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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



might remark that tin cans, and, of course, can- 

 bottoms, are a little more plentiful in Florida 

 than in any other part of the world. And this 

 lets out the secret that, notwithstanding the 

 great abundance of fruits and vegetables in 

 Florida during certain seasons, there is never- 

 theless a tremendous traffic and consumption of 

 almost all sorts of canned stuff brought from the 

 North. Florida does not seem to have caught 

 hold of the canning business very much as yet. 

 The Seminole Canning Establishment at Fort 

 Myers is, if I am correct, the only institution of 

 the kind I came across. 



On Monday, Mr. Longstreet's son very kindly 

 took me, with his horse and buggy, over to Sor- 

 rento, where I met Nellie Adams, whom I have 

 mentioned before as having regained her health 

 and hearing since her sojourn in the land of 

 flowers. Her brother has one of the finest or- 

 ange-orchards in the whole of Florida, perhaps. 

 He has a large rotary pump operated by a steam- 

 engine on the banks of one of the most beauti- 

 ful lakes I ever saw. He had just got the plant 

 in working order, and I felt sorry I could not 

 make him a visit at the proper time, and see 

 him operate. 



All through Florida I was told that no good 

 brick could be made in that State. In fact, they 

 shipped their brick by rail and boat all the way 

 from Georgia; but in the neighborhood of Sor- 

 rento I was agreeably surprised to find brick- 

 kilns making nice-looking brick of Floridaclay, 

 to ship by rail anywhere wanted. I stopped to 

 ask a number of questions of the men who 

 worked in the brickyard, and who were taking 

 down the bricks in the kiln. Finally some one 

 asked where I was from. I mentioned Ohio; 

 and at a venture I said my name was A. I. Root. 

 One of them started in surprise, and asked if it 

 were really possible that I was the " A B C " A. 

 I. Root, i asked him what he knew about the 

 ABC book. He said he had read it all through, 

 and so had another of the men. (Friends again 

 where I least expected to find them.) My good 

 friend Nellie declared I must let up on my fly- 

 ing trip long enough to visit a greenhouse con- 

 ducted by a couple of sisters — special friends of 

 hers. I suppose I looked a good many interro- 

 gation-points, for she replied: 



"Yes, Mr. Root, there is a greenhouse down 

 here in Florida; and as it is something unique I 

 want you to see it. And these two women also 

 manage it almost entirely alone." 



In yiew of this, of course I was ready for the 

 trip. Down among the beautiful flowers and 

 the beautiful plants — at least, such as had sur- 

 vived the terrible freezes— I found two nice- 

 looking girls hard at work among the plants 

 they loved. The Brooks sisters have done busi- 

 ness enough, 1 believe, to issue a small catalog. 

 I can not tell you of the many interesting plants, 

 flowers, and fruits that I found there. Their 

 greenhouse is not covered with glass, but with 

 cotton sheeting rolled on rollers. But they had 

 not seen our tomato-book, and their arrange- 

 ments are rather imperfect, so it seemed to me. 

 During the last freeze they had a terrible time 

 in protecting their stuff, even in a covered 

 house; and one reason was because the force of 

 the wind played such havoc with their curtains, 

 as I knew ifwould as soon as I saw it. If I 

 am correct, they have one building, something 

 like 200 feet long by .50 wide, with cotton sheet- 

 ing to cover it entirely when frost threatens. 



At Orange City Junction, where I was obliged 

 to wait for the train, I came across a lot of Con- 

 gregational ministers. They were on their way 

 to a conference at New Smyrna. While we were 

 waiting for the train several of us visited the 

 famous Blue Springs, only a mile or two from 

 the junction. This blue spring takes its name 

 from the beautiful transparent waters, with a 



little tinge of indigo— enough to make the wa- 

 ters look like the vault of heaven on a sum- 

 mer's day; and on the pebbly bottom of the blue- 

 waters issuing forth from the great spring we 

 saw the same beautiful colors, rivaling those of 

 the rainbow, and incrusted with pebbles, shells, 

 logs, and limbs of trees, and wonderful sub- 

 marine mosses and other vegetation, until the 

 bottom looked like an enchanted land. Great 

 fish a yard long or more swam leisurely past us, 

 or remained motionless until the gentle strokes 

 of the oar startled them from their noonday 

 reverie. A dear brother — at least I learned to 

 consider him so — handled the oars so as to leave 

 the surface as smooth as possible, that A. I. 

 Root might gaze unhindered, and take in the 

 shining beauties of the crystal depths. There 

 may be other good people in the world; but, oh 

 how safe I do feel in the presence of such men! 

 I am never nervous for fear they may let loose 

 some startling oath, or that they may tell some 

 impure story. What a wonderful privilege it is 

 to be one among a company of men who are de- 

 voted, heart and soul, toward seeking fir>t the 

 kingdom of God, and his righteousness! We 

 finally reached the end of the creek or river, 

 and i gazed down into the crater where the 

 azure waters boiled up. The country is so wild, 

 rough, and broken in the vicinity, that almost 

 the only access to the real head of the spring is 

 by boat. 



While riding on the train on my way back to 

 New Smyrna, somebody touched me on the 

 shoulder and said : 



'• Excuse me, sir; but did I not hear you say 

 you are from Ohio '? " 



I assented. Then he asked me my name; and 

 when I gave it I witnessed another sudden 

 change in a stranger's countenance as he rose 

 up and sat by my side, and told me his name 

 was Donaldson, and that years ago he used to 

 preach in Medina Co. He was another of the 

 band of pastors on their way to the conference. 

 During the afternoon, however, I slipped away 

 from my pastoral friends; and before meeting 

 them again I went through that little experi- 

 ence I have mentioned to you before at Lake 

 Helen. While we exchanged mutual good-bys 

 and God-bless- yous at New Smyrna. I gave 

 them a brief account of my afternoon's experi- 

 ence. Said one of them (if I remember correct- 

 ly it was Rev. W. S. Blaisdell, pastor of the 

 Congregational church at Tavares, the very 

 church I ran away from before anybody was 

 up) something as follows: 



" Brother Root, if these people all follow that 

 little text you gave them ('thou hast loved 

 righteousness, and hated iniquity'), all the pow- 

 ers of evil that the world contains can not lead 

 them astray. Nay, farther: even the prince of 

 darkness himself will be powerless to do j/ou 

 harm, no matter where you go. or what class of 

 people you mingle in with. Only let that be 

 the whole sentiment of your heart, the desire 

 of your soul, to ' love righteousness and hate 

 iniquity.'" 



THE FLORIDA TRAVELS ; BY A CALIFORNIAN. 



Mr. A. I. Root:— I have just read " Florida 

 Travels," and must say that it is wonderful 

 how you take in every thing in your travels, at 

 a glance, as correctly as you do. You have told 

 nothing but the truth. 



In February, 1884, we shipped 10 quarts of 

 strawberries, in with another man's berries, and 

 sold them through C. S. Darling, of Duane St., 

 New York, for $3.00 per quart. Our strawberry- 

 vines began bearing in January, and continued 

 until June. Ours were the Newnan Seedling. 

 There are but few varieties that bear at all 

 there. Our berries were on thin land; that did 



