88 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



I also tarried at the establish- 

 ment of J. A. Nelson at Wyan- 

 dotte, Kansas, and was pleasantly 

 entertained by friend E. M. Hay- 

 hurst and lady at Kansas City, 

 Missouri. I proceeded thence to 

 Chicago, via Atchison, Kansas 

 and St. Joe, Missouri, calling on 

 Mr. Newman of the American Bee 

 Journal while passing through the 

 city, leaving on an evening train 

 for my former home in Toledo, 

 Ohio, after an absence of over two 

 years. After visiting the apiaries 

 of Messrs. Williams, Christiancy, 

 Lewis and others in the vicinity, 

 I proceeded to New York City, 

 remaining a couple of weeks, dur- 

 ing the opening of the Brooklyn 

 Bridge. From there I continued 

 by sailing vessel to Jacksonville, 

 Florida, arriving about the middle 

 of June. Since that time I have 

 been looking up the bee interests 

 of the state, travelling by sail- 

 boat at my leisure during the 

 summer months. I arrived here 

 the middle of December, 1883, and 

 expect to make this my home, at 

 least for a time. New Smyrna is 

 considered the great centre of the 

 mangrove district, and judging 

 from the vast quantities of man- 

 groves in sight, and those passing- 

 through the Hillsboro River, it 

 would appear to be a paradise for 

 bees. I am informed it continues 

 in bloom from four to six weeks. 

 The palmetto saw and cabbage 

 atford quantities of honey also. 

 The soft maple has been in bloom 

 for fourteen days past, which will 

 be followed by other honey-produc- 

 ing plants until April, when I am 

 informed feeding must be resorted 

 to to keep up brood-rearing. Like 

 myself, many of our northern api- 

 arists were led to believe that 

 Florida was the only place that 

 bees could l)e kept the year through 

 without loss, and therefore con- 

 sidered by many the best state for 

 successful apiculture. Had the 



New Smyrna correspondent of the 

 bee journals north given both 

 sides of bee-culture and honey- 

 production in Florida, his readers 

 would have found that it was not 

 all gold that glittered, and that 

 Florida apiculturists too had dis- 

 advantages to contend with not 

 down in the books. I allude to 

 the depredations of the large red 

 ants that will attack a colony of 

 bees and utterly destroy it before 

 morning, as they only are about at 

 night. Safety is only at the price 

 of eternal vigilance, or standing the 

 hive on legs inserted in cans of 

 water. They overpower the bees, 

 biting their wings and clean out 

 brood and honey. 



The next trouble is about the 

 time of queen-rearing. The dra- 

 gon fly at times renders it almost 

 impossible to secure the fertiliza- 

 tion of a virgin queen. This 1 

 have from good authority, the 

 party inlbrming me having lost 

 about eighty per cent of his young 

 queens from that cause. I under- 

 stand there are three species of 

 birds that prey on the bees besides 

 bugs of various kinds. However, 

 the dragon flies and ants are the 

 greatest enemies to the apiculturist. 

 Were it not for the great advantage 

 the climate aflbrds in brood-rear- 

 ing, bee-culture would prove an 

 iuipossibility ; though for a resi- 

 dence I could with my last season's 

 experience ask for nothing better. 

 As for mosquitoes on the coast, I 

 cannot give m^' experience as yet; 

 so far fleas are my greatest enemy, 

 though not worse than in Kansas. 



Sand flies, too, I have found 

 annoying at times. But Florida 

 would indeed be a paradise (for 

 tramps) were there neither fleas, 

 sand flies, nor mosquitoes. But 

 Florida has its disadvantages, as 

 well as any other location. You 

 may possibly hear from me again 

 later, in regard to " Facts from 

 Florida." I prefer to write from 



