1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



167 



against the wind; and that is not all of it: the 

 evenings are so cool, even in August, that when 

 we were pressing the streets with our feet an 

 ■overcoat was not an uncomfortable piece of 

 clothing to wear. 



We found the Jones residence, and I could 

 not make much of a demonstration over his 

 ■condition. I had to be decorous, you know. 

 Mr. Jones is a benedict. The chains, however, 

 seem to be worn lightly upon his genial nature. 

 The chief attraction in the neatly furnished 

 room was two bright children— a pretty little 

 girl and a bright-eyed curly-headed boy. The 

 latter lay upon a rug, kicking up his heels in 

 childish glee, and showing to good advantage 

 ihis first pair of trousers. I could well see that 

 Mr. .lones was proud of his benedict condition, 

 and. of course, I would say nothing to mar his 

 pleasures of married life, and to make him wish 

 himself a roving bachelor. 



Mr. Jones has 22 colonies located within a 

 little grove of gum-trees. Every bee-keeper 

 knows that a high bracing wind has a very 

 bracing effect upon his bees; it puts them in a 

 valorous mood. Owing to the amount of brac- 

 ing climate that the Jones bees were subject 

 to, they were sort o' educated up to a high 

 pitch of aggressiveness. Upon our arrival upon 

 the borders of the apiary the picket-line of 

 cross bees commenced operations: and upon a 

 closer approach, if we passed the entrance of a 

 hive, hordes of bees would tumble over each 

 other to get at us. Mr. Jones's smoker did not 

 send out a sufficient volume of smoke, and we 

 all made for the brush with alacrity; and, after 

 peering through the leafy cover of a gum-tree 

 at Mr. .lones over his pet colony, we all de- 

 camped. The place was too hot for us. The 

 stings we had received were longer than usual. 

 <Note the fact in favor of a bracing climate.) 

 If I remember right, Mr. J.'s bees were in the 

 Dovetailed hive and Hoffman frames. That 

 sting back of my ear made me "'disremember." 

 We found it more pleasant to talk bees with 

 Mr. Jones in his house. Mr. J. said, with a 

 smile, that, when the bee-fever struck him, he 

 posted right off and bought a foundation -mill. 

 Of course, that would appeal to almost any 

 sensible man. You can not build properly un- 

 til you lay the foundation; lence the mill be- 

 fore you own a colony of bees. So Mr. Jones 

 was a happy man as he lugged his foundation- 

 mill home under his arm, and dreamed of 

 grinding out tons of honey for the San Francis- 

 cans. Mr. Jones is something of a hobbyist, 

 and has run the camera hobby from A to Z. 

 Several other hobbies have had their turn, but 

 the bee-hobby seems to have come to stay, 

 as it always does when it gets possession of a 

 man. 



Mr. Jones has always lived in the city, and 

 expressed himself as heartily sick of sidewalks 

 and rows of brick and mortar, and gas. He 

 longed for the free and open country, and a 



bee-ranch, and is taking such active steps in 

 that direction that, ere many weeks, we may 

 expect to hear of him as a full-fledged bee- 

 master. 



'* Oh! " said I; " Mr. Jones, I understand you 

 are a gas collector. What do you do with that 

 sly imponderable substance?" 



'•Why, Mr. Rambler, I send it back east. 

 You see, Califurnia gas is the best in the world. 

 Just see how our towns have grown under a 

 liberal supply of gas. Ours is the genuine 

 boom gas. Why 1 there are hundreds of towns 

 in this State that are all gas. You go 

 out on the desert and see little white stakes 

 marking out lots, streets, and avenues. Still, 

 that appears on paper as the beautiful town of 

 Vistablende — all gas, and too much gas in 

 those cases." 



" Well, Mr. Jones, I should like to know who 

 wishes California gas, back east." 



"That's a leading question. Rambler; but 

 seeing it's you I will tell you. I send gas to 

 merchants — notably, ready-made clothing, dry- 

 goods, horse-trainers, and a large amount to 

 patent-medicine dealers." 



•' Well, now, Mr. Jones, do you send any to 

 our friends the bee-keepers back east ? " 



"Hal ha! Yes, all of the bee-journals order 

 more or less. There's the Roots and Hutchin- 

 son, who order temperately. York's orders are 

 increasing; Alley orders largely, and I have 

 strong hopes in that line for Heddon; he is do- 

 ing remarkably well for a beginner. Canada 

 bee-keepers would like our gas, but old Hing- 

 land has such a grip there that it's hard to 

 let go of the inferior quality. W. F. Clarke gets 



