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THE

AMERICAN

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BEE JOURNAL

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EOri^EI) BY SAMUEL WAGNER.

VOLUME II1.-1867-8.

PliBLISHEI) BY SAMUKI. WACiNER, WASHINCJ ION, O. O.

rn«OM<XK PRINT.

V, 3

Index to Volume III.-American Bee Journal.

A season sunoiif!; Italian hoe^, 1 A-tjoncy ol' inscc.'s in tVitilizing

plants, 22, 1!)7 Alhinos among bee?, 08 Allen's pati-nt liive, 17, 55,

C>7, 09, 107 Alsaliu-i, Prof., A. P. A. A.

M., 54, 97 Alsike clover, 90, 151, 180 215 Amount of honev in a field,

240 American bee plant, 50. 71, Another bee jjlaiit, 78 [IOC Anotlier exce|)tion, 11 Another singular case, 172 Answ-rs to questions, 107,

190, 217 Ai)istical budget, 71 Are pa'ent hives selfish mo-

noi)olies ? 217 [239

Answer to a corresnondent, Artificial colonies. 221, 240 Ailificial comb guides, 219 Artificial swarming, 03 Associations of Bee-keepers,

59, 100, 127. 179 [119,135 Aster ericoides, as a bee plant, Attacks on queens, 128 BMnishment of bees, 197 Bee-culture in Chili, 04 Bee culture, remarks and ob- servations, 105 Bee bob, 27, 59, 230 Bee eater, 40 Bee feed, 12 Bee feeders, 200, 215 Bee hives, 17, 55. 00, 07, 09, Bee house, 7, 155 [90

Bee hnnting. 8, 175, 20b Bee pasturage. 29 [212

Bee-keeping, 45. 79, 108, 134, Bee-heeping in ralifornia, 140 Bee keeping in Germany, 32 Bee-keepmir in the Ukraine,

113 B' e-keeping in Virginia, 189 Bee tree, how to cut, 151 Bees and fruit blossoms, 177, ,232 [199

Bees breeding without water. Bees, hermaphrodite, 151 Bees in cliffs. 17G Bees in hollow trees. 175 Bees, Italian 1, 31, 58, 75, 79,

89. 100, 214 ' ' ' ' Bees, reproductfon of, 73 Bee.- wax, source and nature of. Beginners, advice to, 43 [13 Best form of hives, 180 Bidens chysanthemoides, 78 B'eaching wax, 25, 01 Breathing lest. 51 Birch bark hive, 90 Buckwheat in po ^r soil, 190 Building combs, 114

Bur-marigold, 78 Burying Itees, 12 Butferllv, stinging, 12S California, bees in, 132 [199 Chu bees l)reed without wilcf ?■ Can Italian Ifcs be improvcid? Carder t)ee, 00 [lOs

Carpenter Ixje, 08 Cedar plank bee house, 155 Cells incline upwanl, 117 Cel'ars, winteriiiir bees in, 180 Centre pas-ages. 200 [192

CliMUge of proiren}', 194 Ciiickory as a bee plant, 130 Chili, bee-cnltnre in, 04 Classifying,' hon^y. 32 Clean comb for guides, 112 Cleome integri folia, 50, 220 Closed or open top hives, 234 Clover, red. and lialian bees,

75, 138, 154, 159. 100, 191. Color of queens, 214 [240

Common failures, 132 Coniribulion to bee culture, 41 Corresiiondence, 57, 37, 39,

79, 93. 158 Crippled bees, 230 Criticism 188

Crops for bee-pasturage, 151 Crystal zation of honey, 92 Curious ins'ances of swarminc: Dam ige from mice, 5 [107 Delayed fecundation, 5, 5<5 Deep Lnniistroth hives, 149 Depth of hives, 119, 205 Destroying brood, 28 Development of Italian work- Diseases of bees, 152 [ers, 87 Do bee* know their owner? 35 Doi;ility of Itidian bees, 30 Doublinir second swarms, 40 Drones, 108 Drone comb, 40 Drone eggs, 4 Droties, purity of, 109 E'onomy of the bee hive, 207 Editorial 17 38. 57, 77, 97,

118, 135, 157, 177, 178, 197,

215, 237 EgiTs. not hr.tcliabU-, 218, 237 Egyptian bees. 114. 109 Empty combs, preservation of. Espirsette, 10« [120

European bee-culture. 70 Evaporating nectar, 172 Every one his due, ISO Exception, another, 11 Explanate on. 191 Explanation desired, 200 Experience of a N >vice, 23,

53, 05. 98, 119, 129. 158 Experience in Italianizing,

1:4. 190, 231 Experience in wintering bees. Experiments, 91 [155

Extra queens, 43, 108 Eyi-s of bees, 18 Facts ai)()nt the honey bee, 18 Fecundation delayed, 5, 50 Fee I ill!] bees, 41 Ferlile'workers, 103, 240 Fertility of queens, 214 Fertilizing plants, 22. 197, 232 Fixed Irames, 118, 191 Flanders' apiary, 70 Flowers, honey -yii^iding, 33 Foice of ."tocks, 154 Form of hives. 180, 217 Foulbrood, 75, 80, 141, 101,

170, 198, 210, 231 Fr.iines, closed oropen top, 234 Fun amouii' bees, 112 Furnished hives, 37, 73 Gaseous theory of honey comb

formation, 31 G rm my, bee-keeping in, 32 Give every one his due, 180 Handling bees, 206 Harrison's Ijee-tVeder, 215 Height of hives. 230 Hive, well ventilated, 20 ILves, 80, 90, 179, 184, 220, 230 Hives pi tent, and claims, 235 Hives and management, 20 3 Hives, side opening, 110, 148 H ney, 55, 70 Honey dews, 176 Honey, how to judge of it, 70 Ho ey bee, facts ab lut, 18 Hone}' beti, Liberian, 20 Honey classified, 10 Honey comb emjjtying ma- Honev iruide. 50 [chine, 189 Honey in the fi^-ld, 240 Honey plant, 24 Honevpol r.t nd kpan, 237 H<mey ralel. 111, 157 Honey supply for winter, 10 Honey-yielding flowcs, 33 How about pure Italians ? 129 How I became an apiculturist,

171, 193,239 Improved breed of bees, 185 Inquiry, 188 Interference of common

drones, 170 Introducing queens, 6, 40, 49,

72, 210 Italian bee-breeding, 128 Italian bee quesiion. 138 Italian bees, 1, 31, 53, 75, 79,

89, 100, 214 Italian bees in their natural

home. 93, 170 Ila'inn bees, profits of, 117 Italian bees, purity of, 19, 51 Italian bees and red clover. 75,

80, 92, 137, 154. 159, 100, 191, Italian queens, 120 [240

Italianizing, 40, 56, 110, 159

INDEX.

Italian workers, development

of, 87 , . ,

Items, various, 149* Kentucky Bne-kecpers' Asso-

ciit'ou, 137 King birds, 44 [21o

KtUiler's discovery, 17S. 198, Lani^-stroth hive, 149, 28(5 Langftrotli's patent, 219, 288 Landois, new theory, 38, 43 Liberian honey bee, 20 Life of a worker bee, KSS LoDc; search, 174 Luck in bee-kee|iing, 103 Make of hives, 239 Management of artificial colo- nies, 149 Mai>le trees, 160 M.irkius's of Italian workers, Matters, various, 149 [58

Me id, 8 [cipe. It

Mead, Queen Elizabeth's R-- Melilot clover, 17, 24, 100, 166, Meroi)s apiaster, 40 [223

Mice, 5

Milkpan vs. Honeypot, 237 Mishaps, 5 Mona's apiary, 1 More liglit, 2il 7\roi'e questions, *632 More seeming puzzles, 113 Moths, 108 Moth's eggs, 13 Movable sides an'' ends, 38 MouMy (■omI)S, 195 Mount, Ida honey, 55 Mullein tops fur bee-liobs, 27

59, 230 Multiplication of stocks, 44 Mustard plant for bee pastur- age, l()i), 217 Narl)onne lioney, 55 Kew kind of bee-bol), 230 New Theory by Dr. Landois, 38, 43 [147

New theory, R. Eickford's Northwestern Bee kerpcrs'

Association, 59, 100 Nucleus co'imies, 43, 03, 93 Numerical force of stocks, 154 Oat meal for bee feed, 173 OI)iPCtinns :inswered, 216 Objections to fixed frames con- sidered, 191 Observations and remarks, 165 Occurrence, singular, 5 Old Italijin bee, ^73 Open top ov clos(!d frames, 234 Overstocking, 90 Painted surfaces, 133, 167 Parent stock, to find, 188 Paris Exposition, 57 Pasturage, 19, 151: 166 Parthenoivenesis, 81, 101, 121 Patent hrves, 120, 157, 219,

235, 238 Patent monopolies, 238 Personal observations, 218 Points considered, 93 Poisonous honey, 55, 134, 170

Polanisia purpurea, 71, 220 Popular whiojs, 16 [231

Practical bee-cu!ture, 181,201, Preservation of combs, 37, 38 Probabilities, 233 [120

Producing fertile Vt'orkeis,

163, 339 Productiveness of Italian

bees, 93 Profits of bee-keei)ing, 134 Profits of Italian bees, 117 Profitable apiary, 99, 153, 205 Pioposals wauted, 73, 130 Puriiy of drones, 109 Purity of Ittilian bees, 19, 30,

34, 49, 51, 60, 90, 129, 133 Queen cell, side opened, 49 Queen Elizabeth's recipe for

mead, 11 Queens, fertile, 221 Queens, introducing, 6, 40,

48, 73, 210 Queen raising. 12, 63 Queens, ri'serve, 43, 168 Queens, saving, 50 Queens, superseding 93 Queens, two in one hive, 25, Query, 154 [113, ISf:-

Questions and answers, 13,

28, 86, 153, 167, 18t», 212,

317 [137

Riising ([ueeu bees, 63, 71. Ratel.lll [153

Receptacles for surplus hon^y, Reconnoiterers, 18, 211, 312 Red clover and Italian bees,

75. 80, 93, 137, 154 159, 160,

191, 340 Regicidal attacks, 128 Renii'.rks and suggestions, 2l3 Remarks on a reply, 231 Reply to " more seeming puz- zles," 158- Reply to questioii, 28 Reproduction of bees, 73 Requisites of a good hive, 3l7 Resi-iwe queens, 43, 168 Robbing bees, l65 Room for surplus honey, 206 Sainfoin, 166 Saving queens, 50 Scientific bee-culture, 53 Scouts, 18. 211, 313 Second swarms, tioubling, 40 Seaming puzzles. 113 Sending queens by mail, l99 Shaliow hives, 230 bide-opening hives, 77, 110,

149 [173

Singular cases, 50, 68. 78, 154, Sintiular occurrence, 154 Size'of hives, 179, 184 [64

Smoke of linen or cotton rags, Smoke of rotton wood, 30 Snails and slugs, 18 Solulion of a query, 212 Spider and bee, 238 Spring feed for bees, 173 Statistics, 62, 70 ■ [113, 128 Straight combs, 12, 40, 55, 93,

Strange occurrence, m Storing honey, 114 [152

Success in bee-keeping, 79, Success with Italian bees, 160 Summer feeding bees. 111 Superseding queens, 93, 108 Surfaces, i)ainted, 132, 167 Surplus honey boxes, room

for, 206 Surplus honey, 54, 150 Surplus honey receptacles, 155 Swarm settles oa a hat, 68 Swarms cieserting brood, 78 Swarming, curious instances

of, 166, 311 Systems, combining, 7 Transferring ))ees, 39 Transferring combs, 338 Temper of bees, 196 Tenacity of life, 70 Test of purity, 51 That discovery, 300 Theories, new, 38, 43, 147 Theses on bee-culture, 59 Trebizond honey, 55, l34 True parthenogenesis in bees, 81, 101, 121 " ■ [158

Two fertile queens in a hive, Ukraine, bee-keeping in the. Uniting bees, 71, 99,139 [113 Upward ventilation, l69, 218,

328, 235 Use of a wasp's nest, 212 Various items, 131 Various maWei's, 149 Varrouian Tlieory, 144, 199 Vegetable wax, 63 Ventilated hive, 26 Ventilation and watering, 192 Ventilation, upward, l*-)9, 218 Ventilating bee-hives, 26, 187, Vexed questions, 186 [22

Virginia, bee-keeping in, 137 Viverra mellivora. 111- Voluntary contractility, 115, Wanted, 200 [144, 158

Want of air, 228 Wasp's nest, 213 Wasting wax, 80 Water for b- es, 169 Watering and ventilating, 193 AVax, 61 [13

Wax, its source and nature. Wax-secreting apparatus, 19 Weight 01 bees. 25 Weight of hives, 18 What every bee-keeper should

know, 168, 136 Wenham, bees banished, 197 Winteiing bees'. 68, 91, 136, 153, 180, 193, 195, 309, 3l0, 324, 235, 337, 338, 389 [91 Wintering bees in the ground. Wintering bees in Langstrotli

hives, 96 Winter supply of honey, 16 Wisconsin Bee-keepers' Asso- ciation. 176

American Bee Journal.

Vol. Ill

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNEI?, WASHINGTON, D. C.

No. 1

A Season Among Italian Bees.

[Several years ago, Professor Mona, of Italy, undertook to establish an apiary for the pur- pose of rearing Italian queen bees to supply the foreign demand for them, which sprung up after the Italian bees were introduced into Germanj^, and their superior value became known and appreciated. The business which he thus ori- ginated prospered beyond expectation, and soon rendered it necessary that he should procure a competent assistant. He accordingly engaged the services of Mr. Uhle, a practical apiarian of great in'elligence and experience, who joined him at Faido, in the spring of 1866, after the apiaries had been removed to Faido, in the can- ton of Tessin. At the close of the year, Mr. Uhle sent a communication to the Oerman Bienemeitung^ from whi«h the following ex- tracts are taken. ]

Having from personal observation satisfied myself of the superiority of the Italian bees, having read the various articles contained in the Bienemeitung exhibiting their great value and importance, as also the excellent treatise on " the Italian Bee," published by Mr. Kleine, I came here in April last with intensified expec- tations.

Professor Mona had given up his school to de- vote himself exclusively to bee culture, and taken up his abode at his paternal home in Faido, though his bees still remained, for the most part, in the neighborhood of Pollegio.

Since the 1st of March, the business of sup- plying orders by sending out full colonic*, driven swarms and single queens, had been recom- menced ; -and now rapidly increased, as the weather grew milder and the roads improved.

The excursions, which I had occasion to make to his different ai)iaries, enabled me to obtain a ' comprehensive view of Prof. Mona's arrange- ' menis and modes of operating. There werein all about three hundred stocks, withwhi.h the ' active campaign was opened on the 1st of May. I Among these were large as well as small mova- i ble comb hives, common log hives or "gums," such as are used in the rural districts, and ordi- nary box hives of various shapes and sizes. * The former were similar to those with which I :

was familiar in Germany ; the others did not impress me favorably, though the exceeding in- dustry of their inmates soon reconciled me to their appearance.

The movable comb hives were deprived of their queens in the course of the month. The larger ones were then used as store stocks for the accumulation of honey, and the smaller ones for rearing ciueens. From the log hives we drew our supplies of bees in larger or smaller quantities, according to circumstances, to form colonies which were either sent off immediately or placed temporarily in movable comb hives. We also formed a great number of artificial col- onies for queen-raising in small nucleus hives. For these the colonies from which the queens sold were taken, furnished the bees, old log hives supplied the combs and brood, and stocks previously deprived of their queens provided the royal cells.

Pasturage being abundant, the log hives from which swarm had been expelled, or which had swarmed naturally, sent forth second swarms in due time. The larger of these were placed in boxes (medium sized) made of thin boards, and speedily became excellent store stocks. The smaller were placed in movable comb hives, and used for rearing queens.

By the beginuijig of June all the queens of the previous year had been sent off to supply orders, and swarming was, for the most part, over. The queenicss log hives were now bro- ken up and the others duly pruned ; and at the same time the large movable comb stocks, now again provided with fertile queens, were proper- ly arranged for the storing of honey — strength- ening them where necessary with brood from other hives, and limiting the brooding space by the insei-tion of dividing boards. Thus pre- pared, they were next transported to some of the higher Alpine vilkigcs where the season of pasturage did not open till the middle of June. In a few weeks they were filled with the most delicious honey, transparent and highly aroma- tic. So abundantly was it gathered'that we were able to remove surplus lioxes frequently, and numerous fine combs from the body of the hives. Pasturage continued to abound till to- wards the end of July, when the weather !a

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

those eleTcated districts became rongh, and the honey yielded was of interior quality, greatly discoloVed and ropy. We then at once removed our colonies once more to the valley below ; re- moved the queens and nearly all the honey ; used a large part of the bees to supply full stocks desired bj^ customers abroad ; made strong col- onies of the remainder, to which queen cells were given ; and in August they Avere carried to the buckAvheat and heath districts. The smaller movable comb stocks, which had re- peatedly been deprived of their queens in the course of the summer, were now so united as to form populous colonies, and carried likewise to the buckwheat districts. The log hive stocks, both young and old, even such as had been im- queened a second time in July, were uncom- monly heavy, and made excellent store stocks.

Though we had largely multiplied colonies, and repeatedly divided the larger stocks, the sales had been so extensive that we had only about one hundred and fifty hives remaining in the fall. Professor Mona was thus constrained to purchase fresh supplies from the bee-keepers in the valley, and did this on so large a scale that we were able to wnnter nearly six hundred stocks, after supplying all the orders received late in the fall.

These annually repeated purchases cause an accumulation of the most variously constructed hives in our apiary. Here are log hives or gums, such as are met with in all parts of Germany ; cubic boxes made of thick boards or thin, as chance may offer, rudely nailed together ; wine casks and beer barrels, cut through at the bung, so that this constitutes a semi-circular entrance for the bees ; hollow trunks or limbs of trees ; cylindrical hives made of linden baik ; and in- verted tubs or bucket-shaped vessels made by the cooper — in short, receptacles of every imag- inable shape, size, and material. All this is a matter of entire indifference to us, provided the hives or substitutes for hives contain young queens, plenty of bees, and an ample supply of honey. Nor need we feel much concerned to find them made of even the thinnest material, as the temperature here is exceedingly mild on the average in winter, the thermometer rarely falling to zero. Hence we readily make room for them at the side of our movable comb hives, for the strengthening of which they are, indeed, chiefly designed.

Early in spring the bees of some of the log hives containing irregularly built combs, are either sent off with the first ordered queens, or transferred to the movable comb hives. The others are reserved to yield one or two swarms; to supply us with one or more queens in the course of the summer, in case we need them ; and occasionally to furnish surplus bees to rein- force other colonies. Besides which they yield us a quantity of honey, larger or smaller, in the fall— thus fully subserving their natural design. Of the other description of hives we make vari- ous other uses. Tlius we place the stronger af- terswarms in light, medium-sized box hives, to have them in readiness to be sent off to pur- chasers early in spring.

For rearing queens and securing the superior quality of mountain and Alpine honey, we use

the movable comb hives, of which we have three forms, all of the same width — 37 centi- meters, namely. The larger class hives, which can receive twenty -lour frames nineteen centi- meters high, supply us with honey in the comb, and serve also to receive in the fall the contents of several nucleus hives, used for rearing queens. The second cla^s, containing ten frames tAventy- eiglit centimeters high, serve to accommodate temporariljr colonies driven out of log hives and intended for transportation to supply orders. We also use them to supply surplus boxes with honey, having to that end perforated the tops with slits four lines wide to give the bees access to the surplus boxes. We have thus a brooding space which may be enlarged or diminished, ac- cording to circumstances, and a removable honey chamber. The surplus honey thus pro- cured is always in demand, finding ready sale at fair prices. In addition to these we have a supply of small hives, fitted to receive six or eight frames nineteen centimeters high, which are used tor rearing queens from May to Sep- tember.

When making the above-mentioned purchases of hives in the neighborhood, I had an oppor- tunity to observe hoAV bee-keeping was con- ducted in other cjuarters, and toacciuire a know- ledge of the system pursued by the Tessiniau cultivators, if their processes may be designated by that term. The owner sets his hives either in the balcony of his dwelling house or in some special structure, but invariably exposes their fronts to the scorching rays of the noonday sun, for he contends that thus only can swarms duly ripen. Thus placed, he subsequently leaves them without supervision or interference to the instincts of nature. At the swarming sea- son he will examine the trees and bushes around, generally in the evening when return- ing from the field ; and if he chances to espy a swarm clustered somewhere, he will nranage to hold over it a hive internally besmeared Avith honey, and seek to drive the bees into it Avith smoke. If a sAvarm is discoA'ered in the morn- ing, the whole day is not unfrequently wasted iu'hiving the new ac^quisition 1 And why not ? since this is all the trouble his bees give him I When a swarm is once hived and set on its stand, he gives himself no further concern about it. When he sees that the bees fly out and in, he is content, and has no idea of doing any- thing more for them. Still in saying so, I may- be slightly wrong. When we come to buy some of his stocks, he Avill lift the prime swarms, be- cause he gives them the preference as being store stocks, but as for the contents, he never gives them a thought. He knows that he saAv the swarm hanging on the tree ; he hived it himself, and long experience has taught him that prime SAvarmsare invariably the best store stocks ! AftersAvarms, he will tell you, do not always prosper ; and old stocks are apt to be- come a prey for Avorms. Hence these are not by him deemed fit for store stocks, or are to be used as such only in case of dire necessity. That the AVorms usually destroy only queenless colonies is a matter beyond his comprehension, Avho has never seen a cjueen ! Of course these crude notions are no disadvantage to us, since

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,

the result is that we always obtain young queens. Still, with all his ignorance in this respect, the poor bec-koepcr docs not fare so ill as might be supposed, since the Italian bees commonly su- percede their old queens in due time, and rear young ones seasonably llcuce the destruction ot'stoCks in consequence of the superannuation of queens, is not so common an occurrence with him as might be supposed.

In many districts peculiar prejudices prevail. Some refuse to sell their supernumerary stocks, conceiving that they would at the same time convey their luck to the purchaser. They pre- fer dooming them to the brimstone pit, and thus harvest the honey in a good or a bad condition as it may happen. But since Professor Mona has commenced buying bees here, superstitious notions and prejudices are beginning to give way, because a handful of francs is an argu- ment agreeably persuasive and powerfully con- vincing. More generally prevalent is the per- suasion that a swarm accidentally found or one obtained by barter, is more certain to prosper than one bought with money. Whether a stolen hive comes within the same category in their estimation, I am unable to say. Many, like- wise, are under the impression that any wrong thej' do will react on their bees ; and it is fairly presumable that those bee-keepers who cherish this ilxith, are not the worst class of citizens. It is furthermore the universal belief that when a bee-keeper dies, his hives will gradually go to destruction ; and hence they arc exchanged for others as soon as practicable or sold in hot haste. Of course these remarks apply only to peasants Avho keep bees ; yet the clergy here and others, though free from these prejudices, know as lit- tle of bee culture as the rest of the population.

Whether it is owing to the abundance of pas- turage and a propitious climate or to the hardi- ness and industry of the Italian bee, that this valuable insect has survived amid such general neglect, mismauiigement and ignorance, is hard to decide, though doulitless something is to be attributed to each of these causes. Local cir- cumstances, too, may exert a favorable influence.

Among innumerable other, larger or smaller, honey-yielding herbs, plants, trees and shrubs, white clover is specially to be noticed in the fields here in sea>on. The steep hill-sides pro- duce plenty of wild thyme and heather. The cultivated field furnish no .supplies for the bees till towards the end of August, when the buck- wheat, sown in the rye-stubbles in July, comes into blossom. Of special account, too, is the blossom of the chestnut tree, which grows on the hills on both sides of the valley to the height of 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. In tact nearly the entire valley likewise might be called a chestnut forest. On a level plain this would constitute only a transient source of supplies; but it is otherwise liere. The mountains are steep and lofty, and beyond them are the Alps with their eternal snow. The result is that during the summer, vegetation advances slowly and gradually upwards from the valley. Thus in the spring the same species of plants bloom three weeks later at an elevation of 2,000 feet above than they do in the plain below, and are yet within reach of the bee's flight. Hay mak-

ing begins earlier in the fields and meadows below, and flowers will again be b'ooming ther-, by the time the grass on the higher lo- calities is fit for the scythe We have this further advantage that the valley is narrow, not over half a mile wide. The bees can con«e- (picntly resort to the pasturage on either side, while the sun is shining there — exploring the flowers and appropri ting the nectar on the one side in the morning, and turning in the allernoon to an equally well supplied area on the other. The soil is everywhere sandy.

From what has been said, it is manifest that a fair amount of pasturage is found here all the summer ; that every early issuing swarm, though small, can gather sufficient supplies for the Avinter, if placed in a suitable hive ; and that from strong colonies a large surplus of honey may be confidently expected. The best evidence of this is furnished by the stocks of the peasantry. In the course of my perambu- lations last fall, I saw more than a thousand hives, and though the increase of stocks had been nearly threefold, the average yield was rarely under ten pounds per hive. The most of them were decidedly full of honey, there being hardly six square inches of empty combs visible near the entrance below. This, too, while the hives had stood exposed to the full heat of the sun, so that the melted wax from the combs had run down on the bottom board, closing the lower entrance, and constraining the bees to deposit their stores from above. In many places the industrious insects, want- ing room within, had built combs between the hives. What could not be accomplished here by the proper use of the movable comb hive ?

As regards the bees themselves, it were su- perfluous to speak further of their untiring in- dustry, since it must be evident from what I have stated that they must labor as assidiously here in their native home, as they do wherever introduced abroad. In the absence, however, of common or black bees, we have no means of instituting a comparison ; but their extraordi- nary activity and productiveness repeatedly as- tonished me last summer.

In Germany, I regarded the Italian bees as per- tinacious robbers, and had occasion frequently to protect the common bees from their encroach- ments. But here it was ver}^ obvious that they paid great respect to each other's rights, and re- frained from attempts to commit depredations on their neighbors. We have often, the same day, deprived of their queens one-half of the colonies in a large apiarj^ ; have kept at the side of my large and populous stocks, small or weak nucleus colonies rearing queens, most generally ciueenless, and scarcely strong enough to cover the brood combs ; yet no attempt was ever made to rob them. At the end of Septem- ber and the beginning of October, we had for a time more que^nless bees than we could pro- perly dispose of. We placed them temporarily in roomy hives, supplied them with the need- ful honey, and set them among our other strong stocks, where, though the weather continued warm, they guarded their stores, and no serious attacks were made on them till we were able to 'use them for strengthening other colonies.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

The beeg with us arc of a brownish yellow color ; lower down the valley they are chestnut brown ; higher up the mountains Ihey are brighter anM more slender. All of them are more active in their movements, especially when flying, than the common black bee. At firet view I could scarcely persuade myself that the bees of the mountain and those of the valley were the same. But when we transported a number of our stocks from the plains to the Alps, for the purpose of gathering the finer quality of honey there, and these in a short time began to produce brighter colored bees, and the queens also grew lighter hued, we became satisfied that climate and nutriment determined the difference of color; and since then I make no distinction between them. Whether there are any other bees on this side of the Alps, which could claim a preference over the Italians we have here, I am unable to say, but intend to procure queens and workers next summer from various parts of Upper Italy ; and will then compare them and report the result.

Last winter Prof. Mona procured a number of stocks from Piedmont, and the lower section of Lago Maggiore, under the impression that the bees found there were handsomer and better. A minute comparison gave these results : the workers resembled ours very much in color, though perhaps somewhat less brown. In size and shape they were precisely like the common black bees ; and so likewise in their entire movements and deportment. Of the ciueens some were beautifully bright, others very dark, and less slender than those native here. I do not doubt that these bees are just as industrious as those of Tessin, but am unable to say any- thing from actual observation, as we removed their queens early in spring, and inserted in them royal cells of our own stock. It is not likely that Prof. Mona will soon make another such experiment. Mr. Spinedi, of Mendrisio, also gives the Tessinian bees the preference de- cidedly over all others. He says these are muck more slender and more agile than those of Lom- bardy and Piedmont, and he therefore prefers them.

Beyond the Alps the bright yellow bees and queens are justly preferred, because there the local causes that influence differeuces are un- known, and by their brilliance of color they are so readily distinguished from the common bees cultivated there.

Among the enemies of bees, the following are enumerated here : the swallow, the death's head moth, the large wood ant, the small red ant, the wax moth, and the bee louse. Of these, the wax moth is regarded as most to be dreaded, not unfrequently producing widespread devas- tations in the apiaries.

As the winter here is short and mild, with a dry atmosphere, dysentery occurs among bees only in damp localities on the northern side of the Alps and the higher hills, which are over- shadowed by these eminences nearly all winter. "We usually have a number of stocks in the vil- lages there, as the pasturage is rich and of long continuance ; but we always remove them in autumn to the sunny side of the hills.

Fortunately for us foul-brood is entirely un-

known on this .side of the Alps, so that we are safe in buying bees and honey when and where we please. A large number of the German bee- keepers appear to be already well aware of this fact, as they purchased honey freely here last fall, which it is understood was to be used in feeding weak colonies preparatory to wintering. The price of honey depends on the quality and color of the article. The finest Alpine honey sells at two francs per pound ; fine mountain honey, as also such as is gathered on the Alps late in the season, sells at one franc and fifty centimes ; ordinary mountain honey one franc ; valley honey gathered early in spring eighty centimes ; second quality valley honey sixty- five centimes ; buckwheat and heath honey, expressed from the combs, forty centimes. Yellow w^ax of good quality sells at from two francs and twenty-five centimes to two franca and thirty centimes per pound.

E. UnLE. Faido, Canton Tessin, Dec. 23, 1866.

[For tbe Bee Journal.]

In answer to W. A. Flanders, page 190, April No. of the Journal, I would say I have alw^ays considered the theory of the compression of the queen bee to lay worker eggs, to be correct. The cause of the egg in the queen cell being impregnated can be explained in this way ; the ompression is produced by the weight of the abdomen Avhen eggs are laid in these vertical cells. I have long since believed that if we can get a queen to lay in drone cells while in a per- pendicular position, that queens and workers could be produced from the eggs thus laid. This may perhaps be accomplished in one of the following modes. First, if a drone comb is placed m a strong swarm, containing little or no drone comb, in the height of the season, the queen may be induced to lay therein, and if the eggs are impregnated workers will hatch from them instead of drones. Second, by in- troducing a sheet of empty drone comb at the time of drone egg laying, and examining this every few hours during the first few days, the queen can be found supplying the comb with eggs. Now hold it in a horizontal position so that the cells she is supplying will be under. Mark the eggs laid while the comb is thus held, cut out that portion of the comb, and give it to a nucleus having no brood but this ; and I have no doubt but queens can be reared from these eggs. Who will experiment on this ? I will for one. R. B. Oldt.

New Berlin, Pa.

One of the most ingenious feeding-troughs is a French invention. It is formed of about eiglit hundred small cylinders of thick caiiridge paper, about two thirds of an inch in length, closely applied together, each standing on its end ; thus forming a mass not unlike a piece of honeycomb itself. The food being poured into a tin saucer, this artificial comb is placed on it, and the bees are able to feed almost iu their nat- ural state.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Various Items.

CAMACE FllOM MTCE.

T was grcally troubled by mice in my bee- cellar la'it winter. Tliough kecjjing a trap set all the time, 1 enngbtno more than three mice. They preferred honey and bees to the bait.

On placing mv hives on their summer stands, I found a number of combs almost destroyed by mice, :ind found three dead ones in one hive. One day I returned a colony inlo the cellar, and forgot to replace the honey board after exami- nation Next morning I heard some rattling in the combs, -while trying to put on the honey board. 1 looked closer, and found that the rat- tling proceeded from a mouse. I took out three or four combs, and to my greatest surprise, found four mice near the cluster of the bees. I killed one of them with a stick, and caught another by its tail. To ascertain wliether the bees would kill this mouse if brought within Iheir roach, I held her directly over the cluster. Two bees immediate!}^ cra^vled on the mouse, ■which curling round a little, seized each of them and devoured both. But a third bee had mean- while crawled on the mouse and gave her a sting, from the effects of whicli she soon died.

Formerly, I was of opinion that mice devoured dead bees only, eating honey and spoiling the combs. But I am now of opinion that they eat living bees also, and probably sometimes destroy a colony ; though I have never yet had a colony destroyed by them.

DELATED FECUNDATION.

Two years ago, I found the first young fertile queens on the 5th of May ; and last spring on the 7th of May. This spring out of twenty- seven queens, only two were laying yesterday, (May 20th. ) All but five were either lost, or killed by the bees. One of them I had taken away from her colony which had enclosed her ; but the bees would not feed her in the cage, though placed in the centre of the hive.

This delayed fecundation results, in my opinion, from the long-cont'nued cold weather. At no time was the thermometer more than 14"^ R. above zero in the shade. I have had thous- ands of drones in my apiary, for about two weeks past, and about fifty of them as early as the first of April.

The present spring is the latest and coldest I experienced in this country in eighteen years. To-day (May 21st) not an apple tree is in blos- som, and it will require at least one week more to bring them into full bloom. Bees have been gathering pollen to any extent only during three days and a half this spring, and honey during two days only. An imm»nse number of colo- nies have starved or perished from other causes. One man lost fourteen out of fifteen, and another fitly out of eighty lour. A great number of bee keepers have lost all theirs. As tor myself, I lost some slocks too, hut only a small number compared with the number 1 wintered — twenty- three out of foiJr hundred and lorty-one. I will not deny, however, that a large number of my hives are weaker than I have ever had them before.

A SINGULAR OCCURRENCE.

I had a valuable queen in a weak colony, and removed her to another, strong but queculess. On examination five days afterwards, two un- sealed queen cells wt re found. To mark the time when these cells would be sealed, I made another examination two days later; but to my surprise both queen cells were destroyed. Ex- amining more closely I found a fertile Italian queen, but it was not the one I had removed before. On the preceding day, a weak colony had deserted its liive in my absence. The queen found belonged to this colony. The hives stood several rods apart. How did the queen know that this hive was ciueenless ? And why did the bees not kill her, as they had both brood and queen cells ?

I observed another very singular occurrence last spring. One day early in May, I had two colonies desert their hives. One of them had a good half bred Italian queen ; the other a com- mon black one — the only one I had in the apiary. About a week after this, I examined a stock of Italians which had a valuable queen, but could not find her. Three days later I re- examined the hive, and found lots of eggs, but no Italian queen. I examined all the combs over again, and to my chagrin found a small black queen. How she came there and was successfully established in the colony is to me a mystery yet. But sometliing more puzzled me. Four weeks after the swarming out of the black colony, I noticed young black and Italian work- ers play out of this hive, and the stock rapidly changed into a hybrid. The queen of the hy- brid colony must therefore have successfully entered the hive of the black colony.

A. Grimm.

Jefferson, Wis., May 21, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal ]

Two Mishaps.

Four years ago in July, I discovered a swarm of bees leaving the hive. They had been hived the day before. I closed the entrance, raised the hive a trifle, holes in the top of the hive open, honey boxes removed, cap covering the boxes on the hive. Other swarms issuing kept me occupied for an hour and a half, when on looking at them I found them all dead. There was not a dozen live bees in the hive. About noon one day last June, I put about a quart of bees in an empty hive; put on a queen-rearing box, letting the bees enter it ; hole in the top of the box two inches square, covered With wire cloth. At night two-thirds of them were dead.

In my ignorance of bees and their manage- ment, 1 had always supposed, until since read- ing Mr. Adair's statements in tlie February Number of the Jouuxal, that they were smoth- ered. If Mr. Adair, or any of the numer- ous readers of the Journal, can give me any other satisfactory reason for the loss, I should be glad to hear from them.

A Wolverine Bee Keeper.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

For the Americaa Bee Journal,

Introducing Queens.

Friend Bee Journal : — With yonr permis- sion I propose paying a few words on the intro- duftion of queens. As this subject, in view of the efforts now making to establish the Italian race oi' bees m our country, is a matter of prime importance to bee-keepers, it is essential that the principles on which the operation can be safely conducted, should be fully discussed, in order to be correctly understood.

So far as I am acquainted with the facts, those giving us a ?c«y, rarely give us a reason for their success, that the novice may know on what principles to conduct the operation. Hence my object in this article is not to tell of some other way to do this thing, for all that can be asked is that Wiq process should be sliort and the result CERTAIN. I simply wish to show iohy the methods already given are successful, or why they are not.

If I correctly comprehend the subject, all the methods thus far practiced are based on one or the other of two important facts in the natural history of the bees — facts which should never be lost sight of for a moment, by those having this thing in hand. The first of these facts, and the one generally acted upon, so that the de- privation of a queen creates an abnormal con- dition of the colony bereaved, appealingdirectly to the law of self-preservation, which causes the bees to accept an offered remedy, on the principle that "drowning men cling to straws." Hence if the operator conduct the matter on the conditions of bereavement, he must either prac- tice some method like that given by Kuauff or Mr. Gallup, which takes advantage of the first excitement caused by deprivation ; or delay the case until the bees are made conscious of their inability to rear a queen, and the abnormal state is fully established. V

The second fact to be taken advantage of, is the one so happily hit upon by Mr. Allen's plan. It is, that bees have no means of re- cognition, except through the sense of smell. I am fully satisfied that a colony of bees in a nor- mal condition will never accept of a strange queen under a7iy circumstances^ except through mistaken identity.

Hence Mr. Allen's plan of smoking the bees with tobacco, and removing the queen without their knowledge, would seem to present as favor- able circumstances iov practicing deception upon them as could well exist. The bees and queen are made of the same scent by this plan, which if properly conducted leaves nopossible chance for the bees to detect the cheat.

Thus we have presented the two methods of introduction. The first embracing all those which make the recognition of queenlessness, by the bees, an ultimatum of success, and consequent- ly a matter of choice with the bees ; and the second relying on the completeness of a decep- tion.

I have never tried Mr. Allen's plan, but am disposed to regard it as the best yet presented — both in regard to sJiortness and completeness. It not only makes all of the same scent, but also

sribdiies the anger of the bees ; which is a very important matter. That many queens are lost by arousing the anger of the bees in the act of introducing a queen, and then leaving them to wreak their vengeance on the first thing that comes in their way, is a matter too little heeded.

If bees show a disposition to sting when a queen is being introduced by any of the methods adopted, the bees should at once be thoroughly subdued by smoke.

I have on two occasions had a queen killed by her own bees, just because I had aroused their anger, and left them to hunt a new object of spite. The facts satisfies me that the bees when angry, are not above human nature, but sometimes do that under such excitement which they would never do under other circumstances.

For this reason I would say to all introducing queens, never trust any one to the " embrace" of an angry colony of bees. Force them to yield by some means, and then you are safe.

G. A. "Weight.

Osage, Iowa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Introducing Italian Queens.

Editor Bee Journal : — There are several methods given for the safe introduction of Ital- ian queens, neither of which is always success- ful. The one recommended requires that the native or black queen to be removed six or eight days before the Italian is introduced. Tliis method also requires that the stock be ex- amined once or more, and all queen cells cut out or destroyed, making considerable trouble and delay, and keeping your stock of bees without a laying cjueen tor several days. All other plans which I have seen published, are alike faulty. It would be very desirable to the bee- keeper to be able on the same day he receives his Italian queen to introduce her at once, without any risk of her being destroyed. Be- lieving that I have discovered such a method, I will give it to my bee-keeping friends, after having, I think, fairly tested it. "When I wish to introduce an Italian cjueen, if the stock is in a movable comb hive, I at once search for and re- move the native queen. I then drive all the bees into an old box hive, or some other conve- nient box ; or otherwise brush them off the combs any way to get them out of the hive into the box. As soon as I have done this, I take the hive and place it on the swarming table, and shake the bees out of the box, letting them run into their hive again, the same as if I were putting in a swarm. And when they are going in, I let out my Italian queen among them. She runs in with the rest, and is at once accep- ted, I have never known it to fail.

J. H. Thomas.

Brooklin, Canada "West.

Seasons, situations, and the laws of nature, present influences which may be guarded against or assisted, but which cannot be completely controlled.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Combining Systems.

BY DZIERZON.

Expovionce has shown that neither the swarm- ing nor the magazine system of bee culture can be universally adopted and i)ursued to the ex- clusion of the other. The nature, extent, and duration of the pasturage will usually determine whieh system is to be preferred, or in what de- gree the two may be advantageously combined.

The swarming sj^stem will be found profita- ble only in districts of country where the pas- turage, though never superabundant, comes in early, is always nioderat<;ly full, diversified and of long continuance ; and where the full sup- plies are of a similar character. In such situa- tions, early swarms will be able to fill their hives with combs, and store them with liouey enough for the ensuing winter, whilst the parent stocks can gather honey enough for their own wants, with a satisfactory surplus for their owner ; and the young prolilic queens can spetdily replenish the poiulation of the hive. There a stock thus divided into two or more colonies, will increase rapidlj^ and present a much larger force for the ingathering of the harvest, than if it had remained in one united body dependent on the diminishing vigor of the old queen.

But where the pasturage, hoM'ever plentiful, is of short duration, is made up almost wholly of the blossoms of a single species of plants, and terminates suddenly and entirely with the withering of these ; and where moreover no fall supplies are to be looked for, it is always advi- sable to adopt and adhere to the magazine sys- tem. Enlarged room may then be provided for the bees in season to enable them to store up the honey so transiently within their reach ; and it will be found better to secure an increase of stock later in the season by artificial multi- plication than to allow the bees to waste pre- cious time in preparations for swarming, while they should be engaged in honey -gathering. Even if swarming be allowed, under such cir- cumstances, it results only in depopulating and weakening the parent stocks, and the young swarms will spend the liouey they gather in building combs which cannot afterwards be filled, and starvation not unfrequently over- takes them even before winter sets in.

Yet there are sections of country where, though the swarming system is preferable on the whole, the seasons are sometimes of such a character that the magazine sj'^stem would be profitable. Thus, after the swarms have issued, the weather in the latter part of summer and in the whole of the fall, niiiy be such, in some years, that supplies of pasturage are almost wholly cut off, and both parent stock and swarms are so poorly furnished that they will die of hunger or must be carried over winter at much cost by regular feeding. 'Whereas, mag- azine hives would, under the same circum- stances, have secured enough at kast to carry them safely forward to the ensuing spring. Or it may happen in some ytars thai there is a su- perabundance of honey in the spring, though the bees do not swarm, anxiously as such seces-

sion is looked for, and when finally the bee- keeper abandons all expectation thereof and supplies tlie bi es with surplus honey recepta- cles, it IS usually too lute to be of much avail. Had no delay been permitted, a fine harvest of honey might meanwhile have been secured.

It is heuee obvi(jus that it will be advautnge- ous not to adhere doggedly to either system, but so to arrange matters that either may be re- sorted to, as locality or season may render de- sirable, and to modify our procedures accord- ingly.

My hives and my method of managing bees are adapted to the reciuirements of either sys- tem, though in practice, I prefer on the whole, making artificial colonies to swarming. As my hives are close and warm, they are well suited to foster the production of natural swarms, when from any reason that is regarded as desirable. At the same time they are better adapted to the magazine system than any others. Still, I do not consider it advisable that bee-keepers resid- ing in districts where straw or box hives are in common use should suddenly cast them aside, and substitute for them the movable comb hive. The latter are superior only when in the hands of an intelligent operator, who makes them the subject of study and attention. He must know how to use them, and actually use them proper- ly in practice, or they will be of no more value to him than those made of a hollow log, if not actually inferior. Let a bee-keeper who is ac- customed to the old fashioned hives, and uses them in the ordinary mode, retain them in liis apiary, and attend to them with his usual diligence and care. He will then be safe, so tar as bee-keeping on the old plan can give any assuiance of safety. But let him also in- troduce a few movable comb hives that he may gradually learn how they are to be used, and proceed to add to their number, as he becomes aware of the superior facilities they present, and familiar with the manipulations requisite to make those facilities available. Valuable re- sults will assuredly be realized in this way, be- cause while learning the proper management of the new kind of hive, he will unquestionably become better qualified to manage bees even on the old system and in old-fashioned hives.

