AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



813 



in a very pretty cottage shaded by the 

 evergreen pepper-tree, located a mile 

 and a half from Bloomington, and a 

 mile from the apiary, which he has had 

 charge of the past season. I soon 

 learned that he was a lover of cats, as 

 they seemed quite numerous, which, to 

 me, was evidence of refinement, for you 

 know, as a rule, refined people love cats, 

 and this, no doubt, will endear him all 

 the more to kindred minds. 



I noticed quite a collection of pictures 

 that adorned the walls, and there stood 

 that inseparable tripod holding the 

 camera which has pictured so many in- 

 teresting rambles in Gleanings, and 

 which, if presented to an audience by a 

 stereopticon, would afford a very lengthy 

 and entrancing exhibition. 



The preserved copies of these scenes, 

 dating back many years — the old home 

 place, the friends of long ago, and of 

 those left behind — give one such a vivid 

 impression of his past life that a touch 

 of sympathy steals over him, and he re- 

 alizes the fact that before him lies many 

 a page from life's history. 



There is much to interest one within 

 Rambler's cottage, consequently it will 

 be impossible to enumerate all. Aside 

 from his photographic hobby, we noticed 

 a display of insects, such as tarantulas, 

 centipedes, and the skin of a rattlesnake; 

 and while the Rambler may not admit 

 his fear of things ghostly, the above 

 evidently proves he has no fear of things 

 mortal, unless it be a woman. But do 

 not imagine, dear readers, that the 

 female gender have any fear of the 

 Rambler, as we incidentally found out 

 that a few evenings previous to our 

 coming, a party of 25 young people sur- 

 prised the occupant of the ranch, and, 

 before he realized the fact, took entire 

 possession. You can surmise the rest, 

 as we only present this as evidence of 

 our friend's influence over his neigh- 

 bors, and how generous the community 

 is in which he resides, to thus cheer up 

 and brighten the fireside of the Rambler. 



We must not pass by another pet, and 

 one in which he takes great pride — the 

 famous broncho Vixen, formerly owned 

 by a Wilder man than Rambler, and 

 whose antics were so picturesquely por- 

 trayed in one of Rambler's rambles dur- 

 ing the past year. We were anxious to 

 witness some of these antics, and when 

 Rambler proposed driving to Riverside, 

 I readily assented with a two-fold pur- 

 pose — the one, as stated, and the other 

 to visit Mr. Hubbard and wife (of Hub- 

 bard hive fame) in their present home; 

 and as it is but natural for Hoosiers to 



possess a kindred feeling for each other, 

 we were anxious to again greet them on 

 their return. 



After lunch. Vixen was attached to 

 the cart, and off we started, every mo- 

 ment expecting the show to begin; but 

 during the whole ride of 15 miles Vixen 

 never bucked once, but her gait at times 

 was a caution, and nothing but a firm 

 hold on the cart prevented us losing our 

 equilibrium. 



You all, no doubt, have been on board 

 a train of cars where they would start 

 up with a jerk — so you can thus judge 

 how pleasant these successive sensations 

 were in riding behind Rambler's Vixen ; 

 nevertheless we enjoyed it hugely, and 

 it demonstrated to us the wonderfu 

 magnetic influence of mind over matter 



The visit also was a delightful one 

 and on our return to the cottage — oh 

 what an appetite ! And right here 1 

 wish to say that our friend is one of the 

 best cooks it bas been my lot to find in 

 California, so I am not surprised that in 

 this respect the Rambler glories in his 

 independent bachelorhood. 



Geo. W. Brodbeck. 



Los Angeles, Calif. 



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CONDUCTED BY 



Beeville. Texas. 



Zinc and Its Uses in the Apiary. 



Seeing something said about zinc, in 

 Gleanings, not long since, I will add my 

 mite of experience. There are many 

 places that zinc is valuable. One point 

 is, if you will use queen-excluding zinc 

 over the hive-entrances of weak colo- 

 nies they will not swarm out and get 

 lost, or lose their queens. The bees may 

 come out, but the queen cannot, and 

 most of the bees, if not all, return to the 

 hive. 



2nd. It is the best remedy for robbing 

 I ever saw. If the bees have any dispo- 

 sition to protect their hive, a robber-bee 



