1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



101 



must start at half- past six, and you wouldn't 

 want to go that early?" 



He didn't know us as you do, dear reader, 

 did he ? 



We had a beautiful ride past and through 

 orangre- groves and other tropical vegetation; 

 and when we reached Osprey (twelve miles) 

 we found one of Mr. Shumard's sons waiting 

 to take us over to "our island." When 

 friend S. told us (see p. 135!^, Dec. 15) that 

 it was only ten minutes' sail over to the post- 

 office, I thought it was probably only un- 

 der the most favorable circumstances he 

 could do it; but "Jesse" made it in just 

 seven minutes. I have always longed for a 

 more intimate acquaintance with sail- boats, 

 especially little crafts to carry, say, half a 

 dozen people, and here was my chance. 



Orville and Jesse Shumard are two young 

 men, eighteen and twenty years of age. 

 Their occupation is principally fishing, and 

 each one has a sail-boat of his own, and it is 

 really a pleasure to see how those boys 

 handle their respective boats, especially 

 when there is a pretty high wind. They 

 have made the trip to the postoffice in only 

 five minutes; but it takes an expert to do 

 this and not upset or take in water. 



On the way over, Mrs. Root and I were 

 astonished to see fine large fish jumping out 

 of the water all around us, and, later on, 

 I saw a school of fishes just coming into the 

 bay from the Gulf (of Mexico) that made 

 such a "demonstration" one or two large 

 fishes (say 2 lbs. and over) were up in the 

 air all the time. Sometimes there were half 

 a dozen or more several feet in the air. Now, 

 if I were not sure you all know I tell the 

 truth, even if I am telling "fish stories," I 

 might hesitate to tell what comes next. The 

 Shumards are not only an interesting but a 

 remarkable family. Besides the boys men- 

 tioned, there are two bright girls, nine and 

 eleven years old, named Clara and Flossie. 

 With the older one, Florence (seventeen), 

 they three go to school in a boat a mile and 

 a half from home. Well, the two little girls, 

 one morning before school, caught fish 

 enough to sell for $2 40; and Clara (only 9, 

 mind you) caught with a cast-net, at one 

 haul, one hundred and six fish, all big enough 

 to eat.* Of course, she was lucky enough to 

 be right on the spot near a school of fish. 

 This was on the Gulf, and the fish were so 

 thick when a wave threw them up on the 

 beach they could hardly all get back into deep 

 water. These jumping fish sometimes jump 

 into the boat. They haven't jumped into 

 our boat (not yet) ; but one day Thomas 

 McAulay(the son-in-law) was walking along 

 the beach on the Gulf when a fish of about 2 

 lbs. was thrown up by a wave; and before it 

 could get back he kicked it up on dry land, 

 and brought it in just in time for dinner. 



By the way, our dinner on that first day 

 included a soup made from little shellfish 

 about the size of beans. I have writ ten these 

 up before, as some of you may remember. 

 Well, I still consider them the richest, most 



* It took both g'-ls to pull in the net, for there were 

 toward 100 lbs of fish. 



nourishing, and most appetizing food, espe- 

 cially in the line of soups, of any thing the 

 kind Father has provided for his children. 

 Every wave that comes up from old ocean 

 brings up in the sand thousands if not mil- 

 lions of these tiny oysters (or perhaps, more 

 properly, clams); and if you scoop them up 

 with the sand in a sieve the sea water will 

 wash the sand out and leave little clos* d 

 shells of various sizes and forms, and of the 

 most brilliant and enticing colors, rivalirg 

 all the tints of the rainbow. All you have 

 to do is to rinse off the salt water, and cork 

 them just as you would cook so many beans, 

 only they cook about as quickly as oysters, 

 and taste much like them. The shells are 

 strained from the soup with a colander. The 

 people here call them donaks. There are 

 enough here along the Gulf of Mexico to f et d 

 untold thousands if not millions of people. 



Before I get through with fishes as food 

 for mankind I want to give you an illustra- 

 tion of the steps that often occur between 

 the 'producer and consutner. On the Pullman 

 dining-car I had a very fine blue-fish for din- 

 ner—price 50 cts. I did not order anything 

 else, not even tea or coffee; but the fish alore 

 made a very good dinner. It weighed, when 

 caught, perhaps 2 lbs. Well, the Shumard 

 boys get for just such fish at wholesale, just 

 as they come out of the salt water, tivo cents 

 per pound, by the 100 lbs. or ton. They are 

 purchased by a boat that comes along daily, 

 carrying ice, and they turn them over to the 

 fish-dealers, who in turn supply the retailers, 

 and so on to the consumer. I suppose the 

 profits are all right, or about right; for if 

 you want a nice fish served up to you in 

 good style, without even stopping your train 

 for dinner, and then have all the fixings 

 quickly swept out of your way and put away, 

 you must pay somebody for doing it. If you 

 prefer making a short cut, and dropping all 

 these "middle men" with their profits, just 

 come out on our island and play "Robinson 

 Crusoe" just as Mrs Root and I are plan- 

 ning to do. Before you can do this, however, 

 you will have to invest something like a hun- 

 dred dollars in a cottage, and things to take 

 up even "light housekeeping." 



VERTIGO, OR FALLING SICKNESS. 

 I have mentioned before that my malari 1 

 attacks usually occur in July and August — 

 the same season of the year that I had t? e 

 severe attack something over a dozen yeais 

 ago. Well, at the time of Ruber's weddinjr, 

 last September. Mrs. Root and I came back 

 to Ohio for three wetks. Toward the ei d 



