164 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1. 



was enabled to increase those 10 nuclei in three 

 years up to 97 strong stocks, and get honey from 

 them in proportion. To this day I value the 

 Guide a little more than any other bee-book, 

 and I have all the American ones. 



I wish some of the bee-keeping fraternity in 

 Louisiana would write a "pece for Bee Glean- 

 ings," and tell us all about the honey industry 

 there at present. I am sure there are many of 

 " Bee Gleanings' " readers who would be in- 

 terested. 



So, Mr. Root, you made fun of my bee-escape. 

 Well, L. E. Mercer does the same thing; but 

 his son Bert, who is the better bee-keeper of 

 the two, says it's a " dandy." 



Wm. G. He WES. 



Newhall, Cal., Feb. 1, 1893. 



[Very good, friend Hewes. ' I should say you 

 are about right in what you say in regard to 

 California. While in New Orleans a year ago, 

 friend Winder and myself talked over this mat- 

 ter of that great crop secured by Charles Par- 

 lange; and now I want our Louisiana bee-keep- 

 ers to stand up and tell us what the matter 

 is. Haven't there been any more such good 

 seasons, or is it the right sort of man that is 

 needed to secure the honey ? I really beg your 

 pardon, friend H.. for what I did so many years 

 ago. Perhaps we are all a little wiser now than 

 then.] 



^ I ^ 



RAMBLE 79. 

 HOW THE RAMBLER SHOOTS SQUIRRELS. 



After crossing the pass beyond Mr. Donahue's, 

 our road led us down grade several miles. We 

 at length struck bottom in a beautiful valley 

 that seemed to have no way out of it except 

 over those immense mountains that arose on 

 every side. Here we found a ranch known far 

 and near as Sheckler's. Mr. Sheckler is a 

 large, well-built man; and if there is any wind 

 in the valley his whiskers are of the kind 

 through which it could blow. The house is 

 embowered in trees and grapevines, and we 

 were invited to a seat on the veranda, and a 

 big watermelon was brought in for us to strug- 

 gle with. Our host has upon his ranch, horses, 

 mules, and cattle; and it appeared to us that 

 he owned the whole valley; 300 colonies of bees 

 were also kept to gather the sweets, and the lo- 

 cation was an ideal one for the easy gathering 

 of honey. The bee can fly up lightly to the 

 mountain-sides, and drop down easily with its 

 load. Mr. S. was another of those men who 

 were free to confess that their bees do not get 

 the attention they deserve, and he was desirous 

 of adopting better methods of management. 



His bees were also condemned by the fruit- 

 man over in Del Zura, six miles away, and over 

 a rough and rugged mountain, and threats of 

 suing and poisoning were burdening the air. 



"Why," said Mr. Sheckler, "if any persons 

 poison my bees, or burn them, and I find out 

 who it is. I'll plant the red spider and the 

 scale on his trees, and retaliate until he gets 

 enough of it. Yes. I would." He did not say 

 he would girdle or mow down the young trees, 

 or poison horses and cattle; but even such a 

 method of retaliation would be no worse than 

 what fruit-men are doing. It was really re- 

 freshing to hear Mr. vSheckler defend the honey 

 industry ; and. though he talked so strongly 

 about retaliation, I have no doubt he would 

 b(^ slow to put it into practice. Perhaps bee- 

 keepers have done such retaliatory deeds, but 

 we never hear of them, which speaks well for 

 their patience and forbearance under many 

 trials. 



From the Sheckler ranch we do have to 



climb over those mountains, and. after a 

 very pleasant hour's talk, we set our faces to- 

 ward the next pass we could see, miles ahead, 

 ar.d follow the heavy grade up and up. We 

 wind around into deep gorges, and then upon a 

 sharp 'lurve we come out on the next spiir of 



the mountain; sometimes under frowning rocks 

 on one side, and a deep gorge on the other; and 

 often, where we have a magnificent view of the 

 valley, a sharp lookout ahead Is necessary to 

 enable us to meet at the propter turning-out 

 places those big loaJs and many-teamed wag- 

 ons. When we at lasi cross the pass we enter 

 the Potrero country, and a little later climate. 

 In the Potrero settlement we camped again 

 and pitched our tent on the soft ground in Chris 

 Nelson's garden. This young man kept bache- 

 lor's hall in a neat cottage, which he had bu'lt 

 on a government claim. Here he has settled 

 down for an indefinite time, having followed 

 the sea for many years, and wandered all the 

 way from Svyeden. He is also the happy pos- 

 sessor of 200 colonies of bees, all in Harbison 

 hives. 



I found here an improved sun wax-extractor, 

 which rendered the wax very nicely, and also 

 rendered the honey, and left it in a tank, with 

 little or no discoloration, nor a taste of being 

 overheated. A sample was drawn from the 

 tank, and we all pronounced it first class. The 



llSON5M0KfPv 



photo shows that the extractor is an ordinary 

 shallow tank. It is provided with a tight 

 tin bottom; at one end is a wire-cloth dam, or 

 strainer. After passing through the strainer, 

 the wax congeals and the honey runs a little 

 further and drops into the large cool tank, but 

 little the worse for its sun bath. 



The Harbison smoker is also shown in the 

 photo. This stove smoker, so much used in 



