1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



185 



either cultivation or driving use. Here is where the pine- 

 apple belt commences and extends south to a point about 400 

 miles south of Jacksonville. 



Jupiter Narrows — a narrow point in the river where the 

 mangrove grows in large abundance — is where Mr. King's 

 apiary is located, who produces large quantities of mangrove 

 honey. 



At Potsdam, where the St. Lucie empties into the Indian 

 river, is where the celebrated Mr. Poppleton has his apiary, 

 about a mile back from the post-otBce. The writer spent a 

 very pleasant time with this brother, and cannot say enough 

 in praise of his entertainment and his nicely-arranged apiary. 

 Mr. Poppleton is the only one in South Florida who runs 

 entirely a one-story hive for extracting honey, containing 2o 

 frames, same shape as the Langstroth, but not so large. His 

 hives have a curious look, and his apiary presents a unique 

 appearance. 



At West Palm Beach, the extreme southern terminus of 

 the East Coast railroad, is where Dr. Henry Stites has his 

 apiary. He has made a complete study of climatic conditions 

 and claims this point one of the most healthy in the United 

 States, having traveled all over this country in the employ of 

 the Government and has written up much about the healthful 

 situations of our country. Wallace R. Moses, an amateur 

 bee-keeper, is also located here. 



In taking a sail on Lake Worth — a long lake running for 

 many miles along the coast, divided only from the coast by a 

 small peninsula — you come to the apiary of Mr. M. E. Spencer. 

 While the writer was in his apiary in December, the bees were 

 gathering honey from the Spanish-needle and the cocoanut- 

 palm, as well as the wild pennyroyal. Mr. Saunders, at Man- 

 gouia, further up the lake, is a successful bee-keeper of this 

 section. 



On going back across the State, one has to traverse for 

 nearly 200 miles the same road. The next point of interest 

 was the apiary of Mr. C. H. Longstreet, at Mount Dora, in 

 the south central part of the State, who takes his bees to 

 New Smyrna every spring and brings them back here in the 

 fall. Mr. Longstreet has been in the bee-business in a good 

 many parts and claims this section one of the best parts of 

 the State. His view of the surrounding country and the little 

 lakes, dotting the view in every direction, forms a beautiful 

 landscape. Mr. Longstreet'sson also assists him in his apiary. 

 The dragon-fly and the mosquito-hawk are quite a draw- 

 back to queen-rearing, and are also destructive to new swarms. 

 They fly down on the queens when they are out for their 

 wedding flight and destroy them, and the unsuspecting apiarist 

 does not discover the loss until he finds the bees in his hives 

 all dying out. 



In extracting honey, the frames should always be put 

 under the brood-nest, raising the first story and allowing the 

 bees to enter in through the frames. This will protect them 

 from the moth better than placing them over the brood-nest. 

 Another odd device practiced successfully by the apiarists of 

 this State is a box 14 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 4 inches 

 deep, placed on the end of a pole, placing in it a queen with a 

 handful of bees and hanging it out every day during the 

 swarming season. Clipping the queen's wings throughout the 

 apiary, the bees in coming out to swarm will cluster around 

 this box, sometimes hanging in immense clusters 7 or 8 

 swarms together. The apiarist, going through the apiary and 

 looking in the grass, destroys the queen, and forms one new 

 immense swarm from those around and in the box. 



In going west from this point, Tampa City is a very fine 

 place on the west coast. Across Tampa Bay, at St. Peters- 

 burg, is Charles Norman's apiary of 50 colonies, and Dr. G. W. 

 Kennedy, the postmaster, also has a few. These are about all 

 that are located in this section. 



At Key West, a little over a day's ride south of Tampa 

 City, on the Havana Land, is located the apiary of Mr. 

 Moonger. He has no opposition as Key West is surrounded by 

 the Gulf, and he has no trouble with the bees absconding. He 

 secures quite a large quantity of mangrove and other honeys. 

 In going north from here, along the west coast, Mr. 

 Plunkett, of Gainesville, Fla., has a large apiary which might 

 be described, but space will not permit. 



Philadelphia. Pa. 



Making Shingle Roofs for Bee-Hives. 



BY H. PEAKSON. 



