GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 1. 



I expect to produce a foundation with deep 

 cells and a thin base, and am confident that 

 its advantages will at once be recognized. 



E. B. Weed. 



JAMAICA NOTES. 

 The Honey Flora of that Island ; Drawbacks, etc. 



BY H. G. BURNET. 



We have had perfect weather, apiculturally, 

 for the past year, and bees have done very 

 well indeed where proper care has been exer- 

 cised. Just now they are booming on log- 

 wood and "Christmas pop "bloom, both of 

 which yield an abundant supply of fine-flavor- 

 ed light-colored honey, fully the equal of 

 clover. Christmas pop is the bellflower of 

 Cuba, from which such large yields are secur- 

 ed. We have it all over this island, and have 

 the logwood also, which Cuba does not have, 



On the dry plains a splendid quality of hon- 

 ey is obtained from the cashaw, a variety of 

 acacia, which thrives only in dry locations. 

 There is hardly a month in the year when we 

 do not get more or less surplus. Of course, 

 there are drawbacks. We have almost no lo- 

 cal market, and have to ship to London ; but 

 honey properly put up and graded will net 

 from 3 to 5 cents per pound, which will give 

 very profitable returns to a " business apicul- 

 turist " — a specialist. 



Toads are a great nuisance, and bees must 

 be on stands at least two feet from the ground 

 or the toads will get at them; and as our toads 

 are of the Surinam variety — about the largest 

 in the world — they can stow away an enor- 

 mous number if they have free access. I have 

 known them to travel at least three hundred 

 feet and back in one night to an apiary; and 

 sometimes very early in the morning, during 

 bellflower bloom, I find them in front of the 



A HONEY-POPCORN PAVILION. SEE EDITORIALS. 



which is unexcelled as a source of honey, and 

 never fails. The bellflower begins in Novem- 

 ber, and the bees build up good and strong, 

 so that, when the logwood begins the latter 

 part of December or early in January, it all 

 goes for surplus. The bellflower is a white 

 morning-glory, and yields an abundance of 

 pollen as well as honey — so much so that the 

 bees look as if they had rolled in flour, and it 

 is comical to see them come into the hives. 

 Fully half will bump against the hive and fall 

 on the ground or grass, where they will stop 

 long enough to give their eyes a few vigorous 

 rubs to get the pollen out, then fly in all right. 

 Bellflower and logwood last for about three 

 months. One peculiarity of logwood is that 

 it does not bloom at the same time in all parts 

 of the island, and in some parts it blooms 

 twice, so that migratory bee-keeping would be 

 profitable. 



hives to snap up the dusty-eyed workers that 

 fall in the grass. 



Apiculture is being boomed in the island 

 lately, and the supply-men are reaping a har- 

 vest. " Root's goods " are the only kind im- 

 ported. Some amateurs are going in quite 

 heavily, and will possibly gain experience and 

 lose money in proportion; but for the special- 

 ist I know of no better place in the world, all 

 things considered. 



At a recent apicultural fair Root's goods 

 were shown ; also Italian bees and queens ; an 

 extractor in operation, etc., all of which at- 

 tracted a great deal of attention, and kept the 

 genial exhibitor, Mr. Doidge, busy replying to 

 the many queries from the people who crowd- 

 ed about. With all the bee-keepers we have 

 we should have an organized society for the 

 benefit of the fraternity. 



Now, Uncle Amos, the next time you travel 



