('.I.l'AMXC.S IX BIvI-; Cri/ITRI- 



])ul)lic our iiiislakes. One uv Uvo obscrvalioiis 

 or experiments are not enoujrh. 



I Tiiay 1)0 wroiiv;, hut soinetitues 1 wonder if 

 it would be possible to have some (lueens and 

 comb of . //"/.N" (fors(j/(7 shi])j)eil over to some 

 Southern State, the (ineens clijiped, and intn)- 

 duced into some Italian eoU)nies, and the 

 combs, containinjj; drone and worker cells, in- 

 serted ; ami, when drones are produced, en- 

 deavor to mate with Italian queens. 



I know we can not all arrange our articles 

 as well as W. Z. Hutchinson and the editor ; 

 but we can exercise care and thou.yht. We 

 sometimes mention things that are not inter- 

 esting. That able writer, in speaking of 

 measuring combs which the bees spaced and 

 built as tiiey chose, .said he measured some of 

 the combs of his father's box hives in the 

 barn some 27 years ago. It is of no interest 

 to know whose hives tlie combs were in, nor 

 wliether they were box hives or gums, nor 

 when it was, nor where they were. The points 

 of interest are the thickness of the combs and 

 the distance from center to center. 



The Vjasswood bloom was not as plentiful as 

 usual, but was sufficient to give a good supply 

 of nectar ; but the extremely hot and dry 

 weather brought out the bloom nearly all at 

 the same time, and almost dried the bloom as 

 soon as out; and if bees worked on it an}' it 

 was early, as I was under small trees at differ- 

 ent times and could neither see nor hear a bee 

 at work. White clover is abundant. It did 

 not yield well at first, but is yielding well 

 now. 



[. I/>!S dorsti/a could not, I think, be crossed 

 with . //>/.v uicllifica, another species. — Ed.] 



NOTES BY THE WAV. 



BY J. T. CALVERT. 



After crossing the Rocky ^Mountains, so 

 full of wonderful and enchanting scenes, their 

 lofty peaks covered with perpetual snows, 

 and where the pure water of the mountain 

 streamlet, laughing and dancing on its way 

 down over the rocks, ever increasing till it be- 

 comes a mighty stream, we come to the plains 

 of Western Colorado, where, luider the in- 

 fluence of irrigation, great transformations are 

 taking place. I'ruits in great abundance and 

 variet}- are produced. It is estimated that 

 there will be several hundred carloads shipped 

 from Grand Junction this year. The honey 

 industry is also flourishing here, and this 

 year's crop is estimated at six carloads for 

 shipment from .this one station. This is pro- 

 duced from alfalfa, and is of excellent quality. 



In our short stop of an hour here I hunted 

 u]) The Abbey Hardy Co., commission dealers, 

 who su])ply the larger portion of bee-kee])ers 

 in this vicinity. They also su])ply fruit-men, 

 and are large shippers of fruit and honey. 

 From the number of young orchards which 

 we passed, it would appear that only a begin- 

 ning had been made in fruit-growing in this 

 valley. 



On arising the next morning we found our- 



.selves in the charming Utah Valley, still sur- 

 rounded by the snow-clad hills. ' The neat 

 and comfortable homes, surrounded with 

 fruit and farm jmxlucts in great adundance 

 and variety, betokened the thrift of these peo- 

 ple. 



\ye stopped for two days in Salt Lake City. 

 This is a charming city in many wavs. The 

 .streets are all laid ou't very wide { f 10 feet), 

 about twice as wide as ordinary streets. All 

 the poles for telegraph, telephone, and elec- 

 tric-light wires, etc., are in the center of the 

 street^ and on either side of these the street- 

 car tracks, leaving a very wide space for 

 driving, and an unusually wide walk. In the 

 gutter, between the walk and the street, on 

 both sides of almost every street, is a beauti- 

 ful stream of clear spring water from the 

 mountains. This may be turned into the 

 gardens by side runs across the walk, making 

 irrigation very easy and convenient. All 

 around the city are the snow-clad mountains 

 rising several thousand feet. From Fort 

 Douglas, just outside the city limits, on the 

 foot-hills to the east, a splendid view of the 

 city and valley beyond is had — Salt Lake 

 itself spreading out on the western horizon 

 25 to 80 miles distant. The water of this lake 

 is so heavy with salt that one can not sink in 

 it, but will float with head and hands and feet 

 all above water. I know this is so, for I tried 

 it myself. The water is so very strong that 

 one is in danger of strangling if he allows his 

 head to get under water. 'No matter how 

 weary you may be, you will find here that 

 your feet are so light that it is difficult to get 

 them under you again after you have allovved 

 them to come to the surface. 



While in Salt Lake I visited at the home of 

 John H. Back, our agent handling bee-keep- 

 ers' supplies at this point. From him I learn- 

 ed that there had been a heavy loss of bees in 

 Utah the past winter, many having allowed 

 their bees to starv^e for lack of attention. The 

 prospect for a honey crop was good with those 

 who had given their bees proper care and at- 

 tention. The principal sources of honev here 

 are alfalfa, and sweet clover, which grows in 

 abundance in most of the waste places. 



I was not fortunate enough to meet anv 

 other bee-keepers here, although I learned 

 afterward that one or two had tried to find 

 me, and failed. 



The Chri.stian Ivndeavorers from the East, 

 journeying to the Golden Gate, spent Sunday 

 here, and held what was called an inter- 

 mountain rally. There were some oO special 

 trains, each bearing from HOO to 500 people, 

 who stopped here for rest. W'e were royally 

 entertained, and no doubt left behind \is a 

 lasting impression. 



Leaving here early Mondav morning we 

 pas.sed on through Ogden and across the 

 great alkali plains of Utah and Nevada, reach- 

 ing Reno on Tuesday morning. Here I spent 

 a day visiting the bee-keepers who, in past 

 years, had shipped us such nice alfalfa honey. 

 I found here the prospects for a honev crop 

 the poorest they have had in vears. While 

 they should have been taking their first and 

 best honey from the first crop of alfalfa, the 



