1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



49 



honey season, and having all the rest of the 

 year to requeen, I think a man can manage 

 seven or eight hundred colonies by having an 

 assistant during extracting time. 

 !San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba. Dec. 21. 



[I think onr readers, at least those of latter 

 days, would like to see a photo of one of those 

 bee-sheds to which you refer: then tell us why 

 yon have it, etc — Extracted honey at :.'(ic per 

 gallon is about :i}>4c per \h. Well, if one man 

 can with a little assistance take care of 800 col- 

 onies, perhaps he could make a little margin 

 on even this ridiculously low price. — En.] 



subject to drouth. We had anticipated finding 

 fruits in abundance as we toiled northward, 

 and here our expectations were realized. 

 Fruits of all varieties were plentiful and cheap. 

 Apple-orchards abounded; apples in profusion 



RAMBLE 124. 



BEUI-AH LAND. 



By Rfonhtcr. 



We learned that bee-keeping was not neglect- 

 ed in the old historical county of Monterey. I 

 had on my list of correspondents a few, but 

 they were away from our line of travel, and 

 circumstances did not favor our going into the 

 byways of the county. I believe, however, that 

 the county as a whole is not a first-class honey- 

 producer, and may rank with its sister county 

 of San Luis Obispo, on the south, as having 

 only a few and far-between favored localities. 



I found some quite nice comb honey in one- 

 pound sections in a Salinas grocery, and learn- 

 ed that it came from an apiary near the Salinas 

 River, some six miles away. It proved that a 

 progressive bee-keeper was laboring there with 

 some degree of success. 



After a day's rest in Salinas the ponies were 

 called into duty again, and we circled the Bay 

 of Monterey for many miles, and camped on 

 the sands of the shore where again the thunder 

 of the waves lulled us to sleep. Our neighbors 

 in this camp were industrious fishermen in 

 their humble hut, from whom we obtained a 

 supply for our evening and morning meals. 



We this day, July 27, added another county 

 to the growing list we had passed through, and 

 entered Santa Cruz (Holy Cross). We found 

 here a dividing line of hills, not of an ardu- 

 ous nature to climb, but when we had climbed 

 to the crest and looked out upon the scene be- 

 yond we were both inclined to shout " Beulah 

 Land I" For weeks we had witnessed dry and 

 barren plains and hillsides; but here was a val- 

 ley of freshness and beauty where the fields 

 were green, the mountains beyond covered with 

 a wooded growth from summit to base. The 

 transition was so sudden that the following 

 verse came to mind: 



A sweet perfume upon the breezo 

 Is borne from ever vernal trees; 

 And flowers tliat. n'cr farting-, ffrow, 

 Wliere streams of life fur evei' How. 



The town of Watsonville was nestling like a 

 gem in the midst of the sea of green, and the 

 people we met had a buoyant air about them 

 which was also in sharp contrast to the deject- 

 ed air that pervaded the agricultural regions 



PSHAW, WILUEKI that S MEAN, 



on trees, in profusion on the ground. I had not 

 seen the like of it since I left the far East. An 

 early and opportune rain had given vegetation 

 here a boost that made nature and people hap- 

 py. Bro. Wilder looked far and near over gar- 

 den-walls in hopes to see an extra early water- 

 melon: but the festive melon had not put in an 

 appearance, and he had to content himself 

 with a few fresh apricots, apples, etc. We saw 

 the busy bee at work upon the various blos- 

 soms, but did not hunt up the owner. I have 

 not learned whether the valley is of much value 

 for honey production; but from a passing ob- 

 servation I should think bees would do fairly 

 well there. That the home market is not sup- 

 plied by local producers was evidenced by the 

 groceries having on sale the decoctions called 

 "honey," from San Francisco wholesale houses 

 —the usual glass jar, with fancy label and a 

 piece of comb in liquid, supposed to be honey. 



