1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



13 



medium for conveying knowledge to the general 

 public of how the " bees make honey," and 

 that it can be produced by the car and train 

 load, and every drop of it be pure honey. The 

 magic-liintern exhibition would help wonder- 

 fully. Then while we are about it, let us not 

 forget to get the newspapers all over the land 

 to give full reports. Without any thought of 

 flattery, I believe I am safe in saying the bee- 

 keepers of Ontario will do more along these 

 lines than those in any one State of our Union. 

 -Ed.] 



one point in which the flat cover is su- 

 perior to the hig6in8ville. 



Allow me to suggest one point in which the 

 flat cover is superior to the Higcjmsville. When 

 I first saw the flat cover with grooved cleats I 

 took a strong fancy to it because it was so 

 plain, simple, and perfectly reversible. For 15 

 years I have had experience (generally unpleas- 

 ant) with an almost endless variety of covers. 

 I have yet to see one that will not warp. With 

 the flat cover to remedy this condition, you 

 have simply to turn it over. Please answer me 

 one question: Is not the Higginsville a cheaper 

 cover? C.A.Montague. 



Sang Run, Md., Dec. 15. 



[Nearly all our flat covers in use have been 

 reversed at some time, as the propolis- marks 

 show, but the reversing was accidental rather 

 than for a purpose; but a single-board cover, if 

 it has any tendency to warp at all, warps, or 

 tries to. so far as the cleats will permit, all one 

 way. Much will depend upon how far the 

 board was from the heart of the tree. The 

 Higginsville model, besides the cleats and gable 

 strip, is made up of two boards; and theory as 

 well as practice shows that the warping tend- 

 ency of the one will correct that of the other. 

 But another important point is, that the out- 

 side edges of the boards are brought to a thinner 

 edge, and this weakens the curving tendency so 

 that the cleats will be able to hold them. 



No, the Higginsville cover is not cheaper for 

 the eight-frame hive. It would be for the 

 twelve-frame size, because wide boards for such 

 a size would be expensive. — Ed.] 



BAMBLE 123. 



IN THE SALINAS VALLEY. 



By Rambler. 



We made our quiet entry into the town of Pa- 

 so Robles on the 19th of July. They never have 

 any hot weather in Paso Robles ; but the day 

 we entered, and the next day, which we passed 

 there to give our lame pony a rest, and to wait 

 for our mail, the thermometer registered 96° in 

 the shade. We perspired a little, though we 

 were camped under one of the oaks near the 

 great hotel. The hot sulphur springs make the 

 town noted ; and many who are afllicted with 

 disease come here in quest of health. Three 

 miles from town is the Santa Ysabel sulphur 

 lake, where open-air bathing, mud baths, and 

 boating, are indulged in. These attractions, 

 and the beautiful drives around the country, 

 bring not only invalids but tourists to town, and 

 it has on the whole quite a prosperous air. 



From Paso Robles to San Miguel (St. Michael) 

 would ordinarily be but a two hours' drive; but 

 with our lame pony we were half a day getting 

 there ; and while our ponies were eating their 

 allowance I strolled over to the Old Mission, 

 which is located here, and photographed it from 

 various points. Much of it is in ruins. A kind 

 padre, however, has it in charge, and is willing 

 to receive the little stipend the visitor is willing 

 to offer. In fact, there is a notice on the door, 

 saying that a two-bit piece dropped into the 

 slot would be a welcome visitor. There was not 

 a very prosperous air around San Miguel. The 

 country was parched to such a degree of dry- 

 ness that no crops had been secured ; and the 

 few people loitering around the streets had a 

 discouraged aspect. I learned, from what I 

 considered a reliable source, that there were 

 two extensive bee-keepers near San Miguel. 

 After diligent inquiries at the stores, the livery 

 stable, and of our friend the blacksmith, I could 

 learn nothing of Messrs. Swenson or Littlejohn, 

 and concluded they were either a myth or had 

 dried up with the rest of the country. I did 

 learn there was a Ward bee-ranch out a few 

 miles on the road we were to travel. Our after- 

 noon journey carried us past it, and we did in- 

 deed find the Ward apiary, dried up and partly 

 blown away, or, at least, it was the nearest ap- 

 proach to a deserted bee-ranch that we had seen 

 for many days. Mr. Wilder and I came to the 

 conclusion that our informant must have been 

 in error, and that there were no bee-keepers in 

 that dry country, any way. For over fifty miles 

 we saw not a flower for a bee to work upon, and 

 not a bee to work upon a flower. 



Our drive for a couple of days was monoto- 

 nous enough, and our camps windy and dusty. 

 Saturday evening, July 21, we were glad to en- 

 camp on clean grass-covered ground, upon the 

 banks of the San Antonio Creek. We camped, 

 and rested over Sunday, and scraped the dust 

 from our bodies in the crystal waters. The 

 weather was so fine, and trees so protective, we 

 dispensed with the tent and slept in the open 

 air. Monday morning found us much refreshed 

 for the continuation of our journey. Reina's 

 lameness began to mend a little, so that we 

 could indulge in a trot occasionally. On the 

 creek-bottom we found a few plants which look- 

 ed like what we used to call, back east, "queen 

 of the meadow," and there we found a few bees 

 at work. 



Just as we entered the road, for the pursu- 

 ance of our journey, a lone horseman came 

 along, and, like all sociable travelers, we fell 

 into conversation, and found that our horse- 

 man was an ex-cowboy from Nevada; had just 

 come from a prospecting-tour on the Mojave 

 Desert; had earned some money recently, in the 

 capacity of a vaquero, but had " blown it in," as 

 he termed it, in Bakersfield ; was now on his 

 way to Monterey to secure a job on the new 

 railroad; was about dead broke, and would like 



