November, 1917 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



83d 



oovn the rest of our days if we continue to 

 live here. 



Our bungalow we built as a winter home, 

 not thinking that we could live lucre in the 

 summer; but it will soon be two years since 

 we came, and so far we are both enjoying 

 good health — one of the gneatest charms a 

 nice climate and good country can offer. 

 There is no mistake about the sun getting 

 hot here, but in the shade it is always 

 pleasant. The illustration shows our bun- 

 galow partly shaded with vines which resist 

 the rays of the sun and make the veranda 

 pleasant, even in the middle of the day. 



We never owned an auto until we came 

 here ; and we now have one for the same 

 purpose that 1 am keeping bees, and this 

 is surely the place to sport with an auto, as 

 one can use it every day in the year with 

 comfort, since the roads are dry in only a 

 few hours after the heaviest rains. Scarce- 

 ly does a day pass that we do not go down 

 town with the auto. 



We are one mile from the main street, 



but still inside of the corporation. Lake- 

 land has a population of about 8000 ; has 

 three nice lakes inside the corporation, four 

 others partly in or adjoining, also good 

 boating and fishing in all of them. This is 

 supposed to be the best inland town in Flor- 

 ida on account of its elevation, which is 26.5 

 feet above the sea, which is only 30 miles 

 west of us at Tampa. The water is also 

 supposed to be as good as any in Florida, 

 if not the best; and on account of our ele- 

 vation we are above malaria level, and 

 fevers are almost unknown. The cost of 

 living here is about the same as in the 

 North, unless one hajopens to be a vegeta- 

 rian with a good garden ; then he may be al- 

 most independent of the rest of the country 

 outside of his own lot. While we are not 

 vegetarians, yet our garden supplies most 

 of our living. 



If any one wants more information from 

 me concerning Florida, let him ask thru 

 Gleanings so that I can answer all at once. 



Lakeland, Fla. 



MANAGEMENT OF 300 YARDS 



Extensive Beekeeping as Practiced by 

 the Sandwich Island Honey Compa- 

 ny on the Island of Oahu 



By Leslie Burr 



TH E island 

 of Oahu is 

 third in size 

 of the Hawaiian 

 Islands. The is- 

 land of Hawaii 

 is the largest, 

 Maui njext, and 

 Oahu third. The 

 city of Honolulu is just inside the tropics. 

 The temperature of the islands is very 

 even, the temperature seldom going below 

 sixty degrees Fahrenheit, or above ninety. 

 The area of the island is 598 square miles. 

 If it were perfectly square the island would 

 be less than twenty-five miles across. 



A large portion of the island is moun- 

 tainous, there being two mountain ranges — 

 the Waianae Range, peaks of which reach 

 an altitude of over 4000 feet; and the Koo- 

 lau Range, the highest point of wliich ex- 

 ceeds 3000 feet. The mountains are of vol- 

 canic origin, being for the most part but 

 great heaps of blue lava. There are also 

 volcanic craters or cones that are separate 

 from the mountain ranges. Thesie are tufa 

 cones, being comi>osed of tufa and volcanic 

 cinders. The largest and most important 

 of these cones are: Diamond Head, Koko 

 Head, Punchbowl, and Twin Craters, or 

 Salt Lake Crater. The vegetation on the 

 mountains is scrubby and there is practical- 

 ly no nectar-secreting flora, so the moun- 

 tains are of no value for bees. By reason 



of this the terri- 

 t o r y available 

 to the beekeeper 

 i s considerably 

 reduced. 



The GHbert 

 Brothers, when 

 they entered the 

 ranks of the 

 honey-producers, were animated by the is- 

 land spirit to do things on a big scale ; and 

 in this they are succaeding. They first 

 made themselves absolute masters of the 

 situation by obtaining control of all the 

 island with the exoeiption lof Honolulu. 

 They never have to worry about rival bee- 

 keepers on their range, for the good and 

 sufficient reason that a rival beekeeper could 

 not obtain a location on which to place 

 an apiaiy. 



For moving bees Gilbert has a team of 

 mules. The particular mules he uses are 

 called the " honey mules " for the reason 

 that they have become accustomed to stings. 

 All they ever do when stung is to rub out 

 the stings from off their noses and from 

 ai'ound their eyes. This they do by rub- 

 bing their heads against their legs. 



The bees are all Italians, and they veiy 

 seldom swann. Gilbert has a number of 

 reasons for his bees not swarming. The 

 first reason is that he has always made it a 

 practice to rear all of his queens fi^om colo- 

 nies that did not swarm. Another reason 



