1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



259 



BAMBLE NO. 129. 



AT NAI'A; ON THE SACKAMRNTO; JACK; GREAS- 

 ERS: WINERIES, ETC. 



Bij Rawhler. 



HERE were a few par- 

 tially civilized Ameri- 

 cans living in Black 

 Diamond, and these 

 were allowed to come 

 inside the "dead-line" 

 around our camp. Mr. 

 Wilder had established such a line with our 

 picket-ropes, to keep the horde of Dago kids 

 from a too promiscuous mingling with our uten- 

 sils. One of our American friends was pleased 

 with our easy camp-chair, and, having appar- 

 ently loaded up with beer, would come around 

 and look at us as we worked at the picture 

 business. It pleased him to tell us that he was 

 electioneering for the office of justice of the 

 peace, and had great hopes of election. He 

 evidently thought that each jag of beer taken 

 aboard was a harbinger of success. His heart 

 was warmed toward us, and he gave us a sort 

 of judicial opinion that our outfit was not com- 

 plete without a dog; and as he had a surplus of 

 that commodity on hand he would give us one. 

 Aft»»r seeing the embryo justice kick the dog 

 with his heavy boot, and send him home limp- 

 ing, we decided to accept the gift. Jack was a 

 splendid-looking specimen of the water spaniel, 

 and his dam and granddam were traced back to 

 Alaska. Jack adhered to the traditions of his 

 forefathers, and was a good temperance dog, 

 therein showing more sense than his master. 





OFF FOK COLLI NSVILl^K. 



We were to cross the river here. We had 

 sought this place, for it was the cheapest one 

 to cross. We were very busy until within an 

 hour of boat time, and our spread-out camp had 

 to be hustled into the wagon. Our would-be 

 justice said we could not do it, and that we 

 should have to wait two days for the next boat. 

 But that man knew no more about hustling 

 than a tadpole. He did not know of the con- 

 veniences of a collapsible camping-outfit, and 

 we surprised him by driving to the wharf some 

 minutes before the boat arrived. 



The boat was one of the regular river craft 



that ply between San Francisco and Sacramen- 

 to, having a large undershot water-wheel in the 

 rear. We just crossed the river to the town of 

 Collinsville, not over five miles, and were on 

 board less than an hour; and the ferriage, in- 

 cluding the dog. was the modest sum of ^4.00. 

 When we landed at Collinsville, and were hitch- 

 ing our ponies to the wagon, a fellow chipped 

 another 25 cts. out of us for wharfage. We de- 

 murred greatly, and called it by its right name, 

 a species of highway robbery. The explana- 

 tion for this state of things is, that the rights 

 and privileges of this waterway are controlled 

 by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Their rule 

 is to carry such an outfit as ours from San 

 Francisco to Sacramento, over 100 miles, for 

 .*4.5(), or five miles for the same price, and we 

 have to submit. "For ways that are dark, and 

 tricks that are vain, the S. P. R. R. will beat 

 the heathen Chinee." 



We camped at Bird, four miles from the riv- 

 er; and the county we are now in bears the 

 name of an Indian chief, Solano. A good por- 

 tion of it rests upon Suisun Bay, and lOO.CXX) 

 acres of the county is tule swamp. These tule 

 swamps are very fruitful all the year round, 

 and the leading crop is mosquitoes. It is also a 

 prolific breeding-place for frogs; and their hind 

 quarters are temptingly displayed in the city 

 markets. The next day, as we journeyed, a 

 cloud of mosquitoes followed us. We were, for- 

 tunately, facing the coast breeze, and the cloud 

 was left in the rear. Every conveyance we 

 met, and that was going with the wind, had a 

 fuzzy halo of the insects hovering over them. 

 Our observations in relation to bee culture 

 were not rewarded with much 

 success. Now and then a patch 

 of wild sunflowers by the road- 

 side would reveal various insects 

 upon the flowers; but I saw only 

 one honey-bee. Mr. Wilder saw 

 another, showing that a colony 

 was in the vicinity, bravely hold- 

 iiig its own with the mosquitoes. 

 Owing to the flat country, and 

 its liability to inundation, the 

 bee can not tind lodgment in the 

 ground: neither are there large 

 trees or rocky hills; so if the bees live here in 

 the wild state it must be in the cornice of some 

 residence; and even a house with such an ap- 

 pendage is somewhat rare after we leave the 

 towns. 



The lands above the river-bottom are devoted 

 to the production of grain, and there is but 

 scanty pasturage for bees. The'tule' lands are, 

 however, in a fair way to be reclaimed. Great 

 schemes are now on foot, so that, by a system 

 of dykes and waterways, the rivers will be held 

 in their natural beds, and the rich alluvial soil 

 utilized for agricultural purposes. Then these 

 low lands will become the natural home of al- 