Where movable comb-hives are used, even on the non-swarming principle, in an apiary in which most of the colonies are still kept in com- mon hives, they furnish the means of building up weak swarms, issuing from the latter so laie in the season that they could not procure sup- plies for the winter, fcjuch late swarms may be put in movable comb hives, and then aided and strengthened with brood and honej^ from like hives, and soon brought to a condition enabling them to winter safely. And again, when a sea- son unpropitious for swarming occurs, because lioni a superabundance of honey stored up from early s^n-ing pasturage, the brooding space has become unduly contracted, bees kept in com- mon hives would produce no increase by swarms, and there would be a small yield of honey in the fall, for the bees would use it freely for the production of brood when the gathering season was over, and empty cells enabled the queen to recommence laying eggs.

8

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

In such seasons and circumstances, it is a de- cided advantage to have both kind of hives in an apiiiry, because room can be furnished in movable comli hives for a continuous storage of honey by removing lull combs, and either re- placing thi m with empty ones or. permitting the bees to build new. Artificial colonies too may be made in such seasons bjr taking brood and queen cells or queens from movable comb hives, and the bees needed to populate tliem from the colonies in common hives, and where they are hanging out in idle clusters. "When taking honey from the movable comb hives in autumn and reducing stock, instead of brim- stoning the bees, these may be united with those in the common box or straw hives, and thus saved with mutual advantage.

I have thus indicated a few of the reasons why the introduction of movable comb hives should, in most cases, be a gradual process, while retaining the common kind in the apiary, and shown also that swarming and non-swarm- ing systems do not necessarily exclude each other, but may be rendered very serviceable when used in combination.

Mead.

Prior to the introduction of agriculture into Britian, mead was the principal cordial bever- age of its inhabitants. Matthias de Lobel, M. D. calls it Cambricus potus. In other northern nations also it was formerly in liigh estimation.* This must have proceeded, either from their unpampered simplicity of taste, from their lack of other cordials, or from their having a better method of making their mead than has been handed down to posterity ; for certainly in the present day it is a liquor seldom made, and holding a very humble rank among our imper- fect vinous productions. It however continued in favor long after the introduction of malt liquor, and the northern inhabitants of Europe drank it generally until very modern times ; and even in England, so late as the days of Dryden, it seems to have been better known tliau it is now, being sometimes used to soften or dilute strong wines.

'•T' allay the strength and hardness of the wine, Let with old Bacchus new Metheglin join."

To show how highly it was formerly esteemed in this country, I will give an extract trom an an- cient law of the principality of Wales, where "the praises of it, accompanied by the lyre, resoun- ded through the spacious halls of her princes." "There are three things in court which must be communicated to the king, before they are made known to any other person : —

"1st, Every sentence of the judge.

2d, Every new song ; and

3d, Every cask of mead." Mead making seems to have been regarded by our forefathers as a high and important avoca- tion ; at the courts of the Princes of Wales, the mead maker was the eleventh person in dignity, and took place of the physician. We read in the English history, that Ethelstan a, subordi- nate King of Kent, in the tenth century, on

* "Hydromel Borealibas, quibus vino desnnt, pro vino est." — De Loebel.

paying a visit to his relation Ethelfleda, felt very much delighted that there was no deficiency of mead. According to the custom at royal feasts, it was served up in cut horns and other vessels of various sizes. About the same period, it was customary to allow the monks a sexta- rium (about a pint) of mead, between six of them at dinner, and half the quantity at supper.

Queen Elizabeth was so fond of mead as to have it made every year ; lier recipe for it will be found at the end of this chapter.

Bruce tells us that the Abyssinians still use it as their common beverage. They ferment it with a small quantity of parched barley-meal,, and take off its luscious taste by the addition of a few chips of Surdo wood. With the same in- tention the Juice of the mountain-ash berry is fermented with it in some parts of Wales. Probably, says Mr. Knight, the barbarous in- habitants of Europe formerly acidulated their mead with it.

' PdcitJo laecti Fermento, atque acidis imitantur Vitea sorbis.

According to Feburier, though mead is much desjnsed in France, when presented as mead, yet it is much used there under fictitious names, such as wine of Rota, of Medeira. of Malvoisin (Malmsley), and of Spain.

It was probably the liquor called by Ossian, the joy and strength of shells, with which hisr heroes were so much delighted ; the Caledo- nian drinkiug-vessels having consisted of large shells, which are still used by their posterity in some parts of the Highlands. Mention is some- times made also of the Feast of Shells.

Mead was the ideal nectar of the Scandinavian nations, which they expected to quatf in heaven out of the skulls of their enemies ; and as may reasonably be supposed, the liquor which they exalted thus highly in their imaginary celestial banquets^ was not forgotten at those which they really indulged in tcpon earth Hence may be inferred the great attention which must have been paid to the culture of the bee in those days, or there could not have been an adequate sup- ply of honey for the production of mead, to sat- isfy the demand of such thirstj" tribes. In fur- ther confirmation of this attention, it may be observed that in France the ancient Barons drew a considerable revenue from the tax upon bee-hives ; and they were among the articles of which a return was made at the doomsday survey.

The mythology of Scandinavia, (the religion of our Gothic ancestors) was imparted by Sigge or Odin, a chieftain who migrated from Scythia with the whole of his tribe, and subdued either by arms or arts the northern parts of Europe. From him descended Alaric and Attila. In the singular paradise which Odin sketched for his followers, the principal pleasure was to be derived from war and carnage ; after the daily enjoyment of which, they were to sit down to a least of boar's flesh and mead. The mead was to be handed to them in the skulls of their enemies, by virgins somewhat resembling the houri of the Mauometan paradise, and plentiful draughts were to be taken, until intoxication should crown their felicity. Hence the Poet PEnrose thus commences his " Carousal of Odin."

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

9

"Fill the honey"d bevoragf high, Fil the skulls' 'ti> OdJQ k cry! HpiikI ye not I he poweit'ul call, Thiuiili'iiuir Ihioueh the vaull'd hallf Fill the niealh and spread the board, Vassals of the grisly lord ! — Tlie Feast begins, the skull goes round, Laughter shouts — the shouts resouud !'*

Hence, likewise iu an ode by Mr. Stirling, we find the I'ollowing illuslralion of the norlh- eru Elysium.

"Thoir banquet is the ra'ghty chine Exliaustless, the stupendous boar ; Virgins of immortal line

Present tlie goblet foaming o'er: Of heroes' skulls the goblet made ■With figured deaths and snakes of gold inlaid."

Boar's flesh was considered by these tribes as the highest delicacy ; the celestial boar was bupposed to be daily renewed, and to afford aii ample repast for the most numerous party : a quantit}' of mead also, suflieient for the intoxi- cation of this paradisiacal community, was im- agined to be daily supplied by a goat called Heidrunn

"Whose spacious horn would fill the bowl

That raised to rapture Odin's soul;

And ever drinking, ever dry —

StiU the copions stream supply."*

I could not refrain from adducing these short historical and poetical evidences of the high estimation iu which mead was held by our no t hern ancestors. I trust that I shall also stand excused for still further lengthening my preamble by entering upon the general princi- pUx of wine-making.

The grand dfsiderata in wine are strength, flavor, and plea-iantness : — to accomplish the first,- sugar must be converted by fermentation into alcohol ; the second depends upon the ar- ticle to be vinified, and upon the management of the process of vinification ; flavor may like- wise be produced artiflcially by different ad- juncts: pleasantness will principally result from the same causes, but more especially from the liquor holding in solution a certain quan- tity of unconverted sugar.

The elements rieces.tary to a due fermentation and to bring the process to a satisfactory issue, are sugar, extractive matter, acid of tartar and water These exist iu the highest perfection and in the best relative proportions in the grape: hence the superiority of foreign wines. Who- ever therefore expects to imitate with much ef- fect, those generous liquors, must supply in the process, those ingredients in which the article sought to be converted into wine is deficient.

If the native juices of fruits be deficient in sugar, it will be impossible to convert them into a strong wine without a proper supply of that ingredient ; and Avithout a sufficiency of extractive matter, which is the natural ferment, a due fermentation could not be established; the wine would be sweet but not potent ; sweet wines being the produce of an incomplete fermen- iu'ion. If the extractive matter were in excess, the liquor would have a tendency to the acetous fermentation, which might also be induced by a superabundant proportion of water,

♦Considering the moderately intoxicating power of mead, it may be presumed that no inconsiderable quan:ity was re- quired at these jovial banquets, as it is calculated to con- tain only eeven parts of alcohol in a hundred.

The result of a complete fermentation is ndnj WHIP-, and to produce which, the elements must be nicely balanced, and the process conducted under favor..ble circumstances, with respect to temperature, tunning, stopping down, .Jcc.

Two opposite practices ijr.-vail, in the manu- facture of the same sort of wine ; some wine- makers boiling the juice before fermentation, others conducting the whote process without boil- ing The piopriety or impropriety of these practices depends upon the quality of the juices to be vinified. Extractive matter is partially coagtdablc by heat ; boiling therefore, by caus- ing this matter to separate and to be depos ited, tends to the production of a sweet wine. The extractive matter may also be precipitated by sulphuric acid gas, (burning in the cask a brimstone match as hereafter directed,) or by sulphuric acid itself, with which the soluble leaven tonus an insoluble compound. Hence where the extractive matter is in excess, and where there is danger of fermentation going on too rapidly, boiling or sulphuring -will be useful both to the wine and cider-maker, in checkmg or preventing fermentation. The superfluous extract thrown up in the course of fermenta- tion as yeast, or deposited as lees, will, if re- mixed with the liquor, have the effect of con- tinuing the fermentatiou : lience the utility of racking and fining, where it is in excess ; and of reunion, where it is deficient. Artificial leaven or yeast, which contains the extractive principle iu great abundance, aflbrds a supply to tho:,e juices which are deficient in it, and without which they will not ferment. Natural leavn, (i. e extractive matter) is soluble in cold water, artificial leaven is not : during fermen- tation, therclore, the latter is always thrown off: so also is the greater part of the former, if the process be well conducted.

Most of the fruits of this country abound in malic acid; those that possess only a moderate quantity of it, however, afford excellent wine with the addition of sugar only ; still better wine may be obtained by the further addition ot the acid of tartar. Where the malic acid prevails so abuudauily as to make its neutrali- zatiou desirable. Dr. M'Culloch, (to whom I am indebted for much of the information con- tained in this chapter,) recommends coating the insides of the fermenting vats w4th a white wash of caustic lime. I have neutralized the malic acid, by putting into the cask, after the sensible fermeutation has been completed, about a pound -of egg shells to every sixty gal- lons of wine.

The acid of tartar increases the fermenting power of fluids : half-ripe fruits possess it in the greatest abundance ; hence the vivacity of champagne and green gooseberry wine. It is most conveniently used in the state of super- tartrate of potash or common cream of tartar ; the common rough tartar is in some respects preferable, as its admixture of yeast assists in perfecting the fermentation.

All vegetables contain more or less of extra- ctive matter ; those that possess little may be assisted in their fermenlation by that process being conducted in wooden vessels, wood sup-

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plj'ing the extractive principle to the liquor ; the same juices, therclbre, which would ler- menl very well in wood would scarcely ferment at till in glass or carlhenware.

The extractive matter and the sugar are sel- dom completely destroyed in any wines ; the existence or the former is evinced hy the skinny matter frequently deposited upon the inside of the wine bottles ; the latter may be detected by a nice palate, iu the very di'iest of our wines ; its predominance indicates an inferior wine.

From the preceding observations, my read- ers have probably anticipated my opinion of himey in loiiie making. I regai'd it merely as a mbsftiivtefor sugar ; and to those who approve of Its flavor I recommend the following direc- tionfi, which I have successlully followed for several years, having my home-made wines en- riched with a considerable portion of foreign flavor : Dissolve an ounce of cream of tartar in five gallons of boiling water ; pour the solution off clear u,poii twenty pounds of fine honey, boil them logetlier, and remove the scum as it rises. Toward the end of tlie boiling add an ounce of fine hops ; about ten minutes after- wards put the liquor in a tub to cool ; when re- duced to the temperature ot 70^ or 80^ of Fah- renheit, according to the season, add a slice of bread toasted and smeared over with a very little yeast ; the smaller the quantity the bettre, for yeast invariably spoils the flaoor of wines, and where there is a sufficiency of extractive matter in the ingredients employed, it should never be introduced : if fermented iu wooden vessels, none is required. The liquor should uow stand in a warm room, and bestirred occa- sionally. As soon as it begins to carry a liead it should be tunned, and the cask filled up from time to time from tlie reserve, till the fermen- tation has nearly subsided. It should now be bunged down, leaving open a small peg-hole ; in a few days this may also be closed, and in about twelve months the wine will be fit to bottle.

The ancients were accustomed to boil their mead for a considerable time, until the liquor would buoy up a fresh egg, allowing it to rise above the surface, about tlie size of a shilling, the criterion by whiah they judged that the process of boiling might be discontinued.

Many makers of both wine and cider have been unconsciously benefited from the acquisi- tion of tartar by their liciuor, it being a frequent practice to tun into an empty foreign wine-cask, whose incvusted sides have supplied their wine or their cider with a portion of that necessary ingredient for perfect vinification.

It is a practice with some to add spices to their mead during the fermentation, such as ginger, cloves, mace, rosemary, lemon-peel, &c. This is bad economy ; a much smaller quan- tity will communicate the required flavor if the addition be made after the fermentation has ceased.

A common beverage is sometimes made, by simply washing the refuse honey-combs in water, after extracting from them as much of the ho- ney as will run, and then boiling it for a few

minutes : this liquor will not require tartar or yeast: it should be tunned as soon as cool, bunged down in three or four days, and drank in a few weeks. In some parts of^ Wales the reJush-combs are brewed with malt, spices, &c., and the produce is called B/aggol, a name de- rived from the old British words brag and gols, the former signifying malt, the latter honeycomb.

Simple hydromel is made either with honey which has become acid, or with honey and acidulated water ; it is not fermented, but used extemporaneously as a summer beverage.

Feburier recommends one part of honey to be mixed with three parts of water, which he says, will begin to ferment in about eighteen days, and throw off lees for six weeks or two months.

A knowledge of the principles of fermenta- tion will enuble the wine-maker to regulate its process. Thus, if a dry wme be desired, and fermentation be suspended, it may be renewed by a restoration of the separated leaven, or the addition of fresh ; or by agitation, and a remix- ture of the lees. It is upon the latter principle, called "-feeding on the lees,^'' that some Ibreigrt wines are improved by long voyages ; but this treatment, so serviceable to Madeira and other Spanish tcines, and also to some of the French wines, would destroy Burgundy ; the high aroma for which this wine is so much prized being obtained at the expense of some of its vinous attributes. If there he an excess of fer- mentation the scientific operator will regulate, check, or suspend it, by skimming, racking, fining. If skimming and racking do not suc- ceed, recourse must be had to fining, which may be effected by isinglass, in the proportion of about an ounce to 100 gallons. The isinglass must be beaten, for a few days, with a whisk in a small quantity of the wine, till completely at- tenuated. This solution must then be well stiired into the cask of wine, which in about a week will become fine, and fit for being racked off. This fining is accomplished by the union of the isinglass with what is called the tannin of the wine. Fining may also be eflected by stumming, i. e. by burning in a close vessel, con- taining a small part of the wine, a brimstone rag, at the rate of a drachm of sulphur to thirty gal- lons ; and when consumed rolling the cask about for a quarter of an hour, that the wine may absorb as much as possible of the sulphuric acid gas. This being done, the cask is to be filled up with the remainder of the wine, and bunged down. In this process the sulphuric acid, or its oxygen, unites with the extractive matter or soluble leaven, which, being thereby rendered insoluble, is precipitated to the bottom, as I before observed. If wines be perfectly fer- mented, they do not require the addition of any brandy, as a sufficiency of spirit is generated during the process.

The best temperature for carrying on a fer- mentation is about 54° Fahrenheit. Its perfec- tion depends iu some degree upon the volume of the liquor ; the larger the quantity, the longer the fermentation will continue, and the stronger and pleasanter will be the wine. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. The peculiai

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

11

exrellonce of cliampagnc would bo dcsfroycd if its fermentation were condiu^ted upon a large scale : it ni;iy be made successfully in a gallon measure. This wine is so managed by the ma- kers as to ferment after bottling.

Dri/ wines and fine wines arc much more durable than any others ; and those that would perish in cask, may be preserved many years by bottlinfj.

These hints will, I hope, enable the makers of home-made wines to conduct the process seientificallv, and to secure generally a success- ful issue. Cookery books and good housewives abound in receipts for wine-making, which are very often fanciful and absurd, recommending the introduction of articles which, in their very natures, counteract the production of good wine. Hence we are sometimes presented with such miserable mawkish stuff, as disgraces the name of wine, being only rendered tolerable by the brandy which has been added to it, and which in some degree covers the crudeness and insi- piditjr of the compound, and moderates its hos- tility to the peace of our stomachs.

Ancient Testimonies in favor of Mead. Mead of the finest ciuality was called Metheg- ]in, a name derived from two Greek words, signifying vinum splendidum : it was the pro- duce of finer honey than Mead, and contained a greater proportion of it to the quantity of wdter. Methcglin was to Mead what Vinum was to Lora ; what prime cider fit for bottling is to common draught cider.

So much was Mead esteemed in Transylvania that Mercaior speaks thus of it: "Qui etiam rerum peritis, Vinum Creticumceu Malvaticum opinantibus facile imponat. "

"Lautiorum tantum mensarum sit, et pri- mates solum bibant," says Ulysses Aldro- vandus.

" Mulsum est vinum utilissimum et stomacho conven entissimum," Lobel and Pictorius.

Mulsum is stated by Dr. Henderson to have been a mixture of wine and honey.

Age was considered as necessary to its ex- cellence : "Vetus sit et rite confectum," says Andreas Mathiolus.

Queen Elizabeth'' s Recipe for Mead. Take of sweet-briar leaves and thyme each one bushel, rosemary half a bushel, bay -leaves one peck. Seethe these ingredients in a fur- nace full of water ; (containing probably not less than 12e gallons) boil for half an hour; pour the whole into a vat, and when cooled to a proper temperature, (about 75° Fahr. ) strain. Add to every six gallons of the strained liquor, a gallon of fine honey, and work the mixture together lor half an hour. Repeat the stirring occasionally for two days ; then boil the liquor afresh, skim it till it becomes clear, and return it to the vat to cool : when redu*ed to a proper temperature (about 80° !) pour it into a vessel from which fresh ale or beer has just been emp- tied : work it for three daj-s, and tun.

When fit to be stopped down, tie up a bag of beaten cloves and mace, (about half an ounce of each) and suspend it in the liquor from the bung-hole. When it has stood for half a year it will be fit for use. — Bevan on Bees.

[From the Bienenzeitung.]

Another Exception.

Mr. Rothe stated in a recent communication to the Bienenzeilunq, that he has observed an instance where a normal queen issued from a side-opening in a royal cell. Permit me to say that a similar exceptional case came under my notice last summer. I placed a queen cell near- ly mature in a queen cage, intending that its inmate should there complete her development. On examining it a few days after, I found a young and apparently perfect queen moving about in the cage. The apex of the cell did not present the circular o])ening usually seen when the newly-hatched queen has emerged. It was still entire, and closed, but there was an open- ing on the side of the cells as if it had been made by workers in the usual manner, though none such could have had access to it, and through this side-opening the queen must have emerged. She subsequently, when liberated, made her hymenial excursion, and was duly fer- tilized.

DISTANT BEE PASTURAGE.

In the course of last summer I had an oppor- tunity to observe the influence which the greater or less distance at Avhich bee pasturage is found, exerts on the population of a hive. "One of my apiaries was located at a place in the immediate vicinity of which there was literally nothing for the bees to gather. The apiary was completely surrounded with grain fields, encompassed by mulberry hedges, neither of which yielded honey. The few and small patches of meadow land in the neighborhood, were poor and marshy, with few flowers furnishing nectar. To obtain supplies sufficient for their subsist- ence, the bees were consequently constrained to fly to a considerable distance. Thus, for in- stance, I noticed about the middle of June that they were passing to and from a chestnut grove then in full blossom, and which was about three miles distant. The weather was warm and somewhat sultry. The queens laid an abund- ance of eggs, and the hives were full of brood. Nevertheless, when examining the hives at eve, after the day's toil was ended, I found only small supplies of honey and a scant population. At first, I was unable to account for this, be- cause judging from the masses of brood seen in. the hives, large numbers of young bees must have been issuing dailj% and the stocks should consequently have been well filled with bees. On reflection, I became convinced that it was the distance to which the bees were constrained to fly to reach their pasturage, that caused the striking paucity of population — a large propor tion of those which went forth in eager quest of honey perished on the way from various mis- haps, and never returned to their native home. I remember that when formerly expressing to older bee-keepers, my apprehensions that bees placed in certain localities would be una- ble to gather stores enough for their own sub- sistence, I was assured that I need give mj'self no concern about the result, because the bees

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

would make their way to great distances. Such Is, no doubt, the fact, but when bees are thus compelled by sheer necessity to uudenake dis- tant excursions, they may possibly manage to " live along," but no profit can be rcalizedlrom their labors. All the gratification which the bee-keeper can hope for in such localities, is the pleasure of seeing his industrious favorites flying out and in very busily, without accumulating a particle of surplus honey ; and in unfavorable years he may have the mortification of seeing them perish from hunger, unless he considerate- ly and seasonably makes provision for their wants. Dr. Blxjmhof.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Questions and Answers.

Questions intdligently and briefly asked, and answers carefully made, based upon actual ex- ferience^ will no doubt add verj^ much to the life and interest of the Bee Journal :

1. As regards straight combs, there can be no doubt but that bees have certain unaccountable vagaries. Langstroth's movable bars, on a level, will not ensure straight combs ; neither will an elevation of 45° have the effect without failures occasionally. Guide frames are too troublesome and disturbing. The writer has found guide combs, or surplus combs from va- rious hives, the surest way. Every other bar with a straight comb will ensure straightness in the others ; but even then, sometimes, if the combs are not all complete, the lower part, or side, will be too thick, at the expense of its neighbors. Infallibility is not yet attained.

2. Eggs and brood of bees and moths can be destroyed hj freezing in an ice house.

3. The third ciuestion is too indefinite. No short or easy road for a novice in bee-keeping. If by " dividing bees " is meant to separate a swarm, then even a novice, by noticing their behaviour, would soon see that where the quetn is there will be comparative quietness and readi- ness to enter the hive prepared for them ; while the others would soon take wing.

If a Jiive is meant or a number of bars, the presence of brood in each portion precludes any one plan by which " a person of ordinary intel- ligence need not search for the queen."

4. Nuclei carried beyond the ordinary flight (say two miles) would raise more queens than one full hive — that is, supposing they are sepa- rated.

5. The fifth is an echo of question No. 1, on page 165. Well, any one can ask questions, and the reason this one has not been replied to be- fore is because, perhaps, the writer is less modest than his apiarian brethren. But we shall ■QOtpYesnme to answer. (Who can?) We only reply.

Will it pay to cultivate any plant expressly for honey ?

We can only say that the fact of keeping bees might very fairly be the turning point with a land-holder, whether he would put a certain field into buckwheat or white clover. Beyond this, it is doubtful if it would pay : even sup- posing he did not feed his neighbor's bees as well as his own.

Which plant is best ?

White clover, most Certainly.

How many acres would keep 100 colonies busy while in bloom ?

One— on the principle that it is with all bees, as with some men : "keep what you get and get what you can."

How 7nany days in average seasons, and how long each day, does it yield honey ?

Give it up.

The other two questions are easily answered, supposing that clover (white) is the only avail- able plant.

*******

Now, Mr. Editor, I would like to ask one question. Have any of your readers ever tried iminting the top of bars and the under part of the honey board— that is, in order to prevent the bees from building comb between ?

Apis.

Burying Bees.

A bee-keeper in the vicinity of Hitchin, in England, buried a hive of bees, in the first week in Movember, about a foot deep, amongst dry leaves, &c., and disinterred it in the last week in February, when it was just tioo pounds lighter than it was in No-vember, and the bees in a lively and heal'hy condition. Another person residing in Leicester, immured a hive of bees in the earth, four feet deep, in the second week in November, and at the end of January, it was removed, and weighed only three ounces less ilian it did before i' was buried.

These experiments are worthy of further consideration. The principal points by which there might be cause for fear of failure, would, as in other cases, be from dampness, want of fresh air, access of vermin, &c. But these might be guarded against by a person of ordi- nary ingenuity. Siill it would be imprudent for any one to risk the loss of an entire apiary bj this mode of wintering, at least not until he had obtained knowledge and skill, by trials on a small scale.

Whek, from any cause, or under any circum- stances, it becomes necessary to feed bees, pure honey is much the best and most suitable food to give them. But if you have not a supply of honey at hand, and cannot procure it, you may form an excellent substitute by boiling ale and sugar together, gently, in a clean and well-tinned vessel, over a clear fire, for about five minutes. One pound and a half of sugar may be added to each quart of ale ; the mixture to be skimmed as the scum rises to the surface during boiling. When the syrup is taken from the fire, add to it about a tcaspoonful of common table-salt for each quart of syrup.

Some people defer feeding until the bees are absolutely in want. This is very wrong. The assistance should be rendered several weeks be- fore the hive is in a state of positive destitution, otherwise, when you feed, the bees will be too weak to avail themselves of your bounty.

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An Inquiry into the Source and Nature of Bees-Wax.

Till within thopp few years it was very gen- erally and impluitly believed, that the veliow matter (in other words, the pollen or tarina of flowers,) which bees visibly eollct t on their thisrhs, is the prime constituent o' wav, tlie ma- terfal of the honey-t omb. Even Swammerdam, Keaunuir and Bonnet were of this opinion. Butler, Purrhas, Resden and Thorley argued against iis identity with wax ; and I trust that the observations and e-xpeiiments which lam about to detail, will convince the dispassionate mciuirer of the fallacy of this old opinion.

In the first place, it is to be observed, that where no more comb can be built, as in old hives, the bees carry in the greatest ciuantily of | this yellow matter. i

Secondly, That it differs materially from wax, the latter when examined between the fingers being adhesive, the former crumbly ; the laiter also liquitying on the application of heat, whiist the foimer burns to ashes.

Thirdly, That the wax of new combs, from ■whatever source collected, is uniformly white ; whereas, the farina, as gathered by the bees, varies in color, being generally yellow or red, agreeing in color with the anther dust of the flowers in blossom at the time of its collection. Moreover, the farina after it has been stored in the cells, retains its original color ; whilst wax, after its residence in the hives, invariably changes, first to a yellow, and lastly to a dark brown. Layers of different-colored farina are generally found in the cells, if slit down ; and every hive, at the season of deprivation, pos- sesses a store of it.

Fourthly, That fresh colonies carry in very little, if any, of this matter, for some days after swarming, though combs arc fornif^d within that period. I noticed this fact in my first colony : the sAvarm issued from the parent hive on the 18th of May— five days of rainy weather suc- ceeded ; during this period the bees were pre- vented from flying abroad ; I fed them nightly with sugared ale, and before the return of fine weather a considerable quantity of comb was formed. Now excepting such materials as the bees might have brought with them from the parent hive, in this case, the sugared ale alone must have been the source of the wax. Huish has remarked that unless bees have access to water, and also to sugar or honey, no comb can be formed. Again, it may be observed, that upon the storilj'ingplan, when fresh works are commenced in the duplets or triplets, if the farina were the basis of the combs, an increased quantity should be carried in. On the contrary, though 1 have watched the bees very minutely on these occasions, I scarcely ever witnessed the introduction of farina ; and in such rare in- stances as I chd observe it, it might fairly be re- garded as food for the young larvae of the bees contained in the full box or boxes.

The observations of Mr. John Hunter tended to confirm this view of the matter ; still more so, those of M. Huber and son. In order to de- termine the point with greater precision, Huber

instituted many experiments. On the 24th of May he lodged a recent swarm in a straAV hive leaving at its disposal only a sufiiciency of ho ney and water tor its consumption, and prevent ing it fiom going beyond the precincts of a room, so closed as to admit only a renewal of the air.* At the end ot five days as many cakes of beautifully while, though very fragile, wax were suspended from the roof, the honey had totally disappeared. Still, however, as there was a possibility that the thighs and .stomachs of the bees might have conveyed pollen from the parent hive, he withdrew these five coinb.s, and leplaced the bees in the hive with a tre-h supply of honey and water ; they renewed their toil with unabated industry, and soon fabricated new combs : these last Avere taken from them ; when the pi^'icnl and indefatigable insects com- menced a third structure of comb. Five times in succession were their works thus comple'ftid and removed, although during the whole of this period they were fed merely with lioney and water, and could not possibly have had access to farina.

These experiments, so uniform in their re^ suits, give indubitable validity to the fact — that lioney, through the organic intervention of bees, may be converted into wax. A contrary ex- periment was made, by abundantly supplying a hive with fruit and pollen only : but during eight days' confinement the bees produced no wax whatever, nor exhibited any plates under their abdominal rings ; no combs were formed, nor was an atom of farina touched — a clear pioof that farina supplies neither wax nor sus- tenance to adult bees. 1 he improbability of this indeed is evinced by its abundance in hives whose tenants have died of famine. And as to its being the constituent of wax, Reaumur cal- culated that a well-stocked hive might collect at least 100 pounds of pollen in a season, whereas the weight of wax fabricated in the same time would not exceed two pounds.

Experiments have proved tlie excellence of sugar as a substitute for honey, and in some in- stances its superiority, for the formation of wax. It might otherwise have been supposed that bees might form comb from some particles of wax accidentally present in the honey, and that these afforded the pabulum for this secretion. To prove, therefore, that the saccharine princi- ple alone enabled the bees to produce wax, being still confined, they were supplied with a syrup made Avith Canary-sugar and water, and at the same time comparative experiments were made in another hive, where the bees were fed on honey and water. The syrup-fed bees produced wax sooner and more abundantly than the ho- ney-fed bees. Another fact was also incontro- vertibly elicited ; namely, that in the old hives the honey is Avarehou.sed, and that in the new ones it is consumed and trasmuted into wax.

The experiments of Huber have been con firmed by those of M. Blondelu, of Noyau, who addressed a memoir upon this subject to the Society of Agriculture at Paris, in May, 1812.

*To prevent the bees from being impatient, it was found necessary to conduct the experiment in a cool place, as well as to exclude the light.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUKNAL.

Huisli has critically examined these exiDcri- ments of Iluber, but without being conviuced b,y tliem ; lor having observed pollen on the thighs ot bees when swarming, and upon dis- section, in their stomachs also, he considers that pollen, elaborated in the second stomach of the bee, "contains in itself the principle of wax " Were this the case what a stoi-e of pol- len must the bees have reserved in Huber's ex- periments, wherein they formed five successive sets of comb, without access to fresh pollen ! The pollen or bee-bread, which Huish discov- ered on the thighs and in the stomach of some of his Ibees, was most likely imported by such of them as being on I he return home at the time their companions were swarming, joined the throng with that freight which was intended for larva-food in the hive. With this pollen (or ambrosia, as it has been called,) after conver- sion into a sort of whitish jelly by the action of the bee's stomach, where it is probably mixed Avith honey, and then regurgitated, the young brood, immediately upon their exclusion from the ova state and until their change into nymphs, are fed by the nursing-bees several times a day. The opinion that pollen is the prime constituent of wax was held by Bulfon, and remains uncon- tradicted in an edition of his works so late as 1821. Arthur Dohbs, Esq., in the Philosophi- cal Transactions for 1753, instead of considering wax as digested pollen discharged from the stomach of the bee, regards it as being emitted per anum ; and as he speaks of its discharge in husks or shells, doubtless he saw it in that form, which it is now known to assume when moulded upon the body of the bee. Indeed he says that he has had swarming bees alight upon his hand, and drop warm wax upon it. Its being secreted only by the under side of the belly might easily deceive, and lead him to regard it as alvine ex- crement. That minute and accurate observer Butler, though evidently not aware of the se- cretory process by which wax is generated, noticed that in fresh swa' ms, the bees came in without any pollen upon tncir thighs, and there- fore supposed the mouth to be the vehicle for conveying it. " When they gather abundance of this stuff," (pollen) " they have never the more wax ; when they make most wax, they gather none of this." Butler even remarked that old stocks gather much pollen, and fresh ones little ; because the stocks have larvae to feed, whilst the swarms have none.

I will here subjoin some more proofs of the nonidentity of wax and pollen. So long ago as 1768, the Lusatian Society (called Societedes AbeiUes, founded at Little Bautzen, a village in Upper Lusatia, under the auspices of the Elec- tor of Saxony,) knew that wax was not dis- chargecl from the mouths of bees, but was se- creted in thin scales among their abdominal rings or segments. About 1774, Mr. Thorley caught a bee just entering its hive, and found, among the plaits of its belly, no less than six pieces or scales of solid wax, perfectly white and transparent, and he oftentimes saw wax in the same situation. M. Duchet, in his Culture des Abeilles, quoted by Wildman in 1778, de- clares that wax is formed of honey ; and relates in proof of it, that he has seen a broken comb

of an overset hive, which was repaired during bad weather, when the bees could not acquire anjf other material. This statement of Duchet corresponds with my own observation, here- tofore made, but is not so conclusive. In Duchet's instance there might have been other materials in the hive besides honey ; whereas in my case the bees had access to no materials whatever, excepting the sugared ale aud the honey which they had conveyed from the parent hive, the swarm having been just hived. But- ler and Wildman state their having seen pieces of wax like fish scales, on the hive fioor of fresh swarmed colonies, part of which, at least, they both thought must have been formed upon the body of the bee ; for though some flakes might have fallen Irom the combs then constructing, there were many pieces among them which were concave on one side and convex on the other, as if moulded on the insect's belly. Flakes were likewise seen hanging loose, be- tween the abdominal scales of the bees. In 179'-^, Mr. John Hunter, apparently unacquainted witli antecedent conjectures, detected the gen- uine reservoir of wa.x under the bee's belly. He considered wax as an external secretion of oil, formed and moulded between the abdominal scales of the insect. Dr. Evans confirms the testimony of Wildman and Hunter. "One or more bees," he remarks, "maybe often seen before the door of the hive, supporting them- selves by their two fore feet, fluttering their wings, and agitating the hind parts of their bodies. They are then evidently moulding the wax between their abdominal scales, the mo- tion of the wings serving to preserve their balance, and as a signal for their companions within to come aud carry off the falling flakes, to the formation of which he was an eye-wit- ness."

To complete the evidence, however, to me so irresistible, in favor of the wax-secreting faculty of the hse'sbody, I observe finally, that in 1798, M. HuLer's observations led him to the same conclusion as Mr. Hunter's, relative to the na- ture of the laminae under the abdominal scales : btit Iluber slumbered not there ; he prosecuted the inquiry more successfully than any preced- ing naturalist, and at length demonstrated the secreting organs which had eluded the scrutiny of Swammerdam, Hunter, andotheracute anat- omists. He found that these laminaj were corr- taiued in distinct receptacles, on each side of the middle process of the scales ; he examined, with great care, the form and structure of these secreting cavities, which are peculiar to work- ing bees. Each working bee has eight of these organs, sacklets or small compartments. Their general shape is an irregular pentagon, and the plates of wax being moulded in them, exhibit accordingly the same form. A perforation of their lining membrane on the side next to the abdomen, started a jet of transparent fluid, which congealed on cooling ; in this state it re- sembled wax, and became again fluid on the application of heat.

Comparative experiments were made with the substance contained in the pouches and with the wax ot fresh combs ; a great similarity between these two substances was discerned ;

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

15

the latter appeared somewhat more oompoiuid, having probably received some additional in- gredient, -while employed as the niiileiial for build'ng. The secreling funcitiou of the mem- brane on (he inner surface ol' ihe^e cavities, was lurther ■yiuced by a more minu'e examination of its strucluie, which (!xhib.ced a number of lo'd ., forming an hexagonal nei work, analogous to the inner coat of the pecond stomach of ru- minating quadrupeds. Iluber does not appear to have known theobservations eilherof Dmhet 01 of Wildman on this subject, although they were made long prior to Mr. Hunter's ; for he quotes only from the latter.

Whenever combs arc wanted, bees fill Iheir crops with honey, and retaining it in them, hang together in a cluster from the top of the hive, and remain apparently in a state of pro- found inactivity, about twenty-four hours. Du- ring this time, the Avax is secreted, and may be Been in lam.nse, under the abdominal scales, whence it is removed by the hind legs of the bee, and transferred to the lore legs ; fiom them it is taken by the jaws, and after being masti- cated, the faijrication of comb commences. In swarms it may, and sometimes does, commence immediately after hiving, tlius affording evi- dence of preparation, and consequently of in- tention to swarm.

" To see the wax-pockets in the hive bee, you must press the abdomen, so as to cause its distention ; you Avill then find, on each of the four intermediate ventral segments, separated by the carina or elevated central part, two tra- pezilorm whitish pockets, of a soft membrana- ceous texture ; on these the laminae of wax are formed indiflferent states, more or less percepti- ble."* Eight scalesare thus produced at ouce, a pair under each ring, except the first and last, which are cojistituled differently from the rest. The size of the scale varies with the diameter of the rings, on which they are moulded ; the larg- est being beneath the third, the smallest under the fifth ring.

" Non labor omnibus idem," says Vaniere.- Messrs. Huber and son have affirmed that the ofiice of collecting honey, lor tlie elaboration of wax, is filled by a particular description of bees or laborers, to which they have given the name of icax-iDo-rk'TS. These bees are susceptible of an increase in size, as is evident from ihe state of their stomachs, when quite full of honey Dissection has shown that their stomachs are more capacious than those of the bees that are differently occupied. Bees not possessed of this expanding stomach, gather no more honey than is necessary to supply the immediate wants of themselves and their companions, with whom they readily share it ; th?y seem formed for re- tirement, and are called nursivgbees,] theirduty being to rear the young, and attend to the in- ternal economy of the hive. The task of stor- ing with piovisions devolves upon the wax- workers, who, when not occupied in the con- struction of comb, disgorge the honey into those

*Kirby and Spence. •fLater observations have sliuwn tliere is really no such rigid divii<iou as wax-workers and nursing-bees, the differeut duties being performed by the same bees in different stages of their existence.

calls which are intended for its reception. By marking the bees, it was lound that ihey never encroac bed upon eaeh other'.-, employment ; this strict adjustment of duly is the more remarka- ble, since the power of producing wax is com- mon both to the nursing and wax working bei'S, a small quantity of wax having been aciually found in the receptacles of the nursing bees. The difference between these bees had probably been observed both by Aristotle and Pliny. That such difference actually exists, is confirmed by the observations of Mr. ISewport on liumble bees ; he witnessed their mode of raising the temperature of their domicile some hours before the perfect maturation of the brood, and found there was a successive change of nurses, as soon as the heat of those in attendance became low- ered by perspiration.

In the foregoing experiments for ascertaining the sources of wax, the bees had borne their confinement without evincing the least impa- tience ; but on another occasion, when shut up with a brood of eggs and larvae, and without pollen, though honey was copiously supplied, they manifested uneasiness and rage at their imprisonment. Fearing the consequence of this state of tumult being prolonged, Huber allowed them to escape in the evening, when too late to collect provisions ; the bees soon returned home. At the end of five days, during which this ex- periment was tried, the hive was examined : the larvaj had perished, and the jelly that sur- rounded them on their introduction into the hive had disappeared. The same bees were then supplied with fresh brood, together with some comb containing pollen ; very different indeed was their behaviour with this outfit ; they eagerly seized the pollen and conveyed it to the young; order and prosperity were re-established in the colony ; the larvae underwent the usual transformations ; royal cells were completed and closed with wax, and the bees showed no de- sire to quit their habitation. These experi- ments aflord indisputable evidence of the ori- gin of wax, and the destination of pollen. But- ler observed that there was a great increase in the members of the hive, after pollen was car- ried m, which he supposed rendered the queen prolific.

Though the wax of honey and brood-comb is an original secretion fiom the body of the bee, wax is also considered by some as a vegetable substance existing abundantly in nature. Ac- cording to Proust, it tonus the silvery down ou the leaves, flowers and fruit of many plants, and resides likewise in the feculae of others.

Dr. Darwin, in his Plujtologia, supposes that wax is secreted to glaze ovi r the lecundating dust of the anthers, and prevent its premature explosion from excessive moisture : to an un- seasonable dispersionof anther-dust he ascribes the failure of orchard and corn crops in sum- mers of extreme humidity. The wax tree of Louisiana. Myrica cerifcra^ contains iminen-e quantities of wax. In this respect theie ap- pears an identity betwixt animal and vigeta- ble secretion, which may be viewed as indica- tive of simplicity in the structure of the bee : a still simpler organization exists in the aphis, which extracts the saccharine juices from the

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

leaves and bark of trees, and expels them again nearly unchanged. — Bevan.

[From the Maine Farmer ]

Popular Whims.

Messrs. Editors : — You are men of sound judgment and if perfectly agreeable to you I would like to have the benefit of your opinion, in regard to some of the "wliims" and peculiar ideas so prevalent among some classes of peo- ple, and particular!}^ among farmers. Kow, I will not insult your inieiligenee by asking if you believe in any sucli ihmg as "killing hogs," "planiugpeas," &c., on the "full of the moon," or that most ab'^urd of all absurdities, putting an odd number of eggs under a lien so that she may be more successful iu bringing forth her brood ; but tliere is an idea iu regard to bees that perliaps admits of an argument. It is said that bees will not do well when kept by a fam- ily where they have "broils," and also if any one of the family dies and tlie hive is not " dres- sed in mourning" the bees will leave. Kow let me give a tew cases that have come under my observation. A family — where they kept bees — was called to part witli a loved one. The funeral ceremony was over and the pro- cession started from the house, and had gone but a few rods when they saw the bees loUow- iug them, they stopped, went and dressed the hive in mourning and the bees returned. Another case was this : A family received the sad news that their son was killed in battle. In a short time (I do not know the exact num- ber of minuies) there was a stir among tlie bees, and they were preparing to leave. The hive was appropriately decked, and they re- sumed their labor perfectly contented. In another instance, a young man died. The fu- nercM took place at the house, after which the body was carried away twenty-five or thirty miles, no procession following. No action was taken in reg-ard to the bees, and strange to say, they did not suspend operations ; and the reason assigned was tliat no procession was formed. In the same family, the husband died, and the bee-house was not decorated, and of course the bees refused to work. The wife went out near the hive and said, "your master is dead; now you must work forme." They immediately went to tlieir work as busily as before.

Now, that these little creatures have a high degree of intellect, we do not doubt ; while as to architecture they have a knowledge that a master workman might envy ; yet I pray you tell me, how can they know whether a family is happy or not? We cannot surely charge them witli being eavesdroppers — they are too industrious for that— and I hardly think they are possessed of tlie faculty of reading faces, and iu that way find out the family aff'airs. Or can you believe that they know if I receive bad news V And can we suppose, that we may con verse with them, or rather to them ? What I have related are simple facts, and there is an air of mystery about it, that I cannot fathom ; yet I do not, can not, believe the general idea

in regard to them. Please give your opinion and oblige. C. B. M.

Upper Stillwater, May 27, 1867.

Note. 1— We have so often given our opinion concerning the so called influence of the moon upon vegetation, the boiling of meat, the decay or preservation of timber, &c., that it seems hardly wonh while to repeat it. However, to satisfy o ir correspondent we will say briefly that we do not believe in any such influence. The light of the sun flashes ninety five mil- lions of miles and strikes upon the moon, shining upon it equally all the time. A part ot the time we upon this planet see the shade, and apart of the time the reflection of the sun's light But why this faint shadow, more than two hundred thousand miles off has any more to do with the growth of pea vines, the shrink- ing of meat boiled in a pot, or the decay or preservation of timber, than the barking of a dog in China has on the churning of cream in Nova Scotia, we acknowledge ourselves too ig- norant to perceive.

