GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



DEC. 1.5 



the river, though a large one, can water but a 

 narrow strip of country through which it pass- 

 es. We saw fine farms and quite a number of 

 apiaries in the valley. We also saw quite 

 large tracts of alfalfa where there were few or 

 no bees to pasture it At Rocky Ford was 

 that extensive apiarist Mr. Hagan. We called 

 at his home, but he was down street. We 

 went down street and met him. I have ever 

 since had a suspicion that friend Hagan did 

 not want any more bee keepers spying out 

 that country, so we passed on. I don't know 

 how much honey that vicinity produced, but 

 meloES were everywhere. I was told that, up 

 to that time, about September 1-5, over 400 car- 

 loads of melons had been shipped out. 



Las Animas seemed to have many bees too, 

 and there we called at the home of Mr. Oliver 

 Foster, but no one was there. Before leaving 

 town we learned that Mr. Foster and family 

 were out of town for a day or two. As we 

 must be at Lincoln on time we could not wait, 

 so passed on. 



We traveled that valley, I suppose, for 400 

 miles or more; and while there are some good 

 honey locations, there are many more places 

 that would not support even a small apiary. 



We have talked much about water. We 

 call the Missouri the " Big Muddy," and I 

 think the Arkansas might be calltd the Little 

 Muddy. I do not know about the North 

 Platte, but I do know that the vSouth Platte 

 and the Arkansas, and some other streams as 

 well, are so muddy and so alkaline that they 

 are not "respectable" to drink from, and 

 sometimes wholly unfit to either drink out of 

 or wash in. 



\'ery much of the countr}- near the moun- 

 tains, and in many localities all over the arid 

 regions in particular, is full of alkali. Where 

 irrigating is practiced, the water leaches out 

 the alkali and carries it in solution, so that, 

 wherever the water is found again in springs, 

 wells, or swamps, it is unfit for use. In al- 

 most all of the irrigated country with which I 

 am acquainted, a very large per cent of both 

 well and running water is alkaline. A large 

 per cent, however, of the streams before they 

 leave the hills are as clear as crystal, and free 

 of alkali. The cities of Fort Collins, Love- 

 land, Bertlioud, Longmont, and Boulder, all 

 near the mountains, and drawing their supplies 

 from above irrigation, have good water. Den- 

 ver is only medium, while down the Arkansas 

 the only good drink we could get was by eat- 

 ing melons. I am thankful we passed through 

 that valley in melon season. Eastern Colo- 

 rado, off the streams, where ' ' deep wells ' ' 

 are put down to " sheet water," has good wa- 

 ter. 



To find church privileges, good water, good 

 markets, good honey resources, etc., in com- 

 bination, is what we failed to do. 

 ( Cotitinucd. ) 



[Permit me to say a word in regard to farms 

 located where the supply of water is likely to 

 be exhatisted. We saw quite a few of them in 

 the neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona ; and I 

 do not know of a sadder sight than a farm 

 where some one has tried in vain to make a 



home, and, after having expended both time 

 and money, to see every thing go to ruin just 

 because water was all gone before it reached 

 his ranch. Lots of swindles have been perpe- 

 trated, so I am told, b}' the land speculators, 

 along this very line. My friend Elvey, whom 

 I have mentioned, gave me one case by way 

 of illustration. A friend of his got into the 

 toils of these land pirates ; but Mr. Elvey got 

 hold of him in the nick of time, and gave him 

 fair warning. He refused to have any thing 

 to do with them, and went back home — quite 

 a distance, by the way. After he reached 

 home he received a letter from these same 

 fellows, telling of some unforeseen train of 

 circumstances where a valuable piece of prop- 

 erty was to be sold for a song, and they finally 

 offered to pay his expenses both ways in case 

 he declined ' to take up with the offer. He 

 went back again, and the sharks succeeded so 

 well in convincing him that his chance was 

 onlv one in a thousand that he made the deal 

 without consulting his old friend Elvey at all, 

 and then found that he had been swindled out 

 of almost every thing he had in the world. 

 He moved on to the place, however, used 

 what little means he could scrape up to go on 

 and raise crops, and then became bankrupt. 

 The men who had robbed him just laughed 

 when he tried to get them to stand by what 

 was only a verbal agreement. If 3-ou want to 

 buy property, talk with the farmers who are 

 working the land, and not with the land 

 speculators. 



In regard to the luscious melons grown 

 aroimd Rocky Ford, we were surprised last 

 season to see that some of them had made 

 their way into our Medina groceries. They 

 were snapped up at once at an advanced price 

 because of the world-wide reputation of these 

 same melons. Permit me to add that we have 

 been having quite a little business in the way 

 of making crates for cantaloupes to be shipped 

 to melon-growers, by the carload. You see 

 there are choice and valuable localities for 

 growing crops under irrigation ; but you do 

 not, as a rule, find them in the hands of the 

 land speculators. — A. I. R.] 



TOMPKINS COUNTY BEE-KEEPERS' CONVENTION 

 AT GREENFIELD, N. Y. 



My Trip Through Another One of the Great Honey 



Counties of York State; the George Junior 



Repulilic. 



BY ERNEST R. ROOT. 



You will remember that I left Groton with 

 Mr. Miles Morton, in a buggy, to attend the 

 convention at I'reeville, which I had been 

 invited to atteml; and that, on the route, we 

 stopped to take in one of Mr. Morton's porta- 

 ble house-apiaries, and take a snap shot or 

 two, the result of which has already been giv- 

 en on page S07. Leaving the house-apiary 

 we proceeded on our way to Freeville, a small 

 town located at the junction of two railroads. 

 As it is a sort of pleasure-resort, and is so cen- 

 trall}' located, it was selected as the place of 



