no 



GLEANING8 IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mak. 1." 



their mountain home, and seemed to enjoy life 

 as well as and probably much better than they 

 would if living in costly marble halls. 



Our journey was resumed again, and the 

 country was very rough and wild. Our road 

 was soon crowded into tlie bed of the stream, 

 which it followed for some distance between 

 frowning rocks. There was but little water 

 running; but during the rainy season travel is 

 sometimes suspended for a time. At the upper 

 extremity of this canyon we find the little town 

 of Campo located in a narrow pa^s where stones 

 vie in size with the liouses. 



Campo is within one mile of the Mexican line. 

 and has been the scene of many bloody encoun- 

 ters between Mexican desperadoes and the 

 American residents. In the last attack upon 

 the town, four of the desperadoes were left 

 dead on the streets, and only two of the band 

 escaped. The only store is strongly built of 

 stone, has iron blinds, and looks as though 

 adapted to resist quite a siege. I:5eyond Campo 

 the country is level again, and large herds of 

 cattle and horses are met. 



Our photo shows one of the most neglected 

 and for'lorn apiaries it is often our fortiinp. to 

 see. The hives are Harbison, with a clumsy, 

 ill-titting super mounted on the top, making 

 them extra tall. They sat at all angles, and the 

 sage- bushes were so thick before some of the 

 hives that the bees found their way through 

 by hopping from one branch oo the other. 



There were 300 colonies in tlie apiary; and, 

 though our visit was in October, the honey had 

 not been removed. There was scarcely a hive 

 tiglii, enough in the rear to keep the l^ees from 

 wurking out that way. Mr. L. had once lost 

 an apiary of 200 colonies by a brush tire, and 

 we thought this apiary in a good shape to be 

 swept away by the next tire. I learned the fact 

 that bees, during such a destroying tire, scarce- 

 ly ever leave the hives, but cling to the combs, 

 and all heroically die together. Beyond this 

 ranch the divide is reached, and a descent of 

 50 miles leads us out upon the Colorado Desei't. 

 There are some apiaries bt^yond Campo, but we 

 completed our jouiney here and re.-olved to re- 

 turn Hud it not been so far we would have 



LIVINGSTONE'S APIARY, CAMPO, CAL. HARBISON HIVKS IN SAGE BUSHES. 



In Campo we met Mr. T. Livingstone, one of 

 the older bee-men of the country; and, though 

 an old man. he was gloriously baching it. Hur- 

 rah for the bach! His 300 colonies of bees were 

 out three miles on his ranch, and, getting our 

 directions, we proceeded to the busy scene. 

 We found a fine camping-place near a residence 

 occupied by one of his hired men. Tiiis man 

 was wedded to a large, buxom, red -headed 

 woman. Two children occupied the most of 

 her attention; and. from the discordant noises 

 from the house, the spanking-machine was 

 kept quite busy. We rejoiced again in the free 

 and easy life of the bach, and the Rambler had 

 to use much fatherly advice to keep Mr. Han- 

 sen from going to the door and shouting to the 

 woman. ''Well, who's a kicking?" Probably 

 it would have been one of the tow- headed 

 youngsters, as my sketch will show. 



visited those mesquite-fields so often extolled. 

 We found men in Campo who were very enthu- 

 siastic over tiie futui-e of the Colorado Desert. 

 Water from tlie Colorado Rivei- and from arte- 

 sian wells will eventually make the desert the 

 scene of busy agricultural pursuits. 



It was our intention to return from Campo 

 on a road further south, and on Mexican soil; 

 but our friends all advised us not to do so with- 

 out a passport. The festive Mexican might 

 malie us some trouole and expense; so we re- 

 solved to return to a point well down toward 

 the coast before we crossed. 



In all of the country between Del Zura and 

 Campo there is but little fruit-raising, and bee- 

 keepers have a restful time; and, owing to the 

 mountainous country, there will probably never 

 be much fruit raised here. In nearly every 

 apiary we visited we noticed more or less dead 