2 — The superstitions regarding bees, are quite as familiar, and some of them seem certainly mysterious. Quinby in his book about bees has not a word to say about the matter, though he cou d not have been ignorant of the reports of similar occurrences to those mentioned by our correspondent. Langstroth devotes half a page to what he terms superstitions about bees, mentioning a number of incidents like those just related by our correspondent. One of them is as follows: "A clergyman told me that he attended a funeral, where as soon as the coftin was brought from the house, the bees gathered upon it so as to excite much alarm. Some years after this occurrence, being engaged in var- nishing a table, the bees alighted upon it in such numbers, as to convince him, that love of var- nish, rather than sorrow or respect for the dead, was the occasion of their conduct at the fu- neral." We leave this ma«tter at present, with the remark wbich Mr. Langstroth makes in his book, "The Hive and the Honey Bee," after relating the above instance: "How many su- perstitions, believed even by intelligent per- sons, might be easily explained, if it were pos- sible to ascertain as fully all the facts connected with them !" — Editors Maine Farmer.

A HIVE should contain at least twenty pounds of honey for its support during winter; but it is a mistake to suppose that an increase of number in the hive, produced by ^ln^on, will require aji increased supply of food. In fact, precisely the contrary is the case ; and the more abundant the stock of bees in autumn, the richer and the better able to work will they be in tlie spring — the more forward, theretbre, will they be in summer, and the greater will be your profits. — Richardson.

Honey may be clarified by placing the ves- sels containing it in hot water, and continuing to skim as long as any scum arises. In order to preserve honey, it should be stored in jarg, well bladdered and otherwise secured; and kept in a dry place.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

1.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, JULY, 18G7.

III^~ The Amekican Bee Journal is now published montlily, in the City of Washington, (D. C.,) at $2 per annum. All connnunications should be addressed to the Editor, at tliat place.

The third volume of the American Bee Journal, of which this is tlie first number, we are gratified to believe, commences under more favorable auspices than either of its predeces- sors. There have been considerable accessions to our subscription list within the last two weeks, and a warm interest manifested for the success and permanent establishment of the paper. This is encouraging, and shall be met by correspond- ing efforts on our part. We have arranged to receive an additional number of foreign period- icals and publications, and shall thus have in- creased facilities for furnishing our readers with early information of whatever improvements or advances in practical bee culture are made abroad.

In an essay on '■^ American FruW'' by Dr. Porsch, General Secretary of the Horticultural Society of Bavaria, published in the Frauen- dorfer Blatter in June, 1848, it is alleged that " the first hive of honey bees that was carried to North America, came from Germany." The authority on which tliis statement was made, is not given ; but we shall endeavor to ascertain it.

Melilot Clover. This plant is strongly recommended for b<?e pasturage, in this number of the Bee Journal, by one of our correspondents ; and the last number received of the Bienenzeitung contains a communication from Mr. F. Bahr, of Saxouy, which gives it a high character, both as a ho- ney-yielding and a forage plant. If it combines the two qualities it may receive favorable atten- tion in this country from farmers residing where soil and climate are suited to its growth. It is not to be expected that any crop will be exten- sively cultivated here merely for bee-feeding purposes. In good soils, some substitute for red clover is needed, which, in addition to the nutritious and ameliorating properties of that crop, shall furnish supplies of honey available to the bee, and offer besides some special ad- vantages which may cause it to be selected in preference. In some localities Alsike or Savc- dish clover, it is thought, will be found to an- swer this purpose. In others, perhaps, Melilot

clover may prove available. In poorer lands and sandy districts, moreover, some plant is re- quired which shall there supply the means of improving the soil, furnish forage for stock, and yield honey for the bees. In such districts in Germany, a plant called Serradella (Orni/h"pus sativa) has been introduced from Spain, and is successfully cultivated. There is much thin and sandy land in thiscountrj^ especially along the seaboard of the Southern States, where this plant might prove to be, in all respects, a high- ly valuable acquisition.

For the American Bee Journal,

Bees, and Allen's New Patent Hive.

This is an age of utility and improvement, especially in material things. Contrasting the state of the world fifty years ago, with its pres- ent advanced position, we are struck by its rapid progress in the useful arts. Inventions of all kinds in every department of labor, inven- tions many of which greatly facilitate work and shorten the time of its perlormance, are the order of the day, and all the various branches of industry are constantly receiving new im- petus and fresh acquisitions from increased me- chanical skill. This is as it should be. Progress is a necessity of our nature, a requirement of our condition, by which our energies find t m- ployment and our wants are supplied ; and he who tlius tries and succeeds, is a public bene- factor. The man who causes two spears of grass to spring up where but one grew before, or saves lime and hand work in the perlorm- ance of labor, or increases usetul productions of any kind, deservas the gratitude and thanks of his fellows. But if any such improvement is deserving of credit and reward, much more is that which is the best of its kind, which is not only an advantage to the world, but the greatest benefit of whioh the subject is suscep- tible or at least has hitherto received. These thoughts were forcibly suggested the other day by an examination of Mr. T. R Allen's model for a new hive, truly called " The Home."

The cultivation and improvement of bees with reference to the production of honej', is an old and honorable occupation which has done much to sweeten the acidity of life. Honey has always been taken as the tj-pe of sweetness for the taste, and has even been sup- posed to clear the intellect. "Butter and honey sha'l he eat that he maj'' know how to refuse the evil and choose the good." It is said of Sophocles, a Greek writer of great sweetness, that the bees settled on his lips in the cradle. Virgil devoted a whole book of the Georgics to an accurate and minute description of bees, their habits and right mauag<meut as practiced in his time, showing that tlie ancieuis highly appreciaied the importance of this httie insect in contributing to their wants and i njoymcnts. And the moderns have improved in this case, as in almost all others, upon the old models, having studied the bee with close inspection

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THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL.

and rigid tlioroughness ; stimulated thereto not on]y by the gratitication of the palate, but also by pecuniary advantage, since the making of lionej^ is highly profitable.

Next to a due supply of food, the home of the bee is of greatest importance. This should be so constructed as to fultil two main indications; the one, that it be suited to the insect's just requirements of labor and rest, and really be a snug and comfortable home in which it may live well and work comfortably ; and the otlier, that the apiarian should have easy, safe and quick means of performing all his opera- tions.

"While the hives in common use — Langstroth's and others — fulfil to some extent these condi- tions, that of Mr. Allen, combining as it does, their advantages, and leaving out their defects, as well as presenting some new features of its own, may claim as we think with justice, a clear pre-eminence.

"Without stopping to describe all its good points, or dwell upon any, we will merely indicate two new and important additions possessed exclu- sively by this hive.

These are first, an entire movable outside, capable of easy and safe removal and replace- ment. On all other hives this is a permanent part of the hive, except indeed, the top or cover. The advantages of Mr. Allen's plan are that the whole interior of the hive is better exposed to the view and manipulations of the apiarian, and less disturbance of the swaim by blows or motion of any kind.

But perhaps the most important improvement consists in the frame work and frames. The frame work (best made of cast iron) is so con- structed b}^ means of bevels or hinges at the top, and sacks at the bottom, that the frames are securely fixed at proper equal distances from each other, while they may be easily withdrawn through each side, instead of being lifted out as is The case in other hives. But we are running on at length, induced by the se- ductioh of the subject, and will close by inviting ail interested in bee-culture to call at No. 182, E. R. R. Streets and examine Mr. Allen's model. If such are not repaid for their time and trouble, we shall be much disappointed.

Wm. a. Bennett. Syracuse, May, 18G7.

Age will cause hives to weigh heavier than their legilimate contents would call for. This is caused by an accumulation of Jcefirmt?, or pollen, in the cells, and also of the cast slough which for- merly served as envelopes for the young. In the case of old hive, therefore, an allowance of from two to five pounds must be made for these matters, according to age, when endeavoring to estimate the honey contents of the combs.

Snails and slugs are not to be classed among the true enrniii s of bees, as they have no de- sign upon them or their honey in entering the hive, but mereiy do so trom accident. The mischief done by them consists in the alarm and confusion they occasion.

Facts about the Honey Bee.

EXTKACTED AND TRANSLATED FROM DR. ED,

ASSMUSS.

When a hive swarms, the young bee colony generally gather together, before going farther, in the vicinity of the parent hive, in order to rally and to rest, as they are heavy with the honey taken along for the voyage. The place for this is chosen by the workers, not by the queen, as was formerly generally believed, and is mostly a densely leaved low shrub or tree, of which more hereafter. It occurs but seldom that the colony does not gather in this way, but files off at once.

Sending out Eeconnoitrers. — When the colony has rested in this way for a time, they despatch a few workers, reconnoitrers or cjuartermaslers so to say, who search for a new habitation, and, when they have found one, guide and direct the colony to it. Sometimes the new habita- tion is selected already while the intended col- ony still remain for a time in the parent hive ; this is done especially by first swarms.

Clustering in the ww Habitation and the first Occupations. — The swarm on entering the new habitation, suspends itself from the top or ceil- ing in the shape ot a cluster of grapes, which is formed by a great number of garlands crossing each other in all directions, each containing a greater or lesser number of bees according to the size of the garlands ; these are formed by the first two bees clinging with their forelegs to the ceiling of the hive, the next two with their fore-legs to the hind legs of the two first ones, and so forth. Their first occupations are — to cleanse the habitation, to make wax for building material, to reconnoitre the new environs in order to fly out safely after forage. These are the only occupations for the first two or three days.

lieconnoitering, Circle of FligJit, and Eyes of the Bee. — The bees reconnoitre by describing a small circle around the hive, which grows, lar- ger and larger, and they do not fly off until the hive, its location and environs are thoroughly noticed. The circle of flight of the bees has, according to recent careful observations, a ra- dius of half a German mile (equal to 2^ English miles.) This remarkable and extraordinary ability of the bee to find her way is owing to her five eyes. Two of these stand on the side of the head, arc large kidney-shaped, and com- posed of many thousand of hexagonal convex facets adjoining each other, like the meshes of a net, each facet representing a separate eye, and which are divided by a few single hairs. Because of this construction, they are called composite, faceted, or net eyes. Those of the male are larger, and touch each other, as men- tioned before, on the top of the head ; the fa- cets are also larger than those of the queen and the workers. The other three eyes consist of a single hemispherical horny skin, like three littje knobs standing in the form of a triangle, the apex forward, the base behind. As men- tioned boiore, these eyes the males have on V\(i forehead, the queen and the workers on the top of the head. All these eyes are provided with

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nerves from the two nerve centres of the head Avhich m:i3' bo designated ns the brain of the bee. The ej'cs are constructed onlj' for seeing in the daytime ; in the dark the bees are blind.

CIiCiurUuj and Preparlhr/ the Habitation. — This consists in the -woilicrs biting off all iin- eveu or protruding parts, as splinters of wood, pieces ol straw, etc , and is done by means of their strong mandibles. In most cases tiiese gnawed olf i)arts are thrown from above to the tioltoin of the hive; and only later, when the bees have made more progress with their struc- ture, do the}' cleanse out the bottom. Some of it, however, is carried out at the time it is gnaAved off.

The Production of Wax. — At the same time "witli the cleansing of the habitation commences the i)roduction ot wax. The Avax is a secretion of tin; bod^' of the bee, and is formed only when the bee is riclily provided with food, like fat in the higher animals but with this difference that while fat grows upon the animals without their knowing it, the productinn of wax is entirely optional with the bee. It is fully within the power of the bee to make wax or not to make any. In order to produce wax, the worker-bee takes in cousidei ably more pollen and honey both of which constitute their Ibod, than is ne- cessary to appease her hunger, lu the chyle- stomach or stomach proper, these materials are first transfarmed by a partial digestion into food, sap, or jelly, which lias been mentioned already as the food of the drones and the queen, and this is alter twenty-four hours thoroughly digested and passes into the blood, from which it is secreted as wax, in the form of thin, irreg- ular pentagonal white Hakes, looking like se- leuite, between the segments of the abdomen through the thin wax skin of the bee into a separate apparatus.

The Wax- Secreting Apparatus is on the lower side of the abdomen, and is Ibrmed of the four inner segments out of the six ; these four inner segments consist of two parts, the interior being a thin, soft, translucent skin or mem- brane, the posterior a harder, darlvcr skin, cov- ered on the outside with hair , the first or scjft part is surrounded by a horny rim, with a point on each side. Through the centre of the wax-se- creting apparatus runs a horny partition, di- viding it into two equal parts, whereby these four wax secreting segments form eight super- ficies, wliich, as the apparatus is oval, are lar- ger in the middle, at the third segment and smaller towards both ends. In shape, these superficies form irregular pentagons. The hor- ny rims of the wa.x skins or membranes are connected by a delicate membrane with the next segment, and the wax skin itself is drawn back under the hard outer skin, so that the eight superficies form four pairs of pockets, into which the wax substance penetrates through the wax skin or membrane, and receives the shape and size of the respective superficies.

As soon as the secretion of wax lias commen- ced, the bees begin at once to use the wax flakes for the construction of comb. This comb building always has its beginning at the ceiling of the hive, in the centre of the cluster of bees.

For the American Bee JourHal.

Ptirity of Italian Bees, and other Matter.

Mr. Editor : There is so much said and writ- ten about the purity of Italian bees that a per- son who reads your Journal and would wish to procure these bees in their native purity, must either be greatly puzxled to know in what th s purity consists, or blindly believe that any- thing in the shape of a bee, diflereutly colored from the black, is pure, provided it cost him ten or twenty dollars, and he has obtained it from a person that can blow his horn the loud- est. The aspersions and inuendos tlirowu out by certain pedlers in this commodity, and the ignorance and conceit exhibited by others who poke themselves before the unsuspecting good people, as their quasi judges and teachers in apiculture, are, indeed, to me at least, very re- freshing. The way they prepare tor a success- ful sale, is all that could be desired in their favor, and the cash they covet induces them to pave the road to success with innumerable stumbling blocks. One seems to think that be- cause he has written a book on bees, the good people take what he says as a matter of the ut- most reliability. To make assurance doubly sure he informs his correspondents that : "If the workers of any queen do not show distinct- ly the yellow band, she is considered impure by the best apiarists, and should not be expected to breed pure queens ; * >^ * and that it will probably appear that some which show the three rings distiuctly when the abdomen is filled with honey or otherwise distended, will often show but one distiuctly v/hen it is empty or contracted, as is evident from workers tuat 7ie has raised from a tested queen procured of Mr. Laugstroth." This gentleman, and another like him, to form the pluralitji, are evidently and obviously figured here as tUe best apiarists ; but to my certain knowledge, the best apiarians always speak of three yellow ringSy and so does Mr. LaUg,stroth.

Another is greatly pleased when he can raise and represent in wood cuts, and recommend by circular aud otherwise, big and beautifully ydlow Italian queens. This person is honest enough, and would of a certainty pick the only hybrid queen from a dozen pure ones, as he has evidently never seen a pure one in his life. A third thinks his tested Laugstroth queen pro- duces black c^ueens, when either the original pure one was killed off at its introduction, or Mr. Malapertus neglected to destroy the queen cells a week or so after its introduction, and the top swarm, with the Laugstroth c^ueen, fiew to the woods, while its owner finds, by liis afterswarm, that Mr. Langstroth's tested queen produces black queens.

A fourth still goes one step further, and by impliciteiy adverti.>iing Italian queens for sale, informs the good people at the same time, witli an assurance most persuading, that he bought three queens from Mr. Laugstroth, one of which he tested lor breeding, and raised three splendid yellow ones. And here let me add, sir, that these three splendid yellow ones, however like they may be to any in his apiary, are, notwith-

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standing, according to my experience, not at all pure, for the very reason that pure Italian queens are not like hybrids sjjlendid, nor like hybrids yelloio, but brown, with a black dot or two upon the body.

Now, if either Mr. Quinby, or Mrs. Tupper, or Mr. Grimm, or Mr. Flanders, or Mr. any- body else knows of no better and more reliable test of purity than what they advance by paper cuts or yellow bedabbled wood cuts, in your Journal or otherwise, I would here as publicly as they advertise, ja-t most respectfully, suggest that ntither and none of them have any pure Italian queens, no matter from what source they may have obtained them, and no matter whether their workers have, like Mr. Quinby's one yellow band, or like Mr. Langstroth's iJiree yellow rings. And now, I shall proceed to state what, in my humble opinion, constitutes the only true and exclusively reliable test of purity in Italian queens, to wit : Impeccability of tem- per in their worker progeny, in addition to the distinctive tliree yellow bands by which they are known in Italy and Switzerland. Tut ! Tut ! Gentlemen, I have no queens for sale, nor would I sell a pure queen for less than twenty or thirty dollars, if I had a tested one to spare. I have raised sixteen flying ones and none impure ; nor have I any Italian bees that will sting, or need sugar water or smoke, or bee charm, to keep them quiet. When I open the hives, those that are between the frames and honey-board will range themselves, " rank and file," with their heads even with the top bar of the frames, and there look at me as if to say : How do j'ou do, sir ? None will leave the comb without shaking, and hardly then, and in the comb-ical tenacity, I discover another comparative and tolerably sure test of purity. The one-banded Italian bees (?) that by the slightest twitch of a nerve, drop from the comb like so many ker- nals of hybridized corn, are not any nioie pure than those kicking, long-eared, tufty-tailed, dis- syllabic ponies (?) are pure horses — both are " an abomination unto the Lord " — an abuse of nature and a curse in a quiet homestead. I have repeatedly, with one naked hand, brushed my bees from the alighting-board into the other, and thrown them, by permission of visitors to my apiary, into their naked faces, or my own, without a single sting. I have come across them in my pant's pockets, in my trowserloons, and in my bed, without a single sting. I have spit among them, dropped the burning embers from my cigar among them, and dropped the bees themselves alive upon my tungue without a single sting. I actually sat down, in a pair of linen pants, upon the frames, by mistaking the open for a closed hive, during conversation with a friend, and thus broke down the whole fabric without one single sting. With my bees the original report of their inability to siing is strikingly verified ; hence I must conclude that my bees are the pure Italian bees, yet their mothers are neither splendid, nor yelloic, nor yet black, but dark brown, with a very diminu- tive black dot or two upon their posteriors, yet withal much smaller ihaio. genuine hybrids queens and very handsome.

Now, gentlemen, I have queens from twoi different sources; the first from Rev. L. L. Langstroth & Sou, and the others from a Swiss cousin who imported them by my request (not expressly) from his own yard, where he assures me they were raised without especial care or attention. Both Langstroth's and the other queens have so far invariably produced mothers and workers so nearly alike in color, shape, and disposition, that a good judge might readily mistake one for the other. Of Mr. Langstroth's queen I have just raised the third generation as to mother from mother, and all, without one single exception, have turned out pure. Of the Swiss, I have only the first generation tested, and trust their progeny may prove as pure and give me as much satisfaction as their progeni- tors.

Raise more drones, gentlemen, raise fewer queens, test them with a view to impeccability of temper, and distinctive coloring exclusively, and when you sell, charge bigger prices, and you will give bigger satisfaction.

I am, gentlemen, respectfully and disinterest- edly, yours,

Prop. F. Varro, A. M.

Canton, Penna., June 15, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal ]

I fully concur with M. S., of New Salem, Ohio, in the remark concerning smoke. I have fully proved the smoke of wood to be quite suf- ficient for all purposes. But a simpler plan of using it than that given by M. S., is to split j^our rotten wood into pieces of from four to six inches long and say about an inch in thickness ; though size or shape is of no great consequence in practice. Then light one end, hold it by the other, and blow the smoke among the bees. All the smoke pipes in the world sink into ins'g- nificence compared with it. Try it and I am sure you will use nothing else. But when rot- ten wood is not convenient, a few chips put in a common tin pie jpau and a coal laid on them, will answer. J. H. Thojias.

BilOOKLIN, C. W.

Liberian Honey Bee.

In a barrel of molasses brought over by the American Colonization Society's ship Golcon- da, on her last voyage, were a great number of honey bees. Being struck by their bright col- ors, 1 took several specimens home, and after cleaning them, their markings were very striking. On the back part of the thorax there is a yellow crescent, the rest of the thorax being very black. The first three rings of the abdomen are yellow, like those of the Italians. The othes rings are black, with white borders, so that the general effect is very beautiful.

The bee is somewhat 'smaller than the black and Italian varieties.

d. m. worthikgton.

Elkridge, Md., June 6, 1867.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Voi,. III.

A.XJOXJST, iser.

No. 2.

[ ^W The agency of bees in the fertilization of blossoms has recently attracted much atten- tion, and has been largely discussed particular- ly among bee-keepers. It is manifest that crude and erroneous views respecting it are pre- valent even among people in other respects highly intelligent. With the design to aid in correcting some of these, we copy the follow- ing interesting article from a late number of that able and useful periodical, the American Naturalist, issued monthly at Salem (Mass.) — a publication deserving of eflScient and liberal patronage from the lovers of natural science in all parts of the country] :

Agency of Insects in Fertilizing Plants.

BY W. J. BEAL.

Mr. Charles Darwin and other botanists have proved beyond a doubt, that some flowers, in which the pollen may easily gain access to the stigma of the same flower, are sterile unless fertilized by pollen borne from -other flowers, while many are much more productive by a cross fertilization.

For information concerning the peculiar manner in which fertilization is efiTected in the Balsam, Wood-Sorrcll, Violets, Dicentra or Dielytra, Corydalis, Mitchella or Partridge- berry, Oldenlandia or Houstonia, Primrose, Barberry, Lysimachia or Loosestrife, Orchids, Dutchman's Pipe, and others , consult the ob- servations recorded by Mr. J. T. Kothrock in the second number of the Kaluralist,'itlx. Dar- win's work on the "Fertilization of Orchids," and seven articles by Dr. A. Gray in the American Agriculturist, beginning in May, 18G6.

With the fact that insects are necessary to fertilize some plants, and the theory that all are improved bj- crossing, let us see how Ihi.-; is ac- complished in plants which may not seem to reciuire the aid of the wind or insects. Plants are very rarely found in which the pollen may not, occasionally at least, get to the etigma of

another flower of the same, or an allied species. Then if the pollen is "prepotent" or most efiec- tive on stigmas when thus transferred, a cross is very sure to result, even though much pollen comes in contact with the stigma of the same flower. Dr. Gray, acquainted with the facts, and familiar with the structure of the Iris, saw that insects must be needed for the fertilization of this plant also, and without seeing the bees upon them, shrewdly pointed out the manner in which they must carry the pollen from one flower to another. We verified his theory by observations made two years ago, and found it to be true in the essential particulars.

Without giving a scientific description of the flower, it is enough for our present purpose to say, that the parts consist of three curved tubes, each just about large enough to admit a common honey-bee, being a trifle larger than a cell in her comb.

There is a showy crest, or attractive platform, projecting at the other end of each tube upon which the bee first alights. When going into the flower for the first time during the day, she is free from pollen. She brushes against a lid which hangs from above, not unlike an old- fashioned swinging door of a cat-hole, as some- times seen about barns or corn-cribs. When farther in beyond the lid, she comes against the anther, which only discharges pollen on the side next to the bee's back. After getting what nectar she can at the lower end of the tube, she backs out again, pushing the trap door in the opposite direction. The outside of this door is the only part of the stigma upon which the pollen will produce any eflect, so upon visiting the first tube no pollen adheres to the sensi- tive side of the stigma, although the bee leaves the place with her back well pow- dered. Calling at another tube, she divesinas before, this time dusting the outside of the lid with pollen which was brought from the tube first visited.

In the early part of June, I examined the common Blue Flag {Iris versicolor Linn.) at diflcreul times during the day, and always suc- ceeded in seeing the bees at work while their heads and backs contained an abundance of pollen. In wilted flowers, and in some that

22

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

■were fresli, I saw bees occasionally get in and out at the side of the tube, without touching the stigma at all. Sometimes they went in the tube as first described, and then slipped out at the side instead of backing out. Several went on top of the flower and tried to find other ways to get at the sweets below, but in every instance they failed, and sooa left that position.

At the Botanical Garden, Cambridge, Mass., I noticed bees on several foreign species of Iris, in some of which, as Iris pseudocarus of South- ern Europe, the tube is more nearly perfect, so that it is impossible for them to find a side en- trance or egress.

The corolla of Andromedctr floribunda Pursh, is nearly urn-shaped, hanging with the open end or entrance down. The ten long anthers open at the apex by two round holes, and each anther is supplied with two horizontal or re- flexed awns on the outside next the corolla. Bees in abundance visit the flowers, thrusting their long tongue or proboscis against the awns or horns of the anther, as they reach in for nec- tar which is secreted farther on. By hitting the awns the anthers are disturbed, and the holes brought close against some part of the bee's probocis, which is well sprinkled over with pollen, as well as the other mouth parts hang- ing below the flower. Bees were examined, and found to have the parts mentioned covered with the four-grained pollen which is peculiar to a few plants.

I cannot see how pollen alights on the stigmas of this plant, for in falling out in the natural way it must pass by to the ground. But the in- sect puts the material in place every time as efi"ectually as a mason can stick mortar on the ceiling of a room. The Blueberry ( Vacciriium) is similar in structure to the Andromeda^ except that the awns are wanting. Probably most flowers which droop or hang down are fertilized by insects. For otherwise, how can the pollen find the tip of stigma, when the style is sus- pended ?

The mode of fertilization in the American Laurel {Kalmia) has already been well de- scribed in the Naturalist^ but I may be excused for adding my testimony concerning this beau- tiful and interesting plant.

When the anthers are liberated from the

pockets in the corolla, the stamens suddenly

. straighten and throw jets of pollen often for a

foot or more, ''acting," as Professor Gray

used to say, "like the boy's pea-shooter."

Many times when the dew was on, I have seen the common honey-bee and other Hymen- optera about these flowers. When the bee alights on a flower, the style comes up between the legs where they join the body, or sometimes farther back against the abdomen.

In this position they turn around, as though they were balanced on a pivot, generally in- serting the tongue outside of the filament, and, while doing this, pull the stamens with their legs toward the centre of the flower, releasing them and freqiiently receiving the shots of pollen on their own body. A single visit from an insect is sufficient to release all the anthers. By noon it was a diflicult matter to find a flower "Which had not been visited in this way. Insects

seem to be absolutely necessary for the perfect fertilization of Kalniia angustifoUa and K. lati- folia, for I tied small nets over some flower- clusters, {corymbs^) and found that when the bees were kept away, the flowers withered and fell off, most of the anthers still remaining in the pockets, and the filaments so decayed thattheir elasticity was entirely gone. The very few an- thers thus liberated were probably brought out by the shaking of the bushes by the wind.

Considerable pollen was found stuck on the corollas by the nectar, which was uncommonly abundant, as no insects of much size were al- lowed to remove it. The wind might have car- ried some of this pollen to other flowers, or it might have dripped from those above to flowers below in drops of water, (there were two showers during these experiments); but I infer this was not the case in the examples mentioned, because the flowers, especially the stigmas, re- mained fresh much longer than those which were left exposed to the visits of insects.

The flowers of several Honeysuckles, of the Mustard Family, (Gruciferoi), of the Bladder- nut {Stapliylea trifolia L.) were noticed, and in each case the conclusion reached was, that the chances are better for cross fertilization than otherwise.

The long cylindrical, bell-shaped corollas of the Purple Foxglove {Digitalis purpurea) are much visited by bees. The flowers are mostly obliquely suspended, and in all thus situated, the stamens and style are close to the upper side of the corolla. The insects alight at the opening of the corolla, on the side opposite the stamens. This is generally the lower side as the flowers hang, then reaching above, they catch hold of the style and stamens, and crawl in with the back down, brushing the whole length of the underside of the body, first against the stigma, and farther on, against the anthers.

They seem unable to get into the flower with- out catching hold of the stamens, and it is often with considerable difiiculty that they enter at all, for they are obliged to hold on to the edge with the hind legs until they can catch the stamens with their fore legs.

In the Evening Primrose ( Oenothera 0,auca Michx., Oe. Missouriemis and linearis Michx.) the stigmas project beyond the anthers, and the flowers vary from an erect to a horizontal posi- tion. There are four large stigmas for each style, spreading in the form of a Greek cross.

The pollen, slightly held together by delicate threads, is collected in the morning by great numbers of small wasps, about two-thirds the size of honey-bees. I have often watched them while coming down on, or just over, the stig- mas, leaving pollen as they went in, and after collecting what they could, fly out at the side without touching the stigma. On one of these plants, at two difl'erent times, a wasp was eager- ly trying to pick up the pollen which had been left on the stigmas ; the more they tried to col- lect, the more they scattered pollen about on the glutinous surface, until, as if discouraged or disgusted, they rapidly cleaned their legs of all the tangled mass, and flew aM^ay, leaving that cluster of flowers entirely.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

23

111 the flowers of the Pen, False ludiijo, Yel- low-wood, (C'/ad(i<riit,) Ked-bud or Judas-tree, lied and White Clover, Locust, and others of lliis large and important family, (Legu7ninof(V,) anthers surround the stigma, and are closely covered b}^ the corolla. Tliis certainly looks like a very clear case of self-fertilization, but I doubt not the reverse is very often the case. Many of the flowers as the Pea and Locust, have one petal much larger than the rest, called the standard iKiuner. Opposite this is another part composed of two petals sometimes united, termed the keel. On this keel bees uniformly ulight, and crowd the head dowu next to the banner-petal. To enable them to do this, they kick the keel and {<idc petals (wings) with their hind legs, and push them back so that the an- thers and stigmas come out from their conceal- ment and meet the underside of the insect where pollen may be left or received. Why the style should be uniformly curved upward, and all sliould be brought against the abdomen of in- sects, I cannot well conceive, unless it be of some use to the plant.

Lupine, another species in this family, has a remarkably long keel which makes a close sheath for the inside parts. On the style, just below the extremity, is a circle of long stiff bristles. As the keel is pushed down, only the stigma, with the bristles below, appears outside, and this pushes out a mass of pollen which gen- erally hits some part of the insect. When left, the flower resumes its former position again.

For about six times pollen can be i:)ushed out in this way, when the supply becomes exhausted. Insects begin on the lowest flowers, and so go up the spike to others which are higher and younger. No experiments have been made on Lupine to show whether it will produce more seeds when visited by insects than when pro- tected.

— ^

Bee-keeping and bee management are in common with agriculture and the proper treat- ment of soils, yet in their infancy. But the time is probably not far distant when hundreds of colonies will be kept on improved systems in many districts w^here dozens of them cannot at present be found.

It is conceded that those localities which are suited to the cultivation of white clover and buckwheat, are also suited to the production of honey, and that where a poppy will prosper, a bee will prosper also : consequently there are few situations where bee-keeping might not be successfully prosecuted.

In all plans and operations with bees, the laws of nature should be attentively observed and assisted, by which much may be experienced and acquired from attention and perseverance and the results aimed at attained at less trouble and expense than if an opposite course be pur- sued.

For tbo American Bee Journal.

Experience of a Novice in Bee-Keeping— No. 5.

Bees usually work more from eight o'clock in the morning till noon, than during the rest of the day.

I had read and re-read the instructions on Italian queen raising until I almost considered myself an expert in the business before trying it, and was impatient lor the season to arrive to try my hand. About the 1st of April, I com- menced by removing the best frames of brood from my Italians, who were yet far from strong, although healthy and doing well. The frame was put in my observatory hive so that we could inspect operations, and wo were much gratifled to And several queen cells had been started the next morning. As the weather was bad it became necessary to feed them, and all went on well until about a Aveek after, when I forgot them so far as to let them get out of honey, so much so that they were mostly on the bottom board. The cells had been torn open and the brood sucked dry even to the queen cells.

I fed them a little honey at first to observe the effect, and observed that as soon as one got a taste he liurried to his suffering companions, giving each one a little, who, in his turn, per- tbrmed the same office, until all became lively again, and then such a rejoicing and whirling about. I doubt if human beings rescued from starvation could have expressed more joy at the sight ot plenty of food than did my bees.

This lot of queen cells w^cre given up, and so they had a piece of first brood comb inserted.

This time we did not let them starve, but somehow their queen cell (they started but one) produced, after about 18 days, only a dead bee, having something in the shape of a queen, but only the size and appearance of a worker.

Another trial produced a similar result. I was considerablj' discouraged then, as far as early queen was concerned, and could not ac- count for it, but now suppose it was owing to the small number of bees, as they had thinned down considerably, and the wa-ather was so bad they perhaps could not get a sufficient supply of the proper food to furnish the royal jell^'.

To make a sure thing of it next rime, as it had got to be about the 2oth of May, I removed my Italian queen from her hive and introduced her to another. In ten days I had eleven queen cells, and was much puzzled as to what I should do with them.

To get a very strong nucleus, I removed two frames each from each of my old hives, six in all, and put them into empty ones, looking them over carefully to avoid getting the old queens, as the books directed. But I Avasso bewildered by having to open so manj' strong hives, that I probably could not have seen them if they had half of them been queens. After having had si.x queen cells destroj'ed as fast as I inserted them, I finally discovered that I had removed the black queens from three of the six hives. I w'as ad- vised to return them, but I thought as it was so much trouble to find them I would keep them out, and give them Italian qiieeus when they became fertile; which operation took so long

24

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

that I very seriously injured the said hives for the season.

For some reason or other I have never stic- ceeded in getting my queens fertile until from ten to fifteen days, generally when they are about twelve days old, quite different from the time given by most writers on the subject.

In following the advice of an author to Ital- ianize all old stocks before swarming, I did not get ready to make my swarms until nearly Au- gust, and, as the season Avas very poor here, my my first year's bee-keeping was not very profi- table, that is in doKars and cents. If experi- ence is worth anything I did well, as I spent almost the whole summer and then had to buy a hundred pounds of coifee sugar for my swarms, besides using all my surplus, and doubling them up so that I had only four swarms from eight hives.

Perhaps a few facts may be interesting in my queen raising :

One of the black queens, after being in the nucleus hive two days, was given to a friend who wished to start an observatory hive.

Some bees were taken from one of his hives and were put into his g!ass hive, and the queen introduced. Several days after, on going to the nucleus hive from which she was taken, I discovered that it contained two clusters of bees; one at the front of the hive and one at the back. As they had an Italian queen a few days old I (;ould not account for it, until the friend in question came to say that his glass hive was de- serted. Another person saw them come over direct to that hive.

Now who can explain this for us. This queen had been taken from a swarm that I purchased about Christmas over three miles from here; had never been out of her hive until I carried her over there in the cage, and not a bee with her. She had only been in the nucleus two days. Did she take the location when I picked her out with my fingers, or do queens possess the power, like cats and pigs are said to, of going home even when carried miles away in a cheese box ?

Again, it is said by many, that a queen does not lead out a swarm. She must have done so in that case, as she brought all my friend's bees along, and picked out the nucleus she came from from the midst of a dozen others.

Again, at one time I had two queen cells so close together that I could not separate them, so I watched until one hatched and removed the other to a new nucleus, which queen, nearly as soon as hatched, returned with all the bees to the one I cut the cell from. This it seems muxt have been an accident, as I carried no bees from there at all. Still they were both at the extreme end of my apiary, and flew over several other similar ones in going to that one.

My experience with buckwheat was as fol- low is :

i bought six late swarms of a neighor and carried them and set them in a buckwheat field in full bloom. They had plenty of comb and bees but no honey, and after leaving them there three weeks, while the buckwheat was alive with them, they did not improve a single pound. Several bee-keepers about here give the same

result, and say they have never known buck- wheat to produce any honey at all, although the bees seem very busy on it all the time it is in bloom.

One more piece of my experience and I have done for the time:

I gave $10 for a box hive in June last just as they had commenced in tlie boxes. I carried them home safely, and, as it was but a short distance, I thought I would keep them shut up for a day or two.

I fastened a piece of wire cloth over the en- trance which was about two inches long by one-half wide, and also raised the drawers so as to let air in at the top In the afternoon I noticed they were very densely jjacked about the entrance; tliey were put in the shade, and toward night 1 saw honey running out ot the bottom. I then opened them, and found them almost scalding hot, and the combs and honey all melted down on to them.

I inferred that bees do need ventilation, and plenty of it, anoher correspondent to the con- trary. Of course all I had left for my $10 was strained honey and an empty hive.

A. J. Root.

Medixa, Ohio.

[For the American Bee Journal.}

National Honey Plant.

MELILOT CLOVER.

(1.) Will it pay to cultivate any plant ex- pressly foj' honey ? If so which plant is best ?

(3.) How many acres will keep 100 colonies busy while in bloom ?

(8.) How many days in average seasons, and how long each day does it yield honey ?

(4.) What soils are best adapted to its growth ?

(5.) Is it an annual or a perennial? {See Bee Journal^ Vol. 2 Page 165.)

No one has answered these inquiries, so I will try to do so — and in the order given.

(1.) There is one plant, at least, that it will pay to raise expressly for honey. The name of this plant is Melilot Clover {Melilotus Leucan- tha.) I have been well acquainted with the plant for several years, and am making prepa- rations to raise several acres of it.

(2.) Ten acres will be enough to keep 100 families of bees at work while it is in blossom.

(8.) It blossoms and yields both honey and pollen through July, August, September, Octo- ber and November. With us, last year, it was in bloom in December — after the first fall of snow. It is in fvdl bloom during November, but the season is so cool in this latitude that bees can work but little upon it. In southern latitudes the plant is in blossom for a longer period. I am credibly informed that it will blossom in some of the Southern States during every month of the year. The plant is not ma- terially- afi'ected by drouths or frosts. It grows very rank and shades the ground completely. This in connection with the great length of the tap root, is the cause of drouth not ali'ectiug it. Early frosts do not usually kill the blossoms ;

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

25

but wlicn thus destroyed it is again in full bloom in the course of a few days. Bees work upon the blossoms from morning until nij,'ht, which is not the case wilh white clover, buck- wheat, basswood or any other blossoms that I am acquainted wilh. In the middle of the day «'ven bees do not suspend their laliors, as the interior blossoms are so shaded and protected tliat the honey is not lost by evaporation.

(4.) This plant will grow on almost any soil, and without cultivation after it is once es- tablished. It will also grow in the shade of trees, liedges, or anything else ; but it succeeds best on moderately drj' soils, and those of a loamy, sandy, or gravelly nature. That is, it yields more honeij on those soils.

(5.) It is a biennial plant, and hence easily destroyed, if detired. If it goes to seed, and the seed is not disturbed, it Avill give a new crop from j'car to year.

1 have some seed of this plant and will send a small package of it to any of the Journal readers, if two or three stamps are enclosed to pay for postage and trouble of putting up.

JI. M. Baldridge,

St. Charles, iLtixois.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Two or More Queens in a Hive.

I am sometimes led to wonder at the seeming surprise manifested by some on finding two or more queens in a hive, as if such was contrary to the nature and habits of the bees, or diffi- cult to explain. Now while it is true to the uature of a queen to destroy her rival, yet it is also true to the nature of the workers to guard against such a destruction until they (the ru- ling power, if I may so sjieak,) shall decide what is for their interest. It is by no means an uncommon thing at swarming season, to find two or more queens in a hive — I have even taken five from a hive at one time. But Avhy did they not destroy each other? Simplj^ be- cause the workers would not allow them to do so. The condition of the hive was as follows : The stock had cast a tirst or prime swarm, about the time the second swarm should have issued ; bad weather came on, and as several queens were perfected about the same time, of course they would hatch about the same time, and as the workers desired to cast another swarm, each queen was guarded by its own cluster or guard, until tine weather should ap- pear. Each queen and cluster forming as it were a distinct swarm. If fine weather had come soon enough, say within a day or two, tiie result would have been that the hive would \iave cast a second swarm, in which there vould liave been three or four queens. Or, nore correctly speaking, there would have been 1 second, third, fourtli and fifth swarm, all .oming off together, and forming one of those vwarms which ignorant beekeepers cannot ac- count for, because in hiving it, they tind tAvo or iiiore queens. The fact is, it is several swarms or clusters with their queens joined together, each cluster guarding its c(Ucen. But suppoi^e I'oul weather had continued lor some time. In that case, the workers would have given up the

idea of swarming, the queens would have been released, and a roj'al battle would liave been the result — only one ([ueen surviving the deadly strife. In the case related by Mrs. Ellen S. Tuppcr, of Iowa, in Bek .Iouknal Vol. II, No. 12, the young queen was simply guarded by a portion of the workers loth to lose thyir queen; and had pleasant weather continued, one of the queens might have swarmed out, or crawled out of tlie hive as I have often seen them do. I cannot accept the inference drawn by Mrs. T., for it is not true to their nature that the workers should not distinguish her majesty, be- cause she was unimpregnatcd. Although they do not pay that attention to an unfertilized ciueen that they do to a fertilized one, still evcrj' day facts prove that they readily understand that they are destined to propagate their species. Moreover if the workers had not distinguished her, the old cpieen certainly would, and would have killed her if she had not been guarded. I once assisted my brother to run tliree swarms into a hive containing empty combs; each swarm had a queen ; the result was in this case, tliat each queen was guarded in separate parts of the liive and although all three Avere laying queens, still for two days, not a queen was al- lowed by the workers to move on the combs and lay, as not an egg was deposited in the cells. On the third day, the hive was again examined; one queen with a cluster of bees had crawled out to the outside of the hive ; another queen with her guard. Avas lodged on the top of the comb frames, in the passage to the honey box; and the third ([ueen Avas guarded in the hive, on one of the combs. Tavo of the queens Avere removed, and the next day, there were plenty of eggs in the combs. Each SAvarm Avas unwil- ling to yield up its queen to death. It is con- trary to the nature of a queen to alloAV a rival queen in the hive ; but it is not contrary to the nature of the Avorkers to allow tAvo or more queens in a hive for a time; and as the workers rule, the queens must abide their Avill. J. H. Thomas. Beooklin, C. W.

The Abaza (a Circassian Tribe) have a strange way of burying their bees They put the body in a coffin of Avood, which they nail on the branches of some high trees, and make a hole in the coffin by the head, that the beys, as they say, may look into heaven. Bees enter the coffin, and make honey, and cover the body with their comb. "When the season comes, they open the coffin, take out the honey and sell it. Therefore much caution is necessary in buying and using the honey of the Abazas. Evii-iA Effekdi.

Wax is bleached byre-melting it, and run- ning it several times into thin sheets or cakes sutfering it to cool, and exposing it to the in- fluence of the air and sun. TJiis Avill rendt-r wax perfectly Avhite.

Weight of Bees. — In one pound avordupois, or sixteen ounces, there are about five thousand bees. From fifteen to twenty thousand bees constitute a strong hive, that is, from four to fite pounds in weight.

26

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[From the Bienenzeitnng.]

A Well- Ventilated Hive.

[The following novel experiincut will fur- nish matter for reflection and study to bee- keepers who believe that, in the construction of hives* perfection has not j^et been attained. It may be true that, in northern climates, the plan could not be made serviceable, even tem- porarily for any purpose. But observation has satisfied us that in the middle States bees would work and prosper in the open air, during the summer months at least, with no better accom- modation or more protection than Major de Hruschka gave to his weak second swarm. It may, therefore, be possible to turn the fact to account, particularly in the Southern States, when the idea comes to be "worked up "by some inventive genius] :

The successful issue of some of my former essays have encouraged me to make further ef- forts in various directions, in the hope of ulti- mately advancing practical bee-culture. Among several experiments not yet fully carried out, there is one of which I feel impelled to commu- nicate an account, trusting that some inquiring apiarian, favorably situated, will thus be in- duced to take up the matter, repeat Avhat I have done, and aid in rendering available any ideas that may be suggested or new facts that may be developed. This experiment will probably be the more generally interesting as it involves the question which has engaged the attention and study of bee-keepers for ages — the hive and liome of the honey bee.

On the 15th of May, 1866, I put in train of execution a long cherished idea. I desired to observe the whole career and final fate of a colony of bees to which, by Avay of novelty and variety, no habitation had been assigned. Whilst a large second swarm was clustered in my garden, an apparatus was hastily con- structed, designed to support the combs that would be built, securing moveableness at the same time, and leaving the bees entirely uncon- fined on every side. This was accomplished by placing nine bars, or slats, of the usual length, though somewhat thicker, on a crossbar fastened on the top of a strong staff. Strips of comb guides were cemented to the lower side of the bars ; and if the combs and slats were subsequestly attached to the cross-bars by the bees, the attachments could readily be severed with a knite, and comb after comb could then be easily removed if desired.

