1893 



(ILEANING8 IN BEE CULTURE. 



299 



THE: 





X 



E 



-^ -i^-. , 



h 



IV 



9 



tached to the wagon, and we were soon at the 

 seat of war, and war it was, sure enough. Mr. 

 Rouse, an old-time bee-keeper from the East, is 

 one of those men who believe in no half-way 

 measures, and he was making thorough work 

 with his apiary. Out of 90 colonies he found 

 almost 40 suffering with the disease. It was in- 

 troduced to his apiary by purchasing bees in 

 Harbison hives. His remedy was starvation, 

 and rendering the combs into wax, boiling, 

 stewing, and roasting the hives. I found Mr. 

 Rouse also a married man, and his wife was up- 

 on the field of action attending to the boiling 

 process. The hives and frames were thorough- 

 ly steamed for five or ten minutes, and then 

 placed out to dry. When I sa,w how nicely the 

 lady performed her part, and heard her remtirk 

 that she loved to work with the blessed bees, I 

 began to conclude there were some redeeming 

 things in favor of matrimony; but my con- 

 science soon seared over again, and I am happy 

 to say I am still a free bachelor. 



We asked Mr. Rouse to show us his worst 

 case. He had one infected colony left, and we 

 found them very docile, needing no smoke to 

 control them. This was the first case I had 

 ever seen, and I found the smell all that the 

 highest authorities claimed for it. and none of 

 the other signs were lacking. Mr. Rouse want- 

 ed to find a foul-brood inspector, but we had to 

 tell him that San Bernardino Co. had none. 

 The last board of supervisors would not appoint 

 one because a member or two of the board were 

 no friends of the bee, and remarked that they 

 wished every swarm in the county had foul 

 brood, and that it would be fatal. Better things 

 are, however, hoped for the county soon. Foul 

 brood, though a terror to bee-keepers, is not so 

 virulent here as in the Eastern States. Very 

 good yields of honey have been obtained from 

 apiaries thus infected, during the first stages of 

 the disease. 



Mr. Rouse and his worthy spouse had our 

 hearty sympathy, and we are confident their la- 

 bors to eradicate the disease will be crowned 

 with success. 



Upon our return to Mr. Ferguson's we found 

 Mr. Wilder had secured jack-rabbits enough 

 for our dinners, which we duly enjoyed. Be- 

 sides hunting quail and rabbits, our friend has 

 pony Vixen lessons on the road-cart. Vixen 

 had been used to the saddle for eight years, and 

 the road-cart was a new-fangled machine to 

 which she had decided objections. My friend, 

 desiring to show me how nicely he had trained 

 her to cart ideas, agreed to get me to the depot 

 in time for the train. Our journey of two miles 

 was full of exciting events. She fii'St objected 

 to leaving her pleasant surroundings, by per- 

 forming a series of buckings. This failing to 

 dislodge the cart, she sat down, with a very 

 comical expression o'l her face. We got started, 

 though, and the driving of Jehu was no com- 

 parison to our gait. The first obstacle in our 

 way was a slow-moving load of rocks on the 

 streets of San Bernardino. She failed to get 

 over it at a bound, and, with an expression of 

 disgust, she sprawled herself out flat on the 

 ground. As it was near train time, I hastened 

 away and left our friend in the midst of an ad- 

 miring crowd, getting his Vixen (rightly nam- 

 ed) on her feet again. On the whole, my trip 

 was very interesting: and that it will also be so 

 in a measure to your readers is the wish of the 



Rambler. 



[Only thos(! who have had experience with 

 the mustang can appreciate the series of situa- 

 tions shown by our artist, opposite. We have 

 been just there ourselves. Indeed, our experi- 

 ence in runaways, and handling mustangs, 

 turned us so completely toward the bicycle as a 



