1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



721 



At the head of this valley I find the little 

 town of Chatsworth. There are quite a num- 

 ber of bee-keepers here, and the hotel-keeper 

 where I ate my dinner had a very good word 

 to say respecting them. The most of them 

 were engaged in the fruit business as well as 

 in securing honey. 



Here we leave the valley and climb one of 

 those passes that lead over into another valley. 

 These passes with their winding roads are 

 always interesting to the traveler. The rocks 

 are piled in rugged masses; deep gorges yawn, 

 and yonder is a towering peak where the eagle 

 has its eyrie, and where man seldom climbs. 



It is somewhat lonesome traveling over 

 these passes alone. You may travel for hours 

 and not meet a soul. The slow gait up one 



ing in great circles above, and ready for the 

 ripening of the carcass. Who knows but the 

 famished cattle saw them and knew the fate 

 that awaited them ? Poor things ! 



My objective point in this ramble was the 

 home of Mr. W. T. Richardson, the most ex- 

 tensive bee-keeper in Ventura Co. At the 

 little collection of houses known as Simi I 

 found a little oasis of green, caused by the 

 reviving influence of a few artesian wells. A 

 very cheerful man here directed me to turn 

 through a certain gate and travel another 

 mile or two, and I would find the residence 

 sought for. " You will find the country well 

 gated," said he. 



I told him that I had found the San Fer- 

 nando Valley well supplied in that respect. 



side is followed by a more lively one down the 

 other side. I find myself in the noted Simi 

 Valley ; and if there are evidences of a dry 

 season in the San Fernando it is greatly in- 

 tensified in the Simi. While grain did start 

 in the former, there was none here ; and the 

 seed that ha.d been sown had been thrown 

 away, and the fields were as barren as the 

 road in which I was traveling. The few stray 

 cattle to be seen seemed to have become de- 

 jected in their futile efforts to supply them- 

 selves with food. They seemed to be ready 

 to lean their poor bodies against a tree for 

 support. There was not spirit enough even to 

 switch the tail at the obtrusive fly. The tur- 

 key buzzard was on the death-watch, swing- 



" Oh ! " said he, ''we can beat that valley 

 out of sight." And, indeed, I found this a 

 truthful saying ; for in the next two miles I 

 opened gates innumerable; and as the shades 

 of night began to gather I came near being 

 discouraged. Just as I was ready to cry over 

 the prospect of staying out all night in the 

 brush, a house loomed up through the bushes; 

 and, for a wonder, it was inhabited. A kind 

 lady told me that Mr. Richardson lived in the 

 next house. After opening a few more gates 

 I was happy to meet my friend in his own 

 corral, and the anxieties of the evening were 

 over and promptly forgotten. As the evenings 

 in early March are cool we gathered around 

 the ample fireplace. This is a country where 