This skeleton fixture was then gently and slowly pushed into the clustered swarm from below ; and before evening the bees had so completely taken possession of their airy habi- tation, that I could carry it to my yard and fix it there by inserting the pole in the ground at a suitable spot where it was accessible from every side. Next morning, satisfied that the bees were disposed to remain, as they had al- ready begun to work, a wax-cloth roof was placed over them, about ten inches above the

cluster, to shield it from rain and the direct rays of the sun. Thus, exposed to the elements and to whatever might choose to assail it, it was left to its fate in the belief that, sooner or later, its destruction was inevitable. Mean- while combs were built very rapidly, and, iu proportion to their numbers, the bees were ex- ceedingly active. On the evening of the third day I could already see the edges of the snow- white combs protruding from the cluster. In due course ot time the population began to in- crease, and in July it had eight combs of brood, each ten inches long by eight inches broad.

I was now unavoidably absent from home several months, and though thus totally uncared for and neglected, my little colony weathered the season admirably. On my return in Octo- ber I found it still vigorous and working indus- triously.

The original intention was that the colony should be literally sacrificed for the sake of ex- periment, and it was therefore allowed to re- main in its assigned location till autumn was already well advanced. But on finding it covered with hoar frost several mornings in succession, and perceiving that the bees on the periphery of the mass, were regularly dropping from the effects of cold and could not be re- vived, I removed it to a chamber in the north- ern side of my house, on the 5th of November, and there again suspended it as before. The tem- perature of the room could be kept at from 40" to 42° without fire during the winter. The windows and shutters were kept constantly closed. I allowed them to remain there undis- turbed, even when, during six days in January, the outdoor temperature was at from 66-^ to 68°, and the bees of my apiary in the garden Avere flying briskly and gathering pollen. Hitherto few bees have died, nor has the colony appar- ently been in want of anything.

The observations made during the progress of this experiment thus far, though unavoidably interrupted for several months, were these :

1. The combs remained beautifully white for a much longer period than they do in close hives, even when brood has been repeatedly reared in them.

2. On the other hand the lees themselves grew perceptibly greyer and darker, even in midsummer. Among the later bred bees no variation in color was observable.

3. Though their flight was unobstructed in all directions,"and the small roof afforded equal protection on every side, shading it alike all round at noon, the bees departed and returned almost exclusively on the south side — the combs running in parallel ranges north and south. The south side was ever the scene of greatest ac- tivity. On the other sides the bees were for the most part inactive, and I never saw them clus- tered there in festoons, as though elaborating wax.

4. The colony never suffered in the least, and was never annoyed by attacks from the bees of my other thirty-six hives, nor from moths, nor from Cetonia opaca, the most obtrusive and de- structive enemy of bees in southern Europe; nor from Sphinx airopos, &c. This carefully noted fact can be accounted for from the entire

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

27

absence of those attractive odors •which arc fonstauUy issuing from the mouths of common hives. Whatever odor was here generated became instantly dissipated. The insects, moreover, found no inviting cracks or crevices here, into which they might instinctively seek to enter for oviposition or metamorphosis.

5. It was evident beyond all question that, during the prevalence of excessively hot wea- ther, this colony was more comfortable and in better condition, every way, than any other in my ai)iary. When, in summer, the thermome- ter at noon was at from 90° to 100^ F. in the shade, labor ceased in common hives, and the bees hung out idly in masses, only a small num- ber of individuals remaining within to attend to the brood. But the bees of this well-ventilated colony, meanwhile, appeared to be just in their true element, Avorking with energy, ex- hibiting none of that irrital)ility which charac- terizes others at such times, and having no crowds of loiterers " hanging round."

6. At this colony there were neither fanners nor wagglers to be seen at any time ; no bees carrying off dross or droppings, none bringing in propolis or engaged in appljung that substance. Of course there was a corresponding saving of muscular energy and time to be devoted to more profitable labor.

7. Since the colony was placed in winter quarters, the bees are congregated in the passages between five or six ranges of combs. They are ranged in ray-form with singular reg- ularity, pair by pair dos a dos, with their heads turned inward toward the centre of the general cluster, and remaining perfectly quiet when undisturbed. There is never anj' condensation of moisture perceptible, nor any manifestation of discomfort or unrest. They obviously do not, as yet, suffer from the want of water, and certainly not from the want of ventilation.

8. This skeleton hive, as I have it arranged, is peculiarly adapted for investigating obscure or doubtfurpoints in the internal economy of bees. The entire population and every part of every comb may at any time be subjected to scrutiny, and every suitable occasion may readily be availed of' to prosecute researches for the eluci- dation of facts or the demonstration of theory. Thus I was able to ascertain that, during the winter, while the entire mass seemed to remain in perfect repose, there was all the while a reg- lar slow movement in progress, by which the bees were regularly transferred from the peri- phery of the cluster to the centre and the con- verse— illustrating the

"Constant rotation of the unwearied wheel. That Nature rides upon."

I shall endeavor next spring to place this colony in a swarming condition, and anticipate many pleasant hours in watching the prepara- tions which the bees will make for that interest- ing event.

y. I must not omit to state how these bees deported themselves during several severe storms to which they were exposed, and we had seme last summer of such violence as to threaten the existence of the little household. One of these, on its approach, struck the western side oi the colony. For their protection, a great

portion of the bees had clustered there in a mass of four-fold density, so that only the tips of their wings were seen protruding like scales, and thus forming animpenatrable cover to shed tlie rain. The remainder of the popu- lation remained in comparative security, close packed between the combs under shelter of the roof. The second storm was more violent and destructive, uprooting trees, unroofing build- ings, and doing great damage in all directions. When I hastened to the rescue of my colony, I found that the rain had been blown in horizon- tally, and the bees so thoroughly drenched that they could be scarcely recognized. In other re- spects all was still in order, and next morning no traces of the occurrence were visible ; not even the brood had sustained injury. The storm had been accompanied with hail, but as this happened to fall vertically the roof sufficed to ward it off.

The practicability of preserving, at least in this climate, so small a colony thus circum- stanced, having thus been demonstrated, I shall repeat the experiment next spring ou a larger sca'e, with a view to observe the deport- ment of the bees more minutely during the summer months. I shall place several strong colonies thus arranged in a covered area, in which they may likewise be wintered. Bees remain quiet at a temperature of 42^ or 43° F.; a temperature of 47° or 48° renders them rest- less.

From what I have observed, I conceive that some practical advantages maj^ be derived here from adopting this substitute for a hive. With us swarms, and even virgin swarms, are of fre- quent occurrence everj^ year, and I shall seek to iirovide for these in this manner, with a view of disposing of them otherwise in the fall. Wintering bees in this manner, though entirely compatible with their own comfort, would not, I fancy, be conducive to the pecuniary interest of their owner, in consequence probably of the increased consumption of honey. Still, as the colony I experimented with was a small one, it would scarcely be fair to draw inferences from the quantity of stores it consumed, and the 3'ield of honey was, moreover, not large in this region last summer.

F. De Hruschka.

DoLO, NEAR Venice, Feb. 12, 1867.

[For the American Bee Joarnal.]

It has been said by some of our best writers on the honey bee, that in swarming season, to put up poles (in front of the stand) with a bunch of dry mullein stocks on each, the size of a swarm of bees, that j^oung swarms would nearly always light on the stocks, and it would be much easier to hive them in this way.

Now, I think 1 have fully tested it this season, and I could not get one in ten to light on them. The only way that I could induce the bees to light on them was, when they commenced to light on a bush, to carry the mullein stocks close to them, and then a part would light on the stocks. II. W. Cbkasy.

Light Street, July 11, 18G7.

28

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

For the American Bee Journal.

A Reply to Questions Propounded by- Querist.

NO. 1 — STKAIGHT COMBS.

It is not true in practice tliat elevating tlic Langstroth liive will " a??o«i'.'?" cause the bees to build combs straight and within the frames, tliough they will build much straighter when elevated than when not. " Always straight" has never been and never will be true iu prac- tice in any hive, except guide-frames are used ; and in my practice guide-frames as a remedy are worse than the disease. It is well remarked by Elisha Gallup, on page 219 of the Bee Jour- nal, volume ii, that if the top bars of comb- frames are bevelled to the shape of a V, or, in other words, wedge-shaped, it is all the comb- guides that Querist will want. I only speak for one when I say the reason why I discard guide- frames is that in a properly constructed hive they are worse than useless. I have no trouble with crooked combs, or bees building across the frames. There are many that understand if a Langstroth hive is elevated that the combs are in much better shape, and the bees are not so likely to build across the frames. But none with whom I have conversed seem to under- stand w7^^ it is so. What is the reason ? Simp- ly because elevating the hive has the same eli'ect as shortening the top piece of the frames. The shorter the frame, or the narrower the hive from front to rear, the straighter the combs. It will be observed that in a Langstroth hive when the frames are level the bees generally commence at three, and frequently four different points along the top piece of the frame to build their combs. The more points they commence at the more likely to build crooked and across the frames. In a frame with a top piece only twelve inches long, bees will seldom commence at over two points, and frequently only one, to build their combs, which lessens greatly the liability to build crooked. As already remarked, elevating the hive has the same effect as shortening the top piece of the frame, as it lessens the level or horizontal portion uf the hive. Any person wishing to prove it, may shorten the frames of several Langstroth hives to ten or twelve in- ches, and elevate the same number, and note the results.

NO. 2 — DESTROYING BROOD.

I cannot see the advantage of destroying worker brood, or eggs of a native colony, to give place for an Italian progeny. An Italian queen being safely introduced into a native colony, the work is done — you virtually have an Italian stock, as the native bees in a few weeks at most will perish, and be replaced by an Italian progeny. Making haste to destroy the natives by destroying eggs and brood, is to de- populate the hive for a time and lose the labor of the natives, which if not so good is at least better than no labor. True, it is desirable to destroy native drone-brood, which I always do by shaving off the caps of the cells deep enough to disturb the larvf3e — the workers will do the rest.

KO. o — DIVIDING BEES.

A plan that works well in the hands of a novice, and does not require a search for the queen, is as follows : In the morning of a fine day, remove the stock which you wish to di- vide from the stand ; subdue, by smoking and rapping on the hive, until the bees are tilled with honey, which will be in ten or fifteen minutes. Now remove all the combs but two, shaking or winging off the bees carefully into the hive, and place the combs in a new hive in the centre, putting an empty frame on each side next to the walls of the hive, and set it on the stand where the old hive had stood. Now fill up the old hive with empty frames, putting the two cards of comb near the center, say one empty frame between them, and set on a new stand some distance from the old one, and leave it there until night, when they must be ex- changed— the old hive placed on its stand and the new one on the new stand, and the wovkis done. Tlie above is a simple statement of the movements to be made, presuming that a novice who does not feel disposed to search for ;\queen will not be disposed to enquire the reason. That he has two good stocks in the place of one is the end of his ambition.

KO. 4 — RAISING QUEENS.

My experience has been that queens raised in full stocks Avere larger and longer, the bees building a larger and longer cell. Whether such ciueens are any better for breeding is a question, but that they are more majestic and better looking is a fact.

I cannot speak from experience as to whether bees can be made to raise a larger number of queens than they do, by simply removing the queen, and, therefore, will at present remain silent.

NO. 5. — BEE-PASTURAGE.

I do not believe it would pay to cultivate any plant expressly for honey. I consider bee-keep- ing profitable from the fact that bees gather from the bountiful flora of nature that which would otherwise run to waste. The profit from a crop taken from the ground which would be occupied bj^ a plant expressly for honey, would be larger than the profit arising from the extra amount of honey obtained by planting express- ly for that purpose — tlte pastiu'age iu many sec- tions being already more than is required fo.r the bees kept therein. Evidently, however, in other sections it would be profitable for the bee-keeper to plant that which, while it yields a profitable crop, at the same time adds to the lack of bee-pasturage in such sections. This, in my opinion, is not properly looked after.

J. H. Thomas.

Brooklin, Canada.

To stop bees from fighting and robbing ono another, break the combs of the robbers, so that the honey will run down among them, and they will go to work at home. I had two hives of bees destroyed by being robbed, and should have had another robbed if I had not received the above information.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

29

Bee Pasturage.

The benefits spviuffing from bce-cultnre arc so extensive and significant tliat the most strenuous efforts arc being made at present not only to simplify its processes, but to bring into due acceptance and regard this inlcrcssing brancli of rural economj'. From the remotest antiquity honey and wax have been classed among articles of trallic and consumption, for mankind had learned to appreciate the value of the bee whilst it was still swarming in the wilds of nature uncontrolled. The industry and thrift of these insects early attracted the notice of the shrewd observer, who immediately strove to turn their labor to his own advantage, and thus laid the foundation of that art which has become widely diffused in every civilized land, and has of late years been brought to a high de- gree of perfection. Hence, in the present ad- vanced state of the art, whatever may conduce practically to its wider extension, or contribute to more assured success, is interesting and im- portant to those engaged in the pursuit. In this view the bee pasturage of the various dis- tricts of country deserves special attention and investigation, as the intelligent bee-keeper may largely promote the introduction and cultiva- tion of honey-yielding crops and trees in his neighborhood, and also aid in preventing the use- less eradication or destruction of wild plants furnishing like supplies. If in the spring the movements of the bees be carefully observed during their excursions, we shall find numerous varieties of flowers and blossoms which, they delight in freciueutiug, from many of which they derive the most abundant supplies of nec- tar and pollen. Among these, as among the earliest, we may name the common currant and the gooseberry. These, cultivated on a large scale, in the vicinity of towns and cities, would yield remunerating crops of fiuit, and furnish rich and unfailing pasturage for the bees, as their hardiness enables them to resist the iutlu- ence of snows and frosts. There is hardly a yard or a garden in which currant and goose- berry bushes might not be introduced both for ornament and iise. The cultivation of hazel- nuts, peaches, apricots and cherries should be everywhere encouraged — of sour cherries espe- ciall3% in the blossoms of which the bees seem to revel with intense enjoyment. Xearly all our common fruit trees yield honey in abund- ance when in bloom ; though it has been ob- served for some years past that the bees are injuriously effected at times in some localities, by the blossoms of the apple tree, producing torpor and death. The cause of this is believed to be found in the myriads of aphides with which the blossoms are occasionally infested. Of the blossoms of the various kinds of birch the bees are exceedingly fond, and they are very rich in honey. Maple trees of every variety yield pollen and honey in abundance, and large old trees are a perfect treasure, in this respect, in the neighborhood of an apiary. The red and the white beech, several species of the oak, and the horse-chestnut, are valuable for bees, though a prejudice prevails against the latter, in some

sections, from an idea that its blossoms possess a noxious ([ualily. Pine and fir trees jield honey, pollen, andi)ropolisini)rot'usion, butthe honey is of inferior quality, and has been held in suspicion as the cause of foulbrood. The Euroi)ean laurel and yew yield honey likewise, but not so abundantly as the other evergreens; and the same may be said of the juniper. The common privet, an excellent hedge plant which might be used for screens in yards or gardens, is rich in nectar and continues long in bloom.

Winter rape, when cultivated for oil, is one of the most productive honey-yiciding plants, and if the weather isfavoraJjle to the bees when a large rape field is in blossom, immense quan- tities of honey will be gathered and stored up by strong stocks. It is to be regretted that this crop is not sufficiently remunerative to induce extensive cultivation, as it comes into bloom after the fruit trees and previous to the lindens and white clover, thus filling up an interval when, bees usually find little to gather. Mustard, both white and black, is a valuable crop for bees, and when extensively grown for seed, proves a great treat for the bees of the neigh- borhood. Charlock, though a noxious weed — a perfect pest to the former — has yet some redeem- ing qualities in the quantity of the honey it yields ; and the same is true of the Canada and other thistles. We regret that this is all that can be said in their favor — insufficient, we know, to save them from universal execration.

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, dew- berries, whortleberiies — the entire catalogue of small fruits — when in bloom, are eagerly visited by the bees and yield them a long-continued feast. The honey from these plants is pecu- liarly fine, that of the raspberry especially being most delicious. Onions and leeks, when in bloom, are visited by bees, and are deemed med- icinal by some ancient bee-keepers, who possibly had a predilection for high-flavored condiments. White clover j'ields honey profusely, and contin- ues in bloom four or five weeks in ordinary sea- sons. Melilot is excellent though not so common. Esparcette is a highly valuable honey plant, but requires a limestone soil, and is not regarded as so good a forage crop as the common red clover, which unfortunately is of no account for bee pasturage. Luzerne grass yields considerable honey, but is not so extensively cultivated, ex- cept in the south of France. The Swedish clover, recently introduced, promises well as a forage plant in northern districts. It winters well, and yields honey as abundantly as the white clover, and of as good quality. It de- serves a fair trial everywhere, and will no doubt become established where soil and climate are adapted to it. Beans, peas and vetches, rank only among the moderately productive honey plants, but may prove to be of no small importance in sections where they are regularly grown us field crops. Hemp is a favorite with bees, though seldom met with since cotton has supplanted sail duck and hanging has gone out of fashion. Flax, where grown for seed, is much frerpiented by bees while in bloom.

Among the wild plants and herbs are those cultivated for medicinal and domestic purposes — dandelion, savory, pennyroyal, hoarhouud,

so

THE AMEKIUAJN BEE JOUKJNAL.

mint, catnip^ balm, celandine and marjorum — are all excellent, and where they abound add materially to the honey resources of the bee. Borage, goldenrod, and several rarieties of the aster, yield plentiful supplies, of long con- tinuance, late in the fall, some of the latter even surviving the earlier frosts. Many plants and flowers, besides those here cursorily enumer- ated, will the observant bee-keeper find fre- quented by the bees. He should carefully note them; encourage the introduction and cultiva- tion of such as can be rendered useful in other respects also, and strive to prevent the destruc- tion of such as, being regarded as weeds, are perhaps of no direct or known and positive economic value, but yet of benefit to the bee and in no wise injurious to the cultivator of the soil. When they do not occupy or encroach on culti- vated ground, they should be permitted to grow.

In some seasons and sections honey-dew is of frequent occurrence, and bees eagerly collect it. For the subsistence of the bees it answers well enough, but as honey for table use it is of inferior quality and poor flavor. In dry sea- sons, especially in autumn when plants and tlowers cease to supply nectar, wasps and hor- nets will attack ripening fruit, such as cherries, plums, apricots, peaches, pears and grapes, and the bees follow in their wake, appropriating the saccharine juices. Here the damage is really done by the first-named insects, and the bees simply gather up and preserve what would otherwise be lost.

1E^~ As the evidence of the purity of Italian bees is now being discussed in the Bee Jour- nal, and is a topic of much interest to those bee- keepers who contemplate introducing that race in their apiaries, we have deemed it proper to copy from the Albany '■'■Country Qenileman'''' an article giving Mr. Quinby's views of the subject — the more so, as reference has been made to him by some of our correspondents. Our own convictions, as heretofore expressed, certainly differ widely from those of Mr. Q. In accordance with our observations and ex- perience, docility may be regarded as the ex- ception among black bees, whereas it is the rule among Italians. We have never yet seen pure stock, where the workers had not three orange colored bands fully displayed, were not striking- ly docile under ordinary treatment when the hive was opened and combs lifted out, and did not tenaciously adhere to the combs when these were shaken. Of course they may be forcibly shaken off, and aroused to anger, but not by ordinary treatment, or even by such as would hardly fail to irritate black bees :

Dooility of Italian Bees.

Eds. Co. Gent. : Ever since the first impor- tation of Italian bees by Mahan and Parsons, some seven years ago, there bas been great solicitude on the part of many breeders lest some purchasers might get an impure article from his competing neighbor. Parsons sug- gested, in a card, that Mahau's was not the

genuine. Mahan challenged a comparison, and brought specimens from Philadelphia to New York city. I was called two hundred miles to look on. Parsons refused to exhibit, and noth- ing was settled.

In reply to some remarks relative to the Ital- ian bee "stinging furioijsly, R. C," of Balti- more, says : " I have not met with a single in- stance where queens were purely impregnated and produced irritable workers. This is so in- variably the case, that I regard docility of tem- perament as one of the best and surest tests of purity."

I wish he had given the number of casea where he knew the queens were "purely impreg- nated." It may be half a dozen or five hun- dred. The latter number would prove the posi- tion much stronger than the first. It would also throw a little light on the suggestion that even hybrids are sometimes docile.

At one of our State Fairs, a bee and patent- hive vender was distributing " Circulars on Bee-keeping" to bee-keepers, free. While listening to him, I was interested in the same story of the quiet disposition of the Italians, and without being aAvare of my presence, he in- dulged in some entertaining remarks : "Quinby was reliable generally, but was mistaken here ; he had said that his bees were cross, and they Avere, of course, hybrids. He could prove to Quinby, or any one else, that this was a test of purity ; for that purpose he kept them in two yards, alike in appearance but different in dis- position, «&c." I suggested that if " exti-eme docility was proof suflicient of pure Italian origin, that the bees of Mr. Flanders, which he collected in his hat, in his hand, even in his mouth, with impunity, ought to be doubly and trebly refined Italian, and yet they were com- mon bees." If it is said they were trained or charmed, how will it be proved that those of Mr. were not trained also — I mean those that

were kept for exhibition to prove purity. After ascertaining that Quinby had been a listener for sometime, he endeavored to conciliate by offering to send him a pure queen for the purpose of contrasting their qualities, &c. The queen has not yet arrived, consequently I am unable to report. Another, full of commisseration for me, as he had the pure ones, would send me one for a specimen. If I found her bees more docile than any I already had, I was to pay double price, if not, he was to charge me nothing. I replied to this by another proposition: "That he might furnish the queen, and I would let him know when her bees constituted the entire family, and he, or some one that he would designate, should visit my apiary ; I would point out a few hives, one of which should contain his queen and her family ; he should say which it was, judging by the disposition. If he failed, it would be evidence that mine were as pure as his own, and he should be entitled to nothing; if he designated his own, he was to have pay for his queen and all trouble." I have heard nothing further from him. Can I not infer that he had not full confidence in his test ? A person that never had any experience with black bees, further than with a few dozen box hives, can know but little of the difference

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31

of disposition of bees in different yards, and of Ikk's in the same yard at different times. Many wlio liave endeavored to set up tiiis standard, never yet Icncw how to manage tlie blaclc bees properly, do not Ivnow how easily tlicy may be s\d)dued — have always worlied with fear and tremblinp:.

After all my experience, I encountered last year the worst tempered apiary of l)hicl\ bees I ever saw — bad as any liybrids. Had I no further experience than with lliis yard of 90 stocks, I should not have liesitate.l to call the black bees tlie worst. As it is, I know it to be the excep- tion, not the rule. These bees had never been handled. Bees properli/ handled, at 2^1'<>P^^ times, will greatly improve in disposition.

I presume tliat a great many who have re- ported in favor of the Italians, would reverse their decision if they would change their prac- tice—manipulate the combs of tiieir black bees thirty times to tlieir Italians once. If docility of disposition is tlie only test, Ave may be satis- fied some time with the entire black bees.

St. .Tohnsville, N. Y. M. Quinby.

The Italian Beo.

This variety of Aph mellifica has been, for an extraordinary length of time, indigenous in Italy, and the south of Europe generally, for Virgil, and before him Aristotle, mention those rusty yellow bees in their description of the economy of the hive. But unicolorous dark bees must also have occurred constantly amongst the variegated, or rusty yellow spotted kind, as both authors also speak of black bees. In Aristotle's De AnimaliMis IHstorice we find this passage : — " Regum autem genera duo ; praestantior rufus: alter niger et varius magis." And further on we find this more particular ac- count : — " In genere apum pra?stantissima qufc parva, rotunda, varia : alterum genus est oblon- gun\ et vespre (Anthrennc) simile : tertium fureravocant: niger is, alvo lata. Quartus fus- cus, omnium maximus, siue aculeo, ignavus." The verses in Virgil's Georgics, in Avhich he declares tlie variegated bees to be more valua- ble than the black ones, are well known : —

"Alter erlt maculis auro squalcntibus ardens ; Nam duf) sunt genera: his melior, insignis ct ore, Et rutilis clarus squamis ; ille horridus alter, Dosidia, latamqiie trahens Inglorius alvum. Ut binsc reiruni fades, ita corpore plebis. Namque allx turpes horrent, ceu pulvere ab alto, Quum venit, et sicco terram spuit ore viator, Aridus; elucent aliic, et fulgoro coruscant, Ardentes auro et paribus lita corpora guttis. Hxc potior suboles."

This Dryden has thus translated :^-

" With ease distinguished Is the regal race :

One monarch wears an honest open face:

Shaped to bee's size, and Gt)dlikc to bcliold,

His rova! body shines with specks of gold,

And ruddy scales ; fi)r empire he designed.

Is better born, and of a nobler kind.

That other looks like nature In disgrace;

Gaunt aie his sldfs.and sullen is li'is face;

And like their grisly nrlnce api)ear hi* gloomy race.

Grim, ghastly, rugged, like a thirsty train

That long have travelled through a desert plain,

And spit from their dry cliaps the gatliered dust again.

The better brood, unlike the bastard crew.

Are mark'd with royal streaks of shining hue ;

Glittering and ardent, though ia body less."

Tlie statements which Varro and Columella have made upon bee-keeping, show that in Italy the gold colored or variegated liees and the unicolorous blaekish-ln-own bees occur to- gether. Varro says: — "Ut quidam dicunt, tria genera cum sint dueum in apibus, niger, ruber, varius, ut Meneerates scribit duo, niger et varius : qui ita, melior." Columella, in his description of bees, refers to Aristotle and Vir- gil, and says of the queens: — "tSunt autem hi reges majons paulo et obloregi magis (piam Cfeterre apes, recti orl)US cruribus, sed minus amplis pinnis, pulclini coloris et nitidi, le- vesque ac sine pilo, sine spiculo, nisi quia forte pleniorem quasi capillum, quern in ventre gerunt, aculeum putet, (pio et ipso tamen ad noeedum non utuntur."

Therefore, even amongst the Romans, the variegated and golden yellow bees were more highly valued than I'.ie unicolorous blackish- brown race. That this rusty yellow variety of the honey bee is very widely diffused in Italy, appears from the description which Spinola has given of the Piedmontese honey bee. This bee, designated by Spinola as the apia Ugustica, agrees exactly, according to the description, with the rusty yellow liees recently introduced amongst us from Italy. Two individuals of the apis Ufjnsiica, captured near Bellinzona and Sesto Calende on the Lago Maggiore, which I have been enabled to compare with some Ital- ian bees of the trui race bred in Seebach, I can- not regard as a separate species, but only as a rusty yellow variety of the apis meJUfica, the unicolorous dark form of which, according to Spinola's own statements, also occurs, though rarely, in Piedmont. The auroro colored bees mentioned bj^ Delia Rocca, and said to have been introduced into France from Holland or Flanders, may have belonged to the same Ital- ian variety. The Egyptian honey bee, descri- bed by Latreille under the name of apis fasciata, may perliaps also belong to this southern rusty yellow variety of the apis mellifica, especially as Latreille himself admits that this Egyptian hive bee agreed exactly with a kind of honey bee taken near Genoa. — Von Siebold.

[From the Americaa Artisan. ]

•' Gaseous " Theory of Honey-Comb Formation.

On page 118 of the present volume of the American Artisan there was published a com- munication from an enthusiastic individual, re- lating to a new theory of honey-comb formation, which has at least the merit of originality, and which, if the "personal observations " of Dr. Cox, of IMonroe, Wisconsin, be confirmed, must prove extremely interesting, as showing conclu- sively the gaseous origin of beeswax. It is un- fortunate, however, that the worthy doctor aforesaid is not the author of the terras and il- lustrations used by your correspondent to ex- plain his theory, as the former in clearness and perspicuity are about equal to the latter, and to make the whole "one entire and perfect chrysolite" of scientific argument and discovery,

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

it should spring entire from the herculean efforts of a single brain.

Your correspondent starts with the confident declaration that the old or commonly accepted theory is more wonderful than the new, forget- ful apparently that it is not a question of wonder at all, t)ut of fact, demonstrated l)}^ proof. The correct ideas on tliis subject are the results and conclusions deduced from the careful observa- tions of talented and experienced naturalists, who have shown that the Avax is first elaborated by secretory glands, composed of a series of eight small sacs situated at the sides of the me- dian line of the working bee, and which with tlie scales or spangles of wax attached thereto, may be seen by raising the lower segments of the abdomen of the bee, and that in the building of the comb each of these scales is grasped by a pincer formed at one of the joints of the leg, and conveyed to the mouth of the insect, where it is reduced by the mandibles and proboscis to a softened condition, previous to being added to the wall of the cell ; and more than this, the hexagonal form of the cell is simply that natur- ally assumed by the cylinders of soft material subjected to equal and uniform pressure from each otlier, the length and proportions of the antennas enabling tlie bee to build the walls in the first place in the form they would necessarily assume under such pressure, at the same time that in building the cell of the queen and those of solitary bees, where the hexagonal ehape is not necessitated, they may be used in making such cells in a circular form. The wax has thus been traced from its origin in the se- cretory sacs to its disposition in the walls of the cells ; and these facts, whether more wonderful or not, certainly appear to explain the origin and formation of the honey -comb move clearly ihan the .supposition that the wax (which can- not exist as such if the temperature involved hi its volatilization) rises in the form of "fume," (One of the definitions of which, according to Webster, is an " idle conceit " or a " vain im- agination," but which in this case is undoubt- edly used to signify a gaseous emanation from ihe bee ; the "fume" rising until, in some in- tangible manner, it is made to stop and crystal- lize (querj^, do gases ever crj^stallize ?) around hexagonal cells — tlie circular cells hereinbefore mentioned being quietly ignored by the new "theory."

The advocate of this idea of the comb tells us that the said formation is a "crystallization." lie should know that the honey-comb is not, in any sense, a crystalline substance, and that the crystallization of any of its constituents is onl}'' produced by artificial agencies, and then in forms varying widely from the original shape of the comb ; for instance, the crystals of its principal part, cerin, being acicular in shape.

The originator of this new theory should also bear in mind that few subjects have received tlie same careful attention in all ages as those connected with the topic in hand ; for from the time when the "song-famed shepherds" feasted on the honey of Hyraettus, to that of the modern money-making enthusiasm of Italian queens, the study of the habits of the "busy bee," have been aUke a labor of lo vo to the student of natural

history and a source of interest to the curious. And it would have licen better for those in- terested in propounding the so-called "new discovery" to learn something of what liad been known before, instead of trying to startle the world with the announcement that the comb is built up Ity the crystallization of a gas emanating from an "invoUintary" insect. TJio utter crudity and fallacy of the whole idea is but co-equal Avilh the illustrative statement that "the huge oak is all crystallized from a germ that a bird might SAvallow," made in total ob- liviousuess of the fact that crystallizvtion ia wholly incompatible with organic life, and stands on the same level as the somewhat di- dactic request to "look at that man" "crystal- lized" and "complex," and whom we might be led to suppose a petrified body, only that petri- factions are composed of amorphous limestone, and the most careful dissection could hardly discover the determinate and symmetrical forms characteristic of crystallization.

A statement or proposition so absolutely at variance with established facts as this so-called theory, deserves notice only as one of the my- riad instances in which an active imagination, unassisted liy an acquaintance with fundamen- tal principles, urges men into a useless expen- diture of thought and study; and although even error itself, when springing from honestly con- ceived though clouded ideas, should be treated . with kindly attention, none can justly claim to forward the real interests of science but those who found their theories or assertions upon facts tangible and capable of proof. — James M. Whitney.

[From the Iowa Homestead.]

Bee-Keeping in Germany— Bee-Keepers' Conventions— Classification of Honey.

From recent information it appears that Ger- many is yet far in advance, when compared with bee-keeping in the United States ; even to such an extent than annually a vast amount of honey and beeswax is exported to the United States. Some of it we receive from France, and some from the West India Islands; yet the principal portion conies from Germany.

Why dots Germany produce more honey than is consumed there ? This is a questioa usually asked by almost every person reflecting on the subject ; yet the answer and the reasons for it are not quite clear. Bee-keeping receives more special attention there from men engaged in any kind of business or occupation. Nearly every person that has room enough on Iiis premises to set out a colony of bees is sure to have a colony there; and even persons residing in large cities are frequently found to be the owners of a number of colonies of bees, placed in the windows of an upper story of their houses. The system of management is very uniform. Nearly every town or vicinity has its thoroughly organized society of practical bee-keepers, which meets usually once a month, each one giving his experience in the freest manner. These town societies are again coa-

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uccted \viUi District and State socintics, and thus any advaucLincnt in bec-cnUuro is com- nuinicatod to nearly every bee-keeper in the nation. The hives in nse arc, at the present lime, only perfectly movable comb hives, and the lequibiles of a complete hive are set forlh as standard requisites, published by tiie national societv, and distributed throughout the country at the' expense of the Government. Any new book on bee-keeping is readily purchas(>d by auy bee-keeper, although four or Jive volumes on" the subject may already be in his possession, being aware that any new hint is worth more to him than the cost of the book.

The numlier of colonies kept fiir outnumbers our apiaries. Although some very fine ones may be found in the United States, there is yet no place, to my knowledge, where as many bees are kei)t in one State or country as can be found in Silesia, a province of Prussia. Al- though it contains onl}^ about 700 square miles, there were, on the first of September last, 139,- G19 colonies of Italian bees, reported to be in good coudiiion, having yielded during that year an average of thirty-nine and three-fourth pounds of honey per eolonj'.'

This vast amount of honey has its own mar- ket, as much as our coru, wheat, or any other product, aud is graded or classed in like man- ner, llonej' in the comb is graded thus : First class, bee honey — comb white, free from bee- brea 1, and must be nearly all capped or sealed over ; second class, same as,.first class, except only half the cells are sealed over ; third class, same as second class, with the addition of a few specks of bee-bread ; fourth class, honey in comb, full of bee-bread ; fifth class, honey in brown comb, with more or less bee-bread. The price of course varies with the class, and by far more than is usuUIy the case ia the United States. Honey of the second class is worth twenty per cent, less than honey of the first class , and every other class still twenty per cent, less than the preceding class. There are variations in every class, which, of course, vary the price accordingly.

Why cannot a similar system be obtained among the bee-keepers of the United States, or of each State, count}-, or even township sepa- rate ? This is a question which forces itself upon mo. It undoubtedly is cheaper to keep bees and produce the honey, than to import it across the Atlantic ocean, from Germany or any_ other country. "We have agricultural so- cieties, wool growers' associations, horticultural societies, sorgo associations, &c., yet the bee- keeper's associationsare very limited in number.

Let some bee-keeper, no difTcreuce Avho, name the subject to his neighboring bee-keeper, and so on through the whole neighborhood, or township ; and appoint one of the long winter evenings to meet at one of the neighbor's Ijouses, and organize a societj'. Before long it may become a county association.

In like manner "wc proceeded in this vicinity, and now we have a flourishing association. Let any one give this subject his sliare of at- tention, the object will easily be accomplished.

E. Kretchmer.

Honey- Yielding Flowers.

The blossoms of a vast number of weed'', plants, shrubs aud trees, are visited more or less i)y bees, for the purpose ol" collecting honey or bee-bread, or both. Tlie worthless weed and the valuable fruit tree, the lovely wldte clover, and tlie majestic tulip tree, each yields a tempt- ing olFering to the busy little collectors.

I i)ropose to mention some of the flowers that seem to yield the most hoiw^y in tliis section, beginning witli those that blossom first in the spring. The soft maples furnish the first blos- soms that amount to much. Two or three pounds per hive of peculiarly tasting honey are often stored from them. If bees live till the last of April, when the maple puts forth its leaves and blossoms, there is very little danger of their starving that season. The cherry comes soon after the maple, and furnishes the bees abundant and profitable employment. The ap- ple and pear follow soon after, aud yield con- siderable honey, if the weather is pleasant enough to permit the bees to work. Nearly all that is gathered from these early blossoms is generally consumed in a short time, in reariug brood, which is done extensively at this season, and supporting the bees. Last season I had occasion to open one of my hives, two weeks after apple blossoms expanded, and 1 found the combs well fifled with brood, but there was not more than a pound of honey in the hive. Mr. King advises bee-keepers to sow a field of tur- nips every year, and harvest only the largest, leaving enough in the ground to run to seed the next year, to make a pasture for the bees, between fruit blossoms and clover ; but I find that they do not store much honey from turnips, the seed of which is grown extensively in tiiis section. White clover comes in blossom about the 1st of June, and continues about six weeks. This is the main reliance for surplus honey, al- though the tulip and basswood being in flower at the same time, it is impossible to determine the yield of each; but a hive that casts no swarm ought to give from twenty-five to fifty pounds of surplus bos honey, during the season of white clover.

We have a season between clover and buck- wheat, when there are very few flowers. Mr. Quinby says that, in many ])laces, buckwheat is the main dependance for surplus honey ; but ray bees have never filled a single 1}ox from it, although there has been an abundanco of it grown in this neighborhood. The past season i had quite a number of boxes partly full of clover honey, which I left in the liivcs, think- ing that they might be filled from buekv^^heat ; but they contained rather less at the close of the buckwheat season than at the beginniug. tn Septemb'^r we have in this neighborhood an abundance of golden rod, a weed much visited bj' the bees, and one that yields considerable honcj', but otherwise a worthless intruder in neglected pastures and fence corners. After the golden rod and wild aster, whicli are gen- erally found growing together, go to seed, the labors of the bees are over for the season.

I have named only a few of the many flowers

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

that yield their tempting STVcets to the little busy bee, so wonderfully adapted by its Maker for its work ; but they are the most important ones. There is one thing that I think is not generally known— that a bee always gets his food from one kind of flower ; for instance, if a bee is at work on golden rod, he will not alight on wild aster, though it may be close by ; and another who is at work on the asters "Will not leave them for any other flower.

G. F. P.

When a natural swarm has issued and becomes settled, sprinkle the cluster with sugar water, before proceeding to hive it. This renders the bees still more placable and manageable than they usually are on such occasions. It is of great service in any case, but is especially useful when the swarm has clustered in some place or spot where it is not readily accessible. If, after sprinkling, the bees can be reached with a small tin dipper, they may be slowly, yet eflectually transferred to a hive or hiving basket, taking a dipperful at a time. When the queen has thus been brought away, the rest of -the swarm will speedily follow.

[For the American Bee JournaL]

Purity of Italian Queens.

Mr. Grimm, on page 228, June number of the Bee Jouknal, doubts that there are Italian queens which produce young queen invari- ably duplicates of themselves. He says : "I cannot conceive why Mr. Kleiue wrote the interesting letter referred to, nor why Mrs. Tupper defines the purity of Italian queens as she does, when both of them should have known that they had no such queens them- selves, and could not procure such even in Italy." It seems strange to me that Mr. Grimm should doubt, in this way, a positive as- sertion of Mr. Kleiue; nor can I conceive what has authorized him to judge of any one's queens except his own. If he has as he says, reared "over six hundred queens" in a short time, from three mothers, in a section of country abounding in black bees, it will not surprise any one who has been engaged in the business that he should produce "queens that vary greatly in color ;" nor is it fair that the queens he reared, under such circumstances, should be taken as speci- mens and compared with those reared by Mr. Kleine, Mr. Langstroth, and others, who have spent tlirice as many years in rearing half that number from the choicest stock, destroying every queen that did not produce good progeny.

It is quite as unfair to express an opinion of my queens, because he once saw the outside of my hives on a damp autumn day, when not a young bee was in flight, and he did not open a hive or see a queen. lie entirely misinterprets the remark made by me to him at Burlington, which was to this eflect : "That those who purchased queens from some dealers in them were obliged to be satisfied if they obtained a majority of young queens from them like the parent." He does not repeat what I distinctly

asserted, and what is now, from this season's experience, even more firmly my belief, that if we would have and keep the Italian bee pure, we must rear from no queens that do not repro- duce themselves. You may call their color brown, or yellow, or leather color, or what you please, but, with slight variations of shade from dark to light, an Italian queen purely impreg- ueted will produce young queens like herself. If she does not, however valuable she may be for the purpose of building up a colony, or how energetic that colony may be, she should not be used to to rear other queens from.

Mr. Grimm's method of multiplying stocks rapidly, and preserving all queens, whatever their marking, even to the number of six hun- dred from three in as many years, may be the most profitable, since no one disputes that for honey-storing purposes, or rapidity of increase, bees not perfectly pure are quite as valuable as the best. We only protest against his compar- ing ciueens reared in this manner with those of others who proceed in quite a diff'erent way. In this matter, I would express my great obliga- tions to Richard Colvin, Esq., of Baltimore. After several disai>ioointments in queens, I sent to him four years ago and received from him two Italian queens, from an importation of his own. They were introduced into good colonies late in the fall, and early the succeeding spring I com- menced rearing from them. Out of forty reared from one of them, every one was like herself 'nx coloring, (call that color what you please.) From the other several were differently marked, not like black bees, but with distinct yellow rings, and, though large and handsome, totally unlike the parent. (I can hardly describe their appearance, but all who rear queens will understand me.) I wrote to Mr. Colvin and " reported progress." He replied immediately, advising me to "rear no more from the latter queen, and to destroy all I had reared, for nothing from such a queen would be pure, ex- cept her drones." He soon replaced her by another, which, like the first, did always dupli- cate herself.

I have since then purchased eight queens of different importations, and but one of them all has, like Mr. Colvin's, given me invariably well marked queens. Still I have kept his advice in view, and never reared from any one (after testing her) that gave me any poorly marked queens. I have queens in the third generation from all that produced pure, and find that, when they are fertilized by Italian drones, their queen progeny is just the same as were the original ; and that the workers from them not only are uniformly marked, but gentle, not dis- posed to sling, and that they cling with tenaci- ty to a comb when lifted out, so that it is al- most impossible to dislodge them. Some say that this peculiarity is a better test than any markings. In my experience, when they are properly marked, they always possess this pecu- liarity. I have never seen pure Italian bees without it.

At first, as I expected, a very large pro- portion of my young queens met common drones. These I kept for honey-storing pur- poses exclusively, replacing them as fast as pes-

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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siblc, and allowing no natural swarming when it could be avoided, that I might keep track of every queen. I found, too. Hint many of my young (jueens produced much liner drones than their niotiicrs. My proportion of cpieens pro- perly fertilized, has been fast increasing ; and last fall, out of forty-six reared in October, all but two met Italian drones. This spring, instead of being oliliged to rear from three queens, I liave had over thirty that did not fail to give me duplicates of themselves ; and, though I do not claim to be free from much hybrid stock, nor expect to rear "six hundred

pure queens" in years, I do know that by

taking sufficient pains any one may have Italian queens that will produce workers uniformly marked with three rings, gentle and " tena- cious" in disposition, and that will produce queens always like themselves in coloring. As to drones, though (here is undoubtedly more difference in their coloring than in that of work- ers and queens, I find that, by selecting queens that produce the best colored drones to rear from, there maybe a great improvement in this respect also. Ellen S. Tupper.

Brighton, Iowa, July 5, 18G7.

[Translated for the Bee Journal.

Do Bees Know Their Owner ?

Every one who had the good fortune to spend the years of his boyhood and youth in intimate communion with external nature, Avhether bred among quiet rural scenes, or visiting them only occasionally to escape from the dust and noise of city life, recalls with delight the hum of the busy bee and the home-like suuguess of the old fashioned straw hive. Our remembrance of the honey-gathering insect is connected with sweet passages of pastoral poetry, Avith the shrewd admonitions of "proverbial philoso- phy," and the wise teachings of the "Poor Richards" of an earlier day. We summon to the mind's eye the stalwart form of the aged bee-keeper, arrayed in tasselled cap, stout gray blouse, black breeches, blue hose and buckskin slippers, seated in a snug shady corner of his garden ; and, while regarding him Avith rever- ence and awe as the captain bold of hosts mul- titudinous and tierce, cast a timid glance at his picturesque apiarj^ — the armory of the "small infantry" of which he is comptroller and com- mander-in-chief, and yield him the tribute of our unfeigned admiration.

" And do these bees know their master?" was the inquiry which then invariably arose, ac- companied by the spontaneous response— "Un- doubtedly ! The bees cannot fail to know their keeper. Are they not known to be so attached and true, that when their owner dies they too pine away and perish ?"

