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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Deobmbee, 1921 



HEAPS OF GRAIN T pg a O TPIFFERENT FIELDS 



Beekeeping on It is remarkable in what 

 Cape Cod. curious and unexpected 



places one finds bees and 

 beekeepers. Having heard of Cape Cod as 

 being a succession of sand dunes, especially 

 at the outer extremity, I had not expected 

 to find any bees at Provincetown, the first 

 landing place of the Mayflower in 16iJ0. 

 Soon after my arrival from Boston, on the 

 Dorothy Bradford, July 25, I walked down 

 a little lane between buildings, to the water 

 front. It was lined on each side with old- 

 fashioned flowers, in which the hollyhock 

 was conspicuous. The Provincetown people 

 believe in flowers, which add much to the 

 beauty of the quaint old place with its nar- 

 row streets and old cottages. At the end 

 of my walk I noticed a little patch of sweet 

 clover in bloom. A large number of insects 

 were busy on the blossoms, and I looked 

 carefully for honeybees. Sure enough, there 

 were several fairly well-marked hybrids. I 

 lost no time in making inquiry as to who 

 kept bees. I soon located John P. Francis, 

 a heavy-set genial fellow, who has a barber 

 shop on Main street. It did not require a 

 long time for us to become acquainted, and 

 thru Mr. Francis I was able to learn about 

 the beekeeping possibilities of that part of 

 Cape Cod. Mr. Francis keeps only a dozen 

 colonies, as he thinks that number is about 

 as many as the field would profitably sup- 

 port. Even with that small number, he 

 keeps a "Honey for Sale" sign in his win- 

 dow. At one time his sign read ' ' Honey in 

 the Comb"; but as a comb is used in the 



barber trade, the sign attracted the atten- 

 tion of some hunter of the curious in signs, 

 and was written up in the Boston papers. 



These sand dunes are covered in many 

 places with a heavy growth, including oak, 

 jack pine, cherry, soft maple, beach plum, 

 grapes, huckleberries, blueberries, and other 

 undergrowth. The honey source was stated 

 to be as follows: beach plum, wild cherry, 

 cranberries, blackberries, sumac, and, in the 

 fall, much goldenrod. Is it not remarkable 

 that beekeeping is so widely spread in our 

 country? The question is not where can 

 bees be kept, but where are the places in 

 which they can not be kept? 



Provincetown, Mass. Harry Lathrop. 



Sumac Bobs For Sumac bobs are cheap. 

 Smoker Fuel. easy to get if you live 



where they grow, and 

 make more smoke to the pound than any- 

 thing on earth ever put in a smoker. They 

 last longer and never flame up. Puff as 

 hard as you please, and all you get is a 

 cloud of white cool smoke less the bad 

 smell that you get with rags or many other 

 things that beekeepers usually use. Every 

 beekeeper that has seen them burn says 

 they beat anything else he ever saw. One of 

 the inspectors now carries a bagful along 

 for smoker fuel. Just plain sumac bobs, 

 the seed of the sumac, last year's tops, are 

 the part to use. John N. DeMuth. 



. Pembroke, N. Y. 



Sand dunes on Cape Cod, near Provincetown, the first landing: place of the Mayflower in 1620. Even here 



the honeybees are able to make a living. 



