124 
being fruit growers, were unacquainted 
with the appetites of our eastern grain 
threshers. 
Mr. Austin had the appearance of be- 
ing general superintendent, and I kept 
busy making snapshots. Before us in 
immeasurable grandeur lay the ocean 
beautifully calm, but of a deeper more 
purplish blue than I had ever imagined 
it to be. 
After our most sumptuous repast we 
descended the bluff to go out on the 
rocky beach below. When we were 
about half way down — “A whale ! A 
whale!” It was my own voice, but I 
am sure no one would ever have recog- 
nized it, and in my excitement I came 
near falling the rest of the way down 
the bluff. “ There he is, see him spout- 
ing?” Then Robert Hamilton smiled. 
“ We call that blowing. You see,” said 
he in explanation, “ When a whale 
wants food, he swims with his mouth 
open, and scores of the little fish on 
which he feeds are caught with the 
water which is strained through fine 
hair-like threads in his mouth and then 
blown out through a hole in the top of 
his head. Up to Moss Landing there 
is a whaling station. It won’t be much 
out of our way as we go home, and 
we’ll drive in and perhaps you will 
have the opportunity to see one close 
at hand.” 
I had never been on a rocky beach 
before and found it much different 
lhan the smooth sandy beaches that 
we had visited previously. There were 
high cliffs that reminded me of cathe- 
dral towers, and on which grew thou- 
sands of the rosette-like plants, well 
known as Old Hen and Chickens, look- 
ing as if they were glued on the steep 
sides. Their thrifty fleshy leaves of 
bright green, edged carmine, dampened 
with fog or spray glistened brightly in 
the sunlight. Little bushes, one to two 
feet in height, and covered with small 
thick leaves of bright yellow, red and 
green, grew on the rough, barren-like 
rocks at our feet, and every little 
crevice seemed filled with curious little 
sea life entirely unknown to me. The 
tide was coming in, the great breakers 
seeming to follow us, while the “ Old 
Maid’s Teakettle” (of rocks so-named) 
boiled and hummed a merry song. 
Robert looked longingly at rocks cov- 
ered with large mussels just out of 
reach. “ We’re too late for them now, 
we have to get them when the tide 
goes out, but we will have some before 
we go home.” 
Leaving Point Lobos we went riding 
through the beautiful “Seventeen Mile 
Drive” passing great sand dunes on 
which Sand Verbenas grew in abun- 
dance. We stopped at Pebbly Beach, 
then to Monterey where we decided to 
stay all night, being entertained in 
the evening at a movie show chosen by 
young Hamilton who was apparently 
well posted on the merits of Tom Mix. 
Monterey is one of the old towns of 
California, is a fishing town and has a 
large sardine packing plant. We spent 
a part of the forenoon in visiting his- 
toric buildings which included the old 
Custom House, now bleak and bare, 
and two old houses, Gen. Sherman and 
Hallock’s headquarters in the early 
Slower (Grower 
days. We visited a quaint little old 
building that was the first theatre build- 
ing in California. The stage curtain 
was a door hinged at the top. In this 
building were many curios to be seen 
and to sell, and the outside was 
wreathed with roses. 
While on the street a truck, in which 
was a baby whale, passed by to be 
weighed. The truck was large and 
the nose of the whale was at the front 
end and about one-third of its length 
extended out at the end of the truck. 
“ That’s just a baby,” said Mr. Ham- 
ilton, “some are brought in to the 
whaling station that are sixty feet 
long.” 
Leaving Monterey we went to Point 
Joe where a bag of the coveted mus- 
sels were gathered, then started home- 
ward by way of Salinas, where we had 
lunch, afterward making a side trip to 
the whaling station at Moss Landing. 
This is a large two story covered build- 
ing with open sides and an incline 
from the ocean up to the second story 
where whales are drawn in with pul- 
leys. Here the monsters of the deep 
are cut up, the flesh and fat being 
dropped through trap doors in the 
floor to rendering vats below. While 
there we saw men sawing through a 
great bone with a cross-cut saw, in 
very much the same way a large log 
is sawed. The flesh was a very dark 
red. Outside was a pile of whale bones 
as large as two ordinary size barns. 
