1889 



GLEANINGS^IN BEE CULTURE. 



349 



English would be spelled Cahone. Now what do you 

 see? You have come 14 miles to this lovely valley. 

 Spread out before you are thousands upon thou- 

 sands of acres of fruit and vines— a real paradise- 

 nothing fanciful about it, but real. Here you 

 find a soil rich, deep, and productive— no hillsides 

 here, no grade, no brush, nor jack rabbits. Beautiful, 

 is it not? Does man live here? Yes, 'tis the hand of 

 man that has turned this into real beauty. Get-up, 

 John! Past all this semi-tropical beauty we will 

 wend our way to the Southeast Pass, and toward 

 more beauty, or old Sweetwater, now Dehesa. Do 

 you look over my shoulder to the right, at that fine 

 house and grounds, with its young orange-orchard, 

 vineyard, and 200 acres of barley? Last March, 

 when I rode along here as we are doing now, the 

 house was not yet done; men were busy setting out 

 trees and vines; four plows were turning up the 

 virgin soil for the first time, all in 13 months. But, 

 halt! here we are, beneath this great flume; 82 ft. 

 above our heads flows 5000 miners' inches of water. 

 This trestle, that extends on either side of us, is 

 1232 ft. long; and what a splendid structure it is, so 

 solid, so strong! Now let's stop a moment and 

 think what a stupendous work is this, and what 

 does it mean to San Diego City and County. Pifty- 

 flve miles away, where the peaks of the Cuyamacas 

 penetrate the clouds, there is where this water 

 comes from. This enterprise cost over $1,000,000, 

 and this now is what 1 promised to tell you several 

 hours ago, when we were passing over the thirsty 

 land this side of the city. This is what is going to 

 give that land to drink, to make it bud and blos- 

 som, and to make plenty and contented homes all 

 over that now barren waste. On and on, for time 

 presses, 1000 feet now above the sea, and here is Mr. 

 Rose— not a bad house has he got either; and just 

 done. Do you see those ricks of baled hay, the or- 

 chard, and vineyard, where 18 months ago not a 

 blow was struck, and Uncle Sam was owner of the 

 land? 'tis true, every word of it. Brace yourself, for 

 John is letting us down the McParland grade. 

 Whoh there, now ! let your eyes do their best. The 

 eye can take it in, but the tongue can not express 

 the scene below. It is the Sweetwater Valley. 

 Look ! in yonder distance you see the sweet water 

 coming. It will not pass us. Turning to the right 

 it passes on and down to the great Sweetwater 

 Dam. Before you now is the valley, the land 

 where the celebrated Dehesa raisin of California is 

 raised. This, now, on the right, is Mr. Allen's and 

 Mr. Weddle's, all in one field, you say. Yea, 400 

 acres in one vineyard, besides fruit. We must cer- 

 tainly hurry on; and while we pass farm after 

 farm with their surroundings, think what will this 

 country we have come over to-day be and look like 

 ten years from now. Let the mind picture the con- 

 dition then. Here we are at the mouth of Harbi- 

 son Canyon; one mile up grade, and we are home. 



A. W. Osbdrn. 

 Dehesa, San Diego Co., Cal., Mar. 14, 1889. 



Well, old friend, you have given the read- 

 ers of Gleajnings one of the best pictures 

 of California that I have ever seen— that is, 

 the best pen-picture. It gave me a feeling 

 of pain all through, however, to think that 

 I bungled my trip in such a way that I did 

 not make the trip with you in reality. I 

 saw a great deal of what you mention ; and 

 I kept saying again and again to myself, 

 " What is to be the outcome of these won- 



derful improvements in the next ten years 

 —yes, or even five years ? " My brother 

 Jesse and I visited El Cajon, and went 

 through one of the large raisin plantations. 

 That wonderful flume and those gigantic 

 trestles were to me an unceasing wonder. 

 In fact, I did not know, until I viewed that 

 trestle-work and the Sweetwater Dam, that 

 the combined skill of the mechanics of the 

 world could produce any thing so imposing 

 and grand in the shape of mechanical archi- 

 tecture. The work is not only a miracle 

 of strength, but it is to me a miracle of 

 beauty ; and the very idea of pouring pure 

 bright limpid water into those desert 

 wastes, and making the wilderness blossom 

 as the rose, fills me and thrills me with en- 

 thusiasm. Now, if I had had that buggy- 

 ride with you, before we had been together 

 many hours 1 should probably have given 

 you an exhortation, after my fashion, in the 

 way of praising God, ;t from whom all bless- 

 ings flow." May be you have done that 

 thousands of times, and are doing it every 

 day of your life. If you have not, then why 

 shouldn't you commence now V The very 

 sight of those mountains, especially with 

 the railroads, the great flumes, and dams, 

 contrasting and comparing man's work 

 with God's, seems to me should make any 

 human being feel that God's plans include 

 man's, and that his design was in the very 

 outset that there should be mutual love and 

 harmony between God and man. God loves 

 us, or he would not have taken all this 

 pains ; and it seems to me that the highest 

 and holiest and noblest thing that man can 

 do is to love God and look to him in thanks- 

 giving and praise very often ; and especial- 

 ly when beset by troubles, doubts, and un- 

 certainties does it behoove him to '' cling to 

 the rock that is higher than I." 



HUBEE HIVES. 



FOUL BROOD, ETC. 



R. WM. C. BROWN, Otago, New Zealand, 

 sends me a frame by sample post which 

 he describes. He wishes me to give my 

 opinion of it in Gleanings. This is 

 really a Huber frame, like the Quinby, 

 Bingham, and new Heddon, only this is closed 

 above and on the sides. The idea is, that thei-e 

 should be no space between the comb and side of 

 the hive, nor any upward ventilation. Very likely 

 a valuable end is gained in the use of such frames. 

 We should judge so from the fact that they are 

 used by such persons as Captain Hetherington, 

 Bingham, etc. The only question is, Does the ad- 

 vantage gained cost too much? To close all open- 

 ings above would necessitate exclusive side-stor- 

 ing. I do not believe such a system advisable. No 

 one uses it in America, so far as I know. Indeed, I 

 do not believe it very important. The bees seal the 

 top of the hive very closely, and I can see no objec- 

 tion to a shallow space — bee-space — above the 

 frames. In fact, I like it. I have used several 

 hives of the Huber type— closed-end bars— and I 

 believe, after all, that, for the general bee-keeper, 

 the regular Laugstroth hive is yet the best. The 

 convenience is more than the slight advantage 

 gained by omitting the end space between (he 



