Ski'tkmber, 1921: 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



587 



;is if fireat bunches of violets were scattered 

 thickly among its fern-like leaves, and 

 wliere these trees are planted on botli sides of 

 an avenue the effect is wonderful, especially 

 when seen against a distant background of 

 sunset-tinted mountains. 



IF May is the month when nature seems al- 

 most wickedly extravagant with flowers 



in California, then midsummer is a time 

 when, aided by man with his irrigation, she 

 is equally extravagant with fruit. You know 

 how tantaliziugly short the strawberry sea- 

 son is in the East. We have been enjoying 

 frequent strawberry shortcakes for over 

 two months back, and might have had them 

 before that if we had felt justified in pay- 

 ing the price. And Ave are told we may 

 continue to enjoy them as well as green peas 

 until Christmas, although T think the price 

 will again be prohibitively high in a few 

 weeks. Even if it is, we think we are pretty 

 fortunate to enjoy nature's finest berry for 

 nearly four months in succession. 



And soon after the strawberries and along 

 with them came gooseberries, raspberries, 

 currants, loganberries, blackberries, fresh 

 figs, apricots, peaches, plums, fresh prunes, 

 muskmelons, watermelons, pears and apples, 

 for til ere are high valleys cold enough in 

 Avinter and Avarm enough in summer to groAA- 

 the finest apples. I think the season of most 

 of these fruits is a little longer than in the 

 East, and the season of the A^arious fresh 

 A'egetables is also long. Strange to say, to- 

 matoes seem to be no earlier than in Ohio, 

 although they have long been on the mar- 

 ket from Imperial Valley under an extreme- 

 Ia' high price mark. And such grapes as the 

 Concord are no further advanced than they 

 are in Ohio at this season. 



A feAv days, ago Ave droA-e through pic- 

 turesque Laurel Canyon and came to a point 

 AA'here the San Fernando Valley Avas spread 

 out before us. I am positiA'-e the land of 

 Canaan neA-er looked richer or more beauti- 

 ful than that A'allcA-. We Ha'c in a region in 

 the San Gabriel Valley AA-here the citrus 

 fruits ]iredominate. and, Avliilc it is beauti- 

 ful at all times of the year, iust noAV the 

 fruit display is not so Avonderfiil as iti tl:e 

 San Fernando VallcA' or at least (liat part 

 of it around Lankershim. We droA'e between 

 miles of orchards, apricots, dusky red 

 peacdies of unbelieA^able size, transluconf^ 

 plums of red and gold, gold and green and 

 deep blue, all Avith untouched blonm on them, 

 groA-es of enormous, wide-spreading English 

 walnut trees, melons of all A-avicties and 

 further on great fields of corn. And across 

 the fertile valleA'^s Avere the A^eU-etA^ bine 

 Vordugo TTills, Avith the Dcaks of tlie higli(>r 

 riinge showing bcA^ond. You see T never can 

 omit the mountains from anv description of 

 "Mv California." 



This article should be accomiianied bA' a 

 photograph showing some of those fruit trees 

 Avith dozens of props supporting their laden 

 branches. At eA'ory few rods along the 

 'boulevard the passing motorist Avas tempted 



by fruit displayed in baskets, crates and 

 "lug boxes." There was such congestion at 

 the regular fruit stands that it was otfcred 

 for sale at many points between, generally 

 beneath the shade of a wide-spreading wal- 

 nut tree or perhaps a pepper tree. We have 

 been rather pained and surprised at the high 

 prices of fruit in this fruit state, but one 

 often can pick up fruit and vegetables at 

 bargain rates at these stands out in the coun- 

 try. It gives one a practical reason for 

 urging her husband to take her for drives, 

 you see. 



ONE evening I noticed an advertisement 

 of "Honey brannies" in the paper. It 

 contained a testimonial from a man avIio 

 had eaten a honey Ijrannie in Avarm milk 

 every evening at bedtiuie, thereby reducing 

 his "too, too solid flesh" and greatly im- 

 proving his digestion and health as Avell. (I 

 don't belicA'e they Avould reduce a thin per- 

 son. If they improA'e the digestion they 

 should merely tend to keep one in normal 

 flesh.) The next morning I inquired for 

 honey brannies at our near-by grocery and 

 Avas informed that the grocer had not heard 

 of them but had ' ' SAveet brannies ' ' on hand. 

 Of course I asked him to get me some honey 

 brannies, and in the meantime bought a box 

 of SAveet brannies and found by the leaflet 

 in the box they Avere made by the firm Avho 

 advertised the honey brannies. The next 

 afternoon I enticed the busiest man I knoAv 

 to help me hunt the firm of Genevieve Jack- 

 son, Inc., AAdiich manufactures the brannies 

 Avith several other health foods. AVe found 

 Genevieve Jackson, Inc.^ to be an enthusias 

 tic young man. I believe he secured a po- 

 sition Avith GeneA^ieve Jackson and Avorked 

 up and finally bought the business. 



These brannies are made of bran, not the 

 chaff-like A'ariety Avhich is sold in cartons, 

 but bran Avhich includes enough of the grain 

 to haA'e cojisiderable nutriment left in it. 

 Combined Avith tlie bran is a little asar agar. 

 a Japanese seaAveed, and the whole is slight- 

 ly SAA'eetened to make it more- palatable, 

 pressed into oblong Avafers and then dehy- 

 drated instead of cooked, thereby retaininrr 

 its soluble minerals and A'itaniines uti- 

 clmnged. 



Tlie business is just in its infancv and un- 

 til very recently lias done practicallv no ad- 

 A'ertising, but people Avho came to soutliern 

 C;ilifo)-nia for their health bousrht the bran- 

 nies. liked them. Avent back to their eastern 

 homes at.u! induced their grocers to hnndlo 

 them, with the result that T snA\- a man oi 

 the ITnited States Avell dotted Avith blaf-k 

 pins, indicating in Avhat cities brannies may 

 be nurchased. 



Wliat is of part iculai- interest to beekeep- 

 ers is the fact that the honev brannies were 

 miide in resnonse to a popular demand. The 

 president of the companv said he had re- 

 "eiA'ed hunrlveds of letters, asking for a 

 brnnnie Avithout suprar. and T belicA'^e part 

 of tlieni reonpsted that he use honey in the 

 (Continued on yiagc 611.) 



