ipoS- 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



191 



THE CABBAGE PALMETTO. 



Prominent upon the list of Florida 

 lectar-yielders may usually be noted 

 :he cabbage palmetto, or cabbage 

 )alm — Chamoerops palmetto — which, 

 ndeed. Prof. Cook, in his "Manual of 

 the Apiary," says is the "noblest Ro- 

 man of them all." The same work- 

 presents also an illustration of this 

 tree, which bears about the same de- 

 gree of resemblance to the cabbage 

 palmetto as that which exists between 

 buckwheat and basswood. 



While, in certain localities, and un- 



bursts the cappings and oozes out. 

 The same "working" propensity is in 

 evidence after extracting, regardless 

 of the thoroughness with which it 

 may have been ripened. It appears, 

 however, to materially improve in this 

 respect after a year or so in an air- 

 tight package, when it becomes thick- 

 er, and a very pleasant, mild-flavored 

 honey. In color it is white, and ai 

 first, unusually thin of body. 



The "cabbage" palmetto derives its 

 name from an edible and very pala- 

 table portion of its bud, somewhat re- 



THE CABBAGE PALMETTO. 



der favorable conditions, the cabbage 

 palm yields nectar very profusely, it is 

 hardly reckoned as a real and reliable 



ource by the resident honey pro- 

 ducer, notwithstanding the almost 



ndless profusion in which it grows in 

 South Florida, for it has a marked pre- 

 disposition to blight upon the slightest 

 provocation, and is a very uncertain 

 bloomer as well. 



A peculiar characteristic of cabbage 

 palmetto honey is its tendency to fer- 

 ment — even in sealed combs amply 

 protected by a strong colony, it often 



sembling cabbage, that is utilized to a 

 considerable extent by those living 

 where it grows, in great abundance, 

 as it does in South Florida, as may 

 be seen by the picture herewith shown, 

 and which gives a glimpse or one of 

 the streams in the neighborhood of 

 Fort Pierce, where Mr. James Hed- 

 don, the veteran apiarist, used to lure 

 the wily black ba'NS with his now 

 famous "Dowagiac" bait. The "cab- 

 bage" of the cabbage palmetto in 

 some instances affords an iinportant 

 part of the food supply of the poorer 