These views and notions are probably those which most men, not having occasion to revise them subsequentl}' and ascertain the truth, carry with them from boyhood to raaturer years. Spring flowers in garden and meadow, the sweet odor of honey, bright sunshine, sum- mer showers, the hum of the hive, honey-cakes and mead, a dim conception of the mysteries

of the household and of the wise orderings of nature ; but, above all, the memory of swollen noses, closed eyes, and rubicund cars — in short, a commingling of undefined admiration and secret ajiprchension or dread ; such, approxi- mately at least, are the views and feelings which loom up belore the fancy or cower in the heart of the layman when the talk is of bees. And even in the bee-garden, in the very presence of the "toiling multitude," the remark is fre- quently made — "Is it not so, the bees know their owner ?"

I would, therefore, in advance, beg pardon of all sentimental folks, for now undertaking to attack and demolish this venerable, though poetic conceit— denying that the bees cherish any such attachments or possess such regard ; and responding to the remark with a blunt, bluff, prosaic no ! Nor need I say that this re- sponse is intended for the layman only and the novice, for the experienced and observant bee- keeper would not put the question, having long since settled the point to his own satisfaction.

In arranging my reply, I shall make short work with the fiueen and the drones — elimin- ating and excluding them altogether from the discussion.

As regards the drones, they are either loung- ing wisffully around the honey-pots at home, or roaming abroad for exercise, or in the pursuit of enjoyment at the forfeit of life. They con- fessedly have no fondness for the bee-keeper, nor the bee-keeper for them.

The queen, on her part, dwells in the interior of the hive, on household cares intent. If ever she leaves home, it is to accompany a swarm — thus mischievously bent on deserting her owner ; or, impelled by blind passion, she rushes forth in quest of a mate — on which im- portant occasion, she has, of course, no consid- eration whatever for the solicitous attention of her master.

Two of the constituents of the hive thus sum- marily disposed of, as not coming in any re- spect within the province of the "main ciues- tion," the workers alone remain to have their case investigated.

Now the worker is a remarkably self-oc- cupied creature, intent on specific duties, and devoted when from home to certain definite labors. She works with an assiduous perse- verance and fatalistic contempt of danger and death, as though sworn to the unfiagging dis- charge of her obligations even unto the bitter end. She waits upon the queen, she renders watch and ward, she measures the minutest angles, and builds most wondrous polygons. She constructs admirable queen cradles for in- cipient royalty, concocts the needed pap and pabulum for the infant bruod, ventilates the chamber, sweeps the floor, carries out the dross, and buries the dead. These are her domestic labors — her supervision of the department of the interior. But she has charge likewise of the portfolio of foreign relations. Behold her on some sunny morn, makingher appearance at the door of iier domicile, brushing the tlust from her eyes, drawing on her gloves, and dashing off boldly in mid air, winging her zig-zag and cir- cumforaneous flight to the yellow rape-field, the

3Q

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

sweet smcllina; linden grove, or the distant heathery hills. Returning thence on rapid wing, in a "bee-line," she comes laden with distended honey-bag and well-filled breadbasket, these to be discharged into the common hoard, and gar- nered in the cellular repositories prepared with such artistic skill for their reception. And this continues, with scarce an intermission, from early dawn to dusky eve ; though this incessant activity inmost instances, leads to a premature death. Her wings become ragged and worn ; her muscles relax ; swallows, hornets and spiders way-lay and entrap her ; sudden storms and gusts of rain dash her to the earth; and the deceitful mirror of brook and pond tempts her to a watery grave. Hence the bee, as Dzierzon has proved, in spring and summer, hardly gets to be six weeks old. To the bee in winter, there can be no reference here, as she, with- drawn from all out-door labor, hybernates, or rather simply vegetates in quiet retirement and domestic repose. Where then would the active, untiring bee find time to bestow special regard to and nurse recognition and attachment for her owner, though he were a bee-keeper as re- spectable and venerable as the ancient Aristseus himself.

Undoubtedly those workers, whose particu- lar charge it is for the time to mount guard at the entrance of the hive, will not fail to take special notice of Mr. Bee-keeper whenever he happens to visit the apiary. But if we may be permitted to regard matters from the standpoint of an insect, and to assume that it, like our- selves, takes its own size as the standard of measure, the respectable gentleman just referred to might appear to the eyes of the bee somewhat like a large, dark, menacing giant, with great fiery eyeballs, and enveloped ill a blue mist bedimming the sun. Not a very engaging and lovable object, surely.

On the whole, too, I would ask every honest bee-keeper to declare on his conscience, whether, on such occasions, when the bee ap- proached him with pressing closeness, for recognition, he ever observed on the part of the said bee any evidence of loving attach- ment or respectful regard, or any demonstra- tion of a desire to cultivate a friendiy ac- quaintance or renew pleasant sociable inter- course, such as the question propounded seems fairly to imply ? I suspect he will not answer aye — nor will he utterly repudiate the notion of tlie blue mist, as an illusion of the imagi- nation.

" Good !" exclaims our inquiring bee friend, "Good! but our excellent bee master surely will not always be standing there as a mere looker-on. He will, at least in the spring, raise lip his hives and peep within; or, if he has movable comb hives, will now and then take them apart for examination ; will divide stock; will raise queens, and will make artificial col- onies— and thus necessarily form and cultivate a closer acquaintance with his bees." All right, my worthy friend, I reply. But, alas, I must confess that in us bee-keepers, at those moments when we undertake actually to handle bees, the coolness and courage which we are wont to make our pride and boast, are apt to

ooze out wonderfully, unless we equip our- selves in sting-proof armour. We are quite ready at such times to array ourselves in deep disguise, and then stalk about boldly in im- penetrable incognito. With hands encased in thickest woolen mittens, with head ensconced in close-meshed bee-cap, and with loose linen blouse enveloping the body, we move in mas- ciuerade, so that neither friend nor brother could identify us — much less our favorite bees, friendly and familiar as they might be disposed to be. Even the boldest operator among us will scarcely disdain, on such occasions, to blow a whifF of tobacco smoke into the nose and eyes of the prying and obtrusive bees, who come ciuizzically whirring around, striving to peep under his visor, to ascertain whether it is in- deed the snailing face of their well-known and much-loved owner that is so well guarded and so sedulously kept from view. Incredible num- bers of cigars are annually smoked, in self-de- fence, by "practical apiarians," while making artificial colonies ; and meerschaums and clay pipes, by the groce, are in demand during the season when first and second swarms are to be hived. And since, in the case of tobacco, de- mand and supply have of late years not kept due pace with each other — the weed having risen in price, while cash has grown scarcer, and the worshipful operator, in his zeal for his own safety, not being always careful to procure the best quality of the needful commodity, it may well be doubted whether the bees feel specially flattered by the flavor of tlie article used; and it can scarcelj'' be imagined that their sympathies will thereby be enlisted or their favorable re- gards secured, while the interesting work is going on.

But suppose we could honestly and conscien- tiously concede to the unquestionably ingenious bee, a degree of intelligence enabling her to comprehend, in all its amplitude and extent, the true relation subsisting between herself and her owner, would she not diligently seek to protect herself and her stores from the skillful hands of the accomplished bee-master? What is there in all he does, on the more important occasions, to entitle him to the devoted atluch- ment of his hard-working charge, though he have the vanity to dignify himself with the endearing appellation of bee-father ? He looks very complacently all summer on the toil of his favorite, and rejoices to witness the ever-grow- ing accumulation of stores. Then, in autumn, he sneaks off to a drug-shop and buys an ounce of villainous brimstone, and with its suffoca- ting fumes dooms the hapless inmates of his hives to swift destruction. Next, pressing, and seething, and skimming, he separates wax from honey, and hastening to market converts both into cash — exulting over his gains as though the money were the product of his own veritable in- dustry; and there his kindness ends. Now what could a conscious intelligent insect perceive in all this to inspire attachment to her owner, or cause her to rejoice in his presence at the apiary? Are not we bee-keepers the most arrant honey- thieves on earth ; and would not the bees just- ly hail us by that title, could they speak ?

Finally, we must not neglect to do justice to

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

37

the vulgar notion already referred to, •which ascribes inconsolable sorrow to the bees when their owner dies, alleging that tliey too then pine away and perish lYoin sheer grief at the loss of their venerated friend. Undoubtedly there is a substratum of truth underlyin:^ this ancient and world-wide belief, and it would be interesting to gather up and analj'ze some au- thentic accounts of such occurrences. We should then, in all likelihood, reach this surprising re- sult, that the cases of mortality — all and singu- lar— were limited to the spring of the year; and that in the obituary of the defunct bee- l<eepers,their biographer had omitted to mention the fact thatth'-'y had, each and all, undertaken to winter weak stocks only ; had become alarmed by dread of starvation as spring ap- proached, and went out to feed their bees, thinly clad, in a raw easterly storm. Taking cold from such imprudent exposure, pneumonia fol- lowed, and death supervened. And now, the provident apiarians failing to re-appear with their feeding troughs, the bees speedily suc- cumbed ; sickness and famine swept them otT by the score, and family after family went the way of their late owners.

" Men have died, and worms have eaten thorn, But not from love."

And thus bees have perished, but not from grief for their departed owners.

Hence, according to all this, the Avell-meant and flatteringly unctions ciuestion with which this erudite cliscussion was opened, must finally be decided in the negative. " The 72a?/,'? have it." All the credit which we bee-keepers have so long enjoyed for living on familiar terms with our bees — though these have neither the disposition, nor any valid reason, to cherish attachment for our persons — proves in the cud to be founded on sheer knack in management and practical skill in manipulation, together with a sedate and digniliccl demeanor some- what imposing from its manner. For truth's sake we are bound to make this acknowledg- ment,though the wide-spread notion of the fond- ness of the bees for their mastei", should there- by receive its coup-de-grace.

The true bee-master, be it known, is the genuine Platonic "philosopher on his throne." lie declares, with the shrewdest politician of the present day, "the bees must bear in mind that they are the subjects of an absolute gov- ernment" ; and exclaims with Sarastro in the Magic Flute :

" Though I cannot constrain thee to love me, Yet stm will I ne'er set thee free."

MUKICH.

W. Bcscn.

[For the American Boc Journal.]

On the 10th and 12th of July, 186G, I put a swarm of black bees in each of two box hives. One of them filled its hive full of comb ; the other only two-thirds. During February and March following they both perished. I saved the combs entire in each, and fumigated them with sulphur twice during the spring. On the 20th and 21st of June i put in each hive a swarm of blacli bees, which were well pleased with their new furnished home. On the 28th of

June, I received twenty-four pounds of box honey from the eldest, and on the fjth of July two boxes more of same amount— making forty- ciglit pounds of honey. The main hive is full of comb tilled with honey, and from all appearance I shall have twenty-four pounds more l)y the 20rh of the month — total, seventy-two pounds.

Tlie other hive has done equally well, in pro- portion to the time and the amount of comb Avhen commencing.

Docs this case involve anything new that might be improved upon ? Could this year's swarms be driven out late in the fall into breed- ing hives, and the comb reserved for next sea- son's use ? I would like to hear the difficulties in the way of the above suggestions explained by some of the numerous readers of the Joun- N.\L. By the Avay, the readers of the Bek JouuNAL arc among the most intellectual and moral men of our time, as the culture of the honey bee involves, next to man himself, the greatest wonders of our kind Heavenly Father.

J. L. Pearce.

Mineral Ridge, Ohio.

XoRTn Reading, (Mass.), July 20.

"We have had very poor seasons here for bees for the last two years. Last year there was a very full bloom of the fruit trees ; but the weather Avas unfavorable, and there being only a small amount of clover, new swarms scarcely got enough to live on. I had a number of SAvarms that did not build their combs more than half Avay down. These I fed enough to carry them through the winter. But few bees died in this vicinity, except those that were short of honey.

This spring has been cold and wet. The fruit trees did not bloom scarcely any. There was a large ciuantity of Avhite clover, and the bees have gathered considerable surplus honey. My stocks that only partly filled their hives and had to be fed, ha^-e built their combs down, and all of them swarmed, some of them twice and some of them three times.

I have noticed, for several years, that swarps that come out late, especially second or third swarms, if fed enough to carry them through the winter, build their combs doAvn the next season, and generally do much better than old stocks.

I think thisis rather an unfavorable locality for keeping bees on account of the sudden changes of the weather in the honey season — wh ch generally last only two or three weeks — the bees seldom gathering any surplus, except when white clover is in blossom.

My bees arc Italian, but not pure. There are 60 many black bees in this neighborhood, that It 13 impossible to keep the Italians pure. I use Clarke's hive generally. Bees winter here much better in the Clarke, or in the old fash- ioned hive, then they do in moveable-comb hives. The movable combs arc indispensable for rearing queens ; but, for general use, I pre- fer the Clarke.

I like the Amektcax Bee Journal very much, and hope it will meet with such success as to malcc it a permanent institution.

Joseph D. Goa\t:ng.

88

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, JULY, 18G7.

^WTnE American Bee Journal is now published montlily, in tlie City of Wasliington, (D. C.,) at $3 per annum. All communications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

To Subscribers in Canada.

Mr. John II. Thomas, of Brooklin, Canada "West, will act as the authorized agent of the American Bee Journal in Canada and the British provinces. Bemittances to him on our account, will be duly acknowledged.

A. New Notion.

The French Academy of Sciences has recent- ly published an article, prepared by Dr. Lan- dois, of Munster, on the " Law of Sexual De- velojyment,'''' in which an attempt is made to overthrow the Dzierzon theory on that subject in the case of bees. He says : "It is known that the eggs from which workers proceed are laid in cells ditTering from those in which eggs producing drones are laid ; and that the food or jelly with which the bees supply the larva; is prepared distinctly for each sex. Hence the query readily arose, may not drones be pro- duced from eggs laid in worker cells, if such eggs be transferred to drone cells, and care be taken that the nursing bees shall supply the disclosed larvre with drone-jelly exclusively ? and, conversely, may not workers be produced from drone eggs, under similar circumstances and like treatment ?"

Dr. Landois says that he actually made the cxi^erimcnt repeatedy, though at first Avithout success, as the bees defeated his arrangements; but finally he succeeeded in deceiving them, and then the result was in accordance with his anticipations. The attempt, he alleges, will in- variably fail, if the transferred eggs be placed in a comb the cells of which contain none laid there- in by the queen. His process was to cut out with the point of a knife, a portion of the cell bot- tom to which tho egg is attached by the queen in oviposilion ; and then, lifting out the small plate witli the egg thereon, insert it in the cell designed to receive it. He claims to have pro- duced workers from drone eggs by this process, and drones from worker eggs, and thus demon- strated that the production of workers is not the result of impregnation, and that sexual de- velopment is dependent solely and exclusively on nutriment.

All this, we have no doubt will prove to be a

mistake. It will be found that Dr. Landois, instead of deceiving the bees, was himself de- ceived by them. The fact, well ascertained, that there is no difference whatever in the jelly fed to drone or worker larvae, is fatal to his doc- trine, if no other objections could be urged

against it.

i^

Errata.

In Prof. Varro's communication on the " Purity of Italian Queens," in our last number, there is an omission after the fifth line from the bottom of the second column, page 19, which should be supplied. The passage ought to read — "he bought three queens from Mr. Langstroth, one of which jiroduced an almost black Italian queen, wMch he tested for breeding," &c.

In the description of Mr. Allen's hive, in the same number, the word racks is misprinted sacks in the 39th line of the first column, page 18.

Among the mass of amusing and instructive information with which the volumes of Kirby and Spence abound, is the following: Bees in excursions do not confine themselves to the spot immediately contiguous to their dwellings, but, when led by the scent of honey, will go a mile from it, or considerably more ; yet from this distance they will discover honey with as much certainty as if it was in their sight. A young bee, as soon as it can use its wings, and has learned by hovering in front of it to know the position of its hive, seems perfectly aware, without any previous instruction, what arc to be its duties and employments for the rest of its life. It appears to know that it is born for society, and not for selfish pursuits, and there- fore it invariably devotes itself to the benefit of the community to which it belongs. Walking on the combs it seeks for the door of the hive that it may sally forth and be useful. Full of life and activity it then takes its first flight, and, uncon- ducted but by its instincts, visits like the rest the subjects of Flora, absorbs their nectar,cover3 itself with their ambrosial dust, and returns un- embarrassed to its hive.

IW It has been a common practice for many years, among German bee-keepers, instead of attempting to winter weak colonies, to drive out the bees from all such in the fall, and unite them with their strong stocks, preserving the hives with the combs they contain for spring use, and placing their early swarms in them. New, clean combs arc too valuable to be melted down, unless the present market price of wax were at least quadrupled. When the hives from which the bees were expelled contain honey in the combs, they are occasionally used in the Avinter or spring to save famishing colonies. Such hives are called "7io?wc7i(37-" by the Germans — a term for M'hich we have no corresponding English word. — [ed.

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

39

about eighteen days later. I have Italianized some hives by giving them a scaled queen cell this season. J. Winfield.

East Sagixaw, (Mich.,) July 15. I hope bee-keepers will take interest enough in the Journal to keep it going. There may be some who are too old to learn, but old men pass away and the young must learn. So, smccess to the Bee Journal.

L. C. WniTiNO.

INTERESTINO CORRESPONDENCE.

Branpywtne IIundrbd, (Del.,) June 15. Please continue my bee ]iapcrs, the subscrip- tion to which ended with the June number. I like the Bee Journal very much. I have a few hives of bees, and the paper makes them more interesting. I have received the papers regularly. George W. Harriet.

Lewisburg, (W. Va..) June 25. Being so well pleased with the second volume of your Bee Journal, I cannot do without it; so enclosed find two dollars subscription to the third volume, withmanj'' wishes for the success of your enterprise.

T. L. Sydenstricker.

Parma, (N. Y.,) June 23. Please send me the American Bee Journal another year. I cannot get along without your valuable paper. Nelson Tenny.

Pleasant Hill, (Ky.,) July 4. I very much hope the American Bee Jour- nal may receive patronage enough to sustain it in full vigor and health, as I look upon it as a very valuable publication.

R. B. DUNLAVY.

New Paris, (Onio,) July 5. I have been reading the American Bee Journal for some time with a great deal of in- terest, and I think with some profit. I am very anxious to have the publication of it continued.

D. L. KiRKPATRICK.

West Middleburg, (Ohio,) .July 8. I have received the American Bee Journal, and found it to be the paper that every man ■who keeps a colony of bees ought to have.

Stokes Helling.

HoosiCK Corners, (N. Y.,) July 10. I am much pleased with your Bee Journal, and intend to preserve it bound.

Doty Brimmer.

Canfield, (Ohio,) July 12. I hope you will be able to continue to publish the Bee Journal for many years. I find in it many things interesting, and valuable instruc- tions to bee-keepers. I have tried one hint in the cottage management of bees that succeeds very well— namely, placing the swarm on the old stand, and setting the old hive in a new place. I have tried it in about ten cases, and have not been troubled with a second swarm, though two of the new swarms have each swarmed— one in twenty-one days and the other in eighteen days. They are Italians, and I put them in hives containing combs saved from stocks that died in the winter. Both of them stored honey in boxes before swarming ; and the old hives that were moved are working in boxes now. My first Italian swarm came June 5. The first common swarm I heard of was

RiPON, (Wis.,) July 10.

I wish I could see the Bee Journal well supported by bee-keepers. It is devoted to our work, and the support must come from us. If it go to the wall, see that it is not our fault.

My bees are very much behind in their swarming — out of eighty stocks only four have cast swarms. In the boxes they are doing well. Clover is in full bloom, and has been for over a month, Bass wood will not be in bloom for a week yet. I am testing the work of the Ital- ians this summer, and will compare it with that of the black stocks in the same condition, and give you the result at the close of the season.

R. Dart.

Malvern, (Ohio,) July 18. Bees have been doing well with us this sea- season, but there will be more swarms, I fear, than honey to feed them, among those who have let their colonies swarm at will.

George Hardestt.

For tlie American Bee Joarnal.

Transferring.

My first efifort in this line was ludicrous enough. I had Quinby's and Kidder's books, andthe collection of ropes,and sheets,and boxes, hives, «fcc., w^as enough to frighten the bees into good behavior if nothing more. My plan now is to smoke the swarm to be transferred pretty thoroughly. Then turn the hive over, pry off one side, and, with a long knife, cut out the first comb ; carefully brush the bees off into the hive from which you are taking the combs. They will continue to move back among the combs as these are removed. Lay your brood combs on a folded cloth, and cut them to fit your frames. Fasten them therein, as di- rected by Quinby, with sticks, and put the frames intotlie new hive. You can now brush the bees into the new hive as you remove tlic combs, and when the combs are all removed, your beea are removed also, and j-ou have no further trouble. It is very rarely the case that you have good straight combs from the old hive to fill all the frames in the new one ; so I always use a division board, by which I confine the bees to the space which they really occupy. As they increase in numbers the division board can be moved along, and new frames inserted. By the way, I think too much importance can- not be placed upon the use of the division board. It is invaluable for the use of stocks. Spring is the best time to transfer. If carefully done you need no protection for hands or face.

40

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

INTRODtrCING QUEENS.

I have changed the Italian queen I have three times this season— done it by the method -of Mr. Alley, by smoking. I had good suc- cess each time, and should not hesitate to in- troduce any queen, however costly, in this way.

' ITALIANIZIKG.

Most writers say, remove the old queen six to twelve hours before inserting a sealed queen cell. I have uniformly inserted the queen cell at the same time that I removed the queen, and have not had a cell destroyed.

STRAIGHT COMBS.

I have no infallible rule. But bees build new combs in a parallel line with adjoining combs. An empty frame placed between two straight ones, would inevitably be filled with straight comb, if the bees did not make the full combs adjoining the empty frame thicker, especially near the top; or they will make one much thicker than the other, and thus cause the new comb to be made on one side of the empty frame instead of the centre. I have remedied this in a great measure in my hives by taking out the full frames, and, after brushing off the bees, cutting the honey cells off with a long knife to even thickness with the top of the frame, ?. e.. | of an inch. By cutting over a pail or pan you can save much very nice honey; and before the bees can make the combs thicker again, the new frame will be filled with perfect- ly straight brood comb. I do not advise any one to do so. It is only this season that I have done this. Perhaps late in the season it might not answer as well. I have seen no bad results as yet, but, on the contrary, I think I can show as many perfect combs to the hive as most bee- keepers.

DRONE COMB.

Can any one tell me the reason of my bees this year building so much drone comb ? In nearly all of my hives, whether they have lay- ing queens or not, the bees seem determined to build drone comb. If they begin at the top with worker comb they will change to drone comb at a distance of from two to four inches down; or will build worker comb at one end of the frame and drone comb at the other. I have practiced cutting the drone comb out, but I think this retards comb building very material- ly. Has any one a reason, or a better remedy?

J. TOMLTNSON.

Newburg, (Wis.,) July 17, 1807. The Bee-Eater.

MEROPS APIASTER.

E ■ There are many species of the genus Merojys, all of which are distinguished by their brilliant plumage, and take their prey, consisting of bees, wasps, gnats, &c., on the wing, like the swallow, and what seems remarkable, without being stung by them. The one we are about to describe is among the most elegant of European birds, and next to the Robin and Kingbird may be con- sidered as the most brilliant in point of color. It is a native of the warmer parts of Europe, par-

ticularly among the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, and of many parts of both Asia and Africa; but in the north of Europe it is rare- ly seen. In shape this bird resembles the halcyon tribe, and is about the size of a black- bird. The bill is slightly curved, sharp-pointed, rather long, and black ; the irides bright red ; the crown of the head and the upper parts of the neck are of an orange-chestnut color ; the throat yellow, the scapulars, lower part of the back, and wing-coverts pale yellow, more or less shaded with an admixture of red and green. The smaller quill feathers arc rufous-chestnut tipped with green ; the larger sea-green with dusky tips ; the rump and tail are sea-green, the latter about three inches long, the two mid- dle feathers projecting, in a pointed form, to some distance beyond the rest. The sides of the head, above the eyes, and the whole under parts are sea-green ; from the corners of the bill, on each side of the head, a black streak passes across the eyes, curving downwards, and nearly meeting the tips of a black crescent placed across the snout, and separating the yel- low of that part from the sea-green of the under parts. The legs are short, and of a reddish brown color. It builds in deep holes on the banks of rivers, forming a nest of moss, and laying from five to seven white eggs.

The Indian Bee-eater {Merops mridis) is about half the size of the European species, but the middle tail-feathers are considerably longer. On the upper part of the breast is a crescent- shaped transverse mark, with the horns point- ing upAvards ; the back and lesser covert-fea- thers of the wings are of a parrot-green color ; the rump or coverts of the tail of a bluish-green; the breast and belly of a light green, and the tail is green. The greater quills of the wings are dusky at their tips; the centre quills are of an orange color, bordered with green and marked with black spots, the extreme tips being orange ; the first row of coverts above the quills is orange in the centre and green on the edges. The bill is long and sharp-pointed, having a downward incurvation ; the claws are pretty strong, and the legs and feet of a dusky brown color. This species is a native of Bengal, parts of Madagascar, &c.

•»M ■

For the American Bee Journal.

Mr. Editor: I usually double second swarms, saving a few bees with one of the queens, to make good losses. I find that bees from caps carried into the cellar will join these sinall swarms peaceably, and remain when carried out next day. This would be a safe way, for a novice, to furnish an Italian queen with bees.

Swarms losing their queen will run into other swarms of two or three days standing ; but on putting bees of a second swarm into a second swarm of the day previous, they were stung. Swarms of the same day mixing show some fight. What niiikes the difference ? Must they come showing their conscious quecnlessness to insure a kind reception ?

I have ninety old stands and one hundred new ones. F. H. Miner.

Lemont, Illinois.

American Bee JouRxNal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. IIL

SEPTElMBEIft, ISOT'.

No. 3,

[Translated for the American Bee Journal.]

Contributions to Bee Culture in Cottage Hives.

No. 1.

While thus submitting the first of a brief series of articles on this topic, I would candidlly ad- monish my readers that I have no expectation of being able to furnish them with anything specially novel or striking. At the same time I would request thcni to acquit me of the vanity of conceiving that I am one of the shrewdest among bee-keepers, and thus authorized to as- sume the position of an instructer. On the contrary, I verily believe there are many practical bee keepers much shrewder, more competent, and of larger experience than my- self. I am content, in the hope of being useful, to occupy an humbler rank. My desire is rather, by these contributions, to induce others to com- municate, for our common benefit, some de- tailed s'atement of their views, experiences, processes, and manipulations. For I appre- hend that in these periodicals, bee-culture as it has been, is, and must long continue to be practiced with common hives among the com- mon people, is equally entitled to investigation and discussion, as the new method aided by movable comb hives and the Dzierzon theory. Even admitting that those who have for many years used the common straw or box hive, have long since become experts in practice, and have attained to such advances in knowledge and ex- perience, that nothing remains for them to learn from one another— which is hardly a supposable case — there are still among the readers of these papers, a large number of new beginners, and of practitioners of limited experience, to whom it will be decided!}' advantageous to have many matters described and discussed with minute- ness and simplicity, which older apiariims may regard as thoroughly settled and universally known. Though the old jtractice of dealing in secrets and mysteries has largely gone out of vogue in bee-culture, as in other branches of human handicraft, there are yet here and there

some ancient bee-masters who withhold what they know, and cannot bring themselves to find their richest recompense in imparting freely to others the acquisitions of their experience. Hence beginners are ofttimes nonplussed in their efforts and discouraged. They have heard, as it were, the tinkling of the bell, but cannot ascertain distinctly whence the sounds proceed or what precisely they betoken. The result is not unfreciuently perhaps, that because of some slight mistake or inadvertence, the nov- ice encounters disappointment and failure, in an operation which properly conducted would have been a gratifying success, cheering his heart with delight and encouragement.

The chief reason perhaps, why so few of the bee-keepers of the country — though there are among them many successful bee-masters — write for the BtE Journals, is the fact, that with rare exceptions, their education was lim- ited to what was taught in our common schools when they were young, and they are thus un- practiced in the " art and mysterj'" of litertiry composition Even some ol the more advanced among them, well qualified to furnish instruc- tive communications, dread, if they should chance to express themselves awkwardly, being laughed at and ridiculed as belonging to that class of hopelul aspirants who are cursed with the scribbling itch without being blessed with the faculty of scratching themselves with a good grace.

But, worthy co-laborers in bee keeping, let us not be deterred by such apprehensions from contributing our mite for the advancement of bee-culture. Rather let us compare those who would look down so contemptously on our humble efforts, to the butterfly in the fable, which, arrayed in gay and gaudy colors, as it fluttered among the flowers rtgarded with dis- dain the busy inconspicuous bee that was so assiduously !ipproi)riating the nectar. Yet the bee could disi^lay in her lionie, works surpas- sing the architect's skill aud treasures cl allen- ging the miser's envy, while the gorgeous but- terfly had not even a cranny it might claim as a home. Thus let the true bee-keeper seek to show his competency and skill by the flourish- ing condition of his apiary, leaving sesquiped-

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

linn words and fine-strung sentences to those ■ftio tidniire Ibcm.

Tnldnp time l>ythe forelock, sons tohe ready for ] o^silile emergencies, let lis suppose Hint tlie rigor ofAvinter is over, that spring is approach- ing', and tliat in some of our hives supplies are running s-hort. The question now arises what is the best mode of curing the evil? Preven- tion, indeed, would have been the better plan ; but it is all too late now forthat, though by way of caution for the future, it may not be amiss here to impress it on the beginner not to under- take to winter stocks inadequately supplied, if he can possibly avoid doing so. If he has a number of stocks from which to choose, let him select for wintering only those that are popu- lous and have plenty of sealed honey in the combs. From all the weaker colonies, the bees should be driven out as soon as pasturage begins to fail, and the hives with the combs and honey they contain should be reserved for the use of early swarms in the spring, if pressing necessity do not recjuire them to be otherwise used before that time. There is ever a strong temptation besetting the novice in bee culture to retain every coloiiy he has on the stand, how- ever feeble and unfurnished. Number has usu- ally more charms for him than quality, as it aids beUer in making a display, and he feels a piide in shewing how rapidly his apiary is gj owing. This is a sad mistake. In poor seasons indeed it is not alwaj^s easy to select the stocks best fitted for wintering, but it, is better to discard all those about which doubt may be entertained, and err if at all on the side of safely. Moreover, when it seems likely that any stock M'e desire to winter may need feeding, it is best to give it the necessary supply in the fall ; and if liquid honey must be fed, it should be given so early and in such quantities that it may be promptly carried up and sealed in the cells. The amount consumed is not the same in every winter. In long winters with changeable weather, enabling the bees to fly out frequently, their stores will be rapidly diminished and there is danger that they may be wholly exhausted. Experience has shown also that among colonies equally well supplied, some will begin to be in want a month sooner than others, owing principally to a difference in the amount of population or more freciuent disturbance. Nor is the equality of the honey equally good every year.

From all this it is manifest that it may happen to even the most circumspect bee-keeper, es- pecially after poor honey seasons, that some of his stocks will need feeding towards the end of winter. "Where cottage hives are used, it is not so difficult as many suppose to ascertain the state of the supplies at the approach of spring. Select a fine, bright, clear morning after a cold night, and if there has been a severe frost, all the better. In turning up the hive, its weight alre:?dy will give the bee-keeper a pretty good idea of its contents. But as the bees are then still clustered in a compact mass, it is easy to see and judge of the ciuantity of sealed honey remaining, if the hive be so held or placed that the sun's rays may shine down between the combs, and an accurate knowledge of the strength of the stock may thus at the same time

be obtained. A beginner, who fears to trust his inexperienced eye, may probe the combs where the sealed homy ought to be, with the point of a long carving knife or a slender poin- ted rod, and the same means may be used, for* the like purpose at a later period, when the bees have already increased and spread so as to cover the combs. If at the first revision all the weaker stocks be marked, it will subsequently be neces- sary only to keep an eye on those.

The question now arises, in case supplies run short toward spring, shall feeding be resorted to, or tran!<ferring'i On the whole, according my observations and experience, I prefer the latter, where the bee keeper is prepared to resort to it.

Feeding, in the months of February or March, is troublesome, expensive, often uncertain or precarious, and not unfrequently decidedly dis- advantageous. It is troublesome, inasmuch as in those months the feeding box may not simply be set in the hive as at other times, but must be placed and secured in immediate contact with the combs directly below the clustered bees. If not thus placed and secured, the bees may neglect to descend and appropriate the offered boon ; or if they do come down, they may be- come so chilled that many will be unable to re- turn and rejoin the cluster, and thus infallibly perish. Some beekeepers, indeed, fill up the empty space between the feeding box and the combs, with hay, moss, cotton-waste, or other substances, or place a heated brick in the hive — though the latter occasionally proves to be decidedly injurious. The better plan, in any case where the apiary is near the dwelling house, is to remove the hive, after introducing tfie food, into a dark chamber, moderately warmed, ancl let it remain there over night. Feeding is ex- pensive, because the bees will thus consume at least twice as much honey, as when depending on their own stores. It is precarious, because in very cold weather, the bees may fail to resort to the food, and perish notwithstanding it was provided for their use. But both trouble and expense might be disregarded, if it were always certain that fed colonies would subsequently thrive the better for such provident attention. But this is not commonly the case, and hence feeding is not unfrequently found to be disad- vantageous. The introduction of the food, and the disturbance inseparable therefrom, causes the bees to un cluster, to consume lioney inordinately, to fly at unseasonable times, and to commence brooding prematu'-ely. If con- fined by stress of weather, they become dis- eased, and dysentery sweeps ofl" thousands more than the early maturing brood can replace. If the weather permit them to fly, the odor of the honey on which they have fed, will attract bees from stronger stocks, and thus expose them to be robbed and ruined. The case is very differ- ent where a colony in need of supplies, can be at once transferred to a stored hive reserved for their accommodation — as will be shown in a future number. H. Schulze.

I^^Send us the names of bee-keepers, with their Post Office address.

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[Translated for the Bco Jonrnal.

Dr. Landois' New Theory.

Accordinfif to Dr. Landois, sex in insects is not dftcrnuned already in tlie egg wlien it is laid, but becomes so subsequently by the quality and quantity of the nutriment •which the larva receives when disclosed from the egg. Individuals richlj" nourished, he conceives, -will beeome females, while those poorly fed become males. Were this so, then in years of scarcity, when large numbers even of the human family are necessarily put on half rations, all the insects then bred would necessarily be males, and the entire race of bees must long since have become extinct, from the exclusive production of drones. Thus the views of Dr. Landois are at once seen to be erroneous, and inconsistent with the wise ar- rangements of Providence as displayed every- where iu nature. But in the special case of bees, the error is so palpable, that it cannot fail to be detected on the slightest examination. No one will, of course, for one moment think of testing it by repeating the experiments which Dr. Landois professes to have made, with such wonderful results. Indeed, he cannot well have made them himself, or, if he attempted to do so, was surely outwitted by the bees.

The fact that when the eggs have once been laid, the sex of the bee to be hatched from it, is already unchaugcablj' fixed therein, and that neither cell nor food can subequently exert any influence on it in this respect, may readily be ascertained by a much more simple method. Nay, the bees themselves are very frequently demonstrating it by their own operations. It is well kuown that queenless bees will endeavor to rear queens from drone eggs or larvfE, when Avorker eggs or larva; are not within their reach. They enlarge the cell and supply it lavishly with food for the nourishment of the proposed embryo queen. But no queen is overproduced by the process ; though, if Dr. Landois were correct, failures could not possibly occur. Again, a young queen remains unfertilized, be- cause she is unable to fly or was bred late in the fall when no drones survived. In the fol- lowing spring she will lay eggs regularly in worker cells ; and she does so because, at that season and while the population is still weak, she strives to produce Avorkers only, and the workers themselves then certainly do not de- sire the production of drones. Yet drones, and drones only, invariably proceed from those eggs. Uow can Dr. Landois explain this, on his theory ?

No, when the egg is once laid, the sex of the bee thence proceeding is certainly alreadj' un- alterably determrned. I am fully persuaded that no subsequent artificial impregnation can etf(?ct a change, because it has then already lost all capacity for impregnation, as the micropyle becomes immediately closed, and the entrance of spermatozoa is forever barred. The size of the cell and the abundant or scant supply of food can only efiect the more or less perfect dtvelopement of the body and its organs, deter- mining only whether the product shall be a perfect, a crippled, or a partially developed insect.

That external causes, and among them the food, should influence the color of the bees ; and that, for example, Italian bees bred in ele- vated situations should be lighter colored than those bred at a lower elevation, as has been al- leged by some, I will not undertake to deny, though I incline to doubt it. The opinion may be based on mistake or misconception. Italian bees adhering to a comb certainly appear bright- er, when there are among them many young ones, quite recently emerged. Climatic influ- ences, however, would require a longer time to exhibit an observable efl'ect. A rapid modifi- cation of color might find its solution in an un- perceived change of queen. But it would, at the same time, show that the bees under con- sideration are no longer pure Italians, or of auni- form and stable type. Among my bees at least, the color of tlie pure Italians continues always and uniformly the same, however much the nutriment of the bees may difier, in kind or quality, at different seasons. Dzierzon.

Carlsmarkt, May 26, 1867.

[Translated for the Bee Journal.]

Advice to Beginners.

When, on revision of stock in the spring, a colony is found to be ciueeuless, it is not worth, while to attempt to preserve it, unless a fertile queen can be immediately introduced. When this cannot be done, the most advisable course is to drive out the bees, and unite them with some colony, otherwise in good condition, though weak in numbers.

It is equally bootless to endeavor to build up a colony again, which has become weak and queenless from over-swarming. By the time the last after-swarm has issued, nearly all the brood in the parent hive will have matured and left the cells ; and though a fresh supply of brood be given, the stock will have become so depopulated, before a queen can be raised and the young bees emerge, it is scarcely possible for it to recover, without continuil nursing and reinforcement, so as to be in a condition to winter safelj% unless there h«ppeii to be abun- dant pasturage late in the fall.

It is hence a very great advantage to keep constantly on hand in the apiary, a number of nucleus colonics in movable comb hives, of a size just adapted to accommodate six or eight combs with an adequate number of bees. The construction of such hives is simple and inex- pensive ; and in them colonies can be conve- niently and safely wintered, when placed in a dark and dry cellar. There is so little trouble or difficulty in wintering such colonies that they cannot be too highly recommended for the use of beginners, especiallj' in connection with their ordinary stocks. Though no queenless stocks be found in the apiary, it will be an obvious benefit when we come to make artificial colo- nies, to be able, while one portion of the hive to be divided retains the queen, to give to the other one already fertile taken from a nucleus colony.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

To procUice snch a queen-raising stock, we close tlie entrance of n nucleus liive with Avire cloth, insert two empty combs, with one coutiiin- ing eggs and imsealed brood, and one with honey. Then, about noon, when the bees are fiying briskly, we lift out several combs of a pop- ulous stock, and shake off the bees into the nu- cleus hive-first ascertaining that the queen is not among them. We tht^n immediately close the hive, and set it in a cellar or some cool dark chamber. Some water should have been poured in the cells of the empty combs, to prevent the destruction of the larva? while the bees are kept confined. Next morning the nucleus may be carried to the apiary, and set in any desired position. The bees when liberated, by remov- ing the wire-cloth from the entrance, will mostly adhere to the nucleus, as the greater portion are young and attached to the brood. But should too many leave, a fresh supply may be added next evening from one of the full stocks. On the third or fourth day after, the nucleus is to be opened and examined, to ascertain whether any or how many queen cells have been started. And on the eighth or ninth day as many additional nuclei are to be fitted up and stocked with bees, as you have supernumerary queen cells to dispose of. These nuclei are also to be set in the cellar over night, taken to the apiary next morning, and a queen cell inserted in each, from the first formed nucleus. Weak colonies and late swarms may also be advantageously used for the formation of such nuclei.

These nuclei, or small artificial colonies, as they may be called, must of course be kept under constant supervision, to be certain that the young queens have become fertile, or have not been lost on their excursions. In the latter event, a small piece of comb containing unsealed worker larvae, should immediately be inserted, to prevent the orgination of fertile workers, because when such arise and begin to lay in a nucleus, the bees will neglect to rear queen cells from brood subsequently given, and will even destroy any sealed queen cells that may be inserted.

If these nuclei are made to supply two or three fertile queens, in regular succession, in the course of the summer, they will have suf- ficiently answered the purpose for which they were established. They cost very little, as they will generally gather honey enough to supply themselves ; and commonly build several beau- tiful worker combs in addition, if empty frames are inserted at the proper time. If, however, they chance not to lay up stores enough to car- ry them through the winter, they should be abundantly fed early in the fall, and in due season placed in a dark cellar, where they can remain for months in quiet, consuming compar- atively little honey.

To gain as much time as possible in these operations, one or two of the nuclei should be unqueened eight or ten days before the c^ueen cells in the remainder are intended to be used. Queen cells will then be immediately started in those thus made queenless, enabling us to insert a sealed queen cell Avithout loss of time in the nuclei which are afterwards deprived.

A much more rapid and surer multiplication of stock can be effected by this process than by that commonly adopted ; and Ave shall always be in a position to relieve and save a colony which happens to become queeniess, by the prompt introduction of a fertile queen from the "reserved fund," in our nuclei. This further benefit is likewise secured that the beginner will speedily become familiarized with his bees, by the frequent operations which the maintainance of those diminutive stocks neces- sarily requires ; and as the bees thus managed, are ever more tractable than those of large ancl populous hives, he will soon learn to handle them without apprehension of being stung. The dread of the bee's sting ofttimes causes needed operations to be postponed, or wholly neglected. The sooner the beginner overcomes this dread the better ; and nothing can contribute more to inspire him with courage and confidence than the systematic vise of such nucleus colonies. So long as bee-caps and rubber gloves are deemed indispensable in his manipulations, he may not hope to derive much pleasure or profit from his bees. Dr. Blumhof.

BiAscA, May 14, 1867.

Do King-Birds Eat Honey Bees ?

A writer in the Northern New York Journal is inclined to think that they do not, and that their character hasbeen unjustly aspersed. His theory is that they eat the drones, but not the workers. He says :

" To fully satisfy myself that this bird when so engaged, feeds only upon the drones, I have watched from a covert near the scene of opera- tions, and seen him catch the drone from the worker bees that were swarming in every di- rection, and afterwards shot him down, and ex- amined the contents of a well-filled stomach by the aid of a microscope. Although crushed and torn, the appearance of the fragments fully as- sured me in the opinion that I had observed cor- rectly. The broken pieces exhibited none of the distinctive parts of the worker but all the peculiarities of the drone ; such as no sting in the posteriors, short proboscis, prominent eyes, hairy exterior, no pockets upon the legs to carry pollen, &c.,"

During the present season he has watched a pair of king-birds very narrowly: "Not the least disposition could I discover in them to feed upon this insect until called by the loud humming of the drones ; this was the signal for active operations. Since which time they have promptly responded to each call, manifesting as much correctness in their work as two boys spearing fish from a shoal by torchlight."

NoAV, the drone can only be a honey bee in the sense that he eats it voraciously, and if the correspondent's induction is wide enough to prove his case, all bee fanciers are called upon to change their opinion and treatment of au unjustly suspected friend.

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45

Bee-Keeping.

From the American Encyclopsedm, ■with additions and emcudatious.

The selection of a suitable place for an apiary- is of great importance. Tlie situation should bo well sheltered from strong winds, either nat- urally, or by building walls or fences. If not sulliciently protected, the bees are prevented from leaving the hive, and when returning with heavy loads of honey and pollen, are blown to the ground, or dashed against trees and rocks, and thus many are lost. It is not well to have large surfaces of water very near, lest the bees, overcome by cold or fatigue, should be forced to alight on them, or be car- ried down by the winds and perish. The hives should especially be protected from north-west winds and from chilling south winds. It is necessary, when the winters are severe, par- ticularly to regard protection from tho cold, and from dampness. The hives may face the south or east, or south east; and thus the greatest benefit will be derived from the con- tinuance of the heat and light of the sun during that portion of^the day when they are most useful. Though where increase of stock by natural swarming is not a prime object a north- ern exposure will not prove disadvantageous, since bees love to labor in the sun and to dwell in the shade, and are more disposed to store up honey when placed in such a situation. The hives should be set in a right line. It is better to place them on shelves, one above another, than in rows upon the ground. The distance between the hives should not be less than three feet and their height from the ground should be about two feet. Some experienced bee- keepers, however, raise the platform of the hive not more than two inches from the earth, considering this preff^rable, because fewer of the fatigued or chilled bees that miss the hive in returning and alight under it, are lost, the flight of issuing swarms is lower, and there is less exposure to strong winds. It will be found of not a little consec[uence, to have the apiary .where it can be conveniently watched in swarm- ing time, but it should by all moans be remov- ed from annoyance and disturbance by men or teams i>assiug and repassing, or animals laboring or grazing too near the hives. Grounds on which there are no large trees, but some of small size and shrubbery, on which the swarms may alight arc preferable. The grass should be mowed frequently around the hives, and the ground kept clean, not only for the de- light of the bees, but to prevent too much damp- ness, and to destroy the lurking places of var- ious insects and vermin.

