752 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



be true. Better be honest with the public. 

 [Yes, yes. In York State, some think buck- 

 whtatisthe best. There is no such thing as 

 " a best honey " for every one.— Ed.] 



Hearty congratulations on the death of 

 the editorial " we." All right about the figs, 

 Ernest. Wheel up to the writer's house any 

 day. and he'll receive you with our best bow as 

 I make the presentation speech. [And a bowl 

 of milk besides? I think I'll have to make an- 

 other trip. Say! ask York whether he likes 

 figs.— Ed.] 



After reading on page 735 about the one- 

 gallon-crock-and-plate feeder, I started a two- 

 gallon crock over a dripping-pan. I don't pro- 

 pose to be outdone by any young upstart in 

 Medina. [The apiarist was just in, and he re- 

 ports that this crock feeder is the best and 

 handiest of any thing he ever tried. We shall 

 put a lot of them into use this fall.— Ed.] 



C. W. Post, the most extensive bee-keeper in 

 Canada, running 400 colonies, says, in C. B. J., 

 that in double-walled hives, some distance from 

 Lake Ontario, bees winter perfectly outside; 

 but close to the lake he is obliged to cellar 

 them. [Here is an interesting fact that proves 

 that the method is largely a matter of locality. 

 How foolish, to assert that cellaring or outdoor 

 packing will give equally good results every- 

 where!— Ed.] 



I SET hens' eggs in a super over a colony of 

 bees Aug. 2. Aug. 23 Ernest helped examine, 

 when we found a small blood-spot in the eggs. 

 Possibly they might have hatched by Christmas. 

 Ernest wanted me then to feed the eggs to the 

 bees, and I tried dumping one in front of a 

 hive; but it didn't seem healthy for bees— killed 

 four right before our eyes. [But the fun was 

 in seeing the bees walk on lip-toe throusr' the 

 stuff, like a cat across a muddy road.— Ei> ] 



Somehow we dnn't always get the right idea 

 at a distance. Thm-'s W. B. Webster, an in- 

 telligent writer in British B. J., who objects to 

 American honey-boards, and says, "I am 

 rather of opinion that bees would winter very 

 much better with wood covers, well cleated 

 together, and a bee-space on the under side." 

 Friend W., that's exactly the way the thou- 

 sands of Dovetailed hives are used, -and no 

 frame is ever pulled up with the cover. Honey- 

 boards are a thing of the past. 



BEE-PARAI.YSIS has many cures reported; 

 but all of the cures seem to fail in the hands of 

 others. The disease disappears of itself, then 

 the cure has the credit. Here's the thing to do: 

 Report something like this: I had ten colonies 

 affected; on five I tried the cure, and the other 

 five were left to themselves. The five treated 

 got well in such a time, and the five not treated 

 kept on with the disease. [There has been so 

 much guesswork on the cause and cure of this 

 disease that we really know no more about it 

 than at first. Ifs too bad.— Ed. J 



SAN MIGUEL APIARY, CUBA. 



A VISIT TO IT. 



By Fred L. Cmycmft. 



Having for some time been intending to make 

 a visit to Mr. Fred O. Somerford, at San Mig- 

 uel, I saddled my horse a few mornings ago 

 and determined to risk the chance of getting 

 lost in the mountains. San Miguel is about 

 twelve miles northeast of here, on the Havana 

 & Matanzas railroad, and about six miles from 

 the coast. There is a range of mountains be- 

 tween here and San Miguel, and the only way 

 of crossing is by an almost impassable trail. 

 But one is amply recompensed by the beautiful 

 views that can be had; and at one place on the 

 road the whole coast line from Havana almost 

 to Matanzas can be seen on the north, and 

 beautiful valleys on the south, extending al- 

 most to the south coast. 



The country below, with its quiet villages 

 nestled in among the palm-groves; the sugar- 

 mills, surrounded by the green fields of cane; 

 the puffing locomotive, which is the only thing 

 that denotes any sign of activity, and the ocean 

 for a background, dotted with sails, and the 

 dark line of smoke from a distant vessel, form 

 such a beautiful panoramic view that no one 

 upon seeing it for the first time can keep from 

 exclaiming. "Que hermosa ! " (Spanish for 

 ''how benutifnl .'") 



Arriving at last at the San Miguel apiary, 

 owned by the Casanova Bros., and managed by 

 friend Somerford. I was greeted by the familiar 

 hum of the bees; but the only occupant of the 

 house was a solitary cat; but after tying my 

 horse I began to investigate, and was informed 

 by a senorita (girl) across the way that " Don 

 Fredorico" had gone up on the mountain-side 

 to get some spring water. A few minutes aft- 

 erward Mr. Somerford arrived, and we pro- 

 ceeded to hold a regular bee-convention, dis- 

 cussing bee culture in all its phases. 



The San Miguel apiary was started several 

 years ago under the management of Messrs.. 

 Osburn and King, and was increased at one 

 time to nearly TOO hives, but became infected 

 with foul brood. During the past four seasons 

 that Mr. Somerford has been there he has got 

 very good crops; and, if I remember rightly, he 

 has taken the largest crop ever produced by 

 any one apiarist in Cuba. Mr. Somerford de- 

 serves great credit for sticking to it in the he- 

 roic manner that he has done, as last year 

 seemed to be an exceptional oin? for the devel- 

 opment of foul brood; and in melting down 

 the combs, transferring and putting the bees 

 through the curing process, he has lost a large 

 per cent of them, but expects to have them in 



