140 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



August 



companionship afforded by the bees. 



When the brilliant hues of sunset 

 had faded from the mountain peaks, 

 and in their stead a craggy outline of 

 the southern horizon was dimly seen 

 through the shades of night, and the 

 doleful sounds of the tom-tom from 

 the slave quarters of a distant planta- 

 tion came faintly upon a zepliyr from 

 the sea, gently rustling the coarse 

 leaves of the towering palms, then it 

 was, after a day of active work in the 



A Royal Palm. 



apiary, we returned again, to hear the 

 one familiar sound— that of an apiary 

 at night. No sweeter music ever fell 

 upon more appreciative ears. There is 

 something akin to magic in the influ- 

 ence of this sound "like rushing 

 waters" — the rapid vibrations of a mill- 

 ion wings — and the odor of nectar upon 

 the air, by which a bee-keeper is in- 

 stantly translated from this ordinary 

 old world of ours, through spontaneous 

 meditation, to another realm. It is the 

 voice of success — the hum of prosperity 



— which captivates tlie mind, and he 

 becomes for tlie time monarch of the 

 municipalities represented. Each of 

 which are associated in the chain of 

 thought, witli familiar experiences of 

 the past, present conditions, or fu- 

 ture duties. But, at about this juncture 

 a ripe almond falls upon a hive cover, 

 or a huge cocoanut lets go, and comes 

 to earth with a startling thud through 

 the branches of a lower tree, and we 

 are thereby awakened to the fact that 

 while we have been unconsciously 

 planning work for the morrow and 

 more distant future, the hours have 

 been passing. The hideous tom-tom 

 has ceased to "tom," and the silvery 

 moon has mounted high into the heav- 

 ens and shines down with a brilliancy 

 seen nowhere else as in the tropics. The 

 great white moonflowers entwined 

 through the cactus hedges and other 

 shrubbery may be seen in profusion 

 everywhere, mingled with the smaller 

 bloom of the bellflower, Cuba's greatest 

 honey yielder, the mass of white bloom 

 is in places so dense as to appear like 

 snowbanks in the moonlight. 



The late Charles P. Muth, than 

 whom no man was better qualified to 

 speak from personal knowledge of 

 America's honey industry, once de- 

 clared that Cuba alone was capable of 

 producing honey enough to swamp our 

 country, and that unrestricted importa- 

 tion of honey from that island would 

 deal a blow at the most vital part of 

 bee-culture in the United States. While 

 we have always felt that Mr. Muth may 

 have overestimated the producing ca- 

 pacity of the island, it must be ad- 

 mitted that, as an extensive wholesalp 

 dealer and importer of honey, he ho 

 had excellent opportunities to observ' 

 and upon which to base his judgement. 

 And such veritable seas of nectar- 

 yielding flora, as noted above, from 

 November until March, extending for 

 unknown miles, shed a rather convinc- 

 ing influence over the beholder. 



That Cuba will play a prominent part 

 in future honey production is unques- 



