ISICJ 



(il.KA.\lx\(.s IN' |{EE CULTURE. 



57; 



1 cnii'ml till' couiiiy in ^cairli nf ;iii ii|ii;iiv, 

 ami liad tliat sul)missivi' spirit that, if 1 could 

 not imrchasc. 1 would take tlic lowest round 

 on the apic'iiltiiral laddn- and wofk my way up. 

 Tliorcfoic. during the la-^i week in Dcccnihrr I 

 rainlilt'd on the bcautilul strt'cts of liiNcisidi-, 

 noted as tli(> i-cntcf of tiie citriis-fii()win!; hell 

 of (alifoinia. Hivcrsidc has a population of 

 about S(KH): has a Chinatown and Indian town. 

 Mexican M'ttlemeiit. and the inasnitieent Maji- 

 noiia Avenue. l.V) feet wide and :.'i) miles in 

 length, of which only about 10 miles is impfov- 

 ed. Tlie area of this city is the largest in the 

 country, and. except in tlie business center, en- 

 tire blocks are occupied liy only oni' house and 

 its surrounding orange-grove and ornamental 

 siirubberv. Tiiis plan necessarily spreads the 

 city to a groat extent. The sidewalks in many 

 places are shaded by orange- trees, and the 

 golden fruit is sometimes literally kicked around 

 under foot. The principal shade-tree is the 

 pepper-tree, which forms a canopy over the 

 walks, and ih<> ii«''iti<'nt fernlike leaves lightly 

 brush the hat as we walk along. I had quite 

 a vivid premonition that Riverside would be 

 mv home for a time, and the feeling was some- 

 what intensified when I found myself on the 



THE MOTLEY CKOWD IX KIVEIISIDE, CAT. 



main business street in a group of humanity 

 consisting of an Indian leaning against an 

 awning post, and looking sad: two negrons 

 chatting, and happily showing their ivories; a 

 Mexican, nearly as dark-skinned, resting on a 

 box. and evidently tired. Mexicans are noted 

 for being tired: in fact, they were born tired. 

 Then there was a light-complexioned Spaniard 

 dismounting fr<jm liis broncho. Coming down 

 the street was a Chinaman in his national cos- 

 tume: several whit(! men showing the charac- 

 teristic features of as numy nationalities W(!re 

 standing around: and. lastly, there was that 

 fellow called the Rambler. It was a motley 

 ciowd. and such as you will often see in these 

 far-we-stern cities. Such a variety of human 

 beings, I suppose, is necessary to carry on the 

 various operations of fruit culture, for there is 

 niuch hard labor connected therewith, ^'or 

 instance, to keep an orang(^-grove up to its best 

 requires constant attention. It must be irri- 

 gated at least once a month, and also cultivatiHl 

 both ways and around the trees once a month, 

 and sometimes twice. Then comes the trim- 

 ming and the search for the destructive scale 

 bug. The greatest damage, however, and 

 against which then- is no remedv. is from the 

 cold grip of .Jack Frost. In I)i"ce"mbi'r last th^' 



merciuy fell to :.'0° al)ove zero. This was unusu- 

 ally cold for this climate, and the damage was 

 measured i)y the hundreds of thousands of dol- 

 lars, and that was why so many oranges wt-re 

 kicking around und.'i' foot. Orange culture, 

 therefoH'. is not all smooth woi'k. and the own- 

 er of a grove is subject to as hciavy a lit of the 

 blues as was ever a honey-producer. 



The picking lasts two or thrcM! months, and 

 here is w here every one of our motley crowd 

 finds employment. .\ny eastern bee-kreper de- 

 siring tu pr(Kluc(! oianges can purcha.se a live 

 or ten acre grove l:.' y.ars old. and in full bear- 

 ing, for the moderate sum of S'^OW per acre: or 

 unimproved land snl)ji'ct to iii-igaiiun. for $100 

 to .^:i(H) i)cr acre. PUnsf (jlm; the Rdinhler due 

 notice jvhcii i/oii are coining, <in<1 lie will try to 

 care for 1/0 k. 



IIOXKY FROM OKANGE-THEES. 



The chief interest a bee-keeper has, however, 

 in an orange grove is the honey it produces. 

 In Marcli and qjril tli(> blossoms come out in 

 profusion, and the air is burdened with their 

 fragrance. The odor is not unlike our old- 

 fashioned lilac of the East. The blossom is 

 slow to open, and not in a hurry to fall; it there- 

 fore gives the bee three; or more 

 weeks in which to collect the nectar. 

 At present the orange area is not 

 great as compared to sage and other 

 flora; but in a few years, where there 

 are now a thousand orange-trees 

 within easy range of an apiary there 

 will be tens of thousands, for the 

 level sage lands are being reclaiiued 

 by irrigation, and planted to orange 

 and other fruits. The bee works all 

 day long on the orange-blossoms, 

 and their busy hum rises so loud and 

 earnest as to attract the attention of 

 the most indifferent pedestrian: and 

 although there is an abundance of 

 honey obtained from the orange, 

 there is much more sold in the mar- 

 kets than is obtained. Orange honey 

 is considered rare, and pure orange- 

 blossom honey is rare, from the small 

 area in which it is gathered; but 

 rarities are always sought after, and, 

 of course, the average grocerymaii 

 has not cultivated his conscience to 

 tha^ superlative degree that will 

 prevent him from calling any nice 

 honey "orange;" and I am somcnvhat skeptical 

 about there being much purely orange honey 

 shipped from this State, though there are tons 

 of honey sold as such. 



Usually in P''ebruary or March the; inten-st in 

 the citrus culture reaches its culminating point 

 in grand exhibits, and a citrus fair is worthv a 

 long journey to see. All sorts of designs and 

 lettering devices are worked out through the 

 contrast in the color of oranges and lemons. 

 The photo shows in some degree the novelty 

 and beauty of a citrus fair in this seiui- tropical 

 climate, where huge lemons can be made if 

 they can not be grown. 



Iti some quiet corner is usually foitnd an ex- 

 hibit of honey, orange and otherwise, but it is 

 quite overshadowed by the great citrus; and 

 though there are enough bee-keepers in Cali- 

 fornia, and the product, even in a poor .season, 

 is enough to make a creditable exhibit. 1 1> lieve 

 there has never been a spt cial honey fair, and 

 only occasionally a largo e.vhibit at fairs jn 

 general. 



Riverside has something of a local notori.-ty 

 for the number of swarms of bees in residences, 

 where, instead of being a benefit, they are 

 nuisances. During a booming season, "whi-n 

 absconding swarms are plentiful, they have 



