1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



467 



The Ravages of War. 



RAMBLE 203 



In a Native Cuban Apiary. 



BV KAMBLKR. 



From my observations on the west end of 

 the island of Cuba I would say that bee- 

 keeping' according to the native plan is dis- 

 appearing. While there are several such 

 apiaries we hear that this one or that one 

 is being transferred to up-to-date hives, 

 and will be managed according to up-to- 

 date methods. 



Near the seaport town of Mariel is a larg-e 

 apiary worked according to the old Cuban 

 plan, and in this Ramble I propose to take 

 you through it and show you how they man- 

 age. This apiary is nicely located in the 

 shade of a variety of tropical trees, and 

 numbers nearly 400 colonies. It was im- 

 possible to g'et a general view of the api- 

 ary; but I photoed enough of it to give 3'ou 

 an idea of the style of hives in use. 



These hives are about 40 inches in length, 

 and eight or ten inches square. With the 

 advent of saw-mills and cheap lumber it 

 seems that the natives now prefer the board 

 hive. But the hive shown in the foreground 

 is the original Cuban hive, and is in exclu- 

 sive use in some Cuban apiaries. This log 

 hive is made by sawing the royal palm into 

 sections and cutting out the center, which 

 is a tough pith. You will observe the man- 

 ner of mounting these hives horizontally 

 upon the rude supports. A board is tacked 

 over one end, making that the rear, while 

 the other is left wide open. 



The bees are allowed to have their own 

 way about filling' the hive; and, having' fill- 

 ed it to the rear and front in a workman- 

 like manner, the stronger colonies overflow 

 as shown in the annexed view. At the time of 

 my visit the proprietor had commenced tak- 

 ing the honey, and all of the upper rows of 

 hives had been robbed. It is a very simple 

 operation to rob a hive. The owner ap- 

 proaches a hive much as we do with smok- 

 er in hand; and if not a modern smoker it 

 is something like a stew-pan arrangement ; 

 or (as Cubans all smoke) the ever-present 

 cigar may be used. 



After the bees are driven back, a thin 

 knife with a hooked point is inserted, and 

 a comb cut out and dropped into a broad 

 shallow copper — well, I will call it a kettle. 

 Two or more of these are used; and when 

 one is filled it is taken to the palm honey- 



house for further treatment, while 

 the man with the knife fills the 

 other kettles. The board on the 

 rear end of the hive is taken oft" 

 and the honey is cut from both 

 ends of the hive, or until the work- 

 er brood is exposed. Although I 

 was not a witness to it, I am in- 

 formed that drone brood is also 

 cut out and dropped into the dish 

 with the honey. 



In the honey-cabin the honey- 

 comb in the round-bottomed kettle 

 is thoroughly pulverized with a 

 large wooden pestle or pounder. From the 

 kettle the mashed honey is emptied into 

 willow baskets of much the same shape as 

 the kettles — broad and shallow. 



Upon one side of the palm cabin is a huge 

 trough ten or twelve feet long. This, too, 

 is made from the royal palm, and some- 

 times is of such size as to hold several bar- 

 rels of honey. The baskets with mashed 

 honey-combs are placed over the trough and 

 left to drain. I supposed these baskets 

 would have to drain for a long time, but 

 was informed that the combs, being so thor- 

 oughly pulverized and warm, the honey 

 would drain out in half an hour, and the 

 refuse then dumped into an open barrel or 

 into another palm-tree trough, where it 

 could be solidly packed against the day of 

 rendering into beeswax, which operation is 

 performed in larger kettles, according to 

 the boiling process, and under some adjoin- 

 ing tree. 



When the trough is filled with honey it is 

 drawn off into the large bocoy outside the 

 building. 



As the reader will note, the wax is of 

 equal importance with the honey; and some- 

 times these Cuban bee-keepers with their 

 crude methods receive quite as much profit 

 from their bees as will an adjoining bee- 

 keeper using all up-to-date appliances. 



I am informed that the comparative yield 

 of honey and wax with the native method 

 is in the proportion of 1 lb. of wax to 12 of 

 honey. According to present prices, 30 cts. 

 for wax, 34 per gallon for honey, there is 

 not much choice. I have been informed 

 that, at a time not so very remote, the honey 

 was thrown away as a waste product, and 

 it is safe to say that in some remote por- 

 tions of the island to-day it would hardly 

 pay to transport the honey through the jun- 

 gles to market; while the beeswax, being 

 more valuable and compact, could be trans- 

 ported with profit. 



When we compare up-to-date beekeeping 

 with the native method we find the latter 

 simplicity itself. The methods are so crude 

 and appliances so few that there is not much 

 to describe. 



In our up-to-date management there are 

 numerous appliances; and, besides, every 

 up-to-date bee-keeper has a hobby which is 

 extolled upon all occasions. 



I am inclined to the belief that the native 

 Cuban bee-keeper has no bee-hobbies. If 

 he has any it is in climbing the tall palm 



