154 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



AtKJXISt 



The 



Bee-keeping World. 



JAMAICA. 



"Jamaica is the bij^gest little country 

 I have ever seen !" was the exclaiiiatiun 

 of a tourist after a trip about the island. 

 This \i the general feeling and one that 

 grows on one as the island is studied, and 

 after five years' residence I can well 

 echo the exclamation of my tourist 

 friend. Jamaica is an Island one hundred 

 miles South of the East end of Cuba, and 

 belongs to Great Britain. It is 144 miles 

 in length and forty miles across at the 

 widest point. It is quite mountainous, 

 the greatest elevation being 74(30 feet. 

 This gives a great range of climate — 

 from tropical at the coast, to temperate 

 at elevations of five thousand feet and 

 upwards, where vi^hite clover and dande- 

 lions, wild roses and strawberries play 

 hide-and-seek among the stately tree 

 ferns and lovely orchids by the wayside. 

 The ranlvest growth of white clover I 

 ever saw was on the very top of the high- 

 est peak in the island. For all that we 

 are so far tSouth, the climate over the 

 greater part of the island is delightful 

 the year around, and never has the ex- 

 tremes we used to experience in our 

 thirteen years of life in Florida. The 

 Northern and Eastern portions of tiie 

 island are hilly almost down to the coast, 

 but on the Soiilhern side are wide plains 

 that extend for many miles. I give these 

 details of topography and climate as they 

 have a very direct bearing on wliat may 

 be said further on, and for the same 

 reason I will give a few more details of 

 interest regarding our island home, for a 

 good many people have a hazy notion 

 that Jamaica is a heathenish and' uncivil- 

 ized place; which is far from the truth. 

 We have a railroad running the length 

 of the island, and from North to South 

 at the widest point. We have most ex- 

 cellent macadamized roads throughout 

 the island — over 3500 miles of main roads 

 besides very fair parochial roads, so that 

 one can get about on wheel or in buggy 

 with great ease. The people are orderly 

 and when properly managed are good 

 laborers. The large majority of the 

 people are black and colored, as the mix- 

 ed races are called here, but there is a 

 fair sprinkling of white people. We I'lnd 

 many of the colored ]»eople very higlily 

 educated and find sonu^ of our best 



friends in this class of the- people, for 

 tliere is very little race prejudice here. 

 The government is administered by 

 officials sent out from England, but 

 many of the minor offices are filled by 

 colored or black men who have success- 

 fully passed the civil service examina- 

 tions. 



With this preamble I will come to 

 things apicultural. In nothing is Jam- 

 aica "the biggest little country'" more 

 than in its yields of honey. I will iu)t 

 specify as to largest yields, but I consider 

 that it can be laid down as a safe propo- 

 sition that there are large areas in 

 Jamaica that are unequalled the world 

 over for yield of first-class white honey. 

 Now I don't want my readers to think 

 this is an unexplored apicultural Klon- 

 dike, for nearly all the valuable claims 

 have already been staked out by private 

 individuals and syndicates, and our re- 

 sources are in a fair way to be fully 

 worked. In future letters I will en- 

 deavor to give some account of methods 

 followed here, and of the varied flora 

 from which our honey is derived. 



"Enterprise.'" 



CUBA. 



Doctor (i. Garcia Viete. the great 

 Cuban bee-keeper who has become dis- 

 tinguished not only by his apiarian 

 achievements, but by reason of the 

 many responsibki positions held in medi- 

 cal, political and military circles, has 

 recently been elected mayor of the pic- 

 turesque city of Cienfuegos; thus adding 

 another score to the long list of honors. 

 The extensive bee business which Doctor 

 Viete has developed on the South coast 

 has been re-organizinl and is to be known 

 in the future as (I. G. Viete ».<' Co. 



AUSTRALIA. 



The Bcc Bulletin says "Pure capping.", 

 gives the y(;llow(^st wax."' It's not so in 

 America. 



An effort is being made to secure legis- 

 lation favorable to Australian honey ex- 

 ported to Great Britain: i. e., an adjust- 

 ment of duties favoring honey from 

 British coloni(is, as against that from 

 California, South America, etc. 



