902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 1 



mit they are a thrifty and energetic people. 

 They believe this region is in a great part 

 like Palestine. In'place of the Dead Sea of 

 the East they have Salt Lake. They have 

 a River Jordan; and there are many points 

 of similarity between the two lands that 

 are indeed quite striking. 



But how about the country for keeping 

 bees? At the time of my visit the bees had 

 not done well. But I know this: That, of 

 all the States in the Union, Utah is one of 

 the best. Immense amounts of beautiful 

 sweet-clover and alfalfa honey are produc- 

 ed, and bee-keeping is conducted on an ex- 

 tensive scale. 



A BATH IN SALT LAKE ; HOW IT FEELS TO 

 FLOAT ON THE SURFACE OF ITS WATER. 



But I shall not soon forget the pleasure 

 and novelty of a good bath in Salt Lake 

 with a son of Mr. Back. I had heard that 

 it was impossible to sink in that water, and 

 it is true. Here I had the pleasure of sit- 

 ting on its surface, bobbing up and down 

 like a cork. Sink? It was impossible; 

 and as to swimming or wading, one could 

 make only a very slight headway, so heavy 

 and dense is the water from its large per- 

 centage of salt. But one must be verj' care- 

 ful and not lose his balance and plunge his 

 head under the water, as he would be apt 

 to strangle very quickly, even if'he^didn't 

 sink, for the brine is remarkabl3' strong. 

 You'd better believe I held my balance for 

 once in my life. As I sat on the surface of 

 that water, with knees and armpits in the 

 air, I felt as if I were being rocked and 

 tossed really and truly on the cradle of the 

 deep; but I could not repress a feeling that 

 I should soon be sinking, and every now 

 and then I found myself paddling to keep 

 above. The water was' cold — a littletoo 

 much so for comfort, and I was glad to get 

 out, in spite of the fact that I had enjoyed 

 the rocking-chair. Once in the bathing- 

 house I noticed, ^asfthe water dried on me, 

 that the briny crystals stood out plain, and 

 it is, therefore, necessary for one, before 

 dressing, to stand under a spray oi fresh 

 water. 



RAMBLE 213. 



The Royal Palm ; Ihe Rambler Ceases to Ramble 

 for the time being. 



BY RAMBLER. 



In many of the illustrations in these Ram- 

 bles the reader has noted that^[the prevail- 

 ing tree has been the royal palm. Wher- 

 ever we journey on this western end of the 

 island, this noble tree is in evidence, and 

 always to be admired. In natural groves, 

 in long avenues, or in isolation, it has the 

 same characteristics. The palm would be 

 a nice tree in any country, merely as an or- 

 nament to the landscape; but aside from 

 this it is a very useful tree here in Cuba. 

 In fact, I can hardly imagine how the na- 

 tives could live without it. 



The leading use of the palm is for the 

 construction of dwellings. Many of these 

 dwellings have been shown in these Ram- 

 bles, and these lines are written under a 

 palm roof. As I look up to the under side 

 of it, it looks like an immense basket pro- 

 tecting me from the elements. The sides of 

 the house are made from the outside or rind 

 of the palm split into boards. The center 

 of the palm log is of a pithy nature, and of 

 little use. As I have shown you in the past, 

 the body of the palm is used by the native 

 bee-keeper in many ways. Cut out the pith 

 and it makes a very good bee- hive, and 

 thousands of them are in use to-day. 



The palm, I am told, blossoms every 

 month in the year. The big green pods 

 that form just under the fronded leaves, at 

 maturity burst with a loud report, and the 

 blossom, composed of many racemes in a 

 bunch, and nearly white, is very ornamen- 

 tal, but a little too much elevated from the 



ROYAL PALM IN BLOOM. 



ground to receive much admiration. The 

 bees swarm over it and gather hone}^ or pol- 

 len. I find bee-keepers disagree about 

 what the bees gather. Some say only pol- 

 len; others, pollen and honey. I have not 

 been able yet to verify either assertion, on 

 account of the elevation. When the Ram- 

 bler gets skill enough to climb one of these 

 trees as the natives do, the problem will be 

 solved. If you ask a native, and he thinks 

 you are more interested in the honey than 

 in pollen, his reply will be, "Si, senor; 

 mucho, niucho miel." 



The blossom soon passes, and the fruit- 



