1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



720 



Wilson I What a fuss some pcoplo do iiiaUi' 

 oviT climbinir iliat little hill, and over a good 

 trail tool Wliyl it looks as thougli it could 

 bo put on a wlu't'lbarrow and dumped into tlic 

 racilicl Y<^s. yes! l.,os Ansrt les pi opie must 

 be easily saiislicd to climb that liiile hill and 

 call it Kianil.'" 





KAMJ5LEH rLIMHIXG GRAYBACK: XO STDKWALKS 

 HERE. 



Our visit was limited to three hours, and we 

 kept our eyes and imagination busy absoi'bing 

 the grandeur. From such an elevation one 

 gets a clear idea of the lay of the countiy and 

 the location of towns, and can imagine the 

 changes to be wrouglit in the next few years. 

 Upon the summit of Grayback there is no vege- 

 tation except now and then a clump of hardy 

 moss. The only life we saw was a butterfly; 

 and not a great distance from the top we saw a 

 honey-bee. 



Qui' descent was by another route, but rough 

 and full of interest. We broke camp the next 

 day. and left the mo^^t grand and silent forest 

 we were ever in. Our ucck's outing had cost 

 us more hardship and labor than a month's 

 work in the apiary: and though the dew rested 

 on our f;ices while sleeping under the stars, 

 we caught no colds nor rheuinatir puins. No 

 especial episode markcnl our homeward Journey; 

 therefore when you eat a watermelon, feed the 

 rind to the horses and remember Mr. Wilder 

 and the Rambler. 



NOTES ON TRE BICYCLE. 



THHOL'OH THE GAS AND OIL REGIONS; ,V CXIA. 

 UPON DR. A. B. MA.SON AND E. E. IIASTy. 



Some one has said, that "' variety is the spice 

 of life," and I am fast beginning to believe it. 

 Good roads, no hills, no mud. no sand, no rain, 

 make touring on the wheel easy but monoto- 

 nous. Still, if I were to have my way in stnH- 

 iufj out for a flay of cycling I should "prefer to 

 have no novelties of this sort; but nfteitvard 

 it is not so pleasant to look back uijon. 



You remember tliat I had left Norwalk after 

 visiting S. F. Newman, determined to make a 

 start, even if it did rain, which it did. While I 

 was on the brick pavement all was smooth 

 sailing. I was told there was only one hill aft- 

 er leaving the pavement, and that a clay one, 

 that would be likely to give me any trouble, 

 between Norwalk and the next town; but that 

 hill I After the lieavy rain during the forenoon. 



the mud was about the consistency of iirst-class 

 soap— slippery and heavy. 1 will not attempt 

 to give you my exijerieiice. but simply state 

 that, on arriving at the top, I concluded there 

 was no poetry in w heeling through the mud. 

 The conclusion forced itself ujjon me that I 

 must"cl>an up"" — at least dispose of some of 

 thesur[)lus mud adhiMing to my shoes and the 

 two wheels. After hunting about a little I 

 found a crooked stick. With this I managed to 

 scraije otT the great cloilsof clay from my feet, 

 and tlien with tlie same instrniuent piocecdcd to 

 push the chunks of mud out from between the 

 spokes, I was linally obliged to tinish up with 

 my bare hands. While thus engaged the resi- 

 dents along the street se(>med to cast pitying 

 glances, not unmingled with ridicule. Ail of 

 this I accepted meekly. After the job was 

 all finished I found a nice footpath along 

 the side of the road, and on this I made, 

 good time, though I was obliged to run over 

 briers for s<'veral stretches with my pneu- 

 matic tire, where a hedge fence had just been 

 trimmed. But it was either briers or mud, and 

 I chose the fortner, willing to take my chances 

 on a punctured tire. 



Just before I arrived in the town I observed 

 that I was too muddy an object to go into the 

 town, and too proud to receive the jeers of the 

 " small boy,"' Before crossing a river I found a 

 chance to go down inio the water, and, by the 

 slow process of splashing water with my hand, 

 I managed in time to wash off the mud, and 

 then with my hankerchief I wiped off the, wet. 

 After cleaning myself up, I proceeded to go 

 into town, determined that I would take no 

 more road. I next took the railroad track, and 

 pounded the ties — literally so — for nearly 

 twenty miles, some of the time crossing trestle- 

 work. At the end of the day the pneumatic 

 tire showed the effect of the journey, by having 

 horrid gaps in one or two places. 



As it was night I put up in the hotel in the 



town of . After a good supper I retired to 



the hotel office, or barroom. Three men were 

 playing cards, and I was invited to make up 

 the company. I meekly said I did not know 

 how ro play. The trio were greatly astoni-^hed. 

 and I sat down to read the |>aper. They cursed 

 good naturedly over the ga'ne to such an ex- 

 tent tliat it made my blood fairly tingle. I was 

 just deciding to go out of the room, when, in 

 the adjoining room, or ladies' parlor, the sweet 

 strains of •'Neai'er, my God, to thee,' rang out. 

 A young lady had been practicing on a piano, 

 and she Hnaliy turned to this beautiful piece, 

 singing in a strons. clear voice, that wonderful 

 hymn. I wanted to go into that room, where 

 the atmosphere. I felt sure, was purer and 

 better; l)Ut I thought it would be intruding, 

 and so I heard on the one -ide God's name tak- 

 en in vain, and on the other his name not in 

 vain. Itse(>med impossible to me t.hat the two 

 kinds of sounds could very long continue to- 

 gether in conflict; and (inally, to my great joy, 

 the swearing ceased. 



The next morning the roads had improved 

 considerably, as the rain had stoijped. I made 

 good time without any novelties save now and 

 then the troubh'some dog. and linally found 

 myself in Fostoria. :{0 miles away. Here I re- 

 mained for a couple of days, not with a bee- 

 keeper, but with an old chum and classmate, 

 Mr. Geo. M. Gray, printer and publisher. Fos- 

 toria is one of the great booming towns of Ohio. 

 It has struck natural ga-^. and struck it rich, 

 for immense glass-factories have started up. as 

 the gas offers peculiar facilities. On Monday 

 morning I started on my tour again. Mr. (Jray 

 accompanying me a part of the way on another 

 wheel. We went through the gas and oil 

 regions, and pursued our journey together as 



