1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



287 



mation. While I was revolving these mat- 

 ters a gentleman stepped up to me and re- 

 marked, pointing to a street-car, " That is 

 a Cerro car." 



" So I observe," said I; "but I want to 

 go to Tulipan." 



"Oh! it is Tulipan, he3'? Why, you 

 must be seeking Mr. Brown, the bee-man;" 

 and he gave me full directions for getting 

 there. 



And you will excuse me if I began to 

 think things were coming mj' way quite 

 fast when an utter stranger should step up 

 to me and give me the desired information 

 at the desired moment. 



Tulipan is a close-in suburb of Havana, 

 and near the end of my journey I was fol- 

 fowing a stone canal. Approaching was a 

 tall angular negress, and cutting up such 

 antics trying tojdance a jig upon the edge of 

 the canal. We met; and, instead of pass- 

 ing me civilly, she waltzed up in front of 

 me with her long uncanny lingers elevated, 

 and her bleared eyes and ugly mouth with- 

 in three inches of my face; and such a sav- 

 age expression and flow of words — abuse 

 or compliments it was all the same to me. 

 I stood my ground, looked her in the eye, 

 and shouted, " Senor Brown I colmenero 

 Brown!" and such a magic effect as the 



name "Brown" had upon that witch you 

 can not imagine. She just faded away, 

 and slouched off up the canal without an- 

 other word. 



Well, I found Mr. Brown camping in 

 tents with his bees — about 120 colonies — un- 

 der the mangoes and palms. Mr. Brown 

 and I were soon acquainted. He has lived 

 in many portions of the States, and is well 

 posted upon all topics of the day, and has 

 taken to bee-keeping very recently in Cuba. 



There is an old adage that, " if j'ou give 

 the persistent seeker after knowledge the 

 handle, he will pump you dry." I found 

 Mr. Brown somewhat inclined that way, 

 and I have no doubt his pleasant talkative 

 qualities are the reason of his being so well 

 known and popular with the American col- 

 ony in Havana. His apiary was imported 

 from the States — one portion of it from Mis- 

 souri and another from Vermont. The Mis- 

 souri contingent was started by Mr. Cull}^ 

 of Higginsville. Mr. Cullj' being acciden- 

 tally killed on the way, the bees, after many 

 delaj's, arrived in Cuba 21 days after ship- 

 ment, half of them dead, and the rest in a 

 weak condition. The Vermont bees came 

 through in a week, all alive, at an expense 

 of about $2.00 per colony; and, though Mr. 

 Brown's bees have cost him about $10 per 



MR. BROWN'S APIARY IN CUBA 



