THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



421 



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ror tbe American Bee JoumaL 



A Woodchuck Manoeuvre. 



WJI. F. CLARKE. 



I have had several tussels with Mr. 

 Ileddoii, and always, until now, he 

 has taken a good square " hold ;" but 

 in his article on " Priority of Loca- 

 tion," on page o40, so far as I aiu per- 

 sonally concerned, he fails to grip, and 

 only dodges the points 1 made. I'er- 

 haps this is not altogether surprising, 

 in view of the fact that he attempts 

 to Hoor both Mr. Doolittle and myself 

 at once, and I suppose that either of 

 us is conceited enough to think it will 

 take all his time for him to do it one 

 by one. 



Mr. Ileddon deals me out a large 

 ladle of taffy, which, being as fond of 

 as most weak mortals are, I have 

 swallowed with a great relish ; the 

 restdt being that 1 feel very much like 

 the historic " Jack Horner '' when he 



fot through with his Christmas pie. 

 'his is perhaps why I am not quite 

 willing to let Mr. Heddon have tbe 

 last word on the present occasion. 



lie SHvs : "Mr. Clarke should not 

 claim better judgment in regard to 

 the lioney-yielding capacity of my 

 own locality, than I have after watch- 

 ing the results in it for 1.5 years." I 

 did not "claim better judgment;"! 

 merely said, " I have an impression." 

 This is greatly strengthened by ^Ir. 

 Heddon's statement that he is stock- 

 ing his tield, the present spring, with 

 nearly doulile the bees he has been in 

 the habit of keeping, which is either 

 an admission that he has underrated 

 it in the i)ast, or that it has improved 

 by spontaneous growth or artificial 

 seeding and planting. 



After trying, in my article, to stitfen 

 Mr. Heddon's backbone, it is gratify- 

 ing to find him expressing the belief 

 that now he has such " a good start 

 in the business," that he is not likely 

 to be troubled by the rivalry of a com- 

 petitor with enough more of energy 

 and intelligence to run him out ! 



But I took up my pen mainly to 

 point out what I have called in the 

 caption of thisarticle," A Woodchuck 

 Manieuvre," on Mr. Heddon's part. 

 I do not mean any disrespect by this 

 comparison, which, it seems to me, is 

 a very striking one. How often do 

 we see this little creature poising in a 

 calm and dignified manner beside its 

 hole apjiareuily regardless of the fact 

 that it is pursued. But no sooner 

 does the pursuer come to close quar- 

 ters, than Mr. Woodchuck dives into 

 his hole, where he knows he is per- 

 fectly secure. Mr. Heddon's honey- 

 producing business is to him what its 

 hole is to the woodchuck. 



He takes the ground that no one 

 can form a correct opinion on the 

 question at issue, unless he derives 

 his income wholly from apiculture. 

 Even then it seems to be difficult, for 

 ^Ir. Doolittle is mistaken as well as 



myself. It is my misfortune, or my 

 fault, that I do not " have a necessary 

 concern in the interests of honey-pro- 

 ducers." .\ly case is, apparently, a 

 very hopeless one. Mr. Heddon is not 

 only of the opinion that I am mis- 

 taken now. but " always will be, I pre- 

 sume, luitil he lays aside all other 

 sources of income, except apiculture. 

 Then, in a few years he rcill (let at the 

 facts." 



" Lor'-a-massey !" what chance is 

 tliere for me y I am ruled out of the 

 race altogether. Life is too short for 

 me to change my business, adopt 

 another, and prosecute it for " a few 

 years " in order to qualify myself to 

 iforni and express an opinion which 

 will not at once be branded as neces- 

 sarily " mistaken." 



Let us turn the cake over. Mr. 

 Heddon and I differ far more widely 

 on a subject which bears about the 

 same relation to my livelihood that 

 apiculture does to his. Now if I were 

 to take the ground that he is, and al- 

 ways will Ije mistaken on the subject 

 of religion, because he does not lay 

 aside all other sources of income ex- 

 cept preaching, what would be think 

 of my line of argument '^ I fancy he 

 would have a vision of a reverend 

 woodchuck diving into his hole. 



Speedside, Out. 



Bee-Keepers' Magazine. 



Cuba Flora and Honey Production. 



A. J. KING. 



The Island of Cuba is about 650 

 miles in length, extending nearly east 

 and west, with an average breadth of 

 about •50 miles. 



