848 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



RAMBLE 96. 



RAMBLER OUT PHOTOGRAPHING. 



It has often been said, that the occupation 

 of bee-keeping in California enlists the atten- 

 tion of the bee-keeper for only a limited time; 

 and the saying has some force to it when a per- 

 son has been in the field for only a year or more. 

 That the bee-keeper could spend more time 

 with his bees, and that some do, is also evident; 

 but the great majority of the fraternity give 

 attention to their apiaries only through the 

 honey-season, and scrimp the time to the least 

 number of months possible; therefore, accord- 

 ing to the investment and labor performed, and 

 the tolerable certainty of a crop, California is 



the buggy were two dogs, and behind was a led 

 horse. The outfit did not fail to attract atten- 

 tion. I consented to take the place of the senior 

 member of the firm for a few days; and with 

 the junior member, a young man of various ac- 

 complishments, I set out from San Bernardino 

 lor fresh fields to conquer. 



The plan pursued by a traveling outfit of this 

 kind is, to enter some of the smaller towns and 

 proceed on speculation, or " speck" the town, 

 as the fraternity say. Instead of going around 

 and asking persons if they wish a photo taken 

 of their house or store, or an interior fiash-light 

 in the evening, and which would result, in a 

 majority of cases, in a negative answer, the 

 camera is taken out on the main street, and sev- 

 eral exposures made. Here our junior member 



,teTk Outfit. ^-^-^ 



equal to any country in the world for the cheap 

 production of honey; and to a bee-keeper who 

 owns a grain, fi'uit, or poultry ranch, which 

 needs more or less attention through the year, 

 the profits from the apiary seem to be a clear 

 gain; while the few weeks spent in the cabin 

 In the foot-hills, where the apiary is generally 

 located, is regarded more as an outing than as 

 a period of labor. 



Many bee-keepers, however, who have nut 

 invested in a home of their own, with all of the 

 concomitants of wife, babies, dogs, cats, and 

 quarrelsome neighbors, take up with almost 

 any kind of honorable labor between times; 



and it was owing to the fact that idleness 

 stared him in the face that the Rambler con- 

 sented to go for a while with a traveling photo- 

 graphic outfit. As a large number of bee- 

 keepers are interested in this art, and a larger 

 number are interested in the half-tones made 

 from time to time, I will give a few episodes 

 from my brief journey with the outfit. 



The apparatus consisted of a covered wagon, 

 which served as a dark-room, and in which 

 were carried all accessories of the art. and a 

 compact camping-outfit. Two black horses, 

 of uncertain age and certain spareness, were 

 attached to this. A buggy trailed behind. In 



put in practice one of his accomplishments; 

 and that was, in getting people out and in 

 range of the camera. When a few exposures 

 are made, the plates are taken to the wagon, 

 developed and dried, and a proof taken. This 

 proof is then shown to the various individuals, 

 and several orders are taken, provided the town 

 has not been "s;jccked " recently by other par- 

 ties. 



Our first halt was for a few hours in Riverside, 

 where our junior fell in love with a mule team 

 for which he traded our team of horses. The 

 mules were matched by contrast — one large 

 white mule, with huge ears and cocked ankles: 

 the other, a pudgy black mule of 

 uncertain age and disposition. Upon 

 going forward we discovered that the 

 black mule required considerable 

 whip-work to get him along. His 

 hide seemed to be remarkably tough; 

 but, like the Kodak, if the right spot 

 was touched, the mule's heels would 

 do the rest. The mule team was, 

 however, put through the whole 

 length of magnificent Magnolia Ave- 

 nue, fifteen miles, to South River- 

 side, where, late in the evening, we 

 l)itched our tent. Here we stopped a 

 few days and "specked'" the town 

 with profit, and where my junior got 

 into two foot-races and was beaten. 



From South Riverside we followed 

 the Santa Ana River toward the sea; 

 and as the shades of night began 

 to fall we lost our road and were 

 compelled to camp. Finding a grassy plot 

 where our mules and led horse could feed, we 

 pitched our tent; but, alas for our own appe- 

 tites! we had not a morsel of food with us. and 

 not a drop of water near. So we retired, hun- 

 gry and thirsty. My junior, who had been 

 singing and whistling '"After the Ball '" all day, 

 crawled into his cot as demure as a jack-rabbit, 

 and we were both quite silent until next day at 

 ten o'clock, when we arrived at a little Mexican 

 grocery where we found eatables in the shape 

 of crackers and sardines, and didn't feel much 

 hunger after all. In our camp the previous 

 night I discovered the utility of having two 



