7U0 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ji LY 15 



bee keepers in the United Sta'es wh^ ob- 

 tain their sole means of livelihood from bees. 

 They are all bee-keepers, and intenselv in- 

 terested in every thin^ that pertains to their 

 favorite pursuit 



At the time of my visit, trouble was 

 .brewing- over the pear blig-ht situation. 

 The pear growers had threatened to prison 

 th bees if the bee-keepers did not remove 

 them from the vicinity of the orchards, and 

 matters were becoming somewhat strained. 



I remember particularly with what ap- 

 prehension Mrs. Hart looked upon the sit- 

 uation. Here they had built up a beauti- 

 ful home, had a fine bee-rang^e, and every 

 thing was going- on lovely; and now to feel 

 that they did not have a right to conduct 

 their business on a live-and-let-live princi- 

 ple was not pleasant. Well, as our read- 

 ers know, a compromise was effected at 

 that time, and since then I believe the 

 pear-growers are not as ready to accuse 

 the bees of the spread of the blight. Mr. 

 Hart and others for one season, as an ex- 



CUBA AS A BEE COUNTRY. 



A Few Mistakes Corrected. 



BY C. K. WOODWARD. 



I beg permission to correct a few mis- 

 takes I have noticed of late that have crept 

 iuto Gleanings. It is not to be supposed 

 that any editor of a bee journal is a revised 

 and enlarged walking encyclopa;dia with a 

 patent index, therefore it is nothing strange 

 that misconceptions should find their way 

 into the columns of good old Gleanings. 

 But be that as it may, I wish to say that 

 Cuba as a honej' country, taking one year 

 with another, in my judgment can not be 

 excelled in regard to producing a good crop 

 of hoae3' here. It requires just as much 

 good judgment and experience as any where 

 in the world. One may produce a crop of 

 honey a little easier here than in some oth- 

 er countries, but it needs intelligence just 

 the same. 



AN OUT-APIARY OF KRED M. HART. 



periment, moved all the bees from the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the orchards during the 

 time they were in bloom. This, so far from 

 accomplishing any good result, did not af- 

 fect the blight either way. It continued to 

 spread just the same. Insects and wild 

 bees that were beyond control of man, it 

 was demonstrated, would scatter the virus 

 from tree to tree; and the presence of the 

 bees under domestication did not material- 

 ly affect the situation. 



Mr. Hart, from what I know of him, 

 would make a go:d foul-brood inspector. 

 He is tactful, and enjoys the respect, not 

 only of the bee-keepers, but even of the 

 rabid fruit-growers, for he, together with 

 myself and some other bee-keepers, visited 

 a number of them. All of them greeted our 

 friend most cordially. 



With regard to the treatment with for- 

 maldehyde, I should like to have Mr. Hart 

 some time at his leisure tell us how suc- 

 cessful he has been with it. — Ed.] 



The writer has at this moment several 

 apiaries in mind where cheap native Cu- 

 bans are at the head of them; and what is 

 the result? I will tell you. It is no honey, 

 lots of foul brood, and destruction. Once 

 these were fine up-to-date American apia- 

 ries — thousands of dollars thrown away for 

 the sake of saving a few dollars at the time 

 in employing cheap Cubans. On the other 

 hand, the native will never make a good 

 apiarist. As a rule they are illiterate. 

 The most of them can not read, and of 

 course that holds one back. Another thing, 

 they try to see how little work they can do 

 in the longest time. But, of course, all this 

 will chauge in time. The expert produces 

 large crops, keeps out foul brood, keeps his 

 bees strong, put his honey on the market in 

 better and more attractive form, and gets 

 better prices for his labor performed. 



As a rule the natives know nothing about 

 the production of comb honey, and they are 

 sure to put off for to-morrow what they 



