398 



Gleaninss in Bee Culture 



Fig. 21. 



-One of W. S. Hart" s bee-sheds, TCast Coast, Florida: orange-trees in tlie loresround: slied tliatch- 



ed witli palmetto leaves. 



under side of the to]vbar, and some were de- 

 l)ressed, so that the knives diil not reach all 

 of the cappings, requiring some hand worlv 

 later with a regular knife; but if the combs 

 were to be uncai)i)ed in the machine > ear 

 after year, I think nearly all of them would 

 be drawn out evenly, so that the machine 

 would do about all the work. 



The Hoffman frame, or any frame having 

 projections of any kind, will not work in 

 this uncap])ing-machineasmade at present. 

 To my notion, this is the worst drawback 

 about the outfit, for there are but few frames 

 that it will handle. 



Remus, Mich. 



BEE-KEEPING IN FLORIDA. 



Some Representative Bee-men of Florida. 



BY B. G. BALDWIN. 



Continued from last issue. 

 If length of time in keeping bees in Flori- 

 da were taken as the criterion, then Mr. Wil- 

 liam Sylvester Hart, of Hawks Park, Kast 

 Coast, laolds the palm of being the oldest 

 inhabitant in the industry. He began keep- 

 ing bees in Florida in 1876 — never kept them 

 anywhere else. That means 35 years of con- 

 tinuous bee-keeping in one State. Original- 

 ly drawn to the peninsula by the orange in- 

 dustry (a native of the Granite State) he 

 has made an enviable name for himself as a 

 grower of fine citrus i)roducts, princii)ally 

 oranges. The well-known and deserNedly 

 famous Hart's Tardiife orange was originat- 

 ed by him. His Indian River oranges al- 

 ways win the tip-toj) market \m{ie. \'ery 

 early in his career in Florida he saw the 

 possibilities of bee-kee]iing as an accessory 

 pursuit to his groves. So well has he suc- 



ceeded at both that he stands as high among 

 the apiculturists of the country as among 

 the horticulturists. 



He read Langstroth's work through three 

 times, and then bought bees. Seldom own- 

 ing more than 12-0 colonies at one time, he 

 has made them count in results. He uses 

 the ten-frame R. hive, and full sheets of 

 foundation, not wired. His honey sources 

 are saw i)almetto and gallberry mixed, for 

 the first croj), and cabl)age i)almetto and 

 black mangrove mixed for the second crop. 

 The jiroportion of the last-named honey is 

 about one-third ])almetto and two-thirds 

 mangrove. The two honeys, i)almetto and 

 mangrove, are so much alike that they can 

 be classed together, making a strictly first- 

 rate article. Mr. Hart has startled the api- 

 cultural world by some of his yields per col- 

 ony and i)er apiary. Among the worst ene- 

 mies of his bees berates the common moth, 

 and ants (see former article). Forest fires 

 also do him much harm, destroying large 

 areas of the saw palmetto in his neighbor- 

 hood. His apiary is shown in Fig. 21; his 

 honey-house in Fig. 22. There is an accu- 

 racy and finish about all he does that is 

 very noticeable. He is an exceedingly busy 

 man, overrun with a vast correspontlence, 

 and in many lines of activity he is as ar- 

 dent a worker as many in their specialty. 

 Readers of (tleanings will do well not to 

 write i)ersonal letters to Mr. Hart, as the 

 answering of them v\ould make unneces- 

 sary inroads on his time and energy, even 

 allowing that he had the time for it. Most 

 of his short cuts in ai)icultiiral lines have 

 already been given to the ])ublic in the agri- 

 cultural and bee i>ai)ers for llo years past. 

 He thinks (and justly) that lie deserves 

 freedom from the burden henceforth. Any 

 State would feel honored to havQ hiiu on 



