Evening journal., 1908-04-13

How QOth the little Duh1 pee
Improve each shining hour.
And gather honey all the day,
From every opening flower
The honey bee has never lost its repu-
tation for industry. It never misses an
opportunity to enrich either itself or it's
owner. There have been some attempts
to disoredit the activity OF the bee and
to try to make out that II will not work
beyond actual necessity. That it's en-
deavor to bring in honey ceases when its
own needs have been provided for. But
all these attacks have failed and the bee
still holds its place as an example OF dis
interested labor and unselhsh endeavor.
The following has been going the rounds
Of the press;
''rhe Department OF Agriculture reports
that beekeeper who believed that IN a
land OF perpetual summer the bee would
work s65 days. sent a swarm to Jamaica,
but the bees finding no need to provide
for a hard winter went on strike and re-
fused to carry a single sac Of honey to
the hives"
had seen this statement with various
phraseology several times. but this was
the first time that had noticed that the
Department Of Agriculture was credited
with It. I well knew that there could be
no truth in II, but to satisfy others. I
wrote to the Department OF Agriculture
and received the following reply;
United States Department OF Agriculture,
Bureau Of Entomology
Washington, d. c., April l. 1903.
Dear Sir; In reply to your communica-
ton Of March 2S, quoting a newspaper
reference to bees in Jamaica, would say
that there IS nothing in the statement II
is evidently a newspaper joke.
suggest. IN this connection, that you
refer to Gleanings in Bee Culture. pub
lished by the A. G. Root Company. semi
monthly, volume XXI, 1908. pages 4s7.
49i and 5s9, 54s These accounts. to my
mind are thoroughly reliable. Mr.. Alex
ander's paper is particularly significant
since It treats the matter statistically
from his own experience
You will find a list Of your agrlcuitu-
raj publications enclosed herewith.
Very truly yours,
Burton N. Gates.
Expert in Agriculture.
Mr.. Joel s. Gilhnan, Newark, Del.
In turning TO the reference made I'm The
above letter. I find IL is an article written
/ by Leslie Alexander on his experience
/ with bees in Jamaica. Let me quote from
this article: Having been stricken down
several years ago with pulmonary COM
plant. had to abandon work on the
plains. and upon the advice Of my physl-
clans. I came here-the climate being con-
sidered one Of the best in the world for
pulmonary troubles, owing TO the total
absence Of humidity. due to the fact that
the entire mountain range runs parallel
to the sea Our average maximum tenn
perature is rs degrees, and our average
minimum % degrees.
A little over two years ago I started
bee keeping as an experiment. with elk
colonies Of Italian bees. In short time
grew to love the work. and when at the
end Of the first twelve months ] found ]
had extracted 1850 pounds from barely II
strong colonies I was not only proud, but
I resolved to stick 10 the business. From
IS colonies this year Cby strong I mean
the full force Of 10000 bees and upward
according TO Doolittle's average). / have
taken of 1900 pounds run the apiary
unassisted. save temporary aid at ex-
tracing time: and what with the outdoor
work and the bracing climate, I have
hardly known an ache these three years
past This speaks volumes for the eli
mate and the occupation" After describ-
ing the manner Of conducting his WORK
in the apiary, he says: Il have found
that the average yield per colony is II!
/ pounds. 1 have had colonies yield III
pounds. but exceptions do not prove the
| rule"
lie concludes the article with these
statements; Jamaica with an area oi
400 square miles and an output of 1.792.o0
pounds annually. would show a yield Of
42S pounds per square mile in round nunl-
bers. This Is away ahead Of Texas. Cal
fornia and Cuba. When it is considered
that ours is the land Of eternal sunshine,
and well-dehned seasons; that this is the
home Of the logwood. one Of the fines;
honey producing plants Of the world
that here such thing - fsu breed o.