The proper construction of the hive is one of the things most essential to success in bee-keep- ing. Many different kinds have been invented, each more or less complex, designed to give certain advantages, and to obviate certain evils in managing bees and producing honey. Of these it will be sufficient to mention several of the most important varieties. The chamber hive is made with two apartments — the lower for the residence of the bees, the upper to hold

the boxes in which the bees put their honey after liaving filled the lower part. The advan- tages of this are claimed to be a permanent cover for the boxes of glass or wood, or vessels of any kind put on tiic hive ; a better protection from the weather, with less inconvenience in turning up the hive, and in fitting a shelter over it, than is found willi a movable cover. These hives are sometmes made wedge-shaped, being several inches narrower from front to rear at the bottom than at the top, to prevent the combs from slipping down. They are also sometimes furnished with inclined bottom- boards, to' roll out the worms that fa'l upon them, or are driven down by the bees. In prac- tice, however, this latter arrangement has proved to be of little account, and these modi- fications have hence not been found to be of much importance. To protect the bees from ver- min, several kinds of su.'^pended hivrs have been contrived with iuclint d movable bottom boards. The dividing hives are made with several compartments, the object being to mul- tiph', at the will of the bee-keeper, the number of colonies without the trouble and risk of swarming and hiving. When bees from any cause lose their queen, and the combs contain worker eggs or worker larva) not more than five or six days old, another queen Avill usually be developed ; and if this occur when drones? exist in the apiary or in its vicinil}', the queen thus reared will ordinarily be fertilized, and become qualified to lay both worker and drone eggs. But if no drones exist in the neighbor- hood at the time, with which the j^oung queen can have intercourse, she will be' able to lay drone eggs only, and the colony must inevita- bly perish, unless the queen be removed and one perfectly fertile substituted. By means of these divisible hives, the partitions of which are supposed to divide the brood- combs, a part of the bees and of the combs are removed and placed by themselves to go on making honey, and multiplying in every respect like a natural swarm. A very large number of stocks or swarms may thus be made, during the proper season, by a bee-keeper hainnff siiffcient knoicledge and e.rperience. The objection urged against this kintl of hivcs are : the expense of construction, the frequency with which the bees are found to put all the icorkir brood- combs in one compartment, the difficulty oi' re- moving a part just at the times su ted lor the deveiopi ment of a new queen, and the increased exposure to cold and starvation in winter by sei)araling the bees in the diflercnt compart- ments.

Several inventions have been made to enable the bee-keeper to change the combs and gel the honey without driving out or destroying the bees. Changeable hives are made in sections, generalh' three drawers placed one alove another, holes being made to allow the bees to pass. "When the bo.xes are all filled, and it is desired to change the combs, the upper box is removed, and its place is supplied by a new one put in at the bottom. This being done yearly, the entire contents of the hive would be changed every three years, and be kept new. It is held, by the advocates of this description

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

of hive, that there is a necessity for changing the brood-combs, because the larvne hatched from the eggs and sealed up in tlie cells, there spin their cocoons, which remain on the walls of the cells, when the matured insect goes out. This deposit, although extremely thin, dimi- nishes the size of the cell, affording less room for each succeeding generation, thus causing the bees gradually to deteriorate in size. In practice this result is rarely known to cause any serious injury, though the gradual accumu- lation of nymphal envelopes in the cells unfits these in other respects for honey receptacles. The chief objection to this form of hive and mode of management, is its tendency to induce the bees to build drone comb inordinately in the lower compartment, which, by the nadir in g process, then becomes the brooding chamber, leading to the excessive production of drones, and destroying the value of the colony as a honey-producing stock. Other advantages claimed for this kind of hive are : the facility with which small swarms may be united and large ones divided ; the opportunity it offers for feeding, by putting into the hive a box of surplus honey ; and the uniformity of temper- ature preserved by the airchamber betv.'een the drawers and the outside of the hive. On the other hand, the cost is considerable, and it is denied that deterioration is caused in the bees by the filling up of the brood cells, and time ind honey are therefore needlessly wasted by keeping the bees constantly making new brood ■somb. This and the difDculty of putting the J!warms into the hives, and the many lurking places they afford to the bee-moth, and also the difficulty of procuring in this method of taking away honey, that which is good and free from cocoon and bee-bread, in the opinion of most bee-keepers more than counterbalance their supposed advantages. Swarming hives are sometimes used. They are made with sections, so that by closing all or part of them, the space which the bees occupy is lessened ; and they are crowded out, and their swarming hastened. Hives are sometimes arranged so as to allow the bees to go on accumulating honey and in- creasing in number, and not swarm at all. A hive of bees is put in a bee house, and empty hives connected with it, so that as soon as one becomes filled the bees pass to the adjoining ones. In some instances great quantilies of} honey have been obtained by this method ; but it has not generally been found practicable or profitable. The result of all the experiments made in this country, with complicated and in- geniously contrived hives, and also in Europe where equally many attempts have been made to adopt artificial tenements to the simple in- t'lini ts of the bee, tends to show the superiority, lor i)ractical purposes, of the simpler hive. The intvoductiou of the movable comb hive, is the only real advance that has been made in this direction, beyond the plain old box or straw hive ; and even in this all deviations from its original, plain and simple form, are in reality deteriorations, rendering them cumbersome and incommodious, tending to defeat the chief ob- ject in view — the facility of controlling the bees and directing their labors.

For protection against the extremes of heat and cold in summer and winter, straw hives are excellent. In Poland, where finer honey is produced, and bees are more successfully managed than elsewhere in Europe, where movable combs are not yet used, hives are very generally made by excavating trunks of trees, taking logs a foot or more in diameter and about nine feet long. They are scooped out or bored for the length of six feet from one end, forming hollow cylinders ; the diameter of the bore being six or eight inches. A longitudinal slit is made in the cylinder neajly its whole length and about four inches Avide. Into this is fitted a slip of wood with notches on the edges large enough to admit a single bee. This slip is fastened in with wedges or hinges; and if it is in several parts, it will be found the more conve- nient. The top is covered, and the trunk set upright with the opening towards the south. Through this door the condition of the entire swarm is seen, and the honey taken from time to time. The length of the hive and its small diameter, fit it for both large and small swarms.

One of the best kind of common hives is made of pine boards, an inch or an inch-and-a-cpiarter thick. The best size is twelve inches scpiare inside, and fourteen inches deep. If to be ex- posed to the sun and rain, they would be better painted. The top is made of boards, and is fifteen inches square. The boards should be joined carefully; many put paint between the junctions, to keep the moths from breeding in them. It saves the bees much labor if the in- side of the hive is planed and cleaned, and cov- ered with a thin coating of beeswax. It should not be washed immediately before a swarm is put in, with either water or spirits, or any lic^uid that would i^revent the comb from ad- hering readily. Cross sticks should be put in to support the comb. Small notches should be made in the bottom of the hive for the passage of the bees. Boxes for caps or covers may be made, if the chamber hive is not preferred, about seven inches deep and twelve or thirteen inches square. If glass vessels or others are to be used to receive the honey, they may be put under these caps, or the caps may be used alone. They should fit close to the tops of the hives, several holes being made in the tops for the passage of the bees. The bottom-board should be fifteen inches square, at least large enough to give the bees space to alight and expatiate. It is better to give each hive a sep- arate stand. If protection from vermin and insects is required, the hive may be placed on a single pedestal two feet from the ground ; but if there is no danger from them, nor from damp- ness or snow, they may be nearer the ground. The hives need some cover from the sun and rain. A separate one for each may 'be easily made by putting together two boards, one-and- a-half or two feet long, and of the necessary width, letting them "incline to each other so as to form a roof. Bee-houses are found not absolutely necessary, and worse than useless when not rightly constructed. It is Avell to guard against shading the hive too much in the spring and fall ; against preventing a free cir- culation of air all around them in summer ; and

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47

exposing tlicm too much in the middle of the day to \hv sun. The bcc-house shouhl not in cool wcatiicr, make the temperature! around the hives mncii higlicr than the bees will encounter at a distance. The simple movable covers just mentioned, which arc easily adjusted as the season demands, with hives made of boards of suflleient thickness, well painted to prevent warping, will generallj' jirove an ample protec- tion, except in very cold winters.

New swarms generally appear during the months of June and July; but sometimes as ci\v]y as IVfay, or as late as August. The swarms are usually liived when the brush or whatever they alight on can be removed, by shaking them off in front of the hive, which should be a little raised on one side to facilitate the passage of the bees. When they collect where they can- not be shaken off, and the hive cannot be jilaced near, they may be brushed quickly into a gauze sack or any vessel in which they can be kept and carried to the hive. It is generally irritating to the bees, and unnecessary if not useless, to endeavor to make the swarms collect and settle by a din of horns, tin pans, and bells. They will sometimes collect on a pole with a lew branches, some broom corn, or dry mullein tops, or similar things fastened to the end and held in the air. They may sometimes be arrest- ed when going off, by throwing jets of water or line earth or sand among them. Various means are used on such occasions to disconcert them, and with about equal success. It is very seldom that a swarm starts for its chosen desti- nation without previously alighting. If two or more swarms issue at the same time and unite, they may be separated, if desired, by shaking them from the branch between two or more hives placed near together. Should the queens enter the same hive, the bees must be shaken out between empty.hivcs as before, and this ope- ration repeated till the queens enter separate hives, or the bee-keeper is able to catch one or more of them and put them with the bees where wanted. Or, if there are only two swarms united, a part may be separated and returned to the parent hives, and the rest put in one liive ; or they may be all put in one and boxes put on immediately. It is sometimes desirable to unite small swarms. This may be easily done if they issue about the same time, by in- verting one hive and placing the other over it ; the bees in the lower will ascend and join those in the upper. When for any reason it is wished to defer lor a short time the issue of a swarm Avliich the signs indicate to be just at hand, the bees on the outside of the hive should be sprink- led with water. This is effectual, but only before the swarm has started. Sometimes the swarm issues and returns several times. If this is owing to the inability of the queen to fly, she should be found if possible, and put with the others in the new hive. If the weather be such as to prevent the new swarms from going out to collect honey, several days immedrately after being hived, it may be necessary to feed them.

Many bee-keepers have discarded the prac- tice of killing the bees to get the honey ; the surplus, after enough has been stored in the

hive for winter, being taken away by means of boxes, or, if these arc not used, cut from the hives, llie bees being driven back and i)artially stupefied by smoke. The comb is to be cut otf clean so that the honey may run as little a8 possible U])on the bees. The boxes should be put on a little before the hive is full. Polish apiarians cut out the old comb annually to les- sen the tendency to swarming, and thus obtain tbc largest amount of honey. The old practice of destroying tlie bees, except those intended for wintering, after the hives are filled and the honey season has passed, still prevails exten- sivelj^ — though it should be discouraged and discontinued. The time for taking up hives depends somewhat on the season and the bee- pasturage. The quantity of honey does not generally increase after the first of September. The bees are sometimes deprived of the entire store of comb and honey, in the early part of the season, generally about twenty days after the first swarm has left, by driving them out and giving them a new hiVe. When the old hive is infested with moths, or the comb is not good, and it is desirable to winter the bees, this operation may be expedient. It is per- formed by inverting the hive and putting the other into which the bees are to be driven over it, making the junctions close, and tapping with the hand or a stick on the sides of the hive. The bees will then pass up to the new hive, which is then removed to the apiary and placed where the hive from which the bees were expelled previously stood.

Hives are sometimes attacked and robbed, either because they are queeuless, or are weak, or other bees are attracted by broken combs, or by food put near them. It is useless to attempt to save a queenless colony after it is seriously attacked and the assailants are numer- ous ; but a weak colony that has a fertile queen should be removed to a cellar, or some cool, dark place, and kept there two or three days. It is sometimes sufficient to close the entrance so as to admit but one bee at a time. It is beneficial to put a similar though empty hive in the place of the one removed, and rub the bottom board inside with wormwood leaves or the oil of wormwood. The odor of this is so disagreeable to the bees, that the robbers speed- ily forsake the place. I3reaking the combs in the hive of the robbers, or strewing a handful of saw dust in it, will generally make them de- sist, by giving them employment at home.

The quantity of honey usuallj^ necessary for wintering safely a swarm of bees is thirty pounds. Those that are found in autumn to be weak in numbers, and with a scanty supply of honey, should be taken up. Only the strong stocks are profitable to winter. Brown sugar made into candy bj' being dissolved in water, clarified and boiled to evaporate the water, is the best food for bees. The sj-rup should be boiled till it begins to be brittle when cooled, . This or common sugar candy may be fed to ] bees, in the hives, under them, or in the boxes. ■ If fed in the liquid state, it may be introduced into the hives in dishes, with some clean cut straw strewn over it, to enable the bees to eat it without getting into it. Where feeding is likely

48

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

to be necessary, it is alwnys besi lo ftirnish the bees with an aflequate supply in antumn. If feeding is resorted lo in the spring, it should be continued till flowers become abundant. Honey is of course the best food, yet sometimes too expensive. If candied, it should be heated till dissolved. Feeding should never be at- tempted as a matter of profit. The best honey cannot be made from cheap honey and refuse sugar or molasses ; it is not made by the bees Init gathered by them from the flowers. Of these white clover is the principal source of sup]>ly. Fruit trees, basswood, locust, and majile yield abundantly and of fine quality; buckwheat furnishes a large quantity, excellent lor winter food of bees, l/ut inferior for the t-.tblc, as it is dark and strong-flavored.

The bee-moth is the greatest foe the apiarian has to contend with, where the common box or straw hives are used. All moth-traps and moth- proof hives are sheer humbugs. The best safe- guard is to be sure to have only young and fertile queens in the colonies ; otherwise con- stant watchfulness from May to October is in- dispensable. In day time the motha remain in their hiding places, and may often be found about the hives. They are on the wing m the evening, hovering around the apiary or run- ning over the hives, endeavoring to enter and deposit their eggs. Many may be destroyed by entrapping them in shallow dishes of sweetened water, with a little vinegar added. Hollow sticks, small shells, and similar things are often placed on the bottom-boards, where the worms hatched from the eggs may take refuge and be destroyed. It is necessary to look often under the bottom of the hive, and if one side is raised (as is required for ventilation in warm weather) under the blocks or shells on which it rests. These caterpillars, at first not thicker than a thread, are of a yellowish white color with a few browuisli dots. They live on the wax, eating it, and filling the combs with webs. They protect themselves from the bees by a sort of silken sack, which they spin and in which they lodge. When they have attained their full size, which requires about three weeks, they spin their cocoons. In these they remain enclosed some time and change to chrysalids of a light brown color, with a dark elevated line along the. back. A few days afterwards they are transformed to winged moths, issue from the cocoons and are soon ready to deposit eggs, for another generation. Rats and mice do not attack the hives except in winter, unless the combs are unprotected by bees. They are easily removed. There is a disease called " foulbrood," which sometimes is very destruc- tive to the young bees in the larvse state. They die in the cells and become black and putrid. The disease appears to be in a measure infec- tious, and it is exceedingly difficult to eradicate when once introduced in an apiary.

Many different methods are practiced in win- tering bees. It is necessary to protect them especially from two things — from being frozen, and from being starved. The latter happens when they collect together closely, in the cold- est weather, and the combs become covered with frost and ice, the moisture from their bod-

ies and from the air being there deposited and frozen, excluding them from the honey. The entrance to the hive is liable to be closed with ice, and the bees thus suffocated. The bee never passes into the torpid state in winter, like some other insects ; it perishes at a degree of cold low enough to freeze it. As in the case of other kinds of farm stock, it requires less food when kept warm and comfortable. If the hives are to be carried into a house or cellar, the place for them should be cool, dry, and dark. The best method is to house them, unless sufficient protection can be given them on their stands. The Russian and Polish beekeepers, who man- age bees as extensively and successl\illy as any, winter their liives on the stands ; but they make their hives of inch-and-a-half plank, and Avind the upper part with twisted ropes of straw or cordage to increase the protection against ex- tremes of heat and cold. If left on the stands, hives made of common boards need additional covering in the colder climates ; the entrances should also be narrowed so as to leave only space enough for a single bee to pass. This must not be allowed to become stopped with frost and ice, or dead bees and filth. Light snow may cover the hive without danger. The prac- tice of beekeepers is about equally divided be- tween these two modes of wintering. The suc- cess of outdoor wintering would be greatly increased by making better hives, by better pro- tecting them against extreme co'd ; and from changes of temperature. It is easier and pre- ferable when the number of hives is very large, and there is no danger of theft, to manage them out-doors than in-doors. With a small number it may be otherwise.

The time for carrying beesout from their winter quarters is in the month of March, except in very backward seasons. A few bright cold day !will not be more destructive to them than too long confinement. If new snow has fallen, and the weather is not sufficiently warm for them to venture into the air safely, the hives may be shaded from the sun, or the bees confined in the hive. If they are to stand very near each other, it is not well to carry a large number of hives at once, the bees at first not readily distinguish- ing their own. The hives should be raised from the bottom-board only on one side, if at all. Many prefer if the bees are not especially numerous, to let the hive rest entirely on tlie board, allowing less room for passage, and se- curing greater defence against intruders. More ventilation than this affords may be required in warm weather, when, if liable to suffer from heat, the hive may be raised entirely, proper means being furnished for the bees to ascend from the bottom-board.

The careful beekeeper has long desired to pos- sess some method of measuring the daily in- crease or decrease in the weight of his hive. A German publication states that a beekeeper took the trouble to weigh one of his hives twice a day — before the bees left in the morning, and after their return at night — and thus he deter- mined the nightly loss by consumption and evaporation. "These observations were contin- ued from May 5 to August 2, a period of ninety- one days, and the results are very interesting.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

49

On May 5 the hive weighed M pounds ; it lost two swarms wcighins; 13 pounds, yet on Aug. 2 it weighed 120^ pounds. There was no increase in weight from June 2R to July 21, e.vcept ^

Jound on one day and ^ on tmotiicr, and from uly 17 to Aug. 2 tlie whole increase was only three pounds. The work of each day is mi- nutely recorded and the results go to prove that the beekeeper should have some means of ascer- taining the weight of his hives daily throughout the season. A method of doing this has been invented by Mr. Shirley Ilibbard, of Tottenham, England. It consists of a turned pillar, made after the fashion of a telescope, working like a piston in a brass or iron cylinder. Beneath the pillar is a spiral spring, on which the pillar rests. Two slits run down the side or front of the cjdinder, and between them an index is marked. A finger is attached to the base of the pillar, and the hive adjusted on the top of the latter, so that as it presses down on the spring the finger marks the gross weight of the whole. A thumbscrew passes through the cylinder, and by pressing against the pillar holds it in a fixed position whenever it may be desirable.

Beekeeping has in some instances been made very protitable. Much depends on the season and on the pasturage. The value of the best honey is, in a great degree, determined by the style and state in which it is brought to market. It will generally be found most advantageous to use glass vessels or boxes, and to send the honey to market in the same.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Introducing Queens.

THE SIMPLEST, SUREST AND MOST EXPEDITIOUS MODE.

Take a stick of candy, of any peculiar flavor, dissolve it in hot water, and sweeten with honey or white sugar,adding cold water enough to make a teacupful of the sweetened mixture. Have your queen, to be introduced, ready in a wire cage, or nucleus hive ; drive out the bees into an empty hive or box ; remove the queen from them, and sprinkle the massof bees thoroughly with your sweet-scented water; stirring them up until all are scented and filled with the sweet mixture; then turn your queen among them, sprinkling her as she goes in, and make them all crawl back into the hive over a sheet on the alighting board, and your queen is safely in- troduced. This is done so quick the bees do not realize the change.

Geo. Hakdesty.

Malvern, (Ohio,) July 20, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Editor Bee Journal : I see in the columns of your excellent Journal one or two cases cor- roborating two cases in my own experience.

The first is, that I placed in a maturing box a queen cell, and examined it in two or three days. At first sight I thought it was destroyed, being opened on the side of the cell, the apex being entirely closed. But, to my surprise,

the next moment I saw a beautiful young Ital- ian queen, which l?eeamc fertilized and was perfect. ' •' / (■ , ,

The other was this ; I raised ft card from a nucleus, to learn how they were progressing wilh cells. The first thing I noticed was au opening in a cell, just similar to the one de- scribed. The thought at once occurred that there was a queen at large committing havoc with my cells. I then saw an opening in a queen cell, just as if a queen had committed violence on it, and near it was a beautiful queen, which afterward became fertilized. Hence we are confirmed in the conclusion that there are exceptions to the rule that the posi- tion of the queen at the time she comes out of the cell is always head downward.

Addison Johnson.

Pleasant Plain, Ohio.

For the American Bee Joarnal.

Purity of Italian Bees.

I was very much pleased with Prof. Varro's article, in No. 1, volume iii, of the Bee Jour- nal, on this subject. It is certainly the fairest and most satisfactory which has been given by any American bee-keeper in your paper.

There must be a great deal of harm done the bee interest of the country hy the immense number of impure queens sent out yearly, by men who ought to know better than to go into the business before they had made themselves perfectly familiar with the markings of the Italian bee, as settled by "the best" European " apiarians."

It is surprising to see how boldly the gentle- man who considers one band all sufiicient, sets forth in his circular, as tests of purity, the very marks and temper, which any one who has read volume i, of the Bee Journal, or Mr. Laugstroth's writings on the subject, knows are certain indications of mixed blood. I procured last year an Italian queen (tested) from a gen- tleman of Baltimore, Maryland, who has the Italians in their greatest purity. And, although I have opened the hive continually, both last season and this, to obtain brood t^or queen- raising, I have not received a single sting, nor have I seen a bee, young or old, gorged or empty, that did not show distinctly <7tree yellow bands. Prof. V.'s remarks about the price of pure queens are most sensible ; no one could ?,e\\ pure tested queens at less than $15 or $20, and be paid for the time and trouble he would have to spend with them. There is one thing more I was in hopes Prof. V. would notice — that is, the practice of sending out queens un- tested, with guarantee to replace them if their progeny is impure. This manifestly leads to the sale of many bastardized queens, for in most instances the purchaser never saw an Italian bee, and has to rely entirely on the de- scriptions of interested parties to judge of their purity.

Would it not be the best, indeed the only way to insure pure blood, for dealers to send out none but tested queens, and to charge fair liv- ing prices ? D. M. Worthington.

Elkridge, Maryland, July 13, 1867.

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THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL.

[From tlie Prairie Farmer ]

American Bee Plant.

( Cleome JntegrifoUa. )

This plant lias been cultivated to some extent in this neighborhood for several years past, and proves to be one of the best, and probably the very best honey-producing plant known. It was introduced by the writer about the year 18G0, as a new annual flowering plant, from the Piocky Mountain region, but its great value was not at that time known, and was not discovered till a year or two after, when the writer was surprised to see the flowers covered with bees, while others, in the immediate neighborhood were quite neglected. The next year a much larger quantity of the plant was grown, and it was found that the honey stored in boxes at the time that the plant was in bloom, was of a much finer quality than any other. Every succeeding year of its cultivation confirms this, and I find that while this plant was in bloom, nearly all other flowers were discarded ; even the buck- wheat, which every one knows is a great favor- ite with the industrious little fellows, is quite deserted. The honey stored from this plant is positively the finest, both to the eye and palate, of any that I ever saw.

The plant is of easy culture and looks well in the flower garden. It is a strong grower, and much branched like the common mustard plant, though its flowers are a bright purple, and are produced from midsummer until frost destroys it in autumn.

It will grow on any soil, though a rich one suits it best, and may be sown in drills, or broadcast if the ground is clean. Autumn is the best time for sowing it, as it comes into bloom sooner. It has already acquired the local name of " Bee Plant' ' in this vicinity (Chicago,) and as it is indigenous, I propose that we call it the Great American Bee Plant.

H. A. Tebky.

Honey-Guide.

CXrCULUS INDICATOB.

The birds to which this name is given inhabit various parts of Africa, and are closely allied to the Cuckoo tribe, but differ from them in hatching their own eggs. They are cele- brated for their curious habit of guiding the natives to the nests of wild bees, enticing them to the spot by flitting before them and reiter- ating a peculiar cry. They have a .solid, coni- cal and arched beak, small head, body long and straight, toes strong and short, and wings reaching to the middle of the tail. The feathers are]short, hard, and compressed close to the body, and the skin is so thick and tough as to protect them effectually from the stings of bees, unless the enraged insects attack their eyes. The nest of this Honey-guide is com- posed of slender filaments of bark woven to- gether in a form of a bottle, the neck and open- ing hanging downwards ; and it is said to be constructed in the hollow of trees, which the

bird climbs like a woodpecker. The genera^ color is an olive green, browuisli on the upper parts, and inclining to yellow beneath. One species is described as being about seven inches in length, and another as ten inches. They are called respectively the Little and Great Honey-guide.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Saving Queens.

Some time ago one of my colonies of Italian bees attempted to swarm out, but I arrested it and prevented the desertion by capturing the queen. On letting her run back into the hive, the returning bees attempted to kill her. I caged her for protection, placing the cage between the two central brood combs. Next day the same colo- ny attempted twice more to swarm out, but had to return as the queen could not follow the bees. As the qiieen was a very valuable one, I re- moved her to a queenless colony, and substi- tuted for her a queen cell nearly ready to hatch. Examining the colony the following day, I found that the queen cells had been destroyed, and the bees were building others from their own brood.

In every instance where a colony attempts to svT^arm out, the bee-keeper would do well to take away the queen, and use her to supply some queenless stock, if he has any. Such removal is a useful precaution, as, with me, in a number of instances the bees killed their queens, when for any reason she was unable to accompany them in their proposed desertion. A. Grimm.

Jefpebson, Wisconsin.

[For tlie American Bee Jonrnal.]'

A Singular Case.

On the 4th of April last, a stock of Italian bees just taken out of its winter quarters, had some sealed drone brood on a comb almost five inches square. I suspected that I had found a queenless stock with a fertile worker. Re-ex- amining a few days afterwards, I found a young worker bee just hatched, and about half a doz- en cells with sealed worker brood. As the col- ony was in a box hive without movable combs, I could not see the queen. About a week later I found two sealed queen cells, and the quantity of drone brood increased. Of course I did not expect that a queen would be hatched from these cells. Looking again a little over a week later, I found one of them opened regularly, and on further examination on the27tli of May, I found fresh sealed worker brood. I would add that the drone brood was in drone comb, and not, as is usually the case in such hives, in worker comb : and the cells were built on the edge of the comb, as in swarming time. Did the queen deposit the eggs in those cells, or did the workers transport a larva into them? If so, how has it happened that they made no blunder, considering that there were or must have been at least fifty drone eggs to one worker egg in the hive ? Why did this middle-sized colony rear so much drone brood so early in the season, when no other hive had any drone brood yet ?

Jeffeeson, Wisconsin. A. Gbimm.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

51

[For the Araerican Bee Journal.]

Purity of Italian Queens.

Drau Bke .TouiiNAi.: — I haste to make yon aoquaintcd Avith a great diseovory which I have just made; at least a great oue to me, perhaps your readers may uot all concur iu the state- ment.

Before detailing it I will briefly enumerate the advantages of some plan by which we may tell immediately whether a queen or her progeny is tainted with black brood or not.

The first test given us is, that a queen's work- ers shall all have the three yellow bands dis- tinctly.

Bui it has happened so often that a hybrid queen will produce workers almost perfectly marked, that we think it would be verj-^ difficult indeed for a novice to distinguish by that alone what queen he might rear from.

Again, we are told that none can be considered as pure unless their roj'al daughters, when im- pregnated by their drones, produce three-bau- ded workers, &c. &c. NoAV this test I have found a very good one ; but, Mr. Editor, " aint it an awful sight of trouble V"

Still again — and we think a little more in the right direction — "Impeccability of temper," as one correspondent said (we forget his name,) with the linen pants on, who sat down on the frames.

Now, how are we to test their temper ? I once, last fall, so irritated the progeny of a twenty dollar Langstroth ciueen, tliat it w;is almost impossible to go within two rods of their hive, and this was occasioned only by trying to remove some brood on a cold morning after forage had nearly failed. Yet they were as peaceable as ever next day. On the other hand I have a colony of one and two ringed hybrids that are nearly as peaceable as the pure ones, having never been irritated.

Now Foii THE TEST. Ouc of thc first and most distinct peculiarities from our c »mmon bees that I noticed, was that the workers accom- pauj'ing my twenty dollar queen, would allow themselves to be breathed on without noticing or resenting it in the least ; whereas nothing so exasperates and provokes to fury black bees, or those having any taint of the bltrek race, as breaching on them.

A few days ago, in showing a friend thc do- cility of the Italians, I stooped down and breathed full upon them, as they were clustered out in front of the hive ; nay, I even pushed them away with my lips, without their betray- ing any symptoms of auger. To show him the dilfcri nee, 1 then breathed slightly on a hive of black bees near. Ofcoar.se 1 liad a lot of them promptly in mj' face. I next tried it on a hybrid stock (first putting my millinet veil over my face.) The eilect reminded me of a charge of buck-shot. Thc same result with my quiet hybridsaheady mentioned; and the same with a colony that I hud considered pure, until I tried to raise queens from them ; a colony where the young Italians were just hatching, flew in my face, all except the Italians, which stood their ground with perfect uucouceru.

Now, all ye that would know if your queens arc pure, go and breathe on your bees in front of the'hive, and my word for ir, if they ar( 2)ure, youamnot arouse their anger by so doing.

1 fully expect many dialers in Italian queens will i)rotest against this test, and well they may; and perhaps they too Avill conclude that a queen that will stand that test, is worth twenty dol- lars, as per correspondent before mentioned.

A. I. Root.

Medina, Ohio.

p. s. — I don't use tobacco, nor whiskey. Either will interfere with thc validity of my discovery.

P. S., No. 2. — If any of your readers get their eyes sw^elled up, so that they cannot see at all, bid them remember that it is in a great cause.

On receiving this communication we sent an account of Mr. Root's discovery to Prof. Varro, of Washington, Pa., requesting him to test it, and communicate the result. He has obligingly favored us with the following confirmatory reply. [Ed.

For the American Bee Journal,

Mr. Editok: — In acknowledging your favor of the Gth inst., together with the reception of the first volume of Uie " Journal," I beg your leave to subjoin a few desultory remarks upon the various heads which of late, have made their appearance in your publications and else- where, directly referring to apiculture.

The use of rotten wood as recommended by Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Third Edition, Page 27. foot note, and by him considered best, Page lo-l, same edition, I consider as nothing very exfra in practical bee culture, although its praises have been repeatedly resung (B. J , Volume Second, Page 227, and Volume Third, Page 20.) In dissenting from the views above enter- tained, it seems but fair that I should state my reasons for doing so. By the substitution of " Kiilickinick" lor rotten wood, or rotten rags, j you can on removing the honey board, expedite I one Avhiif transversely over the frames, and at i the same moment shilt and lift an}' frame from I the body of the hive, before the bees seem to be 1 aware of your presence. By now jerking j'our I one-bunded Italians upon tlie remaining frames and sending another whitf after them, none will usually remain above yV>7' a second or so. — Try it — and thus you may at the same lime '"worship your idol," spare llie wings of many bees, and save your trouble of hunting, storing, i)reser- viug, rehunling and preparing your welcome rotten wood. I am well aware that our Rev. friend, L. L. Langstroth, dissuades the genuine lover of bees fronrusing the sickening lumes of tobacco, and lest I be accused of encouraging a bad habit, the genuine lover of bees, or the keeper of a whole swarm or two, or the apiarian of a hundred ^JK?'<; liallan stocks, may use stoeet-* ened water. If you concede that the ''smoke pipe" is more liandj' than the '* smudge," con- sidering that with the use of the latter it is next to impossible to replace a frame, witliout crush- ing u bee or two, 1 shall hold my pipe forever.

52

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

The " Experience of a Novice in Bee-Kecp- ing," affords me a great many ludierons remi- niscenscs, nud accords so fully Avith my own, in its earlier stages, that I could not improve upon his rehearsal, if I -would, although (No. 5 of his Experience) in speaking of bucliwheat, he might have reminded the " several bee-keepers about here" as well as many of your other readers, who, rot like Dr. Watts, seem to think ' 'the little busy bee" gathers honej'"all the day," but all the year, that, as Mr. Moneypenny would say, "a sixpence saved is a shilling earned." Work on, friend, you are at the "root" of certain achievements worthy of your name.

It has been suggested to me by an enlightened, practical and scientific apiculturist, that since my first communication to the American Bee Journal, another sure and inhillible test of Italian bees has been discovered — apart from their markings. It is this :

The workers will alloic themselves to he breathed upon without noticing or resenting it in the least— whereas nothing so exasperates and provokes to fury, black bees, or bees possessing any taint of the black race, as the breath from the human lungs. Says he, "a few days ago, on showing a ll'iend the docility of the Italian bees, I stooped down and breathed full upon them as they were clustered out in front of the hive. Nay, I even brushed them away with my lips w if bout their betraying any symptoms of anger. To show him the difference, 1 then breathed slightly on a hive of black bees near. Of course I had a lot of them promptly in my face. I next tried it on a hybrid stock, first donning a millinet veil. The effect reminded me of a charge of buck-shot. The same result with my quiet hybrids. The same with a colony that I had considered pure until I raised queens from them. A colony where the young Italians were just hatcliing was next tried ; all flew in my face except the Italians, which stood their ground with perfect unconcern."

I felt a great curiosity to ascertain how my bees would behave under similar treatment, and immediately proceeded to offer the just described insult to twenty-four stocks of Italians, and one stock of blacks which I bought about three ■weeks ago, forthe purpose of locating a super- numerary fertile Italian queen. The result of four different visits, with slight variation in operation, are as follows.

First visit. Friday, August 9, 6 o'clock, P. M. After breatbing/'MW, and at once loud and long upon each of the twenty-four Italian stocks, the effect was nothing more nor lets than the same volume and amount of breath would have had upon standing water. By prolonged repetitions of breath, the individual cluster of each hive grad- ually became thinner and thinner, till finally I had cleared them all or nearly all from the spot where the cluster was, so much so, tbat in every instance I could see the color of the hive.

The blacks resented but slightly, at first, but gradually the number of angry bees increased, till I thought it wise to retreat.

Visit Second. Saturday noon following, j •when not so many bees were as yet clustered out, ! the weather being sultry with indications of rain, i

and my breath purposely well flavored with a claw of garlic^ the effect upon the Italians wag in every respect the same as on the first visit. But the blacks at once nianiiested by their threat- ening attitudes considerable anger, and a perfect storm of bees suddenly appearing at the en- trance, I left.

Visit Third. Which took place about fif- teen minutes later ; the Italians still stood their ground bravely, though many w^ondered what was going on out of doors, and felt a little uneasy at my repeated calls. Still not more than two or three of each stock flew at me, and these seemingly without any bad intentions, as several of them becoming entangled in my beard, escaped in perfect amiability. The black ones, during the half hour's interval since my last visit, having considerably increased in number, did not wait at this time till my sweetly scented lips came within kissing distance, but unceremoniously met them half way, singing and buzzing around the drum of my ears, tiJl Avith the Ettric Shepherd, I thought "they were in at the ae hole and out at the ither — back again after makin' a circuit, as if they had repented o'letting you unharmed, dashin' against the face o'you who are wishin' ill to nae living thing."

In the evening after this catastrophe, I found five young queens torn from their cells, lying dead before the black stock.

My last effort at arousing the ire of my Italians Avas made on Sunday morning, about 9 o'clock, without the aid of garlic, of course ; but by using a turkey tail feather, I wished to ascer- tain hoAV often I could brush them towards the entrance Avithout exasperating them. Of some stocks I could thus push back the bees as high as nine and ten times, without their endeavo- ring to stick to the feather. None took wing, but quite a number, at this time, were exhibit- ing great displeasure. The blacks were still very angry and I preferred not to worry them again.

I have stated in a former article that I think my Italian bees are pure, and again I must reit- erate my conviction, or say (though 1 be my- self) my breath during the several above-men- tioned courtships, must have been exceedingly sweet.

The fact that the common bees behaved so unladylike, should in this instance not be alto- gether attributed to breathing upon them, as it is a well-known fact that bees at the time of rearing their queens are more susceptible to anger than at any other time. It is (piite prob- abie that these oft repeated disturbances took place at the very time when the young ciueens found before the hive Avere on the point of hatching, Avhich seems to be lli3 culminating point oTa black bee's irascibility.

If this additional test Avcrc univer?ally adop- ted as the standard of purity in Italian bees, and every queen Avhose progeny did not come up to it, Avere unconditionally rejected as an unworthy mother, Avho Avould dare say, Avith any shoAV of plausibility, that these beautiful, use- ful and exceedingly interesting insects, might not, within the present century, be indefiuitely improved.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

53

Will not your correspondnntsgivc this matter a thorough "invrstiiratlon, and laid us a helping Land iu^^thc clucidatiou of this very important point? Pkof. Vakko.

Washington, Pa., August 12th, 18G7.

[For tlio Americat Bee Journal.]

Experience of a Novice in Bee-keeping. No. G.

As I heforc remarked, my hee-keeping for the summer of 180(5 was not very profitable. Had I not endeavored to increase my number of stocks so much, I should have done much better. JMy two strongest stocks that were Italianized early, made about forty pounds of surplus honey each, besides having plenty for winter, which was. much better than any common bees did about here.

I i)repared twelve colonies for winter, in what I supposed to be the best manner. I lost four of them, and among them my twenty dollar queen. I will give my reasons for the loss, that others may profit thereby, if they think proper.

The first three were composed mainly of bees from condemned stocks, obtained from neigh- bors about the last of August. They were so nearly without honey, from then till November, that very little brood was raised. They were then fed so as to weigh twenty-five pounds each, aside from the hive. They all had plenty of honey in the spring, but A'cry few bees; and these too all died off before it was warm enough to raise more, for the reason, I suppose, that they were too old, having mainly been hatched in August. Bees, to winter well, should, in my opinion, have honey sufficient to raise brood in the fall months to winter over.

With my Langstroth queens the case was different. I intended that they should winter well any way ; so I gave each of them two ht>avy frames ofsealed honey, which I put at the sides of the hive, supposing that they could get it as they needed it, leaving several frames in the middle from which I haii cut brood for raising queens so late in the fall that it was not built up again. I found the bees frozen as hard as a bullet, apparently as though they had been un- able to get at the frames on the outside at all, although I had cut proper winter passages in all the combs. They had proper ventilation also, as the honey-board was removed, and replaced by a double layer of corncobs. I think if the full frames had been placed in the middle, they would have been all right.

As an expeiimenti put two fair colonies in one hive. Contrary to what is generally told us, they (lid consume the whole of their twenty- five pounds, before some of the weak colonies had c'onsumed fifteen ; and did not do much better in tiie spring either, perhaps because they were mostl}' old bees, as mentioned before.

I would like to ask here what we are to under- stand by the statements we have of buried colo- nics passing the winter on three or four pounds, or even as many ounces, as mentioned in the

July number ? My cxpci ience would show that bees eat nearly as much in the warm weather in file fall, as tlu j'^ do in the winter ; and in no case less than 2} pounds per month per stock. Do they mean that the; bees, at ti certain tem- perature, assume a semi-torpid state and scarcely eat at all ? In no other way can we explain it, if such is really the fact.

The present season, here, has been much better than the last, so much so that we feel pretty well satisfied with the results.

I enclose an extract from a country paper, which tliough not so large in comparison with the statements in the Bee Journal, is consider- ably ahead of any thing we have ever had here from the common bees.

[From the Medina Gazette]

Italian Bees and Scientific Bee-Culture.

In answer to many inquiries we would state that we have a single hive of Italian Bees, that have already (this season) filled three boxes, averaging twenty pounds each, with honey, and a fourth box is at ])resent fully three-quar- ters full, making about To lbs of box honey, and are still storing it rnpidlv. The same stock was swarmed once artificially the last of June, and the swarm has, besides filling their hive, nearly filled the second box, which would amount at the i^resent time to something over a hundred weight of box honey, as the proceeds of a single hive.

It having been said that all of the large state- ments in regard to Italians were from interested persons, so we W' uld remark before making the following statement that we have neither queens, bees, nor hives to dispose of, but do it simply to show what may be done by Italians and artificial swarming.

On the 22d of ,Iune, a strong Italian stock Avas removed while the bees were flying, and an empty hive containing a young fertile queen put in its place. The returning bees soon made a good swarm and in twenty-four hours the hive was suprisingly heavy, and in 48 hours it had increased thirty pounds by actual wti-jht. The hive was furnished with frames of empty comb from which the bees had died last winter, or this would not have been possible.

On < he third day a box Avas given them which they comnunced in immediate!}' and they are now, July 2i)tli, al work on their third one, having filled two. We should be pleased to hear some figures in regard to common bees this season, from those that have them.

We propose taking the entire produce of our best stock (the first mentioned) to our coming Agricultural Fair. Respectfully,

A. I. Root.

Errata — In our article No. 5 in the July number, aie tiirce errors, viz: —

Line 24 from the top, "in" is superflous — should be "Having something in the shape of a queen."

Line 8, from the bottom, the word iix should be three.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

And on next page, in line 25 from the bottom, occurs tlie ludicrous blunder of substituting ^'■cJieese^^ box for "c/ose" box! Did the com- positor serve on one of the Monitors ?

A. I. Root. Medina, Ohio.

For the American Bee Journal.

Mr. "W". A. Flanders, in his April excursion thro' the United States, B. J., Page 190, Vol- ume Second, among other memorable feats of animalcular dynamics humbly condescended to ask the "Knowikg Ones" a series of questions which they have hitherto been unable to answer satisfactorily to myself and other learned cqn- cuUiirians. After much hesitation, lest I should betray my ignorance in experimental science, I must at last confess that I have "to give it up," Idndly beseeching the Professor to publish the solutions to his apiarian problems, as also to the following puzzle, which I know he can dissolve to the entire satisfaction of the bee-keeping public.

A nucleus of bees having been abandoned to their supposed destruction on the 11th day of July, on account of repeated robbing and conse- quent total want of food and forage, on exami- nation was found minus queen cells, brood and eggs. There was nothing visible in the combs but a very few cells containing pollen. On the 20th day of the same month a half finished queen cell was discovered, apparently entirely dried up within, and of eggs or honey not a trace. On the Gth day of August a small, though perfectly formed Italian queen was found laying, as also several cells containing honey.

Query 1st. Supposing an egg to have escaped notice, might it not have retained vitality enough from the eleventh to the seventeenth of July, when I suppose the queen cell may have been commenced, and the egg manipulated upon ?

Query 2d. Supposing the above hypothesis to be erroneous, wliere did the bees obtain the egg that ultimately hatched into a jDcrfect queen ?

Query M. How did the bees perfect the cell and queen without any visible subsistence in the field or hive, except the few cells of pollen above mentioned ?

Query 4th. My bees being all blacks, having repeatedly failed at Italianizing them, and no Italians nearer than Prof. Varro's of Washing- ton Co., Pa., a distance of at least nine miles from here, could the bees have obtained this egg at such a distance from where it was trans- lormed into a queen ?

Now, will not Prof. W. A. Flanders, or some other "knowing one" dissolve this problem and greatly oblige ,

Prof. A. P. A. Alsatius, A. M., Corresponding Secretary of Coon Island Golden Apiary, 2^ miles from shore.

West End, Aug. 6th, 1867.

