1885 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



going- up the inoiintrtiii. The horses oaii go only 

 oii a walk; so we peep out of the door, first on this 

 side and that, trying to see all the wonderlul sights 

 we have heard cxisteil along the road — deep canons, 

 so near the road that it seemed only marvelous that 

 any one could drive lotir si)irited horses along with- 

 out tippiug over the stage, and many other startling 

 things greet our sight; but, up we go, and soon we 

 liear a sweet sound breaking upon the stillness 

 tliat wo had all fallen into within the stage. It 

 proved to be the voice of an outside passenger sing- 

 ing, " Jesus, lover of my soul." Soon the dee)) bass 

 of the driver chimes in, and the music charms us 

 all until even the baby catches the spirit, and he 

 calls for more. When the hymn is ended, so the 

 mouiitaiii-side echoes with song, and as the air gets 

 lighter the nearer the top we get, even the weak- 

 lunged ones try their voices. 



Oh: what is thaty Well. I declare, if here isn't an 

 apiary away up here on this mountain. One, two, 

 three, four. Oh! I can't count them. I wondi'r 

 how many hives there are. " I should judge al)out 

 15!)," says one; and seel there is a man looking up, 

 kind <)■ wishful. I wondei- what he wants. 



'■ Mail !" sings out the driver, anil three |)a))crs 

 whi/, through the air, landing on the grass by the 

 man, who waves his hand for thanks, anil we disap- 

 l>ear from liis view ai-ound a sharp bend. What 

 lovely llowers: I never saw any thing like them be- 

 fore; did you'/ They grow only in high latitudes. 



Here wc are at the ne.vt station. Out we all tum- 

 ble, to get a drink front the stream which is i)ouring 

 from a spout which comes fi-om ihe mountain-side. 

 Flow fresh and good it tastes 1 .\ nnm comes along 

 Avith a frame of comb in his hand, and, looking in 

 the direction from which he came, we catcii a 

 glimj)se of some hives between the brush tliat lines 

 the road. 



"Do bees do well up liere'r" we asU the man. 



" Vcs, very well generally, luit we are afraid it 

 will be too dry this year." 



'■ Hut I suppose you, like many others in Califor- 

 nia, imide enough last year to pay for two yeais" 

 labor, dill you not'r'" 



" We did pretty well." was the lautious answer. 



" How near are we to the top, drl\i'r'/" 



" Oh, aliout a mile." 



" 'I'lien we shall see Santa Uarbara," sa.\ s one de 

 votee; "and the sea," sa.\s another; " and a lovel.\' 

 picture of both,"sajs mamnni; and, sure enough, 

 when wc do get to the to)), what a picture tlie valley 

 and ocean do make'/ I5ut we could only .just take 

 one glance, for on we go, bounding o\-er the rocky 

 road, which is steepei- on this side than the other, 

 and i|uite rocky. In one place the rock is so smootli 

 that places have been cut foi- the horses' 1'cet. so 

 they would not slip down. 



Now we ha\c got to the l)ottom, and are bowling 

 smoothly- along between orchai-ds and grain-tields, 

 and then we clatter into an air so laden with the 

 |)i'rfume of honc.\suckle and roses that we crane 

 out of the door, ihinking we surely are in Santa 

 Marbara; but we are still a mile awa.v. Hut, here 

 M'c are now. Why I see those three rows of roses 

 and fan-i)alms right in the street. Ves, tlie i)ropric- 

 tor of the Arlington Hotel put them out, and has 

 them kept in order. And, sec I there is the hotel, 

 with its lovely green lawn dotted over with strange 

 tiees and lovely flowers. Yes, and see tliat deer. 

 " 1 see two," shouts a little voice. Sure enough, 

 then' are some deer among the trees, looking as 



contented as you please. We stop at the postoflice, 

 where the driver throws out five large sacks of 

 mail, and then on to the Slorris House, where we 

 ^ are treated so well that we feel quite at home. 

 j Even the little ones are charmed, and go trooping 

 up the stairs, laughing and talking so excitedly that 

 we have to admonish them to be more quiet, be- 

 cause they might disturb some one. How we did 

 enjoy our supper that night '. 



" Why, mamma, here is a swarm of bees," shouts 

 Ernest, pointing up to the corner of one of the 

 wings. Sure enough, wc could see myriads of the 

 little rogues coming out from the cornice of that 

 great building, right in the heart of the city; and a 

 few days iifter they swarmed, and went into an 

 empty bo.v in the .wird, so Mr. Morris has to be a 

 bee-keeper, wheiher he wants to or not. It seemed 

 symbolical— a hotel is much like a hive of bees; but 

 the proprietor is something of a king instead of a 

 qut'cn, but is quite as indispons.ible, ani il depends 

 as much upon him as to whether the hotel is a suc- 

 cess as it does to the suc.-ess of the hiv,', with the 

 kind of queen that is within. 



Well, liow arc we to get to the hot spring'/ To- 

 morrow is the regular day for the stage; but we do 

 not want to wait, so wc get an e.vprcss wagon to 

 take us up. The i)eople of the city have made a 

 law (hat bees shall not be kept in tiie city; but 

 the bees do nut read the papers, and they 

 have not hearil about the law, so they keep trying 

 to be owned all through th(> place, and I do not 

 blame them; for if I were a bee I should want to 

 live there too. 



.Just as we were getting readj- to start wc heard a 

 commotion on the nuiin street, and, looking out, we 

 saw a swarm of bees alighting upon the tongue of a 

 great dray-wagon. Such a scrambling as there was 

 to tind a man who could hive them ! They managed 

 to get the horses unhitclied liefore they all alighted, 

 and then a man came with a box and brushed them 

 into it, and the wagon was pushi'd by hand until 

 quite away from the liees. No one was stung; but 

 what might have haiipcned if any naughty bees had 

 settled on those liorses, none can tell. 



Here we go, j>ast fields of pampas grass, walnut- 

 tiees, and fruit ()r<-hards of all kinds— past the city 

 of the dead on one side, and the orchard and build- 

 ings of the i>oorfarm on the other. Thi'n up, up 

 wcgo, tillit seems as though the horses can not 

 possibly climb any more; but they are allowc'd to 

 lest aw hile, then on wc go up the steei) rocky road. 

 The driver stops his horses, and jumps out to get 

 j some wild blackberries that he saw, and we also gel 

 out and partake of the feast that Nature gives us. 

 Then on again i!p worse and worse roads, till finally 

 we espy a house that seems to hang upon the steep 

 hill-side, like a canary -cage on the side of a wall. 

 The i)anting horses an- wet all o\er with sweat, and 

 we are glad for their sake that we have arrix ed. 



There are two largo springs coming from the side 

 of the mountain, and bath-hinises have been erect- 

 ed. The one at the upper spring is generally used 

 by the ladies, and the lower by the gentlemen. We 

 were soon ready for a bath, and felt well repaid lor 

 the trouble of getting here; but w^e felt a slight 

 headache, from the altitude, we thought, but hoped 

 it would soon i»ass away, as we had made arrange- 

 ments to stay a week; but we had to go back next 

 day, for our head got to aching harder, and we 

 were so dizzy that we did not dare to walk along the 

 toad that winds like a gray thread (\mong the 



