1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



899 



in the sand. We remarked to each other that 

 we should like to see A. I. Root sweating 

 through that spot — not that we wish to inflict 

 punishment upon him, but we thought it would 

 be good for his liver : and. besides, if it proved 

 too hard for him we could lend a helping hand 

 with our sturdy ponies. See? 



'•>^t.V'flfe.^-» 



"got one, wilder?" 



Our ponies struck off at a rattling pace upon 

 the hard road after we left the ford ; and that 

 night and the next day, Sunday, we quietly 

 camped within a little distance of Los Berros. 

 Monday it was through Arroyo Grande, a thriv- 

 ing town. Here we deflected a little from our 

 route, and again sought the shores of the Pa- 

 cific at Pismo Beach. In all our journey from 

 Los Alamos we learned of only one bee-keeper, 

 and he was such in a small way, we were in- 

 formed. The country was largely a grazing re- 

 gion, and there was no visible pasturage for 

 bees. 



Pismo Beach is quite a famous local summer 

 resort, and is noted for good fishing, and, above 

 all, for the immense number of clams that can 

 be dug from the sandy beach. Ranchers and 

 their families come here with their tents and 

 cooking-utensils, and live for weeks, bathe in 

 the surf, dig clams, eat and sleep. This camp- 

 ing on the beach is a dull, prosy, and lazy life. 

 The ranchers say they can live cheaper there 

 in the summer months than they can at home; 

 and the change is agreeable to their families. 

 We found the usual attractions here —skating- 

 rink, dance-halls, and an imitation "Ferris" 

 wheel; but the atlractors all declared that it 

 was dull times for them, and no money to be 

 had. We spent a night and a portion of a day 

 hpre; saw the loading of vessels with thousands 

 of bags of asphaltum, which an extensive mine 

 back in the hills supplied; visited the chalky 

 cliffs, and explored the caves where many oth- 

 ers iiad trodden before us, and enjoyed the 

 dense wet morning fog. It is early in the morn- 

 ing, when the tide is out, that the harvest of 

 clams goes on. The residents of the canvas 

 village go out barefoot, with trousers rolled up 

 above the knees, armed with shovels, stout 



sticks, or even a strong knife, and then get 

 down close to the surf, and dig. I armed my- 

 self with a butcher-knife, and a little digging 

 in the wet sand unearthed a large healthy clam ; 

 a little more digging, and another. I soon had 

 two dozen, which was enough for our needs, and 

 I left the ranks of the diggers. Pismo Beach 

 with its lazy aspect we left behind 

 us, and remember it as a place we 

 have seen. 



Our journey was again into the 

 interior, and San Luis Obispo our 

 objective point. Our day's jour- 

 ney was enlivened by passing 

 through a number of little valleys 

 made fertile by life-giving springs 

 of pure water. In these valleys 

 a variety of farm products was 

 cultivated, and the acres of corn, 

 potatoes, and alfalfa, and the neat 

 cottages, gave evidence of thrifty 

 communities. 



In the suburbs of San Luis Obis- 

 po we saw quite an apiary of box 

 hives ; and after we had become thoroughly es- 

 tablished in camp in one of the public parks, I 

 took an evening stroll out to said apiary, and 

 found that it was owned by a German, and, in 

 connection with his apiary, he worked a cem- 

 etery. A person can not be expected to be up 

 with the times, perhaps, whose mind is so 



" VOS YOU VON OF DOSE DllMBERAXCE 



GItANKS? " 



mixed up with grave-digging, and with the de- 

 parted glories of many families; his mind must 

 needs have a '"retrospective glance; " and it 



