DECEMBER 15, 1915 



fitted. Some of this casting might be cut 

 away witli a hack-saw or file so as to accom- 

 modate the gear ]>iiiion and the long key- 

 way wilhoiit destroying the opportunities 

 for fastonii.g it to the frame. Often the 

 success of the tractor depends quite as 

 much upon correct alignment and perfect 

 rigidity as on the selection of the parts and 

 their general arrangement. 



1039 



This completes the running members of 

 the tractor, and leaves for another paper 

 such conveniences as the steering gear, en- 

 gine control, and a variety of necessary 

 trimmings, together with a few words re- 

 garding some of the more useful special 

 attachments needed ujjon the ideal tractor 

 for the apiary. 



Harmonsburg, Pa. 



AN OFF YEAR IN CUBA 



BY FRANK REIMANN 



Conditions for several years have been 

 unfavorable. Perhaps this accounts for no 

 articles from Cuba. In the United States 

 a real good crop is expected only once in 

 twenty years. In Cuba it is about once in 

 five 3'ears. For instance, 1500 hives of bees 

 in an extra year will make 400 barrels of 

 50 gallons each. In a poor year they would 

 make from 100 to 200 barrels a year. The 

 smallest crop I had in ten years was 100 

 barrels. The cause of the poor years may 

 be a dry summer or cold winter, or both. 

 The last week of October and November 

 were so cold that the bees made very little 

 honey. 



This summer where I had the majority 

 of the beeyards it was very dry, only about 

 five inches of rain fell. Sixty inches is not 

 an extraordinai'y rainfall for Cuba for a 

 year. I have only one beeyard that was in 

 condition to make a full crop, and this will 

 not be over three-fourths now, on account 

 of the great drouth and cold. 



Owing to the low price of extracted 

 honey on account of the war, last winter I 

 purchased 10,000 sections in the United 

 States to raise comb honey this year. By 

 this time I have been working in 250 su- 

 pers, and I think these sections will be all 

 completed by Christmas. Our main crop, 

 campanula, is now on. I am using three 

 beeyards to fill these sections, whereas in a 

 good season one yard would have filled 

 them. 



The strained honey has now advanced to 

 35 cts. a gallon, which is considered good 

 business for Cuba. Our honey business in 

 Cuba is almost entirely with Germany. 

 Four years ago we had a very large crop 

 with high prices. This induced quite a 

 large number of natives to go into the busi- 

 ness. Now with three bad years they all 

 want to sell out, and I buy these bees at my 

 own price. Their bees are near the moun- 

 tain near Vara, where I shall be located in 

 the future. My business between Cauto 

 and Guamo I expect to sell or rent. 



There is help in abundance here. In the 

 honey season we extract one beeyard a day. 

 1 have one man to take the honey from the 

 hives, one to take the honey into the house 

 and bring the empty combs back ; two wom- 

 en to uncap, one man at the extractor, one 

 woman to cut out the drone or old combs, 

 and one man to put the combs back in the 

 hives. In this way we can extract a barrel 

 an hour. 



The beeyards have between 200 and 300 

 hives. I find that 300 Lives should be the 

 limit in one yard here. I pay the men $1.25 

 a day, and the women 50 cents. 



The honey business is in a decline in 

 Cuba. As a beekeeper makes his money 

 from bees he finds other opportunities that 

 will pay more money. For instance, in the 

 cattle business a beekeeper can buy a cow 

 here for $25 to $30. In a year he can raise 

 a male calf which will bring $20, and a 

 female will bring $15. In a few years we 

 can have a very substantial way to make a 

 living. I know various beekeepers who be- 

 gan here about fifteen years ago have now 

 large cattle-ranches all paid for. Sugar-cane 

 is getting the best of the beekeeper. Wher- 

 ever a new sugar-mill is started the bee- 

 keeper must move on, as our principal 

 source of honey is the woods. 



A pei-son intending to locate in a foreign 

 country should pass some time with an 

 expert beekeeper, because climates are dif- 

 ferent, and from the natives it is impossible 

 to learn. 



We have honey here all winter; but in 

 the summer we have our bad seasons, and 

 at the same time these bad months may give 

 a surplus of honey. One beeyard gave 

 twenty-two barrels last summer, and this 

 summer he has made only two barrels. 



I kept bees in different parts of the Unit- 

 ed States for twenty years, and had only 

 (wo good seasons. Surely there is no year 

 here when one could not make a good living 

 in the bee business in a good locality. 



Cauto el Paso, Cuba. 



