1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



733 



business then in hand. He left home, as 

 he said, barefooted, and, without anything-, 

 struck out northward for himself in search 

 of g-ood bee localities, and he found them. 

 He beg-an with a hundred colonies of bees. 



i;iacT:j-'?R:jjssu 



I. D. FLORY AND FAMILY. 



and with these he has been able to accom- 

 plish some quite remarkable results. At 

 first thing-s began to look discouraging, and 

 his wife advised him to work out by the 

 day, as she did not see how he could make 

 a living from his bees. But Mr. Flor3% fol- 

 lowing the advice of his old father, stuck to 

 the bees, and, as a result, the first year he 

 made $800 clear of all expenses; the next 

 year, between $1000 and $1200. Each fol- 

 lowing year he did better; and his big sea- 

 son was when he filled two cars with hon- 

 eys or the equivalent of $2500 worth. 



Now, then, what have his bees done for 

 him? They have enabled him to buy and 

 pay for 50 acres of fine land worth $100 an 

 acre. Twentj' acres of this he has devoted 

 to the growing of almonds ; and, by the 

 way, he thinks almond-growing very well 

 adapted to go in connection with bees. In 

 the growings of fruit one has to stop and 

 pick it and dry it and pack it, and this all 

 comes just when the bees require the most 

 attention. There is a good market for al- 

 monds, and the harvesting of that crop 

 comes when work is slack with bees. 



In connection with almond-growing and 

 bee-keeping he has 15 cows and 25 head of 

 young cattle. He was once a devotee of the 

 Belgian-hare fad, and he showed me some 

 quite extensive hutches he constructed; and 

 now, as with nearly everyone else who has 

 been in the business, he has only a few 

 blooded animals on hand. Asked why the 

 growing of Belgian hares was unprofitable, 

 and had been so generally abandoned, he 

 said that the business had been fearfully 

 overdone, and that too much attention has 

 been given to the growing of blooded stock. 

 Like every thing else, he thought the busi- 

 ness would seek its level, and the growing 

 of Belgian hares would again be a fairly 

 profitable industry. 



Just before leaving, and I stopped be- 

 tween trains, I requested the privilege of 

 taking a snap shot of the family, and here 

 it is as reproduced from the pocket kodak. 

 We had just come from the bee-yard, and 

 the senior Flory had not removed his veil. 

 The little bo3\ perhaps eight or nine 3'ears 

 old, seemed to be absolutely fearless in the 

 presence of the bees. 



RAMBLE 209. 



A Trip to Catalina. 



BY RAMBLER. 



On the 21st of December, W. W. Somer- 

 ford cordially invited me to take a little 

 wheel journey with him to Catalina, 50 

 miles to the south, to see the country ard 

 visit his brother Fred. I accepted the in- 

 vitation with alacrity, and we were off. 



Mr. Somerford had his eyes open for api- 

 aries on the wa}', and Juan Remillo, a Cu- 

 ban, ten kilometers from Havana, had 400 

 colonies, and had taken 800 gallons of hon- 

 ey, and complained that the season was not 

 a good one. After we got under way ag-ain 

 I told Mr. S. that it was a g-ood plan not to 

 complain until the close of the season, and 

 even then it was better to take the season 

 as it was given, for complaint would never 

 add a pound of honey to the bocoy. 



At the little pueblo of San Jose, Mr. S. 

 had such a strong desire for dinner that we 

 sought a fonda for the same. A fonda is 

 where they feed people and sometimes sleep 

 them. A fonda has a broad veranda in 

 front of it, with a stone fioor, and usuall}'^ 

 several saddle horses are tied here. In 

 the interior, one end of the large room is 

 used for the sale of groceries. In the other 

 end, perhaps, there is a billiard-table. In 

 the vacant spaces are several round tables. 

 You seat j'ourself, and order either drinks 

 or eatables. If you want either wine or 

 beer or aguardente, it is supplied. Mr. S. 

 and I being- both temperately inclined, or- 

 dered the eatables. The outside doors to 

 these fondas are large and numerous, and 

 dogs sit expectantly around waiting for 

 stray crumbs. While eating our dinner 

 two men brushed past us, carrying a half- 