A range of mountains traverses the 

 whole length, nearly in the centre. 

 At the eastern end they attain an ele- 

 vation of 8.000 feet above the sea, but 

 gradually diminish in height till at 

 the western terminus, they are scarce- 

 ly 1,000 feet high. From the base of 

 ttie mountains, the country opens into 

 extensive meadows and beautiful 

 plains, which extend on either side of 

 the central range, down to the ocean, 

 where, in some places, the land is 

 swampy. 



Owing to the small breadth of the 

 island, and the nature of the soil, 

 there are no large rivers, yet the un- 

 dnliiting surface being continually re- 

 newed by so great a variety of vege- 

 tation, gives ri.se to the most beauti- 

 ful landscapes imaginable. 



Cuba is not destitute of mineral 

 wealth, hut the copper mines of the 

 Slera del Cobre Mountains, are the 

 main source of wealth in this direc- 

 tion. Coal, maible, chalcedony and 

 copperas are mined to a limited extent. 

 There is also a thick firm slate, of a 

 dark blue color, almost equal to mar- 

 ble, which is used extensively for 

 pavements and for floors in some of 

 their finest edifices. 



Some of the luiest mineral springs 

 in the world are to be found on the 

 island, and are patronized by patients 

 from all countries. 



In some parts the limestone consti- 

 tuting the sccondnry and tertiary 

 formations is exceedingly porous, and 



caverns, some of great extent, are 

 common. 



We visited what is known as the 

 " Caves of Balinore," near Matansas, 

 in the western portion of the island. 

 These caves exteiui for about three 

 miles, much of the distance under the 

 Bay of Mantansas, and are filled with 

 objects of marvelous beauty ; numer- 

 ous rooms of from 200 to ;W0 feet 

 square and 2") to 7-5 feet high exist, 

 the walls and ceilings of which are 

 completely frescoed with stalactites 

 of the most beautiful forms, and the 

 floors are (>overed with stalagmites 

 so grouped as to greatly resemble 

 thrones, lieautiful gardens and fine 

 scenery in endless variety, the re- 

 flection and refraction of the light 

 from our torches caused the whole to 

 appear like a vast sea of the most 

 beautiful diamonds, and one could 

 easily imagine himself in Fairyland. 



The climate of Cuba, though some- 

 what hot and dry, is more equable 

 than is generally supposed ; the aver- 

 age temperature, near the coast, being 

 78", while in the interior it is only 73"^. 

 Even the hottest months, -July and 

 August, give an average temperature 

 af only 83^', and the coldest, December 

 and January, give only iW-'. In sum- 

 mer tlie thermometer rarely exceeds 

 82°, and in winter it is seldom noticed 

 as low as -"lO. The direct rays of the 

 sun are hot, but in the shade it is al- 

 most always refreshing, and that feel- 

 ing of sultriness and stagnation, so 

 common in the North in hot weather, 

 is almost unknown in Cuba, and there 

 is seldom a night, even in summer, 

 when one is uncomfortable under 

 cover. Snow has never yet fallen ou 

 the highest mountains", but frost 

 forming thin ice occasionally happens. 

 Hail storms and hurricanes are much 

 less fre(iuent than in the other antil- 

 les, and earthquakes are seldom ex- 

 perienced, except in the eastern end 

 of the island. Most of the rains occur 

 from July to September, when it fre- 

 quently comes down in torrents, but 

 before and after these months only an 

 occasional shower is experienced. 



We have spoken of the vegetable 

 productions in previous letters, and 

 so will at present only give a list of 

 some of the more common trees and 

 plants depended on for honey. 



The palm tree, at least four varie- 

 ties, stands at the head of the list, as 

 it affords quantities of delicious honey 

 every month in the year. 



The Cainpanea — four varieties- 

 furnishes large quantities of honei 

 from December to March. In appear 

 ance it is amost identical with th( 

 '■■ morning glory." - 



Almfn/o. or Indian tree, has red and 

 brown flowers, in size and shape the 

 same as the large blue asters of the 

 United Slates, blooms from October 

 to April, and is a fine honey-producer. 



Eomorico blooms at the same time, 

 having flowers much the same. 



Cedro, a large tree, blooms all 

 through .January, and has bright yel- 

 low flowers smaller than the Romorico. 



MahogiDiii \s a large tree, and flow- 

 ers at the same time as the Cedro, and 

 has large, round blue flowers which 

 are very sweet. 