[For the American Bee Jonrnal ]

Straight Combs.

" Always straight combs has never been and never will be true in practice, except guide frames are used." — Bee Journal Vol. 3, page 28. Reply to Querist.

Place a swarm in a movable comb hive ; ex- amine when they start combs. Have a table knife ready, if a low hive is used ; or a painter's knife if it is a tall hive ; or lift the frames. Bend the combs in place, even to the cutting out and fastening again by melting the edges over a lamp or candle. If one side is extended at the expense of the next nearest comb, use tlie knife. Press the combs from the side and bot- tom upwards ; that is, cap the combs, as that gives the bees a pattern. If extended too much to cap, cut it olf over a dish, or if a tight-bot- tomed hive is used, elevate the front as in leed- ing, so that the honey will stay in till the bees gather it up again ; then replace the hive. The knife will cause the bees to build their combs as straight as a board, if practically used. Three visits have been enough for most of my hives this year. I have straightened fifty hives a day, besides cutting out and grafting queen cells in other hives, and building up several nuclei a day. It will be seen, or can be, that the combs are made straight ; and this can always be at the option of the beekeeper.

I have seen the combs in fifty hives of a neighbor, as straight and of as uniform a thick ness as a pile of boards cut from a log. Will this, neighbor please give the Journal his ex- perience with straight combs, as he has an entire apiary ot that description ?

James M. Marvin. St. Charles, Ills.

lE^" Send us the names of bee-keepers, with their Post Oflice address.

Our correspondent's "neighbor" will much oblige us, and greatly benefit a large number of beekeepers just introducing movable comb hives in their apiaries, by furnishing us with a detailed account of the means used to secure straight combs, and which have proved so signally successful.

Surplus Honey.

I have taken honey from a swarm of Italian bees which threw otf a swarm June 1st — as follows : June 16th thirteen pounds ; June 20th five pounds ; July 5th two upper cones thirty- eight pounds ; July 5th eight frames fifty -five pounds — making in all, from June 1st to July 5th, one hundred and eleven pounds. I have left fourteen frames in the lower Lox untouched, which are capable of holding seven pounds of honey each, but the greater part are filled with brood, and probably do not contain more than from thirty-five to forty pounds of honey. They have gone to work in good earnest to repair their loss, with almost half the honey season left, and many beekeepers think the buckwheat season the best in the year.

Correspondent Tiffin Tribune.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

00

Honey.

The saccharino juico of plants, collected by bees from flowers, and deposited by them in the waxen cells of the comb in the liive, is called honey. These juices undergo some modifica- tion "in the honey-bag of the bee ; but, though their chemical character is somewhat changed, tlwy still retain the flavor and to some extent tlu! peculiar properties of the plants from which they were collected. Under a powerful micro- scope the pollen that was mixed with the juices may be delected in the honey, and even referred to the particular kind of plant to which it be- longed. The prevalence of certain varieties may determine what sort of localities — gardens, woods or mountains — have been most frequented by the bees. Flowers of sweet perfume impart an agreeable odor and flavor to the honey; so that the product of some districts is famed and prized, wliile the bees of others, drawing upon very dilFerent sources, give to the honey they gather the disagreeable and even dangerous properties of the plants themselves. Thus the honey of Mount Ida in Crete, has always been held in highest estimation, as also that of Nar- bonnc and Chamouui; but the houey of Trebi- zond causes headache and vomiting, and posses- ses poisonous properties supposed to be derived from the rhododendron Azalea Pontica. Xeuo- phon, in his " Anabasis," notices his soldiers being poisoned by eating such honey. Cases of the same character are recorded in the "New Jersey Medical Reporter," November, 1852.

The substances recognized in honey are grape, sugar, manna, gum mucilage, extractive, a little wax, pollen, acid, and odoriferous sub- stances. When allowed to drain from the comb it is wholly fluid, and this, as well as the superior quality first made in the season, and de- posited in the upper part of the hives is known as virgin honey. But as ordinarily pressed out it holds a solid crystaline sugar, which may be separated by draining and pressing the fluid portion through a linen bag. The sugar is be- lieved to be identical wilh grape sugar ; but except its consistency and tendency to chrys- tallize, it is not apparently different from the fluid honey. Their taste and chemical proper- ties are the same. The proportion of cr^-stalli- zable sugar increases with the age of the honey, so as to give it in time a granular character. The consistency of houey is thus very variable. The best and newest of the spring season is a clear fluid contained in a white comb. Older honey is yellowish and reddish. It is freely dissolved in cold water, and in this condition honey undergoes the vinous fermentation. Various substances are fraudulently introduced into honey, to add to its weight and improve its color. The i)resence of such matter ma}' be detected by dissolving some of the honey in warm water, and letting the mixture stand for the deposite to fall. The different sugars are also used as adulterants, the presence of all which may be detected either by microscopic observations directed to the forms and compara- tive sizes of the crystals, or to the presence of the sugar acari, or by the chemical tests also

cited with the others by Dr. Ilassall in his work " Adulterations Detected." Starch sugar, possessing the same chemical properties as tlie sugar of honey cannot be detected ; but being often accompanied by sulphate of lime resulting from the materials used in its preparation, the ])resen(',e of this is an indication of adulteration with starch sugar.

From the remotest times honey has been em- ployed as an article of food ; and to the ancients, in the absence of sugar, it was of greater import- ance than to the moderns. A land flowing Avith milk and honey, was to them a region abounding with the chief necessaries of life. As an article ofdiet and of medicine, honey possesses the properties of sugar, but is perhaps more laxa - five. Many constitutions, especially those sub- ject to dyspepsia, cannot resist its disordering tendencj' ; but those accustomed to its use find it wholesome and agreeable, In medicine its use is principally as a vehicle for other more active substances; but its composition and action upon all constitutions being somewhat uncer- tain, a solution of pure sugar is generally pre- ferred for this purpose. When in combination with vinegar, the preparations are called oxj'- mels. Houey is easily clarifled by heating it in a water bath till it becomes so fluid as to be easily strained through flannel. The wax and lighter impurities may be removed by skimming, while the heavier substances sink to the bottom.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

"He leaps from the batli — rushes into the streets of Syracuse, exclaiming Eureka] EurckaP'

Mr. Editor : — The ecstacies of our beloved brother correspondent, Wm. A. Bennett, an- other Syracusan Philosopher on the mechanical arts — Page 17, Volume Third, American Bee Journal, forcibly strikes our susceptible imagi- nation as bestowed upon an object equally desi- rable and useful with the crown of Hiero, to wit : A Home for the Honey Bee clearly pre- eminent, as invented by Mr. T. R. Allen.

Believing, as we do, Mr. B's description ol the hive in cpiestion to be correct, we at the same time say that he has never seen the inven- tion of Mr. T. S. Underhill ; and speaking from experience, that hives of this description are, in our humble opinion, vastly inferior to simplft boxes, top and bottomless, from which the frames are lifted out from the top, the persistent denials of interested parties to the contrary not- withstanding.

Mr. Allen has certainly chosen a very inap- propriate name (Home) for his hives; for in a real home there should be committed no wilful murder, and were it for this advantage alone, the Langstroth hive would " claim as we think with justice, a clear pre-eminence" over any and every hive Avith which we are acquainted, our own not excepted.

As the bees cannot by any known means be driven out of the way on the further side of the comb when introduced into the hive laterally, but instinctively mean to hasten from danger to that very side as soon as brought in contact with the hive, the danger of murdering scores

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TnE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

of bees at one operation, when the frames are filled with honey at lop, is greatly increased, and bees of the common kind greatly infuriated, whereas for Italians whose tenacity to the comb has become, as it were, proverbial, certain death to them is inevitable.

Do you say that the " frame work and frames (best made of cast iron)" with its bevels or hinges or sacks or racks or what nots. constitute the superiority of this hive ? We would respect- fully inform you that this superiority of cast iron over wood, is as j^et entirely problematic, and that frames properly constructed and not more than ten or eleven inches in depth will always be found to hang true upon the rabbets, when the hive is placed level, as it invariably should be. A greater depth of comb than this is neither desirable, nor in any way profitable to the bees or their owner, when the hive is at least eigh- teen inches from front to rear, containing at least nine frames for Italians, or eight for the com- mon bee.

The expert bee-keeper, who understands how to secure straight combs always, needs more- over nothing to space the distances between the frames, and this very nolMng likewise saves thousands of busy workers during the spring and summer months, always supposing that they are handled as they should be ; and, if they are not meant to be thus handled, the common cottage hive is more desirable than any patent that has yet been brought to light, unless it be the simplest, and therefore "most perfect" pat- ent hive — the Langstroth hive. By expressing our sincere conviction that this hive, as descri- bed by Mr Bennett, will never become popular, we do not wish to detract from any of its sup- posed merits over others, and sincerely trust X\\a,t perfection 7ms already been reached.

And now, my very dear and indulgent readers, if what I have said should in any way give offense to Mr. A. or B. or C, or any other alpha- betical gentleman, the columns o'f our beloved Bee Jouknal, are, I suppose, alike open to its numerous intelligent and progressive subscri- bers, and if Mr. B claims the right publicly to exclaim Eureka ! with his Syracusan Brother Archimedes, I trust he will not begrudge me tlie ]ileasure of privately thinking with Cicero, JVihil^ tarn absurde dici potest, quodnon dicatur ab aliquo philosoplwrum, F. Vakuo.

N. B. — No hives on sale.

Delayed Fecundation.

A QUEEN BECOMES FERTILE AFTER SHE IS FORTY- ONE DAYS OLD.

On the first of April I brought out the bees I had kept under ground since the first of Novem- ber. Next morning I examined a number of liives, and found several dead young queens be- fore one of them. On examination I found that the bees had reared a young queen. I exam- ined this hive repeatedly for eggs, but could see none till the 19th of May, Avhen I found a great number and likewise a few very small

larvpe at the bottom of some of the cells. On the 29th of May I made another examination, and found a good deal of sealed worker-brood, with some little drone-brood interspersed. I never yet knew a queen become fertile after so long delay as this. They would usually com- mence laying drone eggs after the twenty-first day from their hatching time, if that was in warm summer weather. A. Grimm.

Jefferson, Wisconsin.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

A New Way to Italianize a Colony of Native Bees.

At one time last summer, I had so many sealed queen cells ready to hatch, that I found it difficult to find places for them, as all my nuclei had either cells or queens, and some of the latter just commencing to lay. Being aware that the worker bees usually destroy a queen cell, if introduced before the lapse of twenty-four hours after the removal of their queen, I concluded to try a different way. I caged the fertile queens in a number of nuclei, letting them remain with their little colonies. I then inserted a queen cell into one of the combs in each of these nuclei ; and I must say con- trary to my expectation, every queen cell hatch- ed, and the j^oung queen as well as the old one, was nursed by the bees. In some of the nuclei, both queens were left in, till the younger one bad also become fertile.

This success gave me the idea of trying the same process with full-sized half-breed colonies. I simply caged the queen and immediately in- serted a ciueen cell that would hatch within twenty-four hours. When hatched, I waited till the young queen commenced laying, and then killed the bastard old queen — running the risk of having the young queen turn out a half- bred also.

This is a very safe way of changing queens, and less damaging to the old stock, than when the queen is taken away, and after the lapse of nine days the combs cleared of queen cells, and the queen then introduced. But if the bee- keeper does not wish to lose the eggs which his old queen would lay during the nine days (be- fore the lapse of which no young queen ever commenced laying with me,) he may cage his young queen for about a week, and liberate the old one ; and after the lapse of another week, cage the old queen again and liberate the young one — waiting till the latter becomes fer- tile, before the old one is removed.

Some bee-keepers may think it too much trouble to do so much caging and liberating; but I shall leave it to those who try it, to say whether they would prefer to do as I advise and do, or to insert queen cells in a nucleus and wait till the queen becomes fertile, rather than cage her and introduce her into another stock from which the queen has been removed.

A. Grimm.

Jefferson, Wisconsin.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER, 18G7.

IC^TnE American Bee JouuNAii is now published monthly, in the City ofWashiugton, (D. C.,) at $3 per annum. All communications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

To Subscribers in Carada. Mr. John H. TnoMAS, of Brooklin, Canada West, will act as the authorized agent of the American Bee JotrRNAL in Canada and tlie British provinces. Remittances to him on our account, will be duly acknowledged.

Mr. Adam Grimm, of Jefferson, Wiscon- sin, sailed from New York on the 17th instant for Europe. He expects to return about the middle of October, and to bring with him one hundred Italian queen bees from the apiaries of Professor Mona, at Faido, iu the Canton of Tessin. He sent an order in advance for these queens, and has the assurance of Prof. Mona that they will be ready for delivery to him on the fifteenth of September.

This importation will be mainly for Mr. Grimm's own apiaries, in Wisconsin, though, if successful in getting them in, about fifty of the queens will be for sale, and will be sent by express to those ordering them, immediately on his arrival at New York. Bee-keepers desiring to procure imported tested queens should avail themselves of the opportunity thus presented. See Advertisement.

A correspondent informs us that there is little to be found at the Paris Exposition, that would interest a bee-keeper. In one place he saw about twentj' straw liives arranged for show, all empty save two, which contained Italian bees. In another place there was a miscellan- eous collection of hives and implements — nothing novel among the former and scarcely anything useful among the latter. The bee- keepers of Germany and Switzerland had not sent a single article to the exhibition ; and if what was there set out for show, be a fair ex- jMcssion of the present state of bee-culture iu France, there is yet ample room for improve, mout therein in that country.

C^" Several communications intended for this number of the Bee Journal, were receiv- ed too late for insertion.

Correspondence.

Toxica, (Ills.,) August. 13.

The August number of the Bee Journal came to hand, but tlie July number I have not had the pleasure of seeing. I say pleaxitre, because it is such to me, and I do not see how it can be otherwise to any person who takes any interest in the culture of bees.

I commenced with bees a few years ago, purely lor diversion ; but the more experience I have, the more I read and learn in regard to their history, itc, th'i more I am inclined to the belief that it can be made lucrative, as well as a source of pleasure, to keep bees and to keep "lots" of them — the more the better.

I have always (until quite recently) thought that a locality could easily be overstocked ; and have regarded this as the source of so much ill luck. But 1 find, after rrading the IJf.e Journal for a sliort time, that I was laboring under a serious mistake; and should have known better had I stopped to reason the matter. The fact is, the honey harvest is of short duration, com- paratively speaking, and when "'tis" in season there is enough for all, but when there is none to be had none can be got. I now believe that it would be a rare case to find a section of country where the number of stocks kept, has any influ- ence on the quantity of honey gathered by any one.

I would like to inquire of some of your cor- respondents, the best and most simple plan to unite bees in the fall. A plan that can be prac- ticed by a novice, with no risk of the bees quarrelling. E. H. Miller.

Sublette, (Ills.,) August 13. Enclosed please find two dollars, tor which continue my subscription for your valuable paper, Avhich I heartily recommend to all inter- ested in the culture of the bee.

John Vandewort.

West Springfield, (Mass.) August 14.

Enclosed please find two dollars to renew subscription of the Bee Journal. Of all the I)Ublications I receive (seven in number,) no7ie is more heartily welcomed than the Journal. " Long may it wave."

The season of 186G was the most unfavorable for bees in this section for very many years •. and what stocks survived the winter were verj feeble. The spring of 1867 was one of the best seasons I ever knew and bees have done finely. I have had several "virgin swarms" — five swarms issued the 7th, 8th, and 10th of this month ; and as buck-wheat i<? yielding honey in abundance, these have nearly tilled their hives with comb, and stored considerable honey. Such swarms are very rare in this section. Bee-keeping is in a low condition in these parts — few persons taking any interest in it.

N. T. Smith.

Sterling, (III.,) 8 mo., IGth. Being very anxious for the success of the Bee Journal, and the continuance of its pub-

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lication ; and believing tliat nothing would conduce so materially to that desired success, as an increase in the subscription list, I forward a small one.

There are quite a number of bee-keepers in this neitrhborhood, and a rapidly growing inter- est in the management of bees; and believing, as I do, that the Bee Joubnal is just what they want to excite that interest, and give them the information necessary for the successful management of bees, I see no reason why the Journal may not have a reasonable support from this jiart of Illinois, I shall endeavor to obtain it. D. C. Hunt.

Hamilton, (III.,) August 12. T have wintered nine hives last wiuter in the ground, from October 21, till March 16. I did not find ten dead bees per hive. They con- sumed very little honey, and were all in good condition, without dysentery.

C. Dadant.

Appanoose, (III.,) August 1. I have been disappointed repeatedly from bees destroying queen cells, or deserting them or eggs in small boxes, even when they had been kept in the cellar two days. Will some person please inform the readers of the Bee JouKNAL how to overcome this difficulty.

S. C. Wilson.

Lebanon, (III.,) A.ugust 1. I trust you will receive sufficient encourage- ment to induce you to continue the publication of the Bee Journal. I have been greatly profited by it. F. O. Blaie.

Bloomfield, (Ontario,) 7 mo., 29th. In answer to "Apis," page 12, Volume 3, plane the top and sides of the top bar of frame ; use guide combs ; and restrict the space between the frames and honey board to five-sixteenths of an inch. This will generally ensure straight combs, and clear spaces above frames. The comb used for guides should be worker brood comb of the previous year's construction, which will all be of one thickness, and will usually prevent the "uneven thickness" of the cards of comb, so often met with in hives using artificial guides. G. H. Bowerman.

Annawan, (III.,) August 16.

Mr. Editor ; — It has been extremely dry here for so long a time, that bees are doing com- paratively nothing ; and unless we have rain soon, I shall be obliged to feed my bees this fall. It therefore interests me very much to be prepared for winter.

Would the following plan be a good one for wintering bees?

A. Make a box or frame two feet high and twelve feet square. Set it on the ground ; then dig out a hole eleven feet by eleven, and three feet deep, throwing the dirt around the box or

frame, to run off surface water. Then stand a post at each end, lay on a pole for a ridge, and poles for rafters, letting these latter rest "on the box. Now cover the whole with prairie hay to the thickness of one foot.

B. If this arrangement would answer how many hives could be placed with safety in such a cellar ? W. T.

Will some of our correspondents, who have experience in wintering bees in cellars or clamps, reply to these inquiries ?

[For the Bee Journal.]

I wish to ask the bee-men and women, through our Journal, two questions:

Fir-st. — Will there generally be a noticeable difference in the markings of workers — from mothers, one of which is a pure Italian queen but mated with a common drone, the other a common queen mated with an Italian drone ? My observations leads me to think that those from the common queen will have the poorer markings.

It is well known that Langstroth, in his Circular for 1866, claims as the first or primary excellence of Italian bees " that they gather freely from the second or seed crop of red clover." I had for one season bees from a queen procured from Mr. Langstroth, not one of which was ever seen on red clover. Hence,

Second. — Has any one not raising queens for sale, ever had bees to tcork freely on red clover ?

I wish also to notice an erroneous impression made by an article in the July number of the Journal. In Mr. Bennet's article on Allen's patent hive, in speaking of its movable out- side, he says —

"On all other hives, this is a permanent part of the hive, except indeed the top or cover."

Now the American bee-hive has one movable side capable of easy removal, which I think bee- keepers will find as good as, and much less expense than four.

He says further, in speaking of the frames, that " the frames are securely fixed at proper equal distances from each other." So they are . in the hive mentioned above, and no iron about them. Mr. Allen's is probably a good hive, but " Honor to whom honor."

J. L. McCuNB,

Ipava, III. Aug. 1867.

11^° Movable sides or ends are no new feature in hives. The Dzierzon, the Berlepsch, and the Qj^ttel hives are thus constructed ; and until recently this was the case with all German and French movable comb hives, and the combs or frames could only be moved horizontally. Of late, side opening hives are regarded with less favor, and those having a vertical movement of the combs or frames are being introduced there.

Adjusting the framesrirmly at equal distances from each other is a decidedly objectionable plan, and certainly a retrograde movement in bee-culture. It was used, fully tested, and abandoned years ago. [Ed.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

59

[Translated for tUe Bee Jonrnal.

Six Theses on Bee-Culture.

1. Bco-cuHurc is not properly or scientifi- cally aclvtmccd bj'- restricting ourselves to breed- ing, in its purity, any one natural race or variety, liowever valuable it may be in itself, and tliougli its good qualities be not overrated.

2. The ultimate aim of a truly rational bee- culture should be to produce, breed, and establish an imprnved race or variety. This may be done by availing ourselves of the tendency to varia- tion observable in the natural races ; and giving them such direction as will conduce to combine and perpetuate valuable traits, qualities, or characteristics.

3. In making selections for breeding pur- poses, we should not permit ourselves to be governed or guided exclusively by any preju- dices or prepossessions existing in our minds or those of others, in favor of the supposed superiority of any existing natural race or variety, nor by the fine exterior appearance of any individual bee, but solely by an unbiassed appreciation of its productive qualities.

4. We should hence reject all rules and prin- ciples of breeding designed simply to secure mere purity of race, or the unadulterated per- pituation of any particular variety.

5. Hence, also, we should not foster an ex- clusive attachment to or preference for any one of the existing natural varieties of the honey bee, such as has hitherto circumscribed the eflbrts of the more intelligent apiarians, kept them moving in a wrong direction, and prevent- ed them from making any advance towards that most desirable object — the origination and es- tablishment of an improved race or variety.

G. Aware, now, of these facts and of the mistake committed, let the subject be taken in hand anew by those who perceive and appre- ciate its importance ; and by applying the prin- ciples of scientific breeding which led to such astonishing results in other branches of rural economy, a similar triumphant result may pos- sibly be achieved in the rearing of bees.

PcsTSCRiPT. — The foregoing theses were ac- companied by the following note : —

"Enclosed I send an article, respecting the the publication of which j^ou will decide. There is nothing new in what I thus desire to say to bec- cullurists ; but it is certainly high time that the principles of breeding which have long since been established and so advantageously pursued in the case of domestic animals, should also be applied to bce-ctilture.

it has always seemed to me inexplicable that the splendid results attained by English cattle- breeders, as well as the teachings of Nathusius, RufF, and others in Germany, could be so utterly unheeded by bec-cidturists, and that, in view of the coustaut activity manifested on every hand by breeders of cattle, sheep, and SAvine, there should be no real bee-breeders found any- where. Is it not surpassing strange, in these cir- cumstances, that those who raise bees, should confine themselves to simply multiplying stock, pertinaciously adhering to the one idea that suc- cess in their pursuit is to be attained solely by

anxious efforts 1o secure purity of breed or race ? It certainly cannot be alleged that the principles of breeding relied on in the case of beasts and birds are wholl}' inapplicable to bees; that the tendencies to variation are less in bees than in other creatures; or that l)reeding for the quality of productiveness encounters greater dilliculty in them than in other domestic animals. Why, indeed, should there be greater or more insupe- erable difllculties met with in bee-culture, when breeding for productive qualities than for exter- nal markings or mere physical conformation?"

A. Patzsuke.

m

For the American Bee Journal.

Mr. Editor: — The German in New York city who advertises gloves for sale, for gentle- men, of bucks-leather — The Yankee who lost the umbrella belonging to a lady, made of silk — Mr. Quinby's pui)il who put up a wren box by thrusting a polo into the cavity of a head that formerly contained the brains,— and the correspondent to the Bee Journal, who informs your reader's that he has used mullein stocks, (instead of mullein tops) for bee-bobs, are sup- posed to be brothers by one father, whose understanding is perfectly develed up, and whose vfii'e''s dedinatiins have always been cotnjnled with nis own and son's. His house, as de- scribed by Mrs. Partington, is situate upon a y erdant prodiviiy, in the rear of which is located his rtp^7«^•7/ of a hundred bees. In front of it, (the house) there is a painted Pizarro — a pebbled lemonade slW aiound it, and the water lor the use of the family, comes rushing from a never fiowing source of water through a gutta percha anecdote. Jasper Honeysuckle.

Mullein Grove, August 25th, 18G7.

P. S. My queens don't lay yet, fori do not find any egg shells before the hives. J. H.

[For the Bee Journal .]

North-Western Bee-Keepers' Association.

Are there to be any Bee-keeping Conventions this year ? Could they not be made profitable ? It seems to me that much good might result from them.

An effort is being made to have a Bee-keepers' Convention at Lyons, Iowa, at the time of the State Fair. The Fair will be held at that point, during the first week of October. The jioint is excellent for a large attendance of bee-keepers from both sides of the Mississipi)i.

Correspondcuce is being had with many prom- inent bee-keepers throughout the Wist, and those heard from so far, are decidedly in favor of the Convention, promising attendance and participation in the discussions. They are all practical and intelligent bee-keepers, and enough will unquestionably be present, to make tiie discussions interesting and profitable. This is not to he a Slate convention, but a permanent organization of the bee-keepers of the great North- West. The design is to have semi-an- nual gatherings, if possible, at the most advan- tageous points. But if they cannot be had so often, then we shall have to be content with one Convention each year. M. M. Baldridge.

St. Ch.\kles, (III.)

60

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Bee-Hives.

Mr. Editor : — We are using here, in Essex county, (Mass.) a bee-hive which we consider as near perfect as any ever made. We have tested them for two seasons, and all who are using them are of the same opinion, and think no hive ever made conies so near perfection. These hives are made double witli a dead air space of one inch between the outside and the inside hive. We use Langstroth frames in them.

When put into winter quarters, the honey- board is removed and a box three inches deep, fourteen inches wide, and twenty inches long (inside), filled with dry corn cobs, is placed directly over the frames. This makes a good winter passage, for the bees to pass from comb to comb, and the bees can be found at almost any time during the winter, clustered snug to the cobs Then we make other winter pass- ages through the combs, by boring a hole through the side of the hive, and slowly worm- ing a stick three-fourths of an ineli square through each comb to the opposite side of the hive.

Holes should be made in each end of the cap, one inch in diameter, to let off what little steam passes up through the cobs. The cobs will keep in the heat and keep out the cold. Bees wintered in this kind of hive, and in this way, will consume less honey ; few bees will die ; and the combs will come out in the spring as clean and as dry, and free from mould, as they were the day they were made.

Let any one who doubts my statement, try it for himself, and he will not thereafter put bees in any other kind of hive ; and he will say as others say, who are using them, that perfection has been reached in bee-keeping, so far as bee hives are concerned.

Has any one of the readers of the Journal tiled my plan for introducing Italian queens, as given in the May number of the journal ? If so I would be pleased to hear the result through the pages of the Journal I have in- troduced queen-! to black colonies, with tobacco smoke, in less than twenty minutes time, and had to drive the black one out of an old box at that. If any of the readers of the Bee Journal have a better or safer way, for giving colonies of bees Italian queens, I should like to know how it is done ; and I hope they will lose no time in giving it to the Journal.

A bee-keeper in Wenham wintered fifty-one (51) colonies. He now has eighly-three(83,) and a ton of surplus honey. Who can beat this ?

He had twelve (12) colonies in the double hives alluded to. All of them swarmed, and made at least fifty pounds of surplus honey each ; and some of them a much larger amount. In future he will put bees into no other hive, as he considers this as good as he wants.

Henry Alley. Wenham Mass. Aug 13, 18G7.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Purity of Italian Queens.

Send us the names of bee-keepers, with their Post Office address. '

I see in the last Journals communications rom A. Grimm and Mrs. E. S. Tupper, with ref- erence to the purity of Italian queens.

I have been engaged in rearing Italian bees for five years, and have purchased queens from quite a number of different parties,most of them of unquestionable integrity, some of them im- i:)ortcrs ; have received queens of good bright colors, tested, and guarantied; have Italianized my apiary thoroughly two years since ; and have exercised great care in breeding.

I have reared about two hundred queens that were fertilized, making it a rule to destroy at sight all queens of questionable color or purity, and must say if Mrs. Tupper, or any body else, can furnish queens that will, from first of May throughout the season, produce eggs from Avhich invariably bright queens can be reared without a single instance of a darker shade than the mother, I should like to obtain one.

From the best queen I have bred from, which I have had three years, I have her royal daught- ers down to the fifth generation, the progeny of which I can handle without scarce a bee leaving the comb, and both mother and progeny are specimens of rare beauty in color. This same queen, as well as her maternal ancestors back to her g. g. grandmother, all produce a majority of bright queens ; but a few of them, especially when there was cold unpleasant Aveather and a scarcity of forage, would vary in shade decidedly from their mother. As far as my experience goes, the weather makes a dif- ference ; and I find that this is the opinion of most of the apiarians of the country.

I fully agree with her, however, that hybrids from pure mothers, are fully as profitable as storers of honey, as the full bloods. The best yields of honey have almost invariably been from those stocks whose workers I considered impure ; and I have a case that illustrates this. Last year I transferred six swarms of bees for a man in a neighboring town, and introduced two queens, and made two artificial swarms in June. He then reared queens that met common drones, and introduced them into the remaining six swarms, so that he had eight stocks in the fall. These came out in good condition this spring, and the jirofits from those eight stocks this year, are seven fine swarms, and over five hundred pounds of nice box honey. D. C. Hunt.

North tunbridge, Vt., Aug. 5th.

Gnadenhiitten, (O.) July 26, Yesterday I sold my honey crop of this sum- mer, and while I am realizing some money from my bee business, I remember, the editor of the Bee Journal. Enclosed you will find two dollars, as my subscription for the 3d volume. The bee business was good with us this sum- mer, both for honey and swarms. We had regular rains, and plenty of white clover, which is our main reliance for honey. Yours,

Samuel Tuetli.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAONER, WASHINOTON, D. C.

Vol. ITT.

OCTOUEU, 1JS*0^

No. 4.

Wax.

This is an organic ]>rocluct of both auinial and vciietable origin, and occvirring eve7i as a nun- oral' though in this ease also, its original source is undoubtedlj^ vegetaltle. Tlie common prop- erties ot" tlic substances included under this name are fusibility at a moderate heat ; burning with much flame ; insolubility in water, and solubility in alkaline solutions, alcohol, and ether ; and in most cases a peculiar lustre, to which the name of "waxy" lias been given. The most important of these substances is bees- wax, which was for a long time supposed to be simplj^ collected by the bees from flowers, but has been proved by tlie experiments of Huber and the Huiaters, to be secreted by them. It is obtained in the cakes in Avhich it appears in commerce, by boiling the comb fromwhicii the honey lias leen drained or pressed out in water, witli frequent stirring, that the wax may not burn. When completely melted, the wax is strained by pressure through hair bags, and received in a vessel of cold water, which serves to cool it and prevent it from sticking. This is repeated two or three times, the bags increasing in fineness, and the wax is finally melted with- out water, and poured into moulds wider at the lop than at the bottom, and wetted to prevent sticking. After being filled the moulds are kept in a warm room till the wax has solidified, as otherwise the cakes are apt to crack in the middle. This process is however tedious and somewhat wasteful, and various attempts have been made to find -i more expeditious one, of which Mr. Bagster's appears the most simple. The c mhs are placed in a conical earthen ves- sel filled with a mixture of one ounce of nitric acid to a quart of water. This is set over an open fire till the wax is completely melted, when it is removed from the fire audiillowcd to cool gradually. Tlie product becomes divided into three layers, the uppbr one pure wax, the lowest chiefly impurities, and the middle con- taining suflicient wax to be worth adding to the next melting. A marketable wax is thusobtain- od at a single operation, without straining or pressing. Bees-wax obtained by either of these processes is j'ellow; has an ngreenblo, snmewliaf

aromatic odor, and a slight but peculiar taste; is rather soft and unctions, though firm; has a gran- ular fracture, butv/hencut shows the character- istic waxy lustre; does not adhere to the fingers, or to the teeth when chewed ; is rendered soft and tenacious by a moderate heat; melts at about 142" F; and has a specific gravity of 0,9(50 to 0,965.

Wax is often adulterated with eartli, meal, rosin, &c. The first two render it brittle and grayish, and may be detected and separated by melting the wax, when the impurities may be strained out. Rosin makes the fracture smooth and shining instead of granular, and may be dissolved in cold alcohol, while the wax remains untouched, Tallow or suet ren- ders the wax softer, and gives it an unpleasant odor when melted.

Wax is bleached by causing it when melted, to pass through a perforated trough upon the surface of revolving wooden cylinders half im- mersed in water, by which it is formed into films, which are then placed on webs of canvas raised trom the ground, and exposed to the action of the weather until perfectly white. It is, however, generally necessary to repeat the process so as to expose fresh surfaces before the wax can be completely bleached ; and care must be taken to finally remove the wax from the webs of canvass onlj'' in dry weather, as il it is done in damp weather, it retains a grayish tint, which much impairs its value. The films are finall}^ melted and cast into thin circular cakes, known commercially as " virgin wax." When bleached bj' means of chlorine or its compounds, the color is destroyed, but the wax is rendered unfit for mnny purposes, and es- pecially for caudles. Another method of bleaching is to add one pound of melted wax, two ounces pulverized nitrate of soda, and stir in by degress a mixture of one ounce sulphuric acid and nine ounces of water. When all the aciil is added, it is allowed to partially cool, and the vessel is then filled up with boiling water, to remove the sulphate of soda and acid; it is then quite white, translucent in thin slices, shining, harder and less unctuous than the yel- low, without taste or smell ; becomes soft enough to be kneaded at H5<^ to 95- F., and

^2

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

fuses at 150*^ to 155° F., thou.i?]i it will remain liquid at a somewliat loT\'cr temperature; by great heat it is partially volatilized and partly decomposed, the vapor burning with a clear bright flame ; it is insoluble in water, but slightly soluble in boiling alcohol and ether, which deposite most of it on cooling ; easily so in the essential and fixed oils; and can readily be combined with rosin by fusion. It is very frequently adulterated with spermaceti, Avhich destroys its peculiar lustre and renders it softer and more fusible; it is also adulterated with stearine, which may be detected by the odor of fat or tallow evolved when the wax is highly heated, and by the crumbly texture which it imparts.

White w^ax is composed of two principal sub- stances: myricine, which is grayish white with- out crystalline texture, fusil)le at lo7^' F., and almost insoluble in boiling alcohol ; and cerine or cerotic acid, which crystalizes when pure, in delicate needle-like crystals, fuses at 173"^ F., is much more soluble, constitutes about twenty- two per cent, of the entire weight of the w\ax, and has for its formula C 54, H 54, 04. Wax also contains four or five per cent, of a substance called ceroleine, which is soft, very soluble in cold alcohol and ether, and melts at 83° F. ; and by dry distillation, and by the action of acids and alkalies on cercne and myricine, a large number of peculiar organic compounds may be derived from it. A specimen of bees-wax from Ceylon was found by Mr. Brodie to consist almost exclusively of myricine.

Bees-wax, though produced in almost every country in the temperate and tropic zones, is an article of foreign commerce in comparatively few. The European supply is principallj' de- rived from the Baltic, the Levant, Africa, India, and the United States. The Portuguese prov- ince of Angola, in Africa, annually sends to Europe about 1,500,( CO arrobas or 47,772,000 lbs. Japan also exports much. In the United States it has long been an important article of production and export. The census of 1840 gives the value of the product at $028,303, which would be about 2,000,000 lbs.; that for 1850 states the value of wax and honey to have been 14,853,790 lbs., Avorth $2,736,600; and that for 1860 gives 1,357,864 lbs. of wax alone. The exports in 1859-00 were 302,474 lbs., worth $131,803. In 1801, 238,553 lbs. were exported from New York. In 1800 more than five-sixths of the exports Averc to France, England and Brazil.

Besides bees-wax, two kinds of wax of animal origin enter into commerce. Tbe first, the insect wax of China, is found coating the sur- face of the Rli'iii^ .9uccedaneu.ni and some other trees. It is the product of a very small white hemipterous insect (Coccus Stneriifis,} which about the beginning of June climbs up the plant and feeds upon it, depositing tbe wax upon the branches as a coating wbich resembles hoar frost. This is scroped otf towards the cud of August, melted in boiling water, and strained through a cloth. It is white and crystalline, resembling spermaceti, but harder, more brittle, and more fibrous, fuses at 181° F., is but slightly soluble in alcohol or ether, dissolves readtly in

]iaptha, and has for its formula C 108, H 108, O 4. It docs not contain cerotic acid ready formed, but by fusion with potash is decomposed into a mixture of it with a substance called cerotine (C 54, H 56, 0 2. ) The Chinese call it l^e-la, and employ it for making candles sometimes alone, but more commonly mixed with softer fats and as a coating for other more easily fusible material, in order to prevent guttering. It is often colored red with alkanet root, or green with verdigris. It has been introduced into England for the manufacture of composite can- dles, and is found to answer the same purpose of bees-wnx, of destroying the crystalline struct- ure, or " breaking the grain" of stearic acid. In China it is also employed fis a medicine. The French have introduced the insect into Algeria. The price of wax at Ningpo some years ago was 22 to 25 cents per pound, and the annual production was estimated at 400,000 lbs. Another wax of animal origin is the Andaquiss •wax of South America, which is produced by a small insect called «?'-p.sY^. It melts at 171° F., has a specific gravity of 0,917, and according to M. Lewy contains fifty per cent, of ceroxyline or palm wax, forty-five per cent, of ceroxine or sugarcane wax, and five per cent, of an oily substance.

Of the vegetable waxes, the Japanese, the palm Avax of New Granada, and the myrtle wax of the United States are the principal "var- ieties. The fiist is as white as bleached bees- wax, more brittle, less ductile, and breaks with a smoother and more conchoidal fracture ; its specific gravity is rather less; and its melting point is about 127° F. Its chemical composi- tion is not definilely kuoyrn. The berries yielding it grow in clusters like grapes on trees i'rom filteen to twenty-five feet high, and when gathered are roughly washed and bdiled in water, when the wax rises to tlie surface, is skimmed otT. and formed into cakes weighing about tliirty jiounds. It is said to require pro- tracted lileaciiing before it is fit for the market. Small quantities have been sliipped to Europe for manj" years past, but it is only within four or five years that it has been extensively em- ployed for candles, &c. Tlie amount exported is large and continually increasing. In 1859 a single cargo of 1,170,000 lbs. arrived in England. In 1860 the price at Nagasaki was $11 to $12 per pecul, or 8^ to 9^^ cents per pound. The palm wax of New Granada, (cer- oxyline) is obtained from the Geroxylon aruli- cola. The scrapings from the exterior of the tree are boiled by the Indians, and the wax rises to the surface. It is grayish white Avhen crude, and after purification by digestion in alcohol is j^ellowish white, almost insoluble in alcohol, and fuses at 101i° F, The tree has been introduced into Algeria. Caruauba wax is derived from a palm growing in northern Brazil. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, and fuses at 182° F. The ocuba wax of Biazil is derived from kernels of the fruit of several species of myristica^ especially the M. ocuba. It is yellowish white, soluble in boiling alcohol, and melts at 98° F. The Bicuhiba wax, also from Brazil, comes fi'om the M. Biculdba, is yellowish white, soluble in boiling alcohol, ami

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

m

i'lisiblc at 95° F. The myrtle wax, wliicli for many years has been an arlicle of coinmcrce in Uu' I'niti'd Slates, also known as '' eaiuHebcrry \va\"'anil as^'bayberry tallow," occurs as an iu- (•iiistali<»n on the berries of tlic wax myrtle or bayberry. Tlie berries are enclosed in bag's of coarse V-lotli, and kept immersed in boiling water until the wax collects on the surface, which is then cast into moulds and sold without further i)re])aration. It varies in color from grayish yellow to deep green, has a balsamic and slightlv aromatic odor, a specific gravity of 1,004 to "1,006, fuses between 117° and 120° F., antl is much harder and more brittle than bees-wax. It is composed, according to Mr. G. E. Moore, of •one-fifth part of a substance called palmatine, which exists in palm oil, Japanese wax «S:c., and four-fifths of palmitic acid, with a small quantity of lauric acid. This wax 1 appears as a candle-making material, to be i worthy of more attention than it has hitlierto : received. Its illuminating power is scarcely j inferior to that of the best" bees-was; it hardly costs one quarter as much, cnn be obtained more free from color, is easily bleached, and from its superior hardness can be cast instead of being moulded by hand like bees-wax. The plant grows abundantly on the poorest soils along the coast of New England. Plantations of it have long existed in Europe, and its cul- tivation has lately been tried in Algeria. The berries of ?w?/n'crt quercifolia. natives of the Cape of Good Hope, growing on dry sandy plains along the- coast, also yield a greenish wax, which can be bleached, and when made into candles gives a very good light. The sugar cane yields a wax called cerosine, which Is sol- uble in boiling alcohol and slightly so In boiling ether. The sorghum also secretes on the sur- face of the native stalks a white resinous pow- tler, from which candles could be made. A wax}' substance called suberine has likewise been obtained from cork.

Several mineral substances resemble wax in physical pro]ierties, the principal of whw;li are ozocerite and hatcliettlne. Tlxe principal use of the different kinds of wax are : 1, for the manufacture of candles, either from pui-e wax, the consumption of which is especiallj' great in Roman Catliollc countries, or of wax mixed with stearic acid, palm oil, &c., as in compos- ite candles ; to whicli purpose every variety, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral seems to have been applied in different countries; 2, as a vehicle for colors In certain kinds of painting, and as a protecting coating for them ; 3, for giving a polisji to furniture and floors, for ))oth which purposes it Is generally us'hI In France and other parts of southern Europe ; 4, in medi- cine, in which bees-wax is employed as an inter- nal remedy against diarrhoea and dysenter}', as an ingri'dicnt in almost all ointments, cerates and plasters, and also for filling eailous teeth ; o, as a lute or cement of much utility for chem- ical and other purposes, and also as an imper- vious coating for vessels formed of porous mater- ials; G, as a material for modelling; and 7, formerly for seals instead of sealing wax.

'Send us the names of bee-keepers, with their Post Oftice address.

For the American Bee Journal.

Mk,. JOmTOK : — In submitting (lie following practical experience in rtpleiilture to you (and iftiionght by you worthy of a place in the .louHNAL, to tlie rcad(!rs thereof,) I wish to be regarded as a mere "novice'' in bee-culture. My sole object is, ^r.?i!, to coinmunicate a few facts learned by ])ractical expcrienc(! during tlie present season ; tKcondli/, totclliiow I learned these facts ; and, thirdlij, to invite ctunnvmts bj' experienced a|)iarians.

First.— I learned the fact that a good colony of bees can be started and established by the use of a very small piece brood comb with eggs and young larva; in it, two or three .sheets of dry clean conil), and a quart or more of stran- ger \\orker ])ees. And, second,

That almost, any nufnlx'r of young queens can be reaiHHl, by starting a few such colonies at the proper season of the year ; and that artlti- cial swarming can be successfully managed and carried to any desirable extent by this modi' of management witli reasonable care on the part of the apiarian.

I learned these fixcts by practical experience as follows :

On the 17th of April last, on examining one of my old colonies of bees, I found drone brood sealed or capped over ; and I at once went to one of my neighbors, and by his permission and assistance, cut out of one of his Italian col- onies a piece of brood comb about three by four inches square, with eggs and young larva; In it. After taking it home, t divided It into two pie- ces, which I fastened into two sheets of dry comb— one piece of brood comb in each sheet of dry comb. 'J'lnts prepared, I placed them Into two empty hives; and after putting in each hive two other dry sheets of comb, one on each side of the comb in which the brood had been inserted, I filled the remaining spaces in the hives with empty frames. Having then\ thus prepared, 1 removed two of my stronge-^t colo- nies from their stanils to other stands, and placed my empty hives prepared as before sta- ted on the stands from wiiich I had just remo- ved those strong colonies. This was done about two o'clock in the afternoon of a warm day, when mj' bees were flying freely.

The result was that, after a tew minutes con- fusion, the Incoming bees took possession of the hives on their old stands, and after tlu^ first evening all seemed harmonious and happj'.

On the 11th day thereafter, being the 28th of April, I opened these young colonies and found in one iwi» and In the other/i9«r new and per- fect queen cells, four of which I removed and useil as a basis for other arti tidal colonies, and also started another colony with brood comb in the same manner as on the 17th. This reared five (lueens, which I used, as before, in start- ing artilieial colonies.

hi this inaniu'r I have started, and by sup- plying one or two that seemed weak with full brood combs after they had fertile queens, have made several good Italian colonies of bees. I have also secured colonies whicli, without an exception, have nice straight combs.

