816 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



Mrs. Lee has what would be termed by the 

 society journals "an interesting- personali- 

 ty." Americans are familiar enough with 

 the washee - washee Chinese ; but they do 

 not often see the better types, and the re- 

 sult is a good deal of pure prejudice. In 

 the West Indies I have uniformly found 

 the Chinese very clever, and very honest 

 and hard working; and, what may seem 

 odd to many of 3'our readers, very clean. 

 They are a great race; and if ever they 

 take to bee-keeping they will, without fail, 

 be found at the top. 



Mrs. Lee's apiary is located just behind 

 her store, for she is a lady of many accom- 

 plishments. And Mr. Lee — where was he? 

 Well, he is a busy man. He is either sell- 

 ing ham or sugar, or making two -cent 

 "snowballs." Sometimes he snatches a 



MRS. CAROLINE P. I,EE. 



few minutes to help with the bees; but from 

 what I saw his time is very much occupied, 

 and it is passing strange how some persons 

 manage to look after work enough for two 

 men. 



The 400 colonies are located in a small 

 lot behind the store. The space is so limit- 

 ed that the hives are tiered three high, and 

 ranged close together. This does not seem 

 to do any harm, for, though my visit occur- 

 red in the middle of the rainy season, Mrs. 

 Lee's bees were all in good condition. A 

 good many "hives" were simply kerosene- 

 boxes, the favorite West-Indian hive. Some 

 were in Danzenbaker hives arranged for 

 comb honey. Here we have the very latest 

 specimen of apicultural architecture brought 

 into juxtaposition with the most primitive. 

 Mrs. Lee has secured some beautiful comb 

 honey with the Papzenbaker, and g^ajnecj 



the first prize for it at the Trinidad Exhi- 

 bition. In fact, the honey was S'o good that 

 the judges thought it must be spurious — 

 made on a machine. It was too accurate 

 for their eyes; besides, they asked them- 

 selves, "Can any thing good come from 

 Chaguanas?" Inquiries were made, how- 

 ever, and it is found that the honey-comb 

 was made by honey-bees, and the prize was 

 awarded. Score one for the Danzenbaker 

 hive. It should be noted that, in the West 

 Indies, it is the rule to have the judging 

 of agricultural products done by persons 

 whose business it is to preach, plead, or 

 write. It would be "bad form '* for me to 

 say they knew little about agriculture. 

 The reader can form his opinions about 

 that. "All's well that ends well," and 

 Mrs. Lee has the diploma for three prizes 

 on wax, honey, and sections. The sole 

 guide for this apiary is the A B C of Bee 

 Culture, published out West somewhere 

 near Lake Erie, by a man named Root. 

 Mrs. Lee had no name for the apiary, so 



I dubbed it at once "The Farthest South,' 

 for, so far as known, the only apiaries near- 

 er the equator are small and of little im- 

 portance. 



Trinidad is in South America, but it is 

 set down by its inhabitants as in the West 

 Indies — to be very particular, the British 

 West Indies. It is ten degrees north of the 

 equator, and, of course, is in the torrid 

 zone. Further south, in British Guiana, 

 there are a few bee-keepers — none of them 

 very extensively engaged however. 



The Lees are hospitable folks, and the 

 writer had a pleasant time with the family, 

 and perhaps my long run had something l'> 

 do with mj' appetite; at any rate I felt at 

 peace with the world after partaking of 

 "breakfast." In this part of the hemi- 

 sphere breakfast is served anywhere between 



II A. M. and 1 p. M. 



How terms get changed! Is it the verti- 

 cal sun that does it? or is human nature to 

 be different? After discussing the various 

 types of hives, etc., I bestrode my cycle home- 

 ward, a happier, wiser, and tireder man. 



[We are glad to introduce this interesting 

 lady to our readers, and hope we may havo 

 the great privilege of hearing from her 

 direct. — Ed.] 



THE UPS AND DOWNS OF A BEGINNER. 



Alfalfa in the South a Yielder of Honey; Laying 

 Workers, etc. 



BY TAR HEEL. 



I bought me a copy of the A B C of Bee 

 Culture, and subscribed for Gleanings. 

 The next spring I sent to The Root Co. for 

 an eight-frame hive, section boxes, foun- 

 dation, smoker, gloves, bee-veil, etc., and 

 since that time I have been moving slowly 

 upward. I liked the eight-frame hive very 

 well, and made me twelve more. Last year 

 J. decided to try the Danz., and ordered one, 



