1903 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



S4I 



build their new homes. This most uapleas- 

 ant proceeding:- may be obviated bj' the 

 use of the " shookswarm " system. After 

 having' piven it a thoroug-h test we are hijrh- 

 ly gratified with the results obtained. 



Through the medium of various publica- 

 tions on bees, Jamaicans can keep step 

 with the times, and bring into use in their 

 apiaries the mostmoJern systems. Glean- 

 ings and other bee- journals are eag^erly 

 looked for, and their contents devoured b^^ 

 .ill who are interested in the bee business. 

 Something was said in Gleanings not long- 

 ago about a man who read his copies of the 

 same throug-h and throug^h, advertisements 

 and all. I can tell of one of our men who 

 was not even satisfied with the advertise- 



Among the pioneers of Jamaican apiculture 

 the names of Hooper and Nash stand forth 

 perhaps as prominently as any others. The 

 former has for years held the ag-ency for 

 The A. I. Root Co., and, as a result, is 

 well known by West-Indian bee-keepers. 

 The following- illustrations show some more 

 of the Hooper Brothers' apiaries. 



These are, for the most part, situated 

 near the railroad stations, so that, while 

 we have to resort to the horse and trap or 

 the bic3'cle as a means of locomotion be- 

 tween apiaries, Mr. Hooper does the most 

 of his traveling on the train. 



I once made up my mind to visit Hooper 

 Brothers' apiaries; and, with this object in 

 view, I started for King-ston with a friend. 



One of Hoopier Bro's' out-apiaties run for extracted horey.i The trees are logwood, of which there are 1000 

 around, and in the honey-flow enough bees can not be got to lake off the nectar. 



ments in the A B C of Bee Culture, but he 

 learned the entire poem at the beginning of 

 the book — 



" When Novice first began to tell,'' 

 etc . and was proud of being- able to repeat 

 it through without a hitch. 



Jamaica boasts of some very distinguish- 

 ed bee-men; and it is my pleasure to say 

 something in this of one of the most exten- 

 sive beekeepers in the island. I should 

 like to introduce him, but can not, since 

 I am sure the readers of Gleanings are 

 nlready acquainted, through its pages, with 

 Mr. F. A. Hooper, of the firm of Hooper 

 Brothers, whose picture appears opposite. 



On reaching that place we found that the 

 head of the firm was ailing, and conse- 

 quently we did not have the pleasure of be- 

 ing shown around. As a result I am not 

 able to give as detailed an account of the 

 apiaries as I might had I visited them. 



The views, however, will speak for them- 

 selves. I have heard it said that from 500 

 to 800 colonies are kept in a single yard. 

 While this may be exaggerating a little, it 

 is a fact that their apiaries are colossal. 



Mr. Hooper is the most extensive queen- 

 breeder in the West Indies. His bees are 

 for the most part of the five-banded strain. 

 I feel that a tribute of praise is due him for 



