BEEKEEPERS IN STRANGE PLACES 65 
lavender then in full bloom at the canyon mouth 
and on the desert. No one had molested them— 
doubtless fearing detection by the government 
ranger who sees that no one disobeys the signs 
warning everyone to refrain from touching or 
molesting anything “pertaining to canyons” per 
order of the United States Government. 
Mr. Clyne, of Palm Springs, California, is a 
proficient desert beekeeper who considers the pur¬ 
chase of bees too tame and prosaic. He scouts over 
the mountain sides and through the canyons near 
Palm Springs and captures his bees directly from 
their rocky homes. His apiary is completely stocked 
in this way. 
He found one colony, which seemed unusually 
active and populous, living in the rocks with a 
very small entrance hole and no way to see whether 
or not there was more space out of sight. However, 
Mr. Clyne shrewdly figured that where so many 
workers could be seen in such a frenzy of activity, 
they must be storing their loads of nectar some¬ 
where, He decided to find out whether his guess 
was correct. With a hammer and chisel he pro¬ 
ceeded to enlarge the entrance. 
“It was a red-hot day in August,” he told me. 
“I started out with a coat, gloves, hat and bee-veil, 
