AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



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two last-mentioned places are irrigated 

 by water piped from the canyon, and 

 owned and controlled l)y the land-owners. 



Soon after passing into the canyon we 

 pass a large bee-ranch owned by people 

 living at Orange. The next place of 

 interest is the Picnic Grounds for the 

 whole Santa Ana valley, where every 

 May day several thousands of people 

 congregate and enjoy themselves. Those 

 grounds are covered with large spread- 

 ing and majestic live-oaks, festooned 

 with wild grape vines pending from the 

 oulf-spreading branches and forming the 

 most perfect natural arbors that one 

 could wish to sec ; skirted with the 

 sparkling and pure mountain stream. 



We next pass near the Santiago coal- 

 mines, 12 miles from Santa Ana. We 

 then arrive at the branch of the creek. 

 Up the north branch is another coal- 

 mine and four bee-ranches. The south 

 branch is called Shrewsbury canyon. 

 Up this we first pass Mr. Carpenter's 

 bee-ranch, then arrive at Madam Mod- 

 jeska's beautiful villa. She is a world- 

 renowned actress, and selected the site 

 for its reminding her of the Alps — her 

 former home. Here the stream branches 

 again. Up the left is Mr. Harding's bee- 

 ranch. He keeps stock and bees, culti- 

 vates a small piece of ground, and lives 

 there because both himself and wife 

 were invalids, but have good health in 

 their mountain home. Here he showed 

 me a colony of bees camped out on a 

 live-oak bush. He found them three 

 years previous, and left them there to 

 see how they behaved themselves when 

 enjoying California climate. They had 

 quite a large mass of comb, were strong 

 in numbers, and had this advantage, 

 that they could pass out and in at either 

 the top, bottom or sides without hin- 

 drance. 



Up the right branch we arrive at Mr. 

 Pleasauts' bee and stock ranch. He is a 

 typical Californian, and an old timer ; 

 the President of our County Agricul- 

 tural Society, etc. Here we are about 

 18 miles from home, and we have pass- 

 ed over the finest road that one could 

 wish to, and the rise is so gradual that 

 one would scarcely believe that he was 

 so far above the valley. We have also 

 seen the natural and beautiful groves of 

 live-oak and sycamore trees on the 

 route, and the grandest mountain scen- 

 ery, something to admire and remem- 

 ber. Mr. Pleasants is at the head of 

 the canyon. Besides the keeping of cows 

 and cattle, he has quite a herd of An- 

 gora goats. Stock of all kinds thrive 

 the entire year on the natural feed, wild 

 oats, burr clover, alfilaree, etc. When 



the feed ripens it is made into hay right 

 on the ground, and when the first rains 

 come it springs from the seed right into 

 the richest kind of feed again. I have 

 seen acres of wild mountain oats, of 

 such rank growth that it was quite diffi- 

 cult to walk through it. I will here re- 

 mark that there is no rain or dampness 

 to injure this natural feed for months 

 right ou the ground where it grew. 

 Think of that, you who are pitching 

 hay into barns one-half of the year for 

 the sake of pitching it out the other half. 



Now we have to take you back to 

 Santa Ana, and take a fresh start in a 

 southeasternly direction. We pass 

 through Tustin, three miles from Santa 

 Ana, consisting of a wealthy class of in- 

 habitants, with their well-kept orange 

 orchards, walnut groves, and other 

 fruits; two stores, three churches, 

 school-house, blacksmith shops, bank, 

 large hotel, etc. Here a few years ago 

 Kansas people sent out an agent to "spy 

 out the land ;" he bought a tract, and it 

 was subdivided into 2^^ and 5 acre 

 tracts or ranches, on each of which is 

 located a prosperous and contented fam- 

 ily. They stuck down a grape and fig 

 cutting, and in two years they could 

 literally sit under "their own vine and 

 fig-tree," and there is none to make 

 them afraid. A street-car line connects 

 the place with Santa Ana. They also, 

 have a branch railroad, depot, fruit 

 shipping house, etc. 



Passing Tustin, we come to, or pass 

 through, a barley field, where they 

 raised the past season 800,000 sacksjof 

 barley, a part of it being shipped to Ger- 

 many for brewing purposes. This is all 

 raised without irrigation. Eight steam 

 threshers are at work for three months. 

 The lowest wages were $2.00, and from 

 that to $5.00 per day. 



We next pass into the hills, and near 

 the Miner boys' bee-ranch, where they 

 obtained their 20 tons of honey the past 

 season. 



Winding among the hills over into the 

 Aliso canyon, at the head of which we 

 pass one or two bee and stock ranches 

 combined. On the route we pass flocks 

 of sheep which produce two crops of 

 lambs and two crops of wool per year. 



We now wind up over a spur of the 

 •mountain and down into Live-Oak Can- 

 yon, where we pass three more bee and 

 stock ranches. At the mouth of this 

 canyon we pass a mountain school-house, 

 located in Trabuco canyon. Up this 

 canyon is located several more bee and 

 stock ranches. Crossing this canyon we 

 climb up on to a plateau of several hun- 

 dred acres of level land (called here 