I do not know but I may be the first one who has made 

 ■such a roof as I will describe, and as it is a good one I want 

 the bee-keepers to have it, should they so desire. I saw a 

 similar shaped root covered with inch boards, but it was too 

 heavy to be handy, so I made 30 shingle roofs in the fall of 



1893 ; I have tested them since, and I think they are the 

 best roof now in use — a fine shelter when the rain pours, and 

 a fine shade when the sun shines hot, light to handle, and 

 pack up snug when not in use. I showed my roof to one bee- 

 keeper, and he made 200 like it soon after. Others may 

 want to know how to make it also, so I will give the directions 

 for making it, as well as I can, and hope many will enjoy 

 using my shingle roof on bee-hives. 



Take a piece of timber 2)i feet long by two inches square, 

 which is for the ridge of the roof, upon which nail shingles 

 as follows : Use IS-inch cedar shingles and three-penny wire 

 nails will do. Nail one course of shingle upon the ridge- 

 piece, laying the butts of the shingles even with the side 

 towards you, then lay another course on the same side, but 

 reverse the shingles, laying the thin end towards you, letting it 

 project over the butt of the under course 1)4 inches, break 

 joints good, and nail well into the ridge-piece. It is well to 

 draw a pencil mark to lay the butts of the second course of 

 shingles by. 



Now take a piece of lath 2% feet long, place it under 

 the shingle parallel with the ridge-piece one inch towards you 

 from the butt of the last course laid. Now nail through into 

 the lath, driving the nails snug into the bench on which you 

 work, then with a chisel pry the roof up, turn it over, clinch 

 the nails, saw off the tips of the shingles at each end, thus 

 couipletiag one side of the roof. 



As you stand facing the bench, take hold of the roof at 

 the ridge-piece, lift it from the bench with the shingle side 

 towards you, the eave hanging down ; lay the ridgepiece on 

 the edge of the bench with the shingle down by the side of it. 

 Now lay on another course of shingles with the butts towards 

 you even, covering the ends of the two courses which were 

 sawed oft; then lay another course with the tip of shingle 

 towards you, as before ; finish with a lath under the eave, saw 

 off the tips at each end, and the roof is nearly complete. Put 

 on top two weather-strips (use lath), nail them well, thus 

 finishing the roof. 



If these directions can be fairly understood, I will feel 

 paid for my trouble. Natural Dam, N. Y. 



^♦« 



A Comment On a Florida Article. 



BY J. D. COLES. 



I read with much interest Mr. W. A. Selser's article on 

 page 67, and I consider it the most honest article ever written 

 about Florida. I feel that it is worth the price of a year's 

 subscription to the " Old Reliable," which makes me feel as if 

 I have missed many good things by not being a subscriber 

 sooner. 



In November, 1885, being compelled to go to Florida on 

 account of bronchial trouble, I slung a nucleus colony over 

 my shoulder by a grip-strap, and I located near Lakeland, 

 Polk Co., Fla. 



About Jan. 9th, 10th and 11th, I think, the cold snap 

 Mr. Selser speaks of occurring in 1886, froze the oranges on 

 the trees and seriously injured the young trees — bananas, etc. 

 In February, I left Polk County forTampa, Hillsboro County, 

 in quest of the mangrove. I found the Gulf coast lined with 

 mangrove but killed by the cold to the roots. I found acres 

 of keys (islands) covered with nothing but mangrove. I 

 went down the coast as far as Sarasota, but found no bee- 

 keepers there except old natives (called " crackers ") using the 

 bee-gum, and who got their surplus money by knocking the 

 top off of the hive and digging out the honey from top of the 

 hive. I did not see a box set on top of any of the hives to get 

 the surplus. In fact, the crackers were loth to use any but 

 the most primitive mode, I thought. 



In Mr. Selser's article, he speaks of saw palmetto 6 to 8 

 feet high ; yes, and on the Gulf coast I saw it 8 to 10 feet high. 

 I would like to explain the saw palmetto to those who may 

 not know the difference from the cabbage palmeto. The cab- 

 bage palmetto is a noble looking tree, viewed from the dis- 

 tance ; straight as an arrow, from 40 to 60 feet before there 

 is a leaf or branch. In fact, it has no branches, but leaves 

 grow out of the body of the tree, forming a sphere not unlike 

 a cabbage head on a long stalk. The saw palmetto grows 

 from roots, not unlike calamus roots, some of them as thick 

 as a man's thigh. 



Now, Mr. Selser did you or the printer make the mistake, 

 that New Smyrna is on Hillsboro river? I found Tampa, in 

 Hillsboro county, on the Hillsboro river, emptying in Hills- 

 boro bay, emptying into Tampa bay, emptying into the Gulf 

 of Mexico. Or am I mistaken, and are there two Hillsboro 

 rivers in the piney woods of sunny land ? 



Woodstown, N. J. 



