1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



215 



picturesque 'height on 

 the hummock lands of 

 the coasts and Keys in 

 the southern part of the 

 State. It is cultivated 

 very generally, howev- 

 er, all over Florida as an 

 ornamental tree. The 

 honey is almost water- 

 white, clear and trans- 

 lucent. The body is not 

 so heavy nor thick as 

 that of saw palmetto, 

 nor is the flavor consid- 

 ered so fine, though ex- 

 tremely mild. I sam- 

 pled some pure cabbage- 

 palmetto honey this 

 year from the apiary of 

 Mr. I. T. Shumard, Os- 

 prey, Fla., and can at- 

 test to its excellence; 

 but the average palate 

 would choose the saw 

 palmetto. It requires 

 good handling to pre- 

 vent its fermenting, and 

 often froths in the 

 combs on uncapping. 

 The frothing entirely 

 disappears, however, on 

 standing a few hours. 

 In the vicinity of Hawks 

 Park, Fla., this honey 

 comes at about the same 

 time as the black man- 

 grove, so that neither 

 can be harvested sepa- 

 rately. But the blend 

 is a fine combination, 

 and won signal praise 

 from the father of mod- 

 ern apiculture, L. L. 

 Langstroth himself, as 

 the following letter from 

 him attests. Mr. W. S. Hart had sent some 

 samples of the blend of cabbage-palmetto 

 and black-mangrove honeys to Mr. Chas. 

 F. Muth, of Cincinnati. Mr. Langstroth 

 secured a smaller sample of this honey from 

 Mr. Muth, and wrote him the following let- 

 ter: 



Frieiid Muth:— I have delayed giving you my opin- 

 ion of that Florida palmetto honey till I got the ver- 

 dict of others as to its merits. In color it is unex- 

 ceptionable, and its flavor is very pleasant. I am not 

 sure but the majority of consumers will consider it 

 equal if not superior to white clover. Our Southern 

 friends are to be congratulated on being able to sup- 

 ply our market with such a choice article. 



Oxford, O., Nov. 16, 1882. L. L. Langstroth. 



This combination of honeys constitutes 

 the bulk of Mr. Hart's surplus. 



12. Manchineel [Manchineel hix^pomane 

 manchinella) , a, tree of the spurge family; 

 is called also "poison wood," from a milky 

 sap secreted from the bark. It is one of the 

 largest and most common trees on the south- 

 east coast; reaches its greatest beauty on 

 the Keys there, though it is found on the 

 mainland as far north as Palm Beach. In 

 certain years it is a very heavy yielder of 



BLUEBERRIES 



FROM BUSHES GROWING IN GOOD SOIL. 

 SEE PAGE 223. 



nectar. It blossoms always in connection 

 with the two following sources: 



13. Dogwood {Cornus Florida), a flower- 

 ing tree found along the Keys and off the 

 southeast coast, especially the former. 



14. Pigeon cherry, also in same locality 

 as two former. All three of these bloom 

 about simultaneously, nor can their honeys 

 be obtained separately. Mr. O. O. Popple- 

 ton is the only bee-man who attempts to 

 reap a harvest from these three sources, and 

 he does so by means of his traveling apiary. 

 He pronounces the combined honey from 

 them of good flavor, excellent color, and 

 good body. His crop last year from the 

 three was 28,000 lbs. 



15. Fall flowers (including wild sunflow- 

 ers, goldenrod, asters, and thoroughwort) . 

 Of these, none are much of a factor except, 

 possibly, the wild sunflower, in the section 

 lying east of Miakka River, between the 

 palmetto section and the Everglades. There 

 it is very abundant, and seems to be a good 

 yielder. But the honey from all is much 

 like that from the northern flowers of au- 

 tumn—rather dark and strongly flavored. 



