1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



331 



according to my cyclometer, that means 

 about 6% tenths of a mile. These stone 

 posts, with the prominent fig-ures, are of 

 the utmost convenience; for instance, if we 

 wish to find Mr. Somerford, look sharp for 

 his apiary after passing- the 29th. Turn in 

 right at ,'•5 to find Harry Howe; just a little 

 beyond 85, to find Mr. Moe. The stage 

 dropped me oft' at the proper place, just in 

 the edge of the evening. 



Mr. Somerford 's home apiarj^ is nicely lo- 

 cated close to the calzada; and, Mr. S. has 

 a helpmate and two bright little girls, and 

 liable to get stung every da3\ because the 

 hives surround the house on three sides. 



The photo will give j'ou an idea of the 

 situation. There are over 200 colonies here, 

 and it is a busy place at almost any time 

 in the 3'ear. The hives are arranged in 

 double rows, and sheds will be erected over 

 them in due time. 



At the time of my first visit Mr. S. had 

 four apiaries and about 800 colonies. At 

 this writing, two months later, bees are be- 

 ing moved and new apiaries established. 

 Mr. S. has very large plans. His ambi- 

 tion now is to get up to 2000 colonies. When 

 he gets that number there is no telling how 

 many thousand more he will want. 



He has, in certain respects, outgrown the 

 calzada plan, and is locating apiaries along 

 the north coast some ten to fifteen miles 

 from his residence. Along this coast sever- 

 al little bays lead inland, and upon them 

 are the apiaries. The idea is a good one, 

 for from these points cheap water transpor- 

 tation can be secured. A schooner can be 

 riui to the vicinity of the apiarj', and the 

 honey loaded withovit the intervention of the 



cart or mules or oxen. When taken into 

 Havana harbor, other expenses are saved. 

 All of these items count when honey is sell- 

 ing for only 34 cts. per gallon. 



On one of these bays Mr. S. has an apiary 

 which he termed the "Rambler's Retreat." 

 He had an ideji that I would like a real re- 

 tired place in which to work bees, where I 

 could fish and swim, and be far, far awa}^ 

 from the wiles of the fair sex; but when I 

 saw the location I strenuously objected to 

 being buried alive. Said retreat is five 

 miles from the calzada, and such a five 

 miles of road you never saw. All of the 

 traffic on these byways is done with big 

 two- wheeled carts drawn by oxen; and the 

 carting is so infrequent that the road degen- 

 erates into a mere cow-path, with the cow- 

 path hubbies, and in places rocks and 

 stones. A bicj'cle can be worked over it bj^ 

 alternate riding, walking, and falling off; 

 and when the rains come the road is im- 

 passable to all ordinary means of locomo- 

 tion. Even on horseback there is danger 

 of getting mired, while a pedestrian would 

 have to carry a good share of the land off 

 on his boots. 



The bee-keeper in the States, who has an 

 idea of coming to Cuba, must take this road 

 matter into serious consideration. If locat- 

 ed a mile back from the calzada it costs as 

 much to get the honey over this mile as it 

 does to haul thirty miles on the good road. 

 To own a mule or ox team means quite an 

 expense. A good yoke of oxen costs from 

 !?200 to S300, and a span of mules from $200 

 to $500. Even Mr. S., with all of his bees, 

 present and prospective, depends upon his 

 neighbors for all of his freighting. It is 



W. W. SOMEKFOKD S HOME AND API,\RY. 



