Mav, 1922 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



311 



But it takes a real estate agent to bring 

 out the contrasts in climate. The town of 

 A is from six to eight degrees cooler than 

 B through the summer months, we are in- 

 foi-med, because of the draft through the 

 canyon, said towns being not three miles 

 apart. Yes, C is pretty warm in summer if 

 you live in the east part of it, admits a real 

 estate agent, but the west side is deliglit- 

 fully cool, as there is always an ocean breeze 

 around a certain mountain to temper it. D, 

 being not far from the ocean, is cool as a 

 summer resort in summer, according to the 

 agent who lists houses in that region; but, 

 if you mention it to an agent interested in 

 another locality, you will learn that you 

 never could stand the summer down there 

 on the flats as it is so hot. 



Now I don't agree with the woman who 

 told us, "California has more liars to tlie 

 square mile than any other state in the 

 union." I suspect there is truth iji all 

 their contradictory statements, at times. 

 They just prove that California is "con- 

 trasty, " even if it hasn't a well-defined 

 winter and summer. 



In other articles I have mentioned the 

 sharp contrast between the temperature in 

 the sunshine and in the shade, a contrast 

 which I very much enjoy, but fail to under- 

 stand its cause. I suppose the delightfully 

 cool nights which follow the warm days 

 should be attributed to the same cause. 



When a Californian is confronted by n 

 tourist who complains of the cold weather 

 preceding a rain he always retorts, "Well, 

 we don't have to wade through mud and 

 slush even it is a little cold at times." It 

 is true, the streets are clean and ordinarily 

 perfectly dry. That is what makes the con- 

 trast during a rain so amusing. After it 

 has been raining only a short time both 

 sides of the streets are rushing torrents. 

 making the passage across almost impossible 

 to pedestrians. You see the water rushes 

 down the steep mountain slopes and through 

 the towns in the valley. It is nothing un- 

 usual to see a kind motorist drive up to a 

 curb where a lady is standing, take her on 

 his running board, drive across the street, 

 deposit her on the curb and drive on his 

 way. At certain places in Los Angeles heavy 

 planks are strapped to the telephone poles 

 to be used in bridging the torrent from curb 

 to street cars. 



During a dry summer in the East small 

 streams sometimes go dry, but here in the 

 West most of the rivers, arroyos or washes, 

 as they are called, have water in them only 

 during or soon after a rain. "I don't mean 

 to be critical," as a friend always says 

 when he does, but if I ever grow homesick 

 for eastern scenery it will be for rivers and 

 brooks with water in them. 



AFTEE some three months of house hunt- 

 ing I have come to believe that nowhere 

 are California contrasts more marked 

 than in dwellings. There are great estates 

 with enormous houses in any part of tlie 



countrv, but T never saw ho many tiny, one- 

 room bungalows as in this vicinity. Whether 

 it forms the iiucleu.s of the permanent home 

 vvliich is built around it later, or whether it 

 is used as tlie garage later, it is a good way 

 to evade the higii rents, and in this mild cli- 

 mate it can be done without great discom- 

 fort. 



And there are such extreme contrasts in 

 style of architecture. A typical old Cali- 

 fornia house, whether bungalow or two- 

 story, has extremely wide, overhanging 

 eaves, in some cases more than five feet 

 wide, to shade the windows as much as pos- 

 sible. And as soon as liis house was fin- 

 ished the owner planted everything he 

 could think of to secure more shade. Mag- 

 nificent old date palms are in many yards, 

 and great, drooping pepper trees, many va- 

 rieties of acacia and pergolas with immense 

 vines keep out all the sunshine and light 

 possible. The exteriors of these old houses 

 are apt to be of shingles, stained dark 

 brown, and the interior walls are papered 

 or decorated in something equally dark. One 

 would think the inhabitants of such a house 

 would look like bleached celery, if they 

 stayed indoors much. 



In contrast with these old houses is the 

 latest thing in stucco in white or very light 

 colors, perhaps pink trimmed in turquois 

 blue. These have no overhang to the roof 

 and most of them substitute courts, patios 

 or terraces for the conifortable, shadv porch, 

 even though there is not a tree on the^place 

 to afford any shade. When I see these shade- 

 less, porchless houses and the processions of 

 automobiles on all the boulevards on pleas- 

 ant afternoons I am inclined to believe that 

 the modern Californian has substituted the 

 motor car for his porch or his own "vine 

 and fig tree. " It is only fair to state that 

 there are many charming houses between 

 these two extremes whicii liave both sun- 

 shine and. shade about them, but I was 

 merely contrasting the old with the very 

 new. As one real estate agent told me, "If 

 you will have a house with a porch you must 

 be satisfied with something that is a little 

 old fashioned, for porches are selclom built 

 noAv. ' ' 



AS" interesting contrast in California is 

 ^/\that afforded by the cosmopolitan char- 

 acter of its population. A Californian 

 born and bred is quite rare. 1 have met only 

 one myself. Here are two questions which 

 are asked us so frequently that I have come 

 to expect them and sometimes volunteer the 

 information: "How long have you been 

 here and where did you come from?" A 

 former Massachusetts man who asked me 

 those questions on meeting me said, "I 

 shouldn't think of asking them back East, 

 but everyone does it out here and no one 

 seems to regard it as rude." California 

 might be regarded as a beautiful "melting- 

 pot" for making enthusiastic Calif ornians 

 of people from every state and from all 

 other parts of the world. 



