190'; 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



175 



entrance, where I secured a number of pho- 

 tos, two of which are here reproduced. 



It will be observed that these models can 

 be dissected, showing the entire anatomical 



BEE KEEPING IN CUBA. 



LESLIE MAUTIN, GOVERNMENT APIARIST. 



structure. To the student of anatomy they 

 are very interesting, and give another evi- 

 dence of the Interest taken by our dear old 

 Uncle Sam in l)ee culture. Such models, 

 though perhaps not perfect structurally, were 

 executed with such marvelous ingenuity and 

 care that they must have cost a large sum 

 of money, and yet here they are for the in- 

 spection of every visitor who desires to see 

 them. If it were not so expensive it would 

 be interesting, and profitable as well, to 

 have specimens of these bee manikins, so to 

 speak, at our conventions, where the com- 

 plete anatomy of the bee could be very 

 clearly shown. 



I may say in this connection that there 

 were many other enlarged specimens of in- 

 sects, injurious as well as useful, where the 

 student can study them to his heart's con- 

 tent. These collectively form a very useful 

 exhibit for the Bureau of Entomology. 



The bees ami the piece of comb stood out 

 on the stone steps for the pui'pose of photo- 

 graphing. The depth of the step will give 

 some idea of their real size. In the other 

 engraving, showing the Ijees dissected, the 

 back of the bee has l)een removed, showing 

 the conformation of the muscles. The model 

 is ingeniously hooked together so that it can 

 be easily dissected to show any particular 

 portion of bee anatomy. 



The Island Not the Worst Plate in the 



World: Why One Statement will Not 



Hold True for all Parts. 



BY ROBERT M. M MURDO. 



A good deal is written but little is known 

 about Cuba, in any shape or form; and al- 

 though I have traveled a great deal here I 

 would not dare to write anything about bee- 

 keeping outside of this vicinity: but I should 

 like to say a few words for this part of the 

 country. 



It is undoubtedly a great bee. country, as 

 the shipments of honey and wax every year 

 from Manzaulto will 'show; and nearly all 

 that is made by the natives in log hives, 

 which, as you allknow, admit of no handling, 

 other than hiving swarms and taking the 

 honey and wax, which is done by driving 

 the bees back from one end and cutting out 

 the honey, often some brood with it, and all 

 is squeezed out by hand. They say the wax 

 brings moi'e than the honey, and that they 

 average a dollar or more per hive. I send 

 you a picture of a Cuban and his apiary. He 

 had about 300 hives when that was taken, 

 and made over $300 out of them that year. 



This country is flat, and not as pretty as 

 it is further back toward the mountains; but 

 it is perfectly healthy, and the mosquitoes 

 and fleas bother us very little; and for seven 

 or eight months we do not have to use a net 

 over our bed at night. If you have a plank 

 floor, and keep the dogs out, the fleas will 

 not bother you much. 



As for those Inigs that get into your feet, I 

 have heard of them but 1 never saw any. I 

 always thought that, if one kept his feet 

 clean, they would never bother him. But 

 one has to keep a lookout for scorpions. 

 Their sting is pi-etty bad, and the pain lasts 

 for about three hours; but after that it seems 

 to have little effect, and did not swell much 

 on the two people I have seen stung. They 

 like to stay in dark corners and catch cock- 

 I'oaches, but occasionally will come out and 

 get into your shoe. They make a curious 

 zipping noise when disturbed, and I do not 

 believe they will sting unless you touch them. 

 A curious thing about them is, they carry 

 their young about on their back. 



The lizards are perfectly harmless, and so 

 are the snakes, for that matter, except that 

 they will kill a chicken occasionally — espe- 

 cially the '-majas." They will go up a tree 

 ( where the chickens roost)' after them. They 

 grow ten to twelve feet long, but are easy to 

 kill, for they move slowly. Their skin is 

 very pretty. It is one of the boasts of the 

 natives that they have no venomous reptiles 

 on the island. 



There are certainly lots of ants here, of all 

 kinds, and most of them sting or bite. They 

 have never Ijothered my bees, though, and 

 have entered the hive only when there were 

 no bees there. 



I have my hives up on good-sized stakes, 

 eight or ten inches off the ground, and have 

 plantain and orange trees for shade. I am 