If anv reader of this communication knows

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THE AMERIOAN BEE JOURNAL.

of any better or more certain way of rearing and keeping a bup])]y of younu,' queens on hand, and at the wame time and by the same means increasing the number of colonies and securing uniform straight combs, I should 1)e pleased to liave the same made known to all "novices'" in bee-culture. Belmont.

[^or tiie Amfii'icaa Boc Jon:

Bee-culture in Chili.

In Chili we have tlie Italian bees exclusivel\% the first importation having been made from Germany in 1853. They have increased so largely and rapidly, that the production of honey last J^ear, in the single province of San- tiago, exceeded 8000 cwi. The honey is pecu- liarly aromatic, speedily becomes hard and white as pure tallow, and sells at about six dol- lars per hundred weight. Immense fields of wdiat is here called Alfalfii or Spanish clover, and elsewhere c^nivv.vl\<2 (Onohryc/a'f^ satica) cultivated for cattle food, lurnishes the bees with inexhaustible pasturage, from which their hives are quickly filled with stores of honey and pollen. The annual yield already far exceeds the home demand, but no iurangemenls have yet been made to supply foreign markets.

It does not rain here during summer or about eight monlhs of the year In t!ie remaining four months the weather is changeable, alter- nating between sunshine anil rain, with warm and humid air. These are our winter mouths, the thermometer then rarely sinks Ix.'low^ 10° C; and the bees gather pollen and honey nearly all the time. Besides the alfalfa already men- tioned, the bees forage on lucerne grass, the blossoms of nearly all the varieties of fruit trees cultivated in Europe, the almond trees especi- ally, and innumerabu' alpine flowers and plants.

Our bees are not subject to an,y disease, with the sole exception of a kind of vertigo at some seasons. Foulbrood has never been known to affect 8ny stocks. The largest apiaries are in the neighborhood of Santiago, where there are extensive orchards of apple, pear, peach, and fig trees ; ana fi,ve thoi:sand hives in one col- lection, belonging to one proprietor, are not uncommon in tliis and other neighborhoods. The multiplication of. stock is very rapid, as the production of brood is enormously great. The individual hives, however, are never un- usually populous, as in eonsecpiencc of the never-ceasing labors of the bees the j'ear round, the aveiMge duration of life is brief About thirty thousand hives arc kept in a circuit of three or four miles around S mtiago. My own •apiary consists ot 253 stocks in single and dou- ble hives, two i)avilions containing 54 colo- nics, and seven outhouses with 96 hives each or 073 tog<ither — making an aggregate of !)78 stocks. AH these are protected by thatched roofs. I think I have the largest pavilion, and certainly the greatest number of Dzierzon hives in this country. A. Taube.

Feb. 5. 18G7. Apiarian.

Send us the names of bee-keepers, with their Post Office address.

For the American TJee Journal.

A box hive sent out a swarm May 17ih and a second swarm May 30th — That evening pip. ing in l)oth notes was distinctly heard in iliH hive.

On the 38th a large comb with much sealed brood and two queen cells, was taken from another hive for a purpose which failed. The next afternoon, after having lain out on a bench about ;>0 hours, worker brood was seen cutting- out, and to save it the comb was })laced on ihe top of the box hive, and covered with a glass box, first opening some of the communicating lioles ; a fcAV dozen bees came up to take care of the comb, honey Avas deposited in some empty cells and a special guard set over the queen cells.

On tlie morning of the olst, a well developed princess came up from the hive below, and remained in the upper glass box a couple of hours. She was in constant motion up.on and under the comb, but shewed no disposition to approach the queen cells. But as she passed over tlie comb she frequently stopped w'here some hatching bee was striving to get out of its cell, pushed lier long fore legs down into the cell and lifted out its struggling tenant, I saw this done in twenty instances. The workers paid no attention to the hatching bees. Soon after the senior princess came up, the workers began to bite open the mouth of one of the queen ceils until t here was an orifice; large enough for her to come out. She could be seen moving in the cell, but was confined to it by the worker guard. Being called oil" for half an hour, I found that she had escaped from the cell, and was being chased round the floor of the box, bitten by the bees, and squealing loudlj'. Presently she ran under tue comb followed by several workers. During this time the senior princess continued to move over the comb, paying no aj^parent attention to the younger princess, until after a little while she also went under the comb. For the ten minutes that I could remain neither of them came out. There was no piping heard that day, and the hiv(> sent out no third swai'm.

Have any of your correspondents who use observing hives ever seen the cpieen lielping out the hatching bees? And why was there no piping heard in the hive when it contained two living princesses?

A correspondent in the .Inly number men- tions st'cks of rotten wood as the best material for smoking bees. Not being able to use a cig- ar just noAV, I have a substitute which I find both the most efficient and convenient smoker. A i)iece of half worn cotton or linen good."> about a foot scpiare, is made into a tolerably tight roll and well tied or tacked in three or (our places, when one end is fairly lighted, it will continue to burn until consumed, unless care- fully put out. With this 1 open hives, take , out frames and perform all usual operations without protection for hands or face. The material is plentiful in every house, thn roll is made in a moment, lasts a long time, and is always ready.

PvicHMOD, Va. Tyro.

'J'UE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

65

[For tho Ampriran Rcp .Idurnal.l '

!

Experience of u Novice in Bec-Iteeping ;

No. 7. 1

J)kau Bei: Juuknal : — I do iint know !iow I (.an beUer mlercst.your leaders in lliis miinbev I hall byanswcriugul leiifflli a number of queries IVoni 11 eoriejpoudeut. lie pays :

"III perusing the Bee JouunaI/ I obs(;rved your article wriUeii on bee-culture, and as I am a bee-keeper, and u sort, of novice at tlial, I thought I would take tho liberty of -writing to you/

Mrs^t. — The main question I wish to know is this : Do beos build combs true in the Langstroth hive ? Some say that bees will not build combs true in any frame uuleis there is a piece of guide comb jmt in."

I have never used guide rombs, and have never had a hive that I could not remove the combs from readily, allhough in one or two cases I have found it necessary to bend tho combs diglitly when they.had started them a little otT. And as I ahyay^Cswarm artificially, I usually give the new s\*arm two frames ready filled from the old stock, as a start.

In the improved form of the American hive, A\ liich I amusing now, I have yet to learn of a failure in that respect, without an}' care what- ever.

" Second. — What do you think of the Ital- ians?"

I have tliu^ far found them fully up to all that is claimed for them, with perhaps the single exception of red clover. It is true tliej^ are found on it to some extent, but in the last two seasons, one of which was very wet and this one very diy, I have not been able to discover j any increase in weight of their hives while it | was in bloom, and it is quite plenty about here. I

" Third. — Do you think they can be kept to j much advantage where the black bee exists in i great numbers V j

If you are going to allow your bees to swarm ' naturally, perhaps not. But if you practice artilicial swarming (by far the most profitable ! way), I think I can show you clearly that there [ is no difllcullj' at all, although there is so much ] said and written to the contrary. [

One person in particular, a JSilr. T. B. Jliuer, j editor of the Rural American, I think cjuite ' needlessly exposes his ignorance or something worse, by making the assertion that the Italian i bees cannot be kept pure unless on an island or ; similar place, and that all who claim to the | ••onlrary have queens for sale and are cheats ; and swindlers. ' j

To illustrate, we Avill suppose that a person • fliets a pure queen to start with, that there are a riundred or more black swarms in a circuit of a mile or two around him, and that he has a j uozen or more hives of black bees himself. The lirst year he can easily supply them all ■♦Pith queens from the ori-ginal stock, which ! r.anuot'any of them be less than hybrid, (-(lually ' »« valuable as honey producers as the old queen, i And so on, as long as she lives (throe or four

years), he can easily raise all his queens from her; and it would be very strange indeed if some of her progeny di<l not mate Avith Italian drones, and be prejjared to take iier place io furnish queens, as all the drones produced llui.s far must he pure Italians, l)esides coming out tvvo or three weeks earlier tiiiiu the common ones in the spring.

Simply bear in mind that .•>/> l/^nf/ <tn we, nciar, all our quceiiK from, one cf knovn purity, ire ran. have nothinfjiaore impure than hyhridx.^ and vei-j' soon a large pvoportiim as pure as the original.

In my case I bad three pure queens the lirst year, out of about eigliiecn raised ; and one of them produced a progeny that, besides having the three bands fully marked, were even brighter colored than those from the original queen. And as my old queen was lost last winter, I selected this one, from which I have raised all my queens this year, I think it even possible, to raise one thousand queens from one pure one in a single year, if necessary.

Another fact : although we have black bees on all sides, some only a few^ rods away, I have not been able j'et to find one whose; queen liad met any of my diones. At least the' worker progeny does not show it ; and it is my opinion that neither queens nor drones ordinarily go as far from the hive as the few cases we have heard of, when queens were rai.sed at a season of the year when drones were very scarce.

The pres'ent year when we had drones in great number, the young ([ueens made but few excursions, and were gone but a short time in being fertilized, in comparison with last year, when we bad but few drones

'■'■Fourth. — There is so much written about this one and that one having impure queens, &c., that 1 hardly know whether to purchase any or not. Langstroth says that all pure Italian Avorliers show three distinct yellow bands, and Quinb_y says that they show only one when empty. Now, do your Italian bees show three yellow bands when empty, or do they show only one ? "

My Italians assuredly show tJiree yellow bauds at all times ; and not only the pure ones, but nianj'' of the hybrids also ; so much so that I should call some of thcni pure were it not for their temper.

'■'•Fifth. — Professor Varro thinks Quinby's slocic improve, and Quinby says hi.s. slock of Italian bees is from Langstroth's. , According to that neither had ])ure stock. For my part I hardlyknow whereto get a pure Italian queen. What is your opinion as to where I can get the genuine Italian bee ? "

I should advise you to send to ]\Iii, Langstroth by all means. Not only that he is perfectly re- lialde and trustAvorthy in every riaspect, but that 1 think all bee-keepers shoulff" remember him with gratitude, as being the one who alone introduceil movable frames and raised bee keeping from v.hat it Avas a fcAV years ago to its present advanced state. Let each one stnve if possible not to have it said, as it has been many times before, that our great original inventors never receive the credit or benefit of their in veutions. Who that has read Langstroth' a

66

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

■writings can for a moment doubt his sincerity or his candor ?

" SixtJi. — I was on the point of sending this spring to W. A. Flanders for a queen, but I thought I would try some of his Bee-Cliarm

first. I found it to be a genuine humbug I

And his book lied to me in several instances. So I thought that if a man had such an avaricious disposition for money as to resort to such means to get it, and humbug the bee-keeping com- munity on such a simple thing as that, he might be induced to humbug some one on Italian queens. Hence I passed him by as an impostor, and think I have a good reason for doing so. Don't you ? "

Of com-se my correspondent had no idea of the above being in print ; but it seems to mo that the sooner the science of bee-keeping is divested of all the patent medicine humbuging quackery the better. It is subjecting us all to ridicule and derision.

" Seventh. — Well, how have your bees done this season ? Did your Italians swarm any earlier than your black bees ? "

As before meulioned, my bees were all swarmed artificially, with one exception ; and as that one exception has a history of itself, we will reserve it for the next number.

With kind regards to all bee-keeping friends, I still remain, A Novice.

Medina, Ohio.

P. S. — In my article last month tbfe first P. S. was intended as a question, and should have been " Will either interfere," &c., instead of "either will," &c.

and six inches deep. This hole and the door are left open until the floor is well frozen, which keeps the house dry, and the combs will not mould.

There are two air chambers sunk below '.he surface of the floor ; one across through the middle, the other at the end. They are eighteen inches wide and three feet deep. These chambers are covered with lath, so that the air can come up freely. There is an inch tube running in on each side of the middle chamber, and one at the end of the end chamber. There are two chimneys, each six inches square.

I keep my hives well ventilated at the top. with the lower entrance closed.

There is no humbug about this matter, neither is there any patent right. Robert Jones.

Cedarville, III.

The Carder Bee.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees,

I have been a bee-keeper for over forty years, and did think of giving^ my experience for the last eight, but it would make my communication too long. I will therefore confine myself to a short sketch on wintering bees.

If a man loses his bees in wintering, it is for want of knowledge, or neglect on his part. I lost four stands this spring, through my own carelessness. These are the only bees that I have lost in wintering for the last eight years. On the 18th "of February (it being a fine day, and the snow gone,) I took my bees, now numbering fifty-seven stands, out of my bee- house. Having flown well through the day, I returned them to the bee-house at evening. Nine of the number being light, I set them by themselves. Four out of the nine were lost by my neglecting to give them honey in due time.

My bee-house for wintering is built of logs laid up double, with a space of about five inches between. This space is filled with dirt tightly packed in. The height is about six feet, but should be six feet and a half. Logs are laid across the top, and a little straw put on to keep the dirt from falling through, then covered with about six inches of dirt. The house stands lengthwise, north and south, with the door in the south end, and a hole in the north end down level with th« floor, three feet wide

The insects popularly known as Carder Bees are so called because they prepare the materials for their nest in a manner similar to that which is employed in carding cotton, wool, or in heck- ling flax.

Several species of Carder Bees are known, all belonging to that familiar group of insects called humble-bees. Among these, as among humble-bees in general, there is a great variety of color, so that the same species has been called by different names, even by skilled entomolo- gists. For example, in Kirby's admirable monograph of British bees, no less than seven varieties of the commonest species of Carder Bee (Bombvs mnscortim) are given as s'jparate species.

That such mistakes should be made is no matter of surprise when we take into considera- tion the capriciousness with which the colors of this species are distributed among its mem- bers. Among the fjueen bees, the abdomen is sometimes marked with rings of yellow, black, and red, and is sometimes red at the base and tip and black in the middle. The worker has iisually a yellowish abdomen with one or two blackish bands, but in some cases the whole abdomen is black, except a small patch on the base and another at the top. The male bee has generally the abdomen colored like the first mentioned example of the worker, but some- times it is wholly black, and in many cases it is black except the tip, which is dun. Indeed, these insects are so extremely variable that the only method of determining their true arrange- ment is by takiug a great number of nests, breeding the inmates, and subjecting them not only to careful examination, but also to dis- section of their internal anatomy.

The specific title "muscorum," i. e. " of the mosses," which is given to this bee, is due to the material of which the nest is usually made. It was generally thought to be made exclralvely of moss, but is, in fact, constructed of various substances according to locality. Mr. F. Smith mentions several instances where the bees had made use of very singular and unexpected materials. In one case bees were seen flying into a stable through the latticed window, coi-

TUK AMERICAN BEE JOUBNAL.

6;

lectins; the little hairs that luul fsilleu from the horses (liiriiiG; the procers of eurryinu:, makiug lliem up into bundles, and (lying off with them. On being watched careluliy, one of the bees was seen to alight ou some grass not very far from the stable, and among tlie grass was found tlie nest, whieh was composed entirely of horse- hair. Unfortunatel}^ tiiis remarkable nest was destroyed before it was completed.

Another very interesting deviation from the usual economy of the moss-buildinir bees was observed by Dr. William Bell. During the summer of 18.')4, a robin built its nest in the porch of his cottage at Putney. Some time after this liad been observed, a humble-bee took possession of the nest and adapted it to her own purpose. He was unforlunalel)' not able to identif}^ the species by capturing a specimen, the nest having been destroyed; but Dr. Bell' had seen the bee on one occasion and observed that it was black, with yellow bands, probably the Bomhus pratoruin.

Moss, however, is the favorite material of the Cardeir Bees, and wherever it can be obtained they will use no other substance, though in places where it is scarce, or not to be found, thej^ employ leaves, grass, or any other suitable material. Whatever may be the mutenal, the bee always takes great pains to disentangle the libres in order to be able to weave them in a systematic manner in the nest. This process is conducted by meansof the legs, the bee seizing the fibre with her fore feet, and passing it under her body by means of the remaining pairs of legs, forming it, as she does so, into a small bundle which can be easil}^ carried off.

The object of the moss and other substances is very simple. The Carder Bees do not build their nests, like those of many humble-bees, beneath the surface of the ground, but upon it, choosing a spot where there is a slight hollow of an inch or two in depth. The moss is then ■woven so as to form adorned cover to the cells, this dome being of variable dimensions, ac- cording to the number of cells which it covers, but seldom reaching more than three or four inches in height above the ground. As in very rainy weather this mossy dome would not be water-proof, the insects line it with a very coarse, dark-colored wax, similar to that of which the breeding cells are made.

The entrance to the nest is always at the bot- tom, for although the insects will sometimes make an opening at the top, they seem to do so merely for the purpo.sc of admitting air and warmth, and never enter or leave the nest through it, closing it at night or in rainy weather. Generally a kind of tunnel or arched entrance leads into the nest, like the passage into an Esquimaux snow-house, an edilice to which the moss-covered dome of the Carder Bee bears no small resemblance.

The best time to search for these bees is in the hay-making season, when the mowers often come upon them during t'.ieir work, and a promise of some small reward will probably produce a tolerable harvest of nests.

Send us the names of Bec-kecpcrs, with their Post Office addres?.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

"Eureka! Eureka! Nihil," &c.

'Oh, blood and thnudcr! Oli, blood aod wounds 1

Mr. Editor : — I notice in your issue for Sep- tember an article in criticism of my remarks on Mr. Allen's hive. This is not the first time that would-be great men have quoted Greek and Latin to appear learned ; nor the last that muddy intellects will try to cover their ignor- ance by using big words. What profound kaowledge of the old Greek and Roman authors does this counterfeit Roman exhibit ! How adroitly he lugs in their sayings upon other toi>- ics, to help him on the subject of bees ! Well, l)lain Eugli.sh is good enough for me, and I will try and make him understand it.

He says " Home " is a very wrong name for Mr. Allen's hive, since it is so constructed as to kill scores of common bees and prove the in- evitable death of the tenacious Italians. In fact the poor things cannot get out of the way, by going to the other side. The hive is a per- fect death trap that must slaughter a part of one kind and the whole of another sort of bees having the misfortune to be put therein.

And all this in the face of the fact that I ex- plained Mr. Allen's method to be especially calculated to prevent such an occurrence, by stating that the framss were withdrawn through the sides of the holder, thus directlj'' taking away the contiguous sides of the comb from each other, or rather removing them further apart, though already sufficiently so when re- maining .stationery.

By the old method of lifting the frames di- rectly out, bees are ofien killed* and honey cells torn open by abrasion of comb ; but if ordinary care is used this cannot happen with Mr. Allen's hive. It takes a genius to thus misin- terpret language and set reason and common sense at defiance. Such an one would see right through a mill stone, and prove by a mathemat- ical demonstration that the moon is made of green cheese. I have seen Mr. Allen take out and replace all the frames of a " Home " well filled with Italian bees and honey, without crushing a single bee, or tearing open a cell. And he did it quicklj'' and easily. i!^o extra care was taken to avoid injuring the bees, though of course he might have destroyed many by setting the hive on lire or knocking it to pieces with an axe. But with common pru- dence he could not hurt the bees, since by his arrangement of frames, they not only have room enough to live securely, but also to work etFectively.

The cast iron of which the frame holder is made troubles Varro.

5Iy incidental allusion to the material best for iiiaking ^Ir. Allen's holder Avas not, as any body can see, the point I was making. Its de- sign, arrangement, isolation from the outside, and application, were the things I set forth and commended. And a writer who thus quibbles, by putting an incidental for the main subject is either ignorant of the tirst principles of

* This dop.s not occur when the operation is properly per- ruroied. Kd.

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'HE AMERICAN BEE JOURiVAL.

reasoning or delihemtcly mis'-^tates. Varro says tliat expert bee-kf'cpers need uothiug to space the frames, &s. Bat how if all bee-keepers should not be thus expert ? All men are not born great men; nor do all who engage in tiiccul- tivalion of bees at onee overleap the stars, or reach at a single bound like this the very pin- nacle of Bee-dom Most of us are common folks, and need some instruction to perform our ■work Tv'cll. And not having this very learned and luminous savant always at hand to iufal- lilily point oat the right wa}^ are fain to invoke other aid. And such aid is given in M'\ Allen's Mve, by the due arrangement and security of the frames, which neither hang swinging and sli- ding about, nor kill the industrious denizens of the hive, either in being taken out or returned, by the rubbing together of their sides.

But enough for the present. If I have failed to make myself understood by this very learned Professor, who T fear has pored over dead lan- guages til) he is blind to live facts, I at least hope to be intelligible to such as understand our mother tongue and use common sense in its interpretation.

Not Anonymous. W.m. A. Bennett.

Syracuse, Sept. 5. 18G7.

Translated for the American Beo Journal.

The Carpenter Bee.

The splendid South African insect, the Car- penter 'Bee(Xt/loGapa Cape!isis)\s a wood-boxer I of great power. She sets about her work in a j curiously systematic manner, each action being | exactly calculated, nothing left to chance, and I all useless labor saved. !

When the insect has fixed upon a piece of; wood that suits her purpose, usually the trunk ' or branch of a dead tree, an old post, or a piece i of wooden railing, she bores a circular hole I about an ineh-and-a-half in length, and large 4 enough to admit her to pass. Suddenly she i turns at au angle, drives her tunnel parallel with the grain of the wood, and makes a bur- row several inches in length. None of the ! chips and fragments are wasted, l>ut are carried ' aside and carefully stored up in some secure ; place, sheltered from the action of the wind. 1

The tunnel having now been completed, the industrious insect seeks rest in change of em- ployment, and sets olf in search of honey and pollen. With these materials she makes a" little ; heap at the bottom of the tunnel, and deposits an egg upon the food which she has so care- fully stored.

Having now shown her powers as a bui-rowcr and purveyor, she exhiljits her skill as a builder, and proceeds to construct, above the enclosed egg, a ceiling, which shall be also the floor of another cell. For this purpose, she goes olf to her store of chips, and fixes them "in a ring above the heap of pollen, cementing them to- gether with a glutinous substance, which is probably secreted by herself. A second ring is then placed inside the first, and in this manner tlic insect itroceeds until she has made a nearly

fiat ceiling of concentric rings. The ceiling bears some resemblance to the operculum of the common water snail. The ceilings constructed by the ant are made on similar principles. Tlie thiclcness of each ceiling is about equal to that of a penny.

The number of cells is extremely variable, but on the average each tunnel contains seven or eight, and the insect certainly makes more than one tunnel. As each tunnel generally ex- ceeds a foot in length, and the diameter is largo enough to admit the passage of the wide-bodied insect that makes it, the amount of labor ]ier- formed by the bee is truly wonderful. The jaws are the only boring instruments used, and though they are strong and sharp, they scarcely seem to be adequate to the work foV which the}' are destined. When all is complc ted the entrance is closed, with a barrier formed of the same substance and in the same manner as the ceilings.

Several s))ecies of Xylocopa are indigenous to th« United States. The Virginia Carpenter bee is as large as the Humble-bee, but not covered so denselj'- with hair. The larvre strongly resem- ble those of the Humble-bee, though'less bulky in body and more pointed at the ends.

Bees Settling on a Man's Hat I— On Mon- day last, while some men were engaged on the highway in our village, a swarm of bees were heard above their heads. They at once set their wits at work to capture them. Old pans wert beaten, tea bells were rung, bushes held up for them to light on, but nothing attracted them to " come down," till the queen bee es- pied a straw hat on the head of Mr. Daniel Callahan, one of tlie workmen on the highwaj\ As soon as the queen lit on his hat the whole swarm followed, and in a minute Mr. C's hat, face, hair, and shoulders were covered wirh the buzzing bees. He did not exactly like their familiaritj, and fought them with dirt furiously for a considerable time, before he could drive them from his person. But by throwing off his hat, he finally rid himself of the bees and succeeded in hiving them. Won- derful to say, that during iiis fierce battle, ho received only one sting. — Littleton (Ja^xitc.

[For the Bee Juiirniil.]

Albinos in a Bee-Hive,

Five bees as white as unbleached cotton cloth were seen in a hive of black bees at swarming time. The old queen had been removed at the time ; and all the young queens produced, five in number, Avere saved in hopes to get the color permanently fastened on other young bees, but failed, They were seen before tlie introduction of Italians. James M. Marvin.

St. Ch.\rles, Illinois.

Send us the names of Bee-keepers, with their Poat Office address.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

69

[For the American Bor; .Imirnal.]

Bee-Hives.

"Mr. Editor: — I notice iu the July luimlier of the Bee JouKNAii a partial dcscrijitiou of Mr. Allen's bee-hive, by W. A. Bennett, of S5''racnsc. Now the first and leading objection to nny of the hives iu use is (he coH; in con- sideration of which none but such as can make their own hives presume to follow the improve- meutswhlch are constantl}' coming to our notice. I am very confident that a hive which would meet with general favor with the bee-keeping farmers, must combine all tiie present improve- m^iits, -with greater simiilicity and loss cost,

As Mr. Bennett gave some of the leading features of Mr. Allen's hive, without stating the cost of the same, T will describe to you a hive which I have had iu use over two years, which I made for myself, trying to remedy ob- jections which I found in all other hives, making it simple and cheap and easy of manufacture.

My frames are nuide with the top-piece or head like any other movable frame, but Avithout the bottom piece, which annoyed me from the comb cuttpgs and worms collecting on them. The ends are made one inch and a half wide (a little wider for the Italian bees) and one- half inch thick, being bevelled about a quarter of an inch on both inside corners. When cut to a length, make a saw cave or slot in the lower end, deep enough to receive a piece of pail hoop-iron, for the purpose of holding tiiem in place. The top pieces are nailed in one-fourth of an inch down from the top of the ends to form a chamber between the bottom of the supers and the top-pieces, without a houey- boarci. This completes the top and ends of the stock department. I put some sides of thin boards, (or of pasteboard, with strips tacked to it to hold it straight,) and bind the whole to- gether with a piece of hoop-iron, encircling the whole and making it tight by crowding one side of the hoop lower than the other. The whole making a clear open I'ox of the requisite size, which can be handled like an old box hive. The entrance to the hive is by slots cut in the bottom board, half tlie thickness of the board ; and by sliding my hive back ou the board (over a little screen for ventilation) the bees are shut in.

I lastly inclose the whole with a box made from rough, common boards, large enough to leave a space all around the stock or inner hive, which box can be removed at pleasure, without disturbing the bees or even letting any different air to them.

The advantage of this arrangement is a more oven temperature both iu wauu and cool W(~ather. Tte supers can be made very cheap of two boards, just large enough to cover the top of the hive or chamber, (the top of the chamber is the bottom of the supers) ;'lhen cut a groove half through the board all avound it, and from waste pieces of glsiss and strips of piper, and some paste for the joints, a box can lie made very nice and chcaii 1)}' uiciuis of a diamond or even an old fde.

The co;t of this hive need not exceed a dollar

and a half ($1 50) in this vicinity, where lum- ber costs from $1.1 to $40 i)er thousand feet.

Now, Mr. Editor, if this discription finds a place in your Journai, and i.s understood, it would please mc to have it criticised bj^ any of your subscribers, particularly by such well- known apiarians as Qiiinby, Baldridge, Grimm, Langstroth, and Mrs. Tapper, !)elieving that hives can be made less complicnted and more useful. J. A. SuAw.

Dahtkokd, Wisconsin.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Bee~Kives.

Dear Bee Journal: — From some remarks last month I inter that you do not favor side- opening hives. In commencing bee-keeping I was early aware of the importance of huving but one form of hive in the apiary, and of course wished that one to be the best.

After much time and study spent on the sub- ject, I became convinced that none would answer at all so well as either Langstroth's or the American. I have used both for two years, and must say I find many points in the Ameri- can, which I think an improvement ou the first movable comb hive.

I will try and give my views, but shou!d be glad of further light on the subject.

1st. Tall hives are better than low ones. I think all will admit that.

Bees winter veiy badly iu Langstroth hives about here — last winter especially. When my Langstroth's were side by side with the Ameri- can, with the honey board removed and a thick layer of corncobs in place of it, and winter passages carefully cut, the amount of dead bees in the spring in some araoanted to nearly half the swarm, while the Americans lost scarcely any.

In Langstroth's, the surviving bees generally occupied one corner, while the other parts were covered with frost.

In the American, from the shape of the hives, the bees remained below their stores, and of course kept the heat from their bodies above them.

Mr. Quinby suggests as a remedy, tipping the flat hives on end iu winter. But 1 am sure I should not like such a proceeding.

2d. The difficulty of removing the first comb in Langstroth hives, when they are full of honey, is such that I very often neglect it en- tirely, especially in old hives. But with the American, I have sometimes opened a hive of common bees so quietlj' as to have scarcely a bee leave the frame, using no smoke or any- thing else, and I very rarely kill a bee in the operation.

8d. In preparing the Langstroth hives for wintering, by covering the frames with corn- cobs, ttc , if a person has many hives it is a tremendous job, and then if he wishes to look into one towards spring, they must all be re- moved and put back again. The same thing is accomplished in the American much (-uicker, and so far as my experience goes, uuk h more clVuicnfly,

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

4tli. The Langstroth liive is very apt to leak in wet weatiier, nnless covered. The roof of the Americau hive makes this impossible.

5th. In the improved American hive, you have no honey-board to bother Tvith, as the frames form that themselves, and the boxes are almost a part of the body of the hive itself. Still they can be readily removed, and never contain brood, so far as I have seen.

On the contrary, it is claimed that ihe Lang- stroth hive furnishes more room on lop for sur- plus honey-boxes. But, "with the manner of raising the boxes on the American hive, when half tilled, I think that all the bees of any swarm can be fully employed.

I cannot see the objection of keeping the frames all at equal distances. Will some one enlighten me ? Supposing the combs all built nearly, uniform as mine have been so far. J- Now, Mr. Editor, lam afraid this looks too much like advertising a patent hive, but I own no right except an individual one, and have no interest except to wish to know which ^■s t/iebest hive for us all to use.

The inventor has no knowledge at all of what I am writing, and if any of your subscribers am inform us how the Langstroth hive can be used just as well and as easily in the points mentioned, I shall be very much obliged to ihem.

The first item mentioned is the most im- portant, as bee-keepers here have agreed that the old bee-hive is much better than Lang- etroth's for wintering. What is the objection to the movable side ? Any information on the above points will be thankfully received by —

A Novice.

Statistics of European Bee-Culture.

FROM HAUSNEK's "COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OP EUROPE."

Relative Tenacity of Bee Life.

One of the nests of Bombus ferm'dus I kept in a box for somf^ time and Avatched the action of the [humble] bees; but as I then neglected to make full notes, and iis ray first observations vrere confirmed b}' later ones, I allude to them here only to introduce an incident which has relation to the duration of life of the various kinds which alwa.yrt compose the communities of humble bees Upon leaving Warwick I left my valise, in whicli was a nest of bees, at the depot. Two months atterwards, in November, it was brought to me, when upon examining the nest seveial large queen-bees were found in a lively condition, while the males, small females, and workeis were all dead. When the valise was left at the depot, there was but one ciueen in the nest. This incident proves that the Ciueeus are not only late in leaving the cells, but that they are capable of enduring cold which is fatal to the other bees. — F. W. Put- nam's "iYoies on the Habits of the Humble Bee.''''

One community of humble bees kept by Mr. F. W. Putnam under glass on a window, with free ingress and egiess, continued Avorking until, on a very hot day, liie young became l)ak('d in their cells hy the heat of the sun. Then 'he old ones lei't, a h\ did not return.

The ascertained number of stocks of bees in Europe (with the exception of Denmark, Swe- den, Norway, the Netherlands, and Turkey) is 21,784,000, distributed as follows:

In Russia 13,.')00,000

Austria, (1857) 3,000,000

France, (1858) 2,200,000

Italy 1,250,000

Spain, (1861) 863,000

Prussia 400,000

Switzerland 320,000

Greece, (1860) 235,000

Bavaria, (1863) 233,000

Hanover, (1861)..- 201,000

Portugal 160,000

Wurtemberg 104,000

Great Britain 100,000

Belgium, (1859) 61,000

Saxony, (1801) 51,000

Fcsse, (1859) 41,000

Baden, 1861) 25,000

Hesse-Darmstadt, (1858) 19,000

The rest of Germany ' 120,000

In the area of Europe there are on

an average on each square mile 7 hives.

In Switzerland 21 "

On the Ionian Islands 15 "

InGnlicia 15 "

Wurtemberg 14 "

Hanover 14 "

Italy 12 "

Austria 13 "

Greece 13 "

Hesse 18 "

France 10 "

Saxe- Weimar 9 "

Nassau 9 "

Bavaria 8 "

Eussia 6 "

Hesse-Darmstadt 0 "

Belgium 5 "

Spain 4 "

Baden 4 "

Portugal 4 "

Prussui 4 "

Great Britain 1 "

On the entire area of Europe there is on an average one hive to everj^ 11.7 inhabitants. Tn Greece, one to every 5.5; in Russia, one to 5,."); in Switzerland, one to 7.5; in Hanover, one to 9; in Galicia, one to 11; in Austria, one to 11; in France, one to 10; in Wurtemberg, one to 10; in Spain, one to 18; in Italy, one to 18; in Bavaria, one to 20; in Portugal, one to 23; in Nassau, one to 29; in Saxony, one to 43; in Hesse-Darmstadt, one to 45; in Prussia, one to 40; in Baden, one to 54; in Belgium, one to 77, in Great Britain, one to 291.

The annual product of honey and Ava.v in Austria, France, and Greece is as follows:

IIONKY. AVAX.

Austria 17,000,000 lbs. 11,220,000 lbs.

France 16,020,000 " 3,840,000 "

Greece 880,000 " 880,000 "

TIIK AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

']

Thus llie honey produced in Fi'ance averages C5 lbs. per hive; in Austria, fij lbs.; and in Orcece, 3f,- lbs The product ol" wax per hive averages in Greece and Austria .'V,' lbs., and in France onlj^ 1.^ Us. In proportion to the popu- lation of the several countries, the product of wax is in Greece ;,' lb. to each inhabitant; in Austria, ;^ lb.; and in France only li ounce.

For the .'ktiipricaii Tlpo .Tournal.

Apistical Budget.

The great value of fertile queens in early spring, to supply stocks thvt have become queen- less during the winter, is well known to bee- keepers, and to supply them has been a subject , of considerable thought with me.

I have at last fallen on Mie following plan, and as I do not know of any similar one having been made public, I offer it for what it is worth.

Make a large box, say twenty inches wide by twenty inches long, and fourteen inches deep. Nail slats across the bottom, (pieces of lath will do), leaving half an inch space between them. ■ The top to be made like the cap of a Laugstroth lilve, and just large enough to fit over this other, with holes for ventilation.

Now make eighteen small boxes, six inches wide by seven long, and six high. These are to be made a? follows: sides and ends of half- inch stuff; top and bottom of wire cloth, such as is used for queen . cages, the bottoms may be fastened; the tops must be movable. On the inside of the ends, five-eights of an inch from the top, nail a cleat to hold the frames.

You are now ready for operations. Late in the fall fill one or two frames with sealed honey and put into each small box. Now lift out the frames and bees in the nuclei, with the queen to be wintered, and put them into the small boxes. When you have the eighteen filled, shut them up tight, that is so they cannot get out, and put the whole number into the large box, leaving fully half an inch space between each one. Put on the top, and you have a mammoth hive, made up of a number of small ones, whose united heat and stores are equal to the best store stocks you have. This hive is to be buried along with the rest, or otherwise pro- tected, and will come out in the spring rich in stores and increasing in bees.

One more item and I am done. Might not pure queens be saved in this way: catch Iiuudveds of handsome drones, and turn them N^ loose in a large and well lighted room with a young unfertile queen a few days old V I have never tried it, but often thought I Avould.

I have many more items, but do not wish to crowd out others of more importance.

II. C. Barnard.

CUAITLESTON, IlMKOIS.

[For iho American Bee Journal.]

Uniting Bees in the Fall.

Fo'i" several ytarr, I have practiced unilini bees iir the fall in the following manner :

I have a box six or eight inches deep, and just the size of the lower part of the hive. The bottom of the box is covered with wire cloth, and two strips one inch square nailed on two opposite sides to give a chance for ventilation underncalii. Then paralyze all the bees you wish to unite wil-h putr-ball smoke, put them into the box, and set the hive over it. In a .short time they will revive and crawl up among the combs, and will not quarrel.

If you wish to save any particular queen, re- move all but that one. Do it just at night, fastening up the hive so that the bees cannot escape until the next morning. This has always been with me a perfectly safe way of introducing queens. The bees always keep the one you give them if you remove all the others.

To paralyze bees, make a tin tube six inches long and two inches in diameter, with a wooden stopper in each end, having a half inch hole through it. Peel some dry puff balls ; lay one on the coals until it smokes ; then put it in the tube, and blow the smoke into the hive until the bees drop to the bottom, which will be in from tliree to eight minutes, according to the size of the swarm.

It is necessary that they should have room at the bottom of the hive that they may fall clear of the combs. J. L. Hubbard.

Walpole, New Hampshire.

[For the Bee Journal.]

Another American Bee Plant.

polanisia purpurea.

This hardy plant is said to have been brought from the Rocky Mountains. I procured a small package" of the seed, which came from Kansas, and havs raised it two seasons. It begins to blossom about the first of August, and continues in blossom five or six weeks. It is very hardy ; the frost does not injure it, and I have not known a worm or bug to eat it.

It does best to sow the seeds in the fall. They germinate early in the spring, growing to a height of three or four feet, biancliing in all directions, and having a large number of beau- tiful puri^le blossoms. The bees work on it all day, gathering honey only ; at least I have never seen one having anj' ])ollen on its legs.

I cannot tell yet in regard to the quantity or quality of honey it yields, as I have not raised enough for that ])urpose, but the bees Avork very freely on it.

It produces quite a quantity of seed, whii-h can be saved atler it gets through blossoming ; but whether the seed'is of much value I cannot say. I am going to try it on the sheep this winter, and Tf go'od for them, will report.

It does not grow so luxvuianlly v^-hen sown in the spring,''although it blossoms the same season. I have a quaniily of the seed, and will send a package ta iiuy address if a small sum is enclosed to i)ay 1 osljige and expense of putting up

Will IT. A. Terry (or any other man) please send me a parkageof s<!edsof CTflme Intefjrlfuliu,

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the: AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

mentioned on page GO, vol. 3, of the American Bee Jotjunal, in an article from the Prairie Farmer ?

The season just past has been the best we haveJiad for several years. The weather was favorable for the secretion of honey, and the bees have gathered much larger quantities than usual from red clover and buckwheat.

I almost forgot to say that I would retui'n the compliment by sending a package of Polanisia purpurea to the one who sends me some Gleome Integrifolia, and also many thanks, as I wish to test the various kinds of bee plants offered. J. L. Hubbard.

Walfole, New Hamfshike.

For the American Bee Journal.

Mr. Editor : — Since in a former communica- tion to the Journal I was bragging up the amazing docility of my Italian bees, I have thought it advisable to transmit to you, at this timc^ for publication, the extraordinary effusion of my little daughter's astounding inspiration, which although not altogether unaided by my own, (of course,) has perpetrated the following persuasive exhortation to a decrepid Italian Bee. F. V.

To an old Italian Bee.

Restless wanderer through the glade, Whence and v>'hither ait thou bound ?

Come and linger in the shade. Rest thee from thy ceaseless round.

Torn and tattered are thy wings, And their hum betrays thy days,

Lesser grow thy golden rings. Fainter their once brilliant rays.

Still, though worn with age and cares,

Unrest is thy chosen lot ; 'Midst the glen's unnumbered snares,

Thou 3^et roam'st and heed'st them not.

Song with industiy combined.

Is thy glory, end, and aim ; Thou art happy, free and kind.

Universal is thy fame.

Sweeter far than Siren song,

Heard by sailor on the main, Is to me, the flowers among,

Hum of thine, upon the plain.

Truly, labor is thy joy,

Unlike man's enjojanent, thine ; For no tedious hours annoy

Thee, like him 'mid flowers and wine.

Unlike him ; thou mad'st no vow To desist from drinking mead ;

But thou sipp'st it now, and now : Nectar is thy drink and feed.

Not like him, when anthems swell,

At tby oft reviving revels, Dost thou buzz of crackling hell,

And of grinning death, and di'vils.

Yet, thy end is much like his,

Here we may the fact accredit, Siill, it seldom ends in bliss.

We have heard, and sung, and read it.

Fire and brimstone are thy lot.

When thy toilsome life is ended ; Stay, repent thee, on the spot,

Lest thou perish unrepented.

Four score days and ten have past,

Since thy bibbing days began ; Unless thou repent at last,

Thou wilt die a drunken man.

Tippler, sabbath breaker, thief,

Busy body to thy end, Of all outlaws thou art chief;

Hence, before thou die, amend.

Adella C. Varro. Washington, Pa., Aug. 27th. 1867.

[Translated for the Bee Joiirnal.

Various Items.

1. Wil'' bees accustomed lo a fertile queen accept an unfertile o7ie f — It is commonly believed that when a fertile queen is removed from a colony of which she has long been an inmate, the bees will not readily and immediately accept an un- fertile queen which may be ofl'ered to them as a substitute. An occurrence in my apiary last summer, however, shows that such is not in- variably the case.

I removed a fertile (<ueen from one of my hives, designing to use her elsewhere. But having, at the time, a supernumerary young queen, recently hatclied and still unfertilized, I intended to introi'ue her to the bereaved colony in a cage; but alter I had opened the hive and placed her on a comb, she flew off and thus escaped imprisonment. I concluded that she was lost, as she was a stranger and would scarcely seek the hive ; or even if attracted by the humming, she would probably be attacked and destroyed by the bees, as yd unconscious that they had lost their queen. Thus thinking, I closed the hive and leit.

A few days after I procured a queen cell nearly mature from another hive, to insert it in the colony believed to be queenless. But this proved to be needless, for on opening the hive I found the young queen supposed to have been lost moving about very actively on one of the combs. Well contmt to find it so, I clcsed the hive again, and carried l)ack my queen cell.

I presume the j'ouug queen kept hoveiiug about the hive till the bees discovered that their old queen had been removed, and began to manifest their unea-inet-s after my departure. Attracted by the "noise and confusion," she may then have ventured to mix with the crowd, and been kindly received at the moment when from conscious queenlessness they were verging on despair.

3. Safe introduction of queens.— When p.re- paring to transport my stocks to a distant lieath last .lulumn. to enable Hir-ni lo avail them.'^clvc?

I'SE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

73

"I the iilnuidant fiill pastnra^e lli^re, T made an firtifioial coloii)^ by supplying a hive Avith empty "omr/S, j^laciu.s:^ tlieveiu a caj^od, fertile queen, and stocking it willi bees tal^en from various overpopulous colonies. Wlien closing the hive the nueen ^vas accidentally liberated, and in this condition the colony was transported to the heath When arrived there, and the entrance v,as opened, the bees rushed forth in crowds, but in a few moments returned, became settled, and pro(.eeded to collect pollen. Several weeks aft(-r, when brought back to my ajnary, this colony contained plenty of brood. Tliis shows that to a colony composed of bees gathered from two or three diflerent hives, a fertile queen may be safely introduced without the ustial precau- tion of caging her.

3. Will early Hiodrmn always accept of a ready furnished hive? — I suppose I am not the only "bee-keeper who has found that bees will some- times desert a hive containing empty combs. I had such a citse last summer. On the 2r)th of June a very large swavm of black bees issued fiom one of my hives. I placed it iu a hive furnished with nice clean combs. On the 27th it abandoned the hive. I rchived them im- mediately, and caged the queen; but on the 28th they came out again, deserting their queen. I now placed them in another hive, containing frames furnished with only narrow strips of guide-comb. They remained in it perfectly contend, built combs rapidly, and collected siove.'^ enough to carry them through the winter.

I ;>lnced an artificial colony in the furnished aive a few das's afterwards, and they seemed well pleased with the provision thus made for them, commencing operations forthwith, and prospering well.

Swarming bees, particularly those of second Bwarms, appear to have an instinctive desire for comb-building, and are prone to reject " fur- nished quarters." This can only be overcome by supplying Ihem with a comb of brood.

On the Reproduction of Boe«.

By PrioF. C. T. E. von Sieboi>d.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Proposals Wanted,

Xhrough the Bