Published Monthly by The W. T, Falconer Mfg. Co. 



Vol. XII 



NOVEMBER, 1902 



No. II 



A DAY WITH MR. POPPLETON. 



The Editor Is Entertained at the Bee Camp of a 

 Popular and ^Progressive Apiarist. 



(H. E. Hill). 



XDIAX RIVER honey, 

 like Indian river or- 

 anges and pineapples, is 

 becoming well known 

 in Northern markets. 

 One of the finest va- 

 rieties of honey ship- 

 ped from this section of 

 the country is gathered 

 from the mangrove 

 which PTows in great 

 profusion upon the islands. It is 

 this source of nectar which brings 

 Mr. O. O. Poppleton with his 

 bees from his home on the St. Lucie 

 river, every year. For many years Mr. 

 P. has found it profitable to transport 

 his apiaries to this locality for man- 

 grove bloom. The hives are tempor- 

 arih^ placed at convenient points on the 

 river bank, and when the rnangrove 

 ceases to yield, are again carried abroad 

 of Mr. Poppleton's launch, "Thelma," 

 a commodious craft built especally for 

 the business, and returned to the pen- 

 nyroyal fields of the St- Lucie, for win- 

 ter. 



It was on a morning calm and cloud- 

 less, last July, that the editor, by in- 

 vitation, went abroad the "Thelma," for 

 a day's outing at Poopleton's bee camp. 

 Those conversant with the habits of 

 naptha launches in general, will readily 

 admit that they are, to say the least, 

 erratic. Thelma, however, seldom ob- 



jects to her captain's orders, and we 

 were very soon ruthlessly disturbing 

 the placid waters of the river, from 

 which stately groups of tranquil palms 

 mirrored near the banks, and it was 

 not long until the hum of bees an- 

 nounced the proximity of the apiar}-, 

 which lay hidden behind a dense growth 

 of vines, palms and other shrubbery. 

 As we hauled alongside the improvised 

 wharf naught but a white tent near the 

 landing marked the location as one of 

 such activity. 



This juncture recalls to mind IMr. 

 Poppleton's assistant. Mr. Geo. Saun- 

 ders, Jr., a rising young apiarist of 

 no mean promise, a subscriber to the 

 Bee-Keeper and a member of the Na- 

 tional Asociation, who really seems 

 hardly less important in the conduct of 

 the Poppleton apairies than the veteran 

 bee-keeper himself- George hopped up- 

 on the dock and started for his coon 

 trap. He had him all right, but he 

 proved to be an opossum, and the mis- 

 ery which the poor fellow was suffering 

 as a result of terrestrial life, steel 

 traps and boys, was ended by the man- 

 date of Mr. Poppleton, which conclud- 

 ed the preliminary, and the day's busi- 

 ness was proceeded with. 



In the palmy days of Jones of Beeton, 

 that worthy was wont to liken the 

 Quinby hive unto an infant's cradle, by 

 way of contrast with his own model, 

 short and deep. If D. A. were to walk 

 down a row of hives of the Poppleton 

 style, they would probably suggest so 

 many coffins, to his mind. They are of 

 the style known as the "Long Ideal," 

 and present a strange appearance to 

 one accustomed to the Langstroth pat- 



