The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1906-01-31

81 have a treat for you" she said,
and, putting on wide straw hat, tine
kind worn by farmers in the field, she
led the way to the duck yard.
The treat proved to be the view
of fifteen or twenty ducklings at their
introduction to the Little Chazy,'
which runs through Miss Wheeler's
domain. GIlided by the two boys who
constitute the help on the place, the
fowls. with incesSant quackings and
frequent rests among the sweet clover
and goldenrod, waddled down to a
pretty cove, where the water that
elsewhere rushes along over its stony
bed lies shaded and still. At their
approach. three stray geese are urged
TO depart by JOckO. the busy little
fox terrier. and uttering cries of an
ger. they betake their outraged digni-
ty farther up the stream and gaze
with ScOrn at the excited ducks.
Excited the colony certainly is. and
crowding to the bank, they din Their
beaks in the water and drink and
drink. Then. embroidered. they plunge
in. and quacking loudly. with much
futtering of wings and SDlashing of
water. they discover that they can
swim.
One duck. somewhat smaller than
the rest, waddles away to the tall
grass when his brothers venture into
the water. as if he dare not take the
risk: but nature asserts herself. and
hack he comes to Join his fellows
Shortly however. he falls on the bank
exhausted and chilled and soon to die
FOR his swimming days are not yet
come.
1t is by such little ira gedies as this
that poultry raisers must often gain
experience: yet never does Miss
Wheeler witness such scene with
out pang. for she has not lost her
tender heart in her eagerness for
knowledge of her chosen vocation. 81
call it Slaughter of the Innocents.' -
said she. 'when / see the way that
ignorant people often experiment with
feathered fowl Those artifcially
raised birds are denehdent upon us
for everything. and the way that their
lives are often sacrificed is horrible
While the ducks were warming
themselves on the sunny bank, Miss
Wheeler wandered ND to the apple
orchard for look at her bees
AS a bee-keener and MAGAZINE
writer on the subject no less than as
a raiser Of choice poultry. Miss Wheeler
is known. But these two OccunatiOnS.
each of them requiring ceaseless work.
do not make up the sum of her inter
ests. In fact, it is to be doubted if
a couple of acres in any other part
of New York State are put to so many
varied uses as at ClovernoOk Ranch
Here every year nearly two hundred
turkeys. four hundred chickens ard
two hundred ducks are raised by Miss
Wheeler. the best for breeders and the
culls for market From the sale of
duck feathers Miss Wheeler realized
800 last year and the eggs of her
birds are another source of profit
Eighty colonies of bees. each colony
numbering between 10000 and 10000
insects. work through the summer to
increase her revenue. At C1overnook
there is only one hive from which
comb honey is sold. This Miss Whee-
Ter calls her missionary hive as she
gives the money from these sales for
mission work. All the rest of the
honey is extracted here by means of
a rotating machine. which throws
the honey out of the combs by centri-
fUgal force. When from long use the
combs are worn ont or become broken
they are thrown together and boiled
down into beeSwaX which is made