THEOUBAREVIEW 25 



deviltry or actual work depending largely upon weather conditions at the time their 

 blossoms are put forth. 



Among the forest trees of the Island, besides the palm and the juba already 

 mentioned, the yaya, the roble de yugo, the sauco, the ateje, the baria, the algarroba 

 de olor, useful as a highway shade tree, and also the ordinary conuuon algarrobo, 

 the quiebra hacha, the dagame, jucaro and raspa lengua, offer fields for employment 

 of the bees and in localities give valuable flows of honey of varying quality. In the 

 coast district, especially, is the jucaro found, and also the mangle prieto or bUick 

 mangrove whose small ^^'hite blossoms coming in June and July keep the bees busy 

 for this period. In fact, among our forest trees there are very few which do not 

 yield more or less honey and which are not worthy of consideration ))y the apiarist 

 Who is studying locations for his industry. 



In many localities in Cuba the scarcity of decay and fire resisting Avoods has 

 caused the owners of properties to fence their lands using as posts the branches and 

 trunks of small trees which take root as do cuttings in the soil where they are 

 inserted. Among the trees used for tliis purpose here is the "pinon amoroso," which 

 sheds its leaves in the winter period, but in the spring before throwing out new foliage 

 is covered from the tip of eacli branch to the trunk with a beautiful pinkish white 

 blossom of rare fragrance, very much frequented by the bees and from which in 

 localities where this tree abounds considerable honey is produced. In some of the 

 coffee growing areas of Cuba the "guama" is used to provide shade for the young 

 coffee groves, and this also is the source in these localities of considerable honey. 

 Much has been made of the desirability and possibility of the establishment of a fiber 

 producing industry in the Island in order to obtain the raw material for the making 

 of the millions of bags needed in Cuba each year in which to market her sugar and 

 coffee. For this purpose experiments have been made with various fiber producing 

 plants, and it has been found that two varieties of the "crotolaria" lend themselves 

 admirably, growing well under our soil and climatic conditions, so that there only 

 remains the solving of the problem of the economical commercial extraction of their 

 fiber to make the industry successful. The experiments conducted with these plants 

 have also shown that their blossoms offer a fine source of honey, and thus it will 

 prove that if large areas are planted, fresh opportunities will be oft'ered to our 

 honey producers. 



Among the honey producing plants mentioned above we have not included tlie 

 ''zarza" or "wait a minute" plant, so called on account of its strong claw-like thorns 

 which, catching into the clothes of the passerby, compel him often to wait not only 

 a minute, but frequently many of them. This vine is found practically throughout 

 the Island, but in vast quantities in the poor lands of eastern Cuba, and at certain 

 seasons of the year they are covered with a multitude of small yellowish green 

 flowers which furnish to the bees a considerable field upon which to work. We 

 might also mention that there is hardly a palm in the Island which does not produce 

 blossoms furnishing honey to the bees. The palmetto, the "guano bianco," the "guano 

 prieto," the "corojo" and cocoanut palms are the most common and widely found, 

 and to these can be added the "moroco" palm found in the moist lands immediately 

 adjoining streams. 



The reader will have gathered that Cuba's honey is marketed almost entirely 

 in the extracted state, it being forwarded in barrels holding on an average 50 gallons 

 each. Some comb honey for local consumption is produced, and at one time quite a 

 quantity of this class of product was harvested, but it was' found that defective 

 transportation conditions cause the combs to break and dissatisfaction has brought 

 about a much smaller yield. 



Regarding the total production of honey in Cuba, it is rather difficult to get 

 satisfactory data. It is believed that some 14,000 barrels are sold through the 

 Havana market with considerable quantities in addition being exported direct to 

 foreign countries from Manzanillo, Santiago de Cuba, Nuevitas, Cienfuegos and 



