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GI.E KINGS IX BEE CULTTKE. 



Jan. 15 



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OFF TO FLORIDA. 



On the afternoon of Dec. 12 we left our 

 northern home. It was after dark when we 

 reached the vicinity of Pittsburg, and I was 

 more impressed than ever before by the tre- 

 mendous manufacturing business done along 

 the valleys of the river leading into this 

 smoky city. The belching flames from the 

 b'ast- furnaces made us think at first the 

 town was on fire; but we soon found there 

 was almost a continual succession of these 

 " fii'es;" in fact, the towns seemed to run to- 

 gether, and streams of molten iron were first 

 seen on one side of the railway and then on 

 the other. 



At Washington, D. C, we were met next 

 morning by Mr. Leslie Martin, who is con- 

 nected with the Apiarian Department, who 

 very kindly showed us around as far as our 

 time would permit between trains. As the 

 greenhouses were near our station I began 

 to be very happy in viewing what the gov- 

 ernment had collected from far and near; but 

 Mrs. R. soon began to scold. The houses 

 were too hot; and as I had not told her to 

 bring her rubbers she found the houses alto- 

 gether too wet. We soon found some not so 

 "tropical," and where the men had not yet 

 done their morning watering. Of course, I 

 had seen bi'fore the most of the plants; but 

 I found some that amply repaid me for my 

 visit. Ipomea Briggsii is one that especially 

 pleased me. It is a vine that was trained 

 overhead on the rafters; and not only is the 

 fob'age attractive, but it has the rare quality 

 of furnishing buds, flowers, and Jruit that 

 are always handsome. Most plants, to look 

 neat and tidy, must have the dead and dying 

 bloom renewed almost daily. One who cares 

 for geraniums, roses, etc., has, of course, no- 

 ticed this. Not so with this ipomea. It is 

 always neat and tidy-looking, without daily 

 trimming up. 



The government apiary has been for some 

 time testing Caucasian bees, and Mr. Martin 

 is inclined to give them more credit as honey- 

 gatherers than we have done so far. He 

 also says that, when crossed with Italians 

 and other bees, the effect seems to be pret- 

 ty constant in making all races more gentle 

 to handle. I brought along with me, in a 

 two- frame nucleus, our last imported Cau- 

 casian queen. I had some trouble in getting 

 permission to take my hive of bees into the 

 sleeping-car, until I reached the Seaboard 

 Air Line R. R. On this road there was not 

 a particle of objection; but the conductor 

 asked many questions about the new races 

 of gentle bees, and seemed to feel their road 

 was honored in havirg so inrpcriant a per 



sonage as "her majesty" numbered among 

 his passengers. 



From Washington, D. C, to Sarasota, Fla., 

 this road seemed to be up to the times in 

 making every thing pleasant for those who 

 patronized it. 



VENTILATION AND RAILWAY TRAVEL. 



As we approached Jacksonville the weath- 

 er was so exceedingly "summery" outside 

 we persuaded the colored porter to shut off 

 the steam and let the pipes get cold. He 

 said he would be "awful glad" to have it 

 cooler, but some passenger was almost al- 

 ways sure to object. We finally all got to 

 bed, and v/ent to sleep in a cool, well- venti- 

 lated car. Mrs. Root had also got to sleep, 

 but about midnight I heard the steam-pipes 

 snapping, and knew we should still have it 

 "too hot for any thing. " The porter did 

 ' ' make it hot ' ' for the passengers, but Mrs. 

 Root, when she "caught on," made it "still 

 hotter ' ' for the porters. Of course, they ex- 

 plained that somebody was cold, and they 

 had to obey orders; but Mrs. Root consulted 

 the other women in the car, then she voiced 

 a protest from all the ladies, and the steam 

 was shut off once more. Does some one ask 

 right here ho w the poor porter can suit every- 

 body ? Well, 1 would have a thermometer 

 on board, and this should indicate the tem- 

 perature within certain limits. When the 

 majority, however, want it beyond these 

 limits, let them have it. On this road the 

 porter often inquired of the passengers if 

 the temperature was to their liking. Just 

 one more illustration: 



When near Sarasota we changed cars. This 

 last car had no ventilator open at all; and as 

 there was a warm driving rain the windows 

 were all closed. A earful of people rode all 

 of half an hour "corked up tight" in a land 

 of perpetual summer and summer flowers. 

 Nobody seemed to know how to reach the 

 ventilators, and I suggested we were so near 

 our destination we could stand it with the 

 rest. Finally the conductor came into our 

 car, and Mrs. Root was made happy by see- 

 ing all the ventilators open. I can't recall 

 just how she expressed it, but it was to the 

 effect that the balmy air that poured through 

 those ventilators was like a " breath from 

 heaven. ' ' A youngster had been ' ' howling' ' 

 ever since we got on the car, but stopped 

 almost instantly. His parents had been dos- 

 ing him repeatedly with some sort of medi- 

 cine, but it did no good, and Mrs. Root de- 

 clares it was the bad air and nothing else 

 that made him sick, and they, in their want 

 of knowledge, gave him drugs (perhaps in- 

 jurious) instead of letting him have " God's 

 pure air. ' ' 



OUR "ROBINSIN CRUSOE" ISLAND. 



* ' How much to take us to Osprey in the 

 morning?" I asked of a livery-man as we 

 got off at Sarasota. 



' ' Four dollars. ' ' 



"But you carry a daily mail. Can't you 

 take a heavier rig, and make it a little less?" 



"I could make it a dollar less; but the mail 



