844 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



road. It had been a torrent during the night, 

 and had left quite a space of soft mud or quick- 

 sand in the road. The ponies plunged into and 

 through the naud. Our wagon reached the 

 center, and the mud and quicksand closed 

 around the wheels, and we were firmly locked 

 against further progress. Progress was our 

 watchword, and the whip was applied to the 

 ponies for a desperate pull. Result, a broken 

 whitlletree. Onr progress was from bad to 

 worse. 



Just at this moment a traveling emigrant 

 family, with a prairie-schooner outfit, came up 

 to us. They kindly loaned us a shovel and ax. 

 Wilder cut a big lever, and I shoveled and he 

 pried. As fast as I could take out a shovelful, 

 another shovelful of soft quicksand would lake 

 its place. We spent some time in this delight- 

 ful exercise, with our feet in mud and water, 

 without satisfactory results. 



Then it commenced to rain— a real smart 

 mountain shower; it pelted us thoroughly: the 

 water zigzagged down our spinal columns, and 

 everybody, even the horses, looked and felt 

 their unlimited disgust. 



But, wait! It rained enough to send a little 

 stream of water down the road behind our 

 wagon. It runs parallel to the right-side 

 wheels of ihe wagon, and, as sure as you live, 

 it is washing the quicksand and mud away 

 from them. Quick now! With the shovel w^ 

 divide the little stream and run half of it to the 

 other wheels, and in a few minutes the wheels 

 are all washed free. The shower passes; the 

 ponies are attached to the end of the pole, and 

 out goes our wagon with a rush. A bailing- 

 wire mends our whiffletree, and, after an hour's 

 vexatious delay, we are are able to proceed 

 upon our journey. The shower feature of our 

 mishap, which we looked upon with such dis- 

 gust, proved to be our best friend. Parties 

 afterward told us that we were very fortunate 

 to have the shower, for in like mishaps they 

 were obliged to take their wagons apart and 

 dig the wheels out with a pick. 



Moral. — In this journey of life, many times 

 what we consider misfortunes are our best 

 friends. So let us learn to be cheerful, not 

 repining under any circumstances, however 

 dark and forbidding they may appear. 



Sweet are the uses of adversity, 



Which, like the toad, ug-ly and venomous. 



Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. 



That night, after a long and forced drive, we 

 halted at the residence of Moses K. Chandler, 

 at Dundee, 13 miles from Los Angeles. We 

 rejoiced that we were now over all of the 

 mountain ranges, passes, and canyons, and 

 under the roof of a hospitable bee-keeper. We 

 had been in wet clothing all day. and we made 

 good use of the kitchen stove for getting rid of 

 surplus moisture. 



Mr. Chandler has a pleasant home, as shown 

 in the accompanying half-tone. It is close into 

 the foot-hills that border the San Fernando 

 Valley. Fruits of many varieties, both great 

 and small, are successfully grown, and 130 col- 

 onies of bees help to swell the revenues of the 

 ranch. This is one of those ideal locations I 

 love to find— a location where the bee-keeper 

 and his family have a permanent residence 

 near the apiary. Mr. Chandler gets excellent 

 yields from his apiary; and. living so near the 

 great and prosperous city of Los Angeles, and, 

 furthermore, being somewhat of a salesman, 

 he finds a ready and remunerative market for 

 his ranch products — green fruits, dried fruits, 

 nut-, honey, and an occasional load of vege- 

 tables. 



The reader will observe through the photo 

 that the ranch has a prosperous appearance; 

 but at this writing, some months after the 



chandler's helper. 



photo was taken. Mr. C. has prospered so much 

 that he is building a fine modern residence 

 upon the site of the little white cabin. Mr. C. 

 has an efficient helpmeet in the house, who 

 keeps things well in hand for whatever busi- 

 ness may come along. A young lady is stop- 

 ping in the family, who has taken up the man- 

 ufacture of tin cans for honey. She first made 

 the cans for Mr. C.'s honey crop, and succeeded 

 so well in wielding the soldering-iron that 

 scores of cans were turned out for the neigh- 

 boring bee-keepers, and the miss does not aspire 

 to be what is called a " new woman " either. 



Another very faithful helper on the ranch is 

 Chinaman Hop Lee. He has been with Mr. 

 Chandler for several years. A few years ago, 

 when there was much excitement in this State 

 in relation to the employment of Chinese, a 

 notice was served upon Mr. Chandler, com- 

 manding him to discharge the Chinaman. Now, ' 



