1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



647 



use, and have gotten on to the tricks of the 

 storekeepers and others, and submit no 

 more to exorbitant prices. 



MR. AND MRS. MOE IN THE TENT. 



In spite of the delay in the arrival of his 

 supplies, Mr. Moe increased his 33 colonies 

 up to almost 170; and through the winter 

 honey-flow he secured 2500 gallons of honey 

 (30,000 lbs. ), and quite an amount of wax. 

 This may be considered a success for a nov- 

 ice during his first year, and in the face of 

 several disappointments. It was a better 

 yield per colony than was secured by some 

 of his more experienced neighbors, and 

 said neighbors attributed a good share 

 of his luck to a very peculiar circumstance. 



About the time Mr. Moe came to Cuba, 

 Mr. Coggshall came also with several hun- 

 dred colonies of bees. It is not often that a 

 novice can rub against such an extensive 

 and successful bee-keeper as 

 Mr. Coggshall. The most of us 

 have to go to a convention and 

 content ourselves with a mere 

 glimpse of the great men, or 

 listen to a few words entirely 

 foreign to what we want. But 

 here was the chance of a life- 

 time, and Mr. Moe improved it 

 by frequent visit, and jotted 

 down many a valuable point; 

 but somehow upon one of his 

 visits he came into possession 

 of a pair of Coggshall's old 

 shoes. They were well worn, 

 of course, and during that first 

 year he came far from filling 

 the great bee-man's zapatos 

 (that is shoes in Spanish), but 

 faithfully did the very best he 

 could; and, though the fit was 

 rather loose, the result has been 

 magical. The artist shows you 

 how the shoes fitted the first 



year; but this is an excellent climate for 

 growth, and I will show you something of 

 a difi'erent nature later. 



Although Mr. Moe did not 

 get rich the first year of his 

 bee-keeping, his little success 

 gave him great encouragement; 

 and as he and his wife worked 

 together with the bees their en- 

 thusiasm kindled; and, like all 

 Cuban bee-keepers, they began 

 to have visions of many apia- 

 ries and thousands of colonies. 

 They figured out the summer 

 campaign for increase, made 

 their wax into foundation, and 

 ordered hives. If there is any 

 thing that Mr. Moe delights to 

 do it is to build up; so by dili- 

 gent manipulation during the 

 next six months, from April to 

 October, his 170 (or about that 

 number) were increased to 600 

 colonies. The home apiary con- 

 tained 400, and an out-apiary 

 200. I present a photo of the 

 home apiary, shaded by a va- 

 riety of tropical trees. It may 

 be called a model apiary, for 

 every thing in it used for bee 

 management is up-to-date. 

 The tents are quite numerous, and are 

 the living-tent — one for cooking, another for 

 extracting, and one for the help, visitors, 

 etc. I introduce Mr. and Mrs. Moe at the 

 entrance to their living-tent. Their tent is 

 well supplied with books and papers, and 

 tent life a greater portion of the year is 

 quite comfortable. The only positive dis- 

 comfort is during the rainy season. 



Along with the other periodicals on the 

 tables of Mrs. Moe, Mrs. Somerford, and 

 Mrs. Hochstein I noticed the latest fashion 

 magazine; and should you call upon them 

 you will find their dresses up-to-date, and 

 they are posted on all the frills and tucks 

 that are new. 



FAGAFONES FOR COOKING. 



