 

 farm out of mischief, and keeping all strays from intruding 

 on the premises; but it is a fact that he never barks at people 

 when they turn into our yard; on the contrary, he always 

 goes out to meet them, wagging his tail, to strangers as well 

 as friends, as much as to say, "That is right: come right in; 

 you will find a welcome." He even allowed a thief to carry 

 off a super of honey from my apiary one night a few years 

 ago; but I don't want that trait of his to be known very 

 widely. 



Instead of giving flowers the credit of " begetting a more 

 kindly, genial spirit," 1 have been inclined to come at it from 

 the other way, that people who are naturally kind-hearted 

 and genial, exerting theiflselves to cultivate those traits, are 

 the ones who, most naturally, take to flowers. It doesn't mat- 

 ter which way you take it, the influence is good both ways. 



But what about bee-keeping and the influence for good 

 that the " busy bee" e.\erts over those who engage in that 

 business? It may be a little on the order of "compulsory 

 education," but it is certainly a great school in which to learn 

 patience and self-control — elements very essential toward the 

 possession of a "genial, kindly spirit." Who ever knew a 

 beekeeper and real lover of bees who lacked these traits? As 

 a rule, I find them the most sociable people I meet; even 

 though perfect strangers to each other, it does not take long 

 to get acquainted when it is known that each is engaged in 

 keeping bees. There seems to be that fraternal feeling exist- 

 ing between bee-keepers that does not obtain with people of 

 almost any other calling 



I got out my paper and pencil to make a report of my do- 

 ings with the bees the past season, but ray mind persisted in 

 running off that track, all on account of that article of Prof. 

 Cook's, consequently my report will have to wait. 



Mitchell Co., Iowa. A. F. Footk. 



INDIO, THE SUBMERGED. 



There is a very curious thing about the soil of California. 

 Dr. Hilgard — the distinguished scientist of our State Univer- 

 sity — puts it very graphically. He says that we have several 

 farms, one under the other. He means that our soil is fertile 

 away down. If we should bring a four foot soil to the top it 

 would be immediately productive; or, if we would expose a soil 

 four or five feet down, by removing the top soil to that depth, 

 it would at once grow — if watered and cared for — a full crop 

 of grain. This is why California is so immensely rich in its 

 soil. It is an arid region and the soils have not been leeched 

 of the valuable fertilizers. 



Where 1 now live, illustrates this truth. When I came 

 here I graded my lots. I cut down two feet or so at one place. 

 1 commenced removing the surface soil as I would have done 

 in Michigan, moving it to one side, expecting to return it when 

 I had the grade to my liking. A neighbor, seeing my work, 

 <iueried as to my purpose. I explained, when he told me that 

 I need not take that trouble: that the subsoil and sub-sub- 

 soil, etc., were equally fertile with the top soil. I acted on his 

 suggestion, and, though I planted a part of my lots on this 

 sub-subsoil, yet all my neighbors have wondered at the mar- 

 velous growth on my lots. A white clover lawn right on this 

 undersoil took full shape, vigor and beauty in three months. 

 Tacomas, two years from planting, cover the whole front to 

 the very roof, and are the admiration of passers-by. Thus, an 

 apparent desert, if watered and cultivated, will show marvels 

 of plant growth and vigor. 



This is a good preface to a write-up of wonderful Indio. 

 It is a little over lUO miles east of Los Angeles, and is '^0 feet 

 below the ocean level. Thus I spent two days recently be- 

 neath the horizon. Yet it is not in the extremest depths. 

 .Salton, a few miles fartheraeast, isj.many feet lower. This 



was all, not long agone, covered with the "mad sea waves," 

 and so, as the country around was raised, rich deposits, as 

 well as those poisonous to the plant life, were left stranded 

 on the desert sand. Lower Salton has since received the 

 washings from Indio and the other higher areas, and so they 

 are emptied of their salt and other alkalis, and are now im- 

 mensely productive. Indeed, could we be sure that these 

 higher acres were entirely cleansed of the noxious salts, we 

 could buy land at Indio and know that we were getting a ver- 

 itable garden. Indio is only a yearling. A year ago it was a 

 bleak, arid desert, only known as an eating station on the 

 "Espee " railroad. A little more than a year ago it was dis- 

 covered to be an artesian valley. Wells were bored at slight 

 expense, and a great flow of the most beautiful water was the 

 result — wells costing but $8UU or S-IUO gave, in some in- 

 stances, 4n inches of water. The water is said to be of the 

 very best quality. 



The climate at Indio is, in summer, exceedingly warm — 

 11S° Fr. in the shade being not exceptional. Y'et it is so dry 

 that people do not mind it, and those suffering with pulmo- 

 nary troubles find here a paradise. The microbes of tuber- 

 culosis find this place too hot, " throw up the sponge," and 

 their victims rejoice in newfound health and vigor. Thus we 



PEAKS IN CALIFORNIA — (See page 70(i. ) 



see that Indio is a veritable green-house, a plant conservatory. 

 Cantaloupes and water-melons grow here in a perfection that 

 makes Rocky Ford, Colo., envious. Oh, but they are sweet 

 and delicious I Melons just like the dry heat of Indio, and, if 

 well watered, give a sugar content that makes them savory 

 beyond compare. They come into market in June and July 

 and thus antedate all other regions, except it may be Florida 

 and when it comes to quality, Florida simply "is not in it." 

 Last year — Indio's first year — she sent 2,tiuO carloads of this 

 luscious pulp to market, mostly to Chicago. The crop sold for 

 upwards of .S'-i5,OnO, and the cultivators received over .$10,- 

 Ov)U. Single acres produced, it is stated, over §250 worth of 

 these incomparable cantaloupes. 



Here, as elsewhere, the traffic took all she dared to. But 

 with reasonable traffic rates, we see tbat Indio has a great 

 prospect ahead. Even with the present exorbitant express 

 charges, the returns were most encouraging. If alkali does 

 develop — and the Lower Salton region and the excellent water 

 makes this danger improbable for much of the section — then 

 Indio, so late a desert waste, will in the future be prized as 

 a most valuable agricultural section. We had a two days' In- 

 stitute in this yearling town. The people are bright, intelli- 

 gent, and full of hope and enthusiasm, which latter we visitors 

 caught in good measure. 



I am glad to give this picture, as it makes us all in love 

 with our grand country, more to marvel at its inexhaustible 

 resources. If the veriest desert can blossom out with scores 

 of carloads' of cantaloupes, what may Jwe expect when our 



