1896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



463 



ming-birds, tomtits, crows, hawks, hens, and — " 

 "honey-bees," said Fred, smiling. 



" Yes, sor," said Matt; " that's it— any thing 

 that has wings or feathers." 



" In other words," said Fred, "and to speak 

 more definitely, Mr. Ghering, I learned that 

 you had a large number of bees in hives." 



" Bees in hifes '? " said Ghering. " Well, now, 

 if I don't call that shust gorgeous. Bees in 

 hifes! Mr. Anderson," said he, vehemently, 

 " whoefer told you so, told you von big lie." 



Fred here produced and read the letter he 

 had n ceived from Royal Smith. The effect 

 upon Ghering and his men was a shout of 

 laughter. "Horses! horses again," said Gher- 

 ing and Matt. When the merriment had sub- 

 sided, Ghering said that Smith " shust ought to 

 be tied to a mule's tail and trotted out of the 

 country. He is always up to some shust that 

 kind of joke. He sent my foreman here, Matt 

 Hogan, to this ranch on a similar errand. He 

 led Matt to believe I had a pair of horses for 

 sale cheap, and I hadn't a horse on the ranch. 

 I worked with oxen then, and the only horses I 

 possessed were two saw-horses, and that's what 

 Smith sent him after. But, Mr. Anderson, 

 your case is a leedle not so bad, for there is 

 bees on the ranch, but no hifes;" and, stepping 

 outside the awning, he pointed up the river. 

 Said he, " Do you see that chalk butte? " 



"I see," said Fred. 



"Well, that chalk butte is full of bees, and 

 you may hatf every one of 'em. The butte is 

 on my ranch." 



Fred's disappointment was plainly manifest; 

 and Mr. Ghering, being a kindly disposed man, 

 said, "Mister Anderson, you can not get down 

 the river until to-morrow, and you shust take 

 dinner with us, and then go ofer to the butte. 

 where you will see the most bees in caves you 

 efer saw. It is a wonderful show, and ought to 

 be interesting to a lofer of bees." 



Fred thought he might as well make the best 

 of the situation, and, thanking his host, he sat 

 down with the men at their repast. Not hav- 

 ing an extra chair for his boarder, an old box 

 was brought into requisition. 



While eating. Matt Hogan would often smack 

 his lips and say, "If we ounly had some of 

 Misther Anderson's honey it would be foine." 



Similar remarks from the other men kept up 

 the merriment at Freds expense through the 

 entire meal. But Fred paid but little heed to 

 their jokes. He answered them pleasantly, 

 and, at the close of the meal, he aided Ghering 

 in the clearing-up of the table and the washing 

 of the dishes. Ghering complained about the 

 time it took him to cook and keep house. A 

 good many things were neglected in the house 

 in order that he might keep his men at work. 



When things had been cleaned up Fred start- 

 ed for the chalk butte, half a mile away. Gher- 

 ing thought it would be more agreeable to him- 



self to be on the other end of the ranch, " and," 

 said he, " Mr. Anderson, you may haff the bees 

 and I will till the soil." 



There was not much spirit in Fred's move- 

 ments, and he would not have even visited the 

 butte but for his desire to see a California bee- 

 cave. 



The chalk butte was a peculiar river forma- 

 tion. Its surface contained about an acre, and 

 was elevated some forty feet above the river, 

 which made a great bend around three sides of 

 it. The point that projected into the river was 

 the highest portion, while there was a sag in 

 the part that joined the main land, and it ap- 

 peared as though the river ran here at some 

 time in the past. A few sycamore and Cali- 

 fornia- walnut trees were growing thriftily here. 



Upon the down-stream side, and about 100 

 feet from the shore, was a deep crevice in the 

 face of the cliff, at least three feet wide and 

 ten in perpendicular length, and from this large 

 aperture poured an incessant stream of bees. 

 Their loud and busy hum aroused Fred's spirits, 

 and he began to have a genuine interest in the 

 situation. He knew from the volume of bees 

 that there must be many colonies within that 

 aperture. There was no way of getting a 

 view of the interior, save from the bottom, and 

 with the aid of a ladder; but here the water 

 seemed to be of such depth as to prevent the 

 erection of one. 



Walking around the whole circumference of 

 the bluff he found other places where colonies 

 of bees were lodged in smaller crevices. From 

 the surface of the bluff there was a fine view 

 both up and down the river. Mr. Buell's land- 

 ing, three miles below, could be seen, and many 

 other points of interest. 



The exploring done, Fred sat himself down 

 upon the river-bank below the butte and in 

 sight of the bees, and here listened to the music 

 made by the thousands of busy workers as they 

 darted through the air. 



I^or some minutes Fred studied the bees, and 

 speculated upon the formation of that peculiar 

 house-apiary; but his eyes at last turned from 

 the bees and were resting upon Buell's landing. 

 He forgot the bees, and his speculations were 

 upon the fair being he had met under such 

 peculiar circumstances, and who was in that 

 sad demented condition. "What a beautiful 

 name!" said he; and he said aloud, "Alfaretta." 



Again the hum of the bees made music in his 

 ears; and as he glanced upward to the cliff his 

 eyes kindled; he sprang to his feet; an idea' 

 possessed him. Was it born in the repeating of 

 that name Alfaretta? Be that as it may, he 

 had an inspiration, and exclaimed aloud, "By 

 George! I will do it." 



If you would like to have any of your friends 

 see a specimen copy of Gleanings, make known 

 the request on a postal, with the address or ad- 

 dresses, and we will, with pleasure, send them. 



