(! 1. K A N r X (I S T K B K E CM' T. T V R V 



OcToiiKR, ]9t:-J 



FROiM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



of the colonies in tlie district will be packed 

 for winter, owing to the liigh cost of pro- 

 tection and the uncertainty of the benefits 

 accruing. E. F. Atwater. 



Meridian, Idaho. 



« * * 



In Porto Rico. Having just returned 



from a couple of trips 

 to my out-apiaries, some of the conditions 

 I found may be interesting to the northern 

 beekeeper. I have mentioned before some 

 of the very unusual conditions one meets 

 with in this small island less than 100 miles 

 long by 30 broad, containing only some 3,600 

 scjuare miles of territory. Tlie north side of 

 the island is green with thrifty vegetation. 

 This condition continues past Aibonito 

 where I started and for about 4 miles be- 

 yond, whicli is the top of the divide. From 

 there oiie starts down the southern side. 

 From tliis point there is a drop of 1,500 feet 

 in about 5 miles of road. There is a dou- 

 ble figure "8" curve and several singles in 

 tliis stretch of road. Many people become 

 car-sick when traveling this hill country, on 

 account of the turns and twists. For in- 

 stance, there are 21 turns in one-half mile 

 of road just beyond my home, one of tliese 

 being a hairpin curve. This is not at all un- 

 usual. From the divide for a distance of 

 25 miles the contour of the country Y>ve- 

 sents a dry, burned-up appearance, the 

 ground being bare of growing vegetation, 

 with the exception of trees and large 

 shrubs. Hardly a blade of green grass is 

 to be seen. Many of tlie trees have shed 

 their leaves like winter conditions in the 

 North. I later reached the irrigated lands 

 of the coast where all was green again. 



A week later I made this same trip to 

 the town of Ponce, and, as there had been a 

 fair rainfall three days before, the dry, 

 arid look had passed, and all over the hills 

 and valleys there was a discernible sheen 

 of green of the new grass growing with won- 

 derful rapidity. This revival of life, or 

 tlie start of new life, is even a more won- 

 derful demonstration of creation than any of 

 our northern springs. It takes on more the 

 character of a miracle, as it occurs in so 

 short a time. 



As the road I was to take from Ponce 

 was impassable for an auto, I took a horse. 

 When I reached the apiary an hour later, I 

 was i>leased to find honey coming in, and 

 the stronger hives already storing in tlic 

 supers. 



To reach my apiaries near the western 

 coast I took the train from Ponce to Agua- 

 dilla, and from that town by auto a dis- 

 tance of 10 miles. Located along this road 

 1 have three apiaries, which are cared for by 

 a native worker. However, it takes close 

 inspection trips to get anytliing accom- 

 plished. All peoples native to the tropics 

 are blessed from their point of view (but 

 condemned by the northern idea) by the 

 habit of "manana, " which means tomor- 

 row. All things can be accomplished "ma- 

 nana." In these apiaries I found no honey 

 coming in, but a prospect of a good honey 

 flow three or four weeks distant. This lat- 

 ter trip occupied four days, as there was so 

 much delay in making connections. 



It is expected that there will be a slightly 

 heavier yield of honey in Porto Rico this 

 year than was gathered in 1921. 



Aibonito, Porto Eico. Penn G. Snyder. 



Field mooting New Jersey Stale l'..'.k.i p. r- ' Association. E. G. Carr, Secretary, speaking 



