760 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



Southern California, and, as a consequence, a 

 number of Mr. Hart's colonies have joined 

 the great majority, where the seasons trouble 

 not and where the bee's sting is folded for ever. 

 We found Mr. Hart a little blue over his 

 losses and the prospects, present and future ; 

 but he was holding up remarkably for a man 

 of his age. The storms of many winters in 

 the East, and the sun of several summers in 



UNDER THE ORANGE-TREE. 



California, and the many stings from the 

 lively little bee, have whitened his locks ; but 

 what of that ? his faithful wife is ready to 

 console him ; his unmarried daughter ready 

 to bring him his hat or his slippers. (H-u-m, 

 h-e-i-g-h-o! let me see; where was I at ?) Oh, 

 yes ! and he has a son to start the fire in the 

 morning, and grandchildren just old enough 

 to pull his whiskers. Besides these advan- 

 tages he has the money he has earned from 

 his bees salted down in city lots, etc. There 

 is no earthly use for Mr. Hart to 

 have the least shade of blue; but 

 bee keepers will do such things 

 in spite of the good circumstances 

 with which they are surrounded. 



Mr. Hart is decidedly in favor 

 of the Carniolan bee, and quite a 

 number of his colonies are of 

 that race. They gather more 

 honey, sting less, and are on that 

 account a more desirable bee fur 

 city life. This is a point that 

 city bee-keepers should take into 

 consideration. Much of the 

 trouble which arises from keep- 

 ing bees where the neighbors are 

 near and plentiful comes from 

 having a strain of cross bees. A 

 bee-keeper not far from Mr. 

 Hart's owned about thirty colo- 

 nies of bees, and one night had 

 them all tipped over, and some 

 of them ruined, just because a 

 child was stung by a few bees. 

 Instead of stirring up the whole neighbor- 

 hood, Mr. Hart's Carniolan bees allow his 

 grandchildren to take many liberties in their 

 vicinity, and no stings received. 



I herewith present photos of Mr. Hart and 

 his apiary, also a snap shot of Mr. Hart, Miss 

 Hart, and Mr. McNay. The latter is doing 



something that he can not do in Wisconsin. 

 He is picking oranges. When we left the 

 Hart grounds our pockets all had a bulge on 

 them from the number of oranges stowed 

 away in them. We hope many days yet to 

 the sage of the Sierra Madre foothills. 



Upon our return the Pasadena ostrich-farm 

 lay directly in our route, and a call there was 

 not devoid of interest. There are a great 

 many fine things in Wisconsin to 

 AMH9H boast of, but Mr. McNay could 

 -. ■.C'^^" v ^ not brag about Wisconsin ostrich- 

 farms That is where we get the 

 best of Eastern people, we have 

 such unique things out here. 

 The ostrich is a unique bird, 

 rather overgrown, and a hundred 

 of such feathered monstrosities 

 give the spectator a unique feel- 

 ing, and a large male ostrich can 

 make things about as lively as 

 a colony of cross bees. The 

 ostrich is a tall bird, and some of 

 the specimens here are fully 

 twelve feet in height, if not more. 

 They are so supple that they can 

 pick buttons off your shoes or an 

 ornament from the hat, with but 

 little effort in bending. They all 

 have an excellent appetite, and their daily 

 rations are alfalfa and carrots ; but they are 

 not particular what they eat. A lady stood 

 near the corral one day, and the ostrich under 

 observation grabbed her gold watch. The at- 

 tendant saved it ; but had it not been for the 

 attendant the watch would have gone the way 

 of the carrots. Sometimes the}- take a notion 

 that a man's nose or his ears would make a 

 fine tidbit ; then there is a scene. It is said 

 that one minister of the gospel, upon being 



A KID IS I.OOKED UPON AS A CURIOSITY." 



severely interviewed in that way, actually 

 took the two D. D.'s from the rear of his own 

 name and placed them in front of the ostrich's 

 name. It is also said that he can not talk 

 ostriches since, with equanimity. Buttons on 

 the coat, or, in fact, any thing that appears 

 transferable, is welcome to the ostrich. Their 



