GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Fig. 2. — One of the beautiful views on the Loxahatchie River over which the editor and his party cruised. 



a mild conception of the beautiful views on 

 the Loxahatchie. 



I should like nothing better than to spend 

 a week fishing on this river — especially if 

 I could have an expert fisherman like Harry 

 to tell me what I did not know about the 

 sport, and that would comprise a volume. 



After we had gone up the river some 

 twenty miles we came back and stopped at 

 Harry's home. It is built on some shell 

 mounds of a prehistoric race that evidently 

 lived on oysters and fish. By digging into 

 the bank we could find here and there frag- 

 ments of old pots and kettles. 



In going up and down the river that day 

 I noticed acres and acres of scrub palmetto ; 

 and as the land grew better in spots this 

 palmetto grew larger. The stunted, growth 

 of the palmetto on poor land, said Harry, 

 does not permit of its yielding much honey; 

 but where the land is good the palmetto 

 reaches a height of six or eight feet, and 

 then the yield of honey is fair. As every- 

 where else in Florida, the flow is in direct 

 proportion to the richness or fertility of 

 the soil. This is especially true on the 

 Loxahatchie River. Pennyi'oyal comes in 

 to help build up the colonies. Without it 

 there is not much hope of a crop except by 

 direct feeding, and the yields of honey are 

 so light in this locality that Mr. DuBois 

 says he cannot keep more than thirty or 

 forty colonies to the yard. This is a vei'y 

 different condition from what we found on 

 the Apalachieola River, where it is possible 



to put ten times that number in a single 

 location. From a general survey on the 

 Loxahatchie one is forced to the conclusion 

 that this is not an ideal bee country; but it 

 makes a fair living for one man providing 

 he can have all the territoi'y to himself, and 

 provided, also, that he can devote the oft' 

 seasons to fishing on the river or out on the 

 ocean. Mr. DuBois is not only an expert 

 beekeeper, but he is a skillful fisherman as 

 well. When he first came down into this 

 country he went into truck-gardening; and 

 while he got fairly good results it did not 

 pay him as well as beekeeping. Ever since 

 he his taken up bees he has made a better 

 living than with gardening or fishing alone. 



Speaking about fishing reminds me that 

 at Jupiter and Pompano, a little below, is 

 where the famous Pompano fish are caught. 

 These fish retail at a dollar a pound. There 

 is probably no fish in all the world that 

 will compare with this particular fish for 

 the table. At least I never ate any thing 

 their equal, and I am told this is the verdict 

 of every one who has tasted tliem. 



The Loxahatchie is no bee paradise, what- 

 ever we may say of its beauties from a 

 scenic point of view ; and for this reason 

 Mr. DuBois will not be interrupted in the 

 quiet possession of his territory. 



Before we bid good-by to our friend we 

 must take a picture of him and his wife. 

 Fig. 3 shows them on the porch overlooking 

 the Atlantic Ocean. 



The next morning we started off on our 



