28 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 



They have a great many California rats 

 here ; and where do you suppose they build 

 their nests? Why, up in the tree- tops ; and 

 the way they do it is, that each rat takes a 

 stick in his mouth and walks up the tree. 

 I saw lots of their nests. These rats are 

 very busy folks ; they are always carrying 

 something. A lady said the rats once got a 

 habit of leaving a pile of sticks on her door- 

 step every morning ; and to get rid of them, 

 she used* them to kindle the fire to get 

 breakfast ; and for a long time the rats 

 gathered her kindlings every morning. Mr. 

 Wilkin once lost his clock-key, and found 

 the rats had carried it up garret and put it 

 in an old stovepipe. They make their 

 nests usually in walnut-trees, where it is 

 handy to gather walnuts. Mr. Shaw says 

 there is a place up near his apiary where the 

 ground is so hot, winter and summer, that 

 you can hardly stand on it. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



1 supposed, of course, the heat from these 

 hot-springs was caused by volcanic agency ; 

 but the proprietor says it is supposed to be 

 caused by chemical action. These moun- 

 tains are full of minerals ; and when the 

 water from the rains passes over a certain 

 chemical it becomes impregnated, and then 

 dissolves another of just the right kind. 

 Thus great heat is given out. Sulphuric- 

 acid and water, when mixed in the right 

 proportions, will become boiling hot. I 

 think one of the prominent chemicals in this 

 water is a salt of iron. I can not see, how- 

 ever, how this should produce that hot spot 

 in the ground, which Mr. Shaw spoke of. 



( 'astor beans here form trees ; and even 

 the beautiful fuschia is a hard-wood tree. 

 Imagine a tree covered with fuschia blos- 

 soms, more beautiful, larger, and more per- 

 fect, than those in greenhouses at home. 

 The century - plant also blooms here. In 

 passing a garden I asked what kind of a tree 

 it was that loomed above all the rest. 



" Why, that is the flower-stalk of the cen- 

 tury-plant,** was the reply, r^ 



" But it isn't possible, 1 ' said I, "that this 

 great tree all grew in one season?'* 



" Mr. Root, that great tree all grew in just a 

 few weeks,^ was the answer. After it 

 blooms, the plant dies. The one I saw was 

 said to be about 30 years old. The plant had 

 been all these years accumulating material 

 for this grand finale— the sending-up of the 

 blossom and seed-stalk. I am impressed 

 with the thought that we are something like 

 the century-plant. We are, during this 

 life, accumulating knowledge, and strength 

 of character, for some grand finale in the 

 great future; but while the century-plant 

 dies down after it, we are tohave," life eter- 

 nal." 



Dec. 1. Through the kindness of friend 

 Wilkin and Mr. and Mrs. Mercer, I have 

 again had a most pleasant drive through 

 the country to Santa Paula. While there 

 we had a sort of bee-keeper's picnic. I was 

 greatly pleased to meet no less a personage 

 than J.G.Cory, the inventor of the Cory 

 cold blast smoker, who was a resident of 

 the place. Our older readers will remember 

 the story of friend Cory's kind present. 

 Bufus Toucbton, who has written some for 



Gleanings, is also a resident of Santa 

 Paula. The great center of the oil regions 

 of Ventura (Jo. is here. A single one of 

 the storing-tanks is 100 feet in diameter, 

 and 25 feet high. From the pipes coming 

 in from different wells, 2000 barrels of oil 

 daily is emptied into this immense tank. 

 While we were there, by an accident to one 

 of the pipes the oil flowed over the ground 

 so that the men had to turn out with shov- 

 els and clam it up until it could be secured. 

 There is quite an extensive oil refinery here. 

 The boilers for working their immense 

 pumps are run with oil as fuel. Between 

 Ventura and Santa Paula are immense farms 

 for corn and barley, and excellent corn was 

 seen all along the way, piled up in im- 

 mense heaps in the field. ( "orn-shellers, run 

 by steam, shell and bag it. Plowing is 

 mostly done by a gang of three or four plows 

 drawn by four or six horses. The valley is 

 one of the finest for fruit and grain, that 

 will succeed without irrigation, of any that 

 I have seen. Apricot and English- walnut 

 orchards occupy mile after mile of the land. 

 Great evaporating- houses for the fruit are 

 seen at intervals all along. Immense corn- 

 cribs, without any roofs, are also found, but 

 I believe the best farmers cover their corn 

 in the winter time. Cattle and horses sel- 

 dom have any roofs over them on the farms. 

 They say, when they have sheds, the ani- 

 mals never go under them, even in winter, 

 when it rains. It usually rains in the night 

 time, and sunshine is the rule every day in 

 the year. It has rained nearly all of one 

 day since I have been here, but I am told 

 the like has not happened before, since three 

 years ago. Winter and STimmer are very 

 much alike, only the days are shorter iii 

 winter. It seems odd to have this beautiful 

 spring weather, and yet see the clays so 

 short. The sun rises now about 7 and sets 

 about 4. 



Dec. ^.—Another glorious Sabbath day. I 

 got acquainted with the pastor of the Ven- 

 tura Congregational church on Saturday; 

 but as he was prevented by sudden illness 

 from preaching, it was suggested, as it was 

 late to go to other churches, that we have a 

 prayer and devotional meeting, instead of 

 the regular services, and very soon it was 

 suggested a stranger from Ohio was present, 

 who was quite a Christian worker, and the 

 leader called upon u Bro. Hoot'* to tell us 

 something of Christian work in Ohio. At 

 the close a number gathered around me as 

 before, and I tell you it made me feel happy 

 to hear different ones say they knew me be- 

 cause they had read my writings. I felt 

 happy to remember that almost every thing 

 T have ever written, told, sooner or later, for 

 Christ Jesus. At the opening of the Sun- 

 day-school I was assigned the Bible-class ; 

 and learning there was a mission school two 

 miles away that the pastor usually took 

 charge of, by the kindness of friend Mercer 

 we were on hand at half-past two. The key 

 to the schoolhonse was lost, however, and 

 the crowd gathered there had to postpone 

 the school and go home. We got back to 

 town just in time to atteud'a meeting of the 

 Y. M. C. A., and a most able talk was given 

 us by one of the merchants. The attend 



