1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



359 



NOTES Of TRAVLL 



4 BY All.ROOT . 



BERMUDA I^IUES. 



When I said the island of Bermuda is most- 

 ly occupied with onions and potatoes on every 

 available rod of soil, I should have mentioned 

 the Bermuda lily-fields. I think it was Gen. 

 Hastings who first introduced the industry, 

 and I am told he made considerable money 



see the strings in the engravings, but I think 

 there are strings or marks somewhere. The 

 bulbs are put in about the same as potatoes, 

 and about the same distance apart, and the 

 cultivation is about the 5-ame, although there 

 was some talk, when I was there, that there 

 was less trouble from the blight when weeds 

 and every thing else were allowed to grow tip 

 along with the lilies, and some people were 

 investigating along that line. I once knew a 

 man who claimed that strawberries would do 

 better among grass and clover. He said the 

 grass and clover would keep the sun from 

 scalding the berries and foliage. I do not be- 



r" 



PLANTING THE LIIA'-BULBS. 



out of it. That is all right, for the man who 

 inaugurates a new crop for an isolated people 

 like the Bernmdans ought to have his reward, 

 lor many years the crop was very profitable, 

 and every thing was clear sailing; but, alas ! 

 after they got to growing them by the acre a 

 sort of blight set in. Whether this is the 

 same thing as the potato-blight or not, no- 

 body knows; but 1 believe they have succeed- 

 ed, or at least partially so, in circumventing 

 the blight by the use of fungicides or special 

 treatment. The bulbs are planted very much 

 as they plant potatoes — see Gleanings for 

 March lo. We give you a picture of a field 

 with the ground already- prepared, and the 

 men at work putting in the bulbs. I do not 



lieve our experiment stations would need to 

 recoimuend tes^ting that sort of treatment. 



The picture gives you a glimpse of the way 

 the fields are fenced off. The fences are stone 

 walls, varying in thickness and height. If 

 there is very much stone to be picked off the 

 land, they make the fences thicker and high- 

 er. Thus you see the fences are more to get 

 rid of the rocks than to keep out intruders. 



As the plants come up they are ordinarily 

 cultivated about like potatoes. They were 

 just beginning to bloom when I left the island 

 in the latter part of February. Probably no 

 description or photo can help the reader to 

 realize how a field of lilies in full bloom looks. 

 Our artist has, however, done pretty well. 



