1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



237 



ness, had let it g-o out. I tried to crush in 

 some tissue paper; but the space between 

 the jjfable covers was too small. I had or- 

 dered the teamster to unhitch the mules; 

 but he lost his head, and, with the loader, 

 manapred to cover the ground as hastilj' as 

 possible, not even stopping' to look behind. 

 In the meantime a bee stung' one of the rear 

 mules, and she swerved to one side and up- 

 set the wagon into a ditch on the side of the 

 road. This broke open some ten or twelve 

 hives, and the road was filled with thou- 

 sands of bees whose temper was the keen- 

 est. They stung' every thing in sight which 

 had life. Even chickens did not escape. 

 The poor mules looked as if thousands of 

 gold buttons had been sewed on them; then 

 as if streaked with white paint. As the 

 bees left their lances in the mules I pulled 

 out a veil from mj' pocket and drew it over 

 my face, smashing with m^' hands the forty 

 or fifty bees which were all over m^- head. 

 I then took the Cuban apiarist's machete 

 and proceeded to cut out the mules as fast 

 as possible. After a half-hour's hard work 

 I got three out, the fourth being jammed 

 between the telephone-pole and the wheel. 

 The mules were led about two miles away, 

 and instructions were given to give each a 

 pound of salt, and to take out the stings. 

 But neither was done, and all three died an 

 hour or so afterward. The fourth was not 

 taken out for hours afterward, and then 

 ■taken proper care of, but it also died. 

 Wh^' it lived longer than the rest was a 

 mysterj', as it was stung more frequently 

 than any of the other three. Mj* mare was 

 stung about thirty or fortj' times, but was 

 taken care of immediately, and two hours 

 afterward I drove her back home. I will, 

 later on, give you details, telling which of 

 the covers, bottoms, etc., stood the least dam- 

 age. I drank a large glass of extremel}' salt 

 water, and. with the exception of feeling' 

 badly for an hour, I was not too sick to 

 talk. I could not tell how often I was stung. 

 Santiago, Cuba. 



[While this experience was disastrous to 

 our correspondent, it may prove to be very 

 valuable to our readers. We can not put 

 too strong emphasis upon the necessit}' of 

 having a go5d smoker well lighted, and 

 ready for instant use. If Mr. Fatjo had 

 had smoke at just the right time, the dis- 

 aster could easil}' have been averted. But 

 in an impending danger of this kind it is 

 eas}' for one to lose his head. I remember 

 once thinking, when a boy, what I would 

 do if a friend of mine were drowning — of 

 the methodical way I would proceed; how I 

 would dive down after him, bring him to 

 the surface and to the shore, and resusci- 

 tate him; hut I shall never forget, when the 

 real experience did coinc, how I seemed to 

 be paralyzed. I saw my friend go down 

 right before my eyes, within about ten feet 

 of me. It seemed hours before I could re- 

 cover myself sufficiently to use m}- reason. 

 Then, instead of husbanding- my strength, 

 I struck out wildly under the water after 



my friend, used up m3' breath, and stran- 

 gled. If it had not been for timely assist- 

 ance this tale would never have been told. 

 Human nature is a good deal the same the 

 world over; and when bees get on a ram- 

 page like this, one is not apt to do the wis- 

 est thing. Indeed, he might do the very 

 things that these two assistants of Mr. 

 Fatjo did do — and that was, to run. But 

 our correspondent, if he had had a little 

 smoke, would probably have averted the 

 disaster; and if his helpers had done as he 

 told them, the lives of the mules would in 

 all probability have been saved. My own 

 experience last summer convinced me that 

 a pound of salt given soon enough to a 

 horse badly stung will probably save its 

 life. For the benefit of those who did not 

 read of that experience I refer them to page 

 685, last year. — Ed.J 



HONEY FOR THE GROCERY TRADE. 



Importance of the Producer Keeping in Touch with 



the Retailer ; the Grocer who Makes a Special 



ty of Selling Honey, and the One who does 



Not ; Honey as a Food. 



BY M. MOVER. 



The hone}^ trade this year has not been 

 up to expectations. Prices opened in the 

 fall rather high. The crop was reported 

 short. Bee-keepers held back, and dealers 

 were anxious to secure it. We still find 

 considerable quantities in the hands of bee- 

 keepers, and dealers have more on hand 

 than Vney care for, and, in consequence, 

 prices are easier. Many dealers would be 

 glad to sell out at what they paid, and 

 even at a loss. It appears that honej' goes 

 into use quite briskly at a certain price; 

 but when held above that point other things 

 will take its place. I think if bee-keepers 

 would sometimes confer Avith some of the 

 largest dealers at their conventions, and 

 find out the best means to bring the value 

 of honey as a food before the consumers it 

 would be very much to their interests. At 

 present it .seems to be the aim of bee-keep- 

 ers to get their hone}' off their hands at the 

 highest prices, and care ver}' little what 

 becomes of it after that. The}' have not 

 studied sufficientlj' the importance of creat- 

 ing a greater demand for their goods. A 

 pail of good honey, sold in good condition, 

 will create a demand for another one; but 

 if it does not give satisfaction it spoils the 

 sale of perhaps a dozen. I know from per- 

 sonal experience that families averaged 10 

 lbs. a month as long as they got a good ar- 

 ticle, and that one pail of inferior cut off 

 that demand for a whole j'ear. They im- 

 agined they got tired of honey, when the 

 fact was the honey was not up to the mark. 

 Honey requires a good deal of attention, 

 and to be properly put before the custom- 

 ers; and this is not done when every grocer 

 sells honey, and when any mixer can adul- 

 terate it and sell it. 



Years ago there was very little honey 



