1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



257 



sold at once when it is sealed, as in 30 days 

 much of it is unmarketable. For the same rea- 

 son I have entirely discontinued raising comb 

 honey, for several years being the largest 

 comb-honey producer in Cuba. 



The highest price paid for strained honey, 

 delivered in Havana, in the warehouse, is 42 

 cts. per gallon. The expense in getting the 

 barrels and paying all the freignt on the 

 empties from the warehouse until the filled 

 barrels arrive in the warehouse is 10 cts. a 

 gallon. This leaves net 32 cts. a gallon, or 

 less than 8 cts. per lb. 



All the above figures are Spanish gold, 

 which is still 10 per cent less than United 

 States money. 



Seven cents a pound is the best price offer- 

 ed for comb honey this year; and as the ex- 

 penses are fully 4 cts. per lb. in comb, it will 

 leave 3 cts. net. No bee-keeper can raise 

 comb honey for that price. Wax is by far 

 the most profitable product from the bees, 

 selling for 30 cts. per lb. all the year round. 

 The exportations of wax exceed the export- 

 ations of honey by $100,000 a year. 



At present I have a few more than 500 hives 

 of bees, and expect no less than $1500 worth 

 of wax this year. As the bees make some 

 honey all the year round, whenever there is 

 only a small flow I cut all the drone comb 

 and all dark or brown comb containing but 

 little honey, and throw it under the hives 

 for the bees to take the honey from. In this 

 manner I cut about 100 lbs. of wax a week 

 from 500 hives. When honey comes pretty 

 lively I cut only wax when I extract, cutting 

 all dark and all drone comb, and placing 

 fnll combs alternately with empty frames. 

 My hive has ten frames in the bottom and 

 nine in the super, all frames six inches deep 

 I usually leave one inch of comb at the top- 

 bar for the bees to start straight. There is 

 no time in the year in Cuba when the bees 

 will not rob. The best 1 have ever seen a 

 hive do in Cuba was to average 15 lbs. of 

 comb honey a week for four months, straight. 

 I can not say that I always keep cutting 

 the comb; but the average, I think, is about 

 ten gallons to the hive in a season of six 

 months, and the other six months the bees 

 must be fed. 



For the past three years the honey business 

 has been on a decline in Cuba on account of 

 bad seasons. To my certain knowledge there 

 are not half the bees now in Cuba there were 

 three years ago. Many lost all by foul brood 

 and starvation. I lost last year from 800 

 down to 300, and most of these were only 

 scraps of swarms; but I succeeded in increas- 

 ing them to 650 hives by August, when I had 

 to leave for Havana on account of the revo- 

 lution, leaving a man in charge. Conse- 

 quently I lost over 100 hives by thieves, 

 queenlessness, etc. 



The future of the honey business in Cuba 

 is far from bright. Revolution is liable to 

 bi'eak out any minute, as the negroes now 

 have a taste of horse-stealing, and eating ox- 

 en free of charge. Ninety-nine per cent of 

 the revolutionists are negroes, or of negro 

 descent. One band of 400 which strayed near 



my bee-yard did not have a white man in it. 

 From the best authority I can obtain, the 

 United States troops will leave ne^t June, 

 and I expect another revolution at once then. 

 These revolutions are not to obtain liberty, 

 but are for the sake of getting oflice to rob 

 the public funds, and the negroes to steal 

 horses. It does not make a particle of dif- 

 ference what political party starts a revolu- 

 tion, the same ones will go, but not to fight. 

 In this last revolution less than 30 were kill- 

 ed fighting, and these were mostly killed with 

 wounds in their back while trying to escape. 

 Some 13,000 revolutionists on the outskirts 

 of Havana were afraid to enter because there 

 were 50 American marines landed in Hava- 

 na, and 300 more on the cruisers. The future 

 will tell what will become of Cuba. It will 

 probably be a second Haiti unless Uncle Sam 

 takes a hold of it, which is not at all likely. 

 Nueva Paz, Cuba. 



[What our correspondent says regarding 

 conditions in Cuba is confirmed by other ad- 

 vices from the same source. He is also cor- 

 rect when he says there is no danger of an 

 invasion of Cul)an honey in the United 

 States. Those who are tlie most familiar 

 with the situation have always said so. — Ed.] 



THE FUTURE OF THE HONEY BUSI- 

 NESS. 



Will the Supply Exceed the Demand? the 

 Effect of the National Pure food Law. 



BY W. L. PORTER. 



In entering a business, no matter what it 

 may be, there are always three phases that 

 an intelligent man will consider: What has 

 been the past history of the business? What 

 are the pi-esent conditions? and what are the 

 future prospects? On the'first proposition it 

 is a matter of history. There are many vol- 

 umes of text-books and files of bee literature 

 that will give the investigator an idea of 

 what has been done in the past. We may 

 find recorded that man has given attention 

 to the study of the bee back to a very early 

 day. Honey is spoken of in the Bible, and 

 the question asked, " What is sweeter than 

 honey and the honey-comb?" 



The bee in the early history was looked 

 upon as a very intelligent insect, endowed 

 with almost supei'human intelligence. They 

 were supposed to know their master, and to 

 grieve for him at his death; and in order to 

 keep them in their hives, and in a prosperous 

 condition, they must be told by one of the 

 family when he passed away. 



There are many things written in the past 

 that are exceedingly interesting. In the 

 early period of bee-keeping the methods of 

 handling them were very crude. The hives 

 were made of hollow logs, wisps of straw, 

 or clay; and to secui-e the honey the bees 

 were destroyed. There was no great prog- 

 ress made until father Langstroth invented 

 the movable comb, which was over fifty years 

 ago. Since that time the bees have been a 



