18S»5 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



133 



wax, sealing it to the tops of the frames and 

 upper edge of the hive with a hot iron. On 

 this waxed cloth J place six or eight folded 

 newspapers, and over all an inch board with a 

 brick on top to keep it in place; entrance, •'4XK) 

 inches : hives on summer stands, sheltered 

 from westerly winds. 

 Roanoke, Va.. Nov. 27. 



[Dr. Martin advocated the sealed cover back 

 in '84. He was quite disappointed that they 

 should have been so hastily condemned last 

 spring.— Ei).] 



^ — • — ^ 



RAMBLE 126. 



AT PRYAI.'S AND THE STATE UXIVKliSITY. 



Bij Bamhler. 



three just as happy as three big sunflowers? 

 After our sort of ebulition, and jubilee of fra- 

 ternal feeling we camped upon a cozy corner of 

 the Pryal property. Upon one side of us was 

 the murmuring waters of the Temescal Creek, 

 over us the tall gum-trees, whose leaves also 

 murmured in the evening breeze that came 

 fresh from kissing the waters of the grand Pa- 

 cific Ocean. Fruits, flowers, and vines were 

 growing in profusion all around the Pryal 

 homestead, and in such variety as would be- 

 wilder the eyes of the novice, and doubly be- 

 wilder the nose with the various flower-scent- 

 ed perfumes. 



The towns became more numerous, railroads 

 ditto: telegraph and telephone poles with their 

 burden of wires ditto ; also vehicles on the 

 road, all |the way from a road-cart up to the 

 many-teamed wagon, the elegant carriage 

 with happy-looking smiling ladies; the eques- 

 trienne with bifurcated skirts, and some, more 

 sensible, with skirts, and the appendages they 

 cover, carried on a side-saddle, according to the 

 old plan. All of the above and much more 

 made us feel a little out of place, in our rough 

 traveling-garb, for we were being drawn ir- 

 resistibly by the throng to those great business- 

 centers, San Francisco and Oakland. 



It is always best to prepare for an emergency 

 before we emerge into the emergency. We 

 therefore camped early at the pretty little town 

 of San Lorenzo, l:i miles from Oakland. We 

 here razored our faces, shampooed our shoes, 

 and made such changes in our wearing apparel 

 as we thought would enable us to pass for a 

 couple of well-to-do members of the rural com- 

 munity. 



Our black shirts (not black from dirt, by any 

 means, but dyed black early in their manufac- 

 ture, and quite fashionable with people who 

 travel in the dust) we exchanged for the white 

 variety, with collars to match ; and various 

 other garments, which had been packed away 

 for so many weeks, were donned ; and in the 

 morning, when we again started on our jour- 

 ney, it seemed to me that we had left two other 

 fellows behind at San Lorenzo. In our better 

 habiliments we drove direct into the center of 

 the fine city of Oakland. We found Telegraph 

 Avenue, and, following it out several miles, 

 finally landed at North Temescal (which is 

 really only a suburb of Oakland), and at the 

 home of Wm. A. Pryal. Of course, you ail 

 know Mr. Pryal as a genial writer for the bee- 

 journals. He is a bee-keeper and queen-breed- 

 er; and before going further I wish to intro- 

 duce his visage to you through a half-tone; 

 and, better yet, I wish to say right off, and say 

 it loud — yes, I want to shout it — lie's a huchelor! 

 ha, ha, hal Let's shake, Mr. Pryal— ha, ha! 

 shake again; shake. Wilder. Well, aren't we 



W. A. PKYAI.. 



Mr. Pryal resides under the paternal roof, 

 and the apiary nestles snugly under the fruit- 

 trees near the house. The senior Pryal came 

 from the Emerald Isle, and made himself a 

 home in the Golden State in the early days of 

 its notoriety. Mr. Pryal, senior, is a horticul- 

 turist of note, and one of the first to engage in 

 that business on this coast. On this fruit-ranch 

 are found many rare fruits, shrubs, etc. He 

 was the first to import several varietiesof plums 

 from Japan; and the other rare specimens in 

 the horticultural line, in which he has been 

 and is interested are too numerous to mention. 

 Owing to the dull times and the great railroad 