We were glad to leave this place and 
its terrible odor quickly, and headed 
homeward with no more stops in mind. 
A cloud appeared, one that would 
mean nothing to us, but our California 
friends watched it with interest for 
there had been a scant supply of the 
necessary moisture for their fruit 
crops. They surely wanted the rain 
but a ride in it was by no means to 
their liking, but a sprinkling shower 
overtook us and seemed like a delight- 
ful April storm. 
Next came the feast of mussels, and 
Mr. Austin and I had declared to each 
other that we would eat and say they 
were good if it killed us, but much to 
our surprise we liked them and wished 
we had more, which we easily might 
have had, had we even faintly sus- 
pected they were such delicious sea- 
food. 
Mrs. A. H. Austin. 
| The St. Thomas Horti- 
cultural Society, j 
Local Gladiolus enthusiasts are call- 
ing a meeting in the near future to 
discuss the advisability of forming an 
Ontario Gladiolus Society. 
At the first annual exhibition of the 
Ontario Peony Association held in Lon- 
don recently the St. Thomas Horticul- 
tural Society won first prize for the 
best collection of six blooms. An in- 
vitation was extended to the Ontario 
Society by the City Council, Chamber 
of Commerce and the St. Thomas Hor- 
ticultural Society to meet in Saint 
Thomas next year. Though nothing 
August, 1920 
definite was arranged it is likely that 
the invitation will be accepted. 
Hundreds of out-of-town people vis- 
ited the city during Peony time to see 
the wonderful display of bloom, espe- 
cially at Pinafore Park. They came in 
answer to an invitation which was 
sent to all the horticultural societies 
throughout Western Ontario. The col- 
lection has been increased to nearly 
200 varieties, the majority of which 
were in bloom and labelled. This fall 
it is the intention to add a great many 
of the newer and rarer kinds. The 
shrubbery and ornamentals were also 
labelled for the occasion. On Peony 
Sunday, June 20th, most of the 
churches were beautifully decorated 
with Peonies, and at Pinafore Park 
during the afternoon a splendid pro- 
gramme of music was rendered. 
The Society has ordered for fall for 
distribution among the members, 1000 
Peonies. Included in the list are such 
varieties as Milton Hill, La Cygne, 
Therese, Walter Faxon, La France, and 
all the better varieties of earlier origin. 
Mr. R. V. Smith, for two years super- 
intendent of the parks of the city of 
London, Ontario, has been appointed 
superintendent of the planting of the 
Society’s beds throughout the city, 
thereby putting the work on a high 
plane. 
The city of St. Thomas has had 
erected in different parks in the city 
three bird houses for Purple Martins. 
The construction is rather elaborate 
and each will hold eighty pairs of 
birds. They are erected on steel towers 
24 ft. high and set in cement. St. 
Thomas is probably the first munici- 
pality in Canada to erect bird houses 
as a municipal project. 
AMERICAN IRIS SOCIETY. 
The first Iris exhibition under the 
jurisdiction of the American Iris So- 
ciety in Canada, was held by the St. 
Thomas Horticultural Society in the 
early part of June and was a very suc- 
cessful show, nearly 100 exhibits being 
staged. Amongst the exhibits of note 
was that of Mr. Frank S. Wood, of 
London, from his splendid gardens at 
Kilworth. Mr. Edgar Jeffery, of Lon- 
don, also sent some splendid bloom. 
The balance of the exhibits were from 
St. Thomas. No awards were made, 
the idea being purely educational. As 
a result the St. Thomas Society decided 
to purchase 25 sets of Iris (Kaempferi), 
25 varieties to the set, for its members. 
Many of the members are securing 
excellent collections of other types. 
Dr. F. E. Bennett, Pres’t. 
Catalogues and Price Lists. 
National Bulb Farms, Benton Harbor, Michigan- 
Wholesale list of fall bulbs for 1920. 
J. Heemskerk, Care P. Van Deursen, Sassenheim, 
Holland. Price list of the fall bulbs with colored 
illustrations. Hyacinths, Tulips and Narcissi. Also a 
select list of Gladioli. 
Dean Iris Gardens, Moneta. Calif.— Price list for 
1920 1921 of Irises. The Dean collection is one of the 
largest in the United States. 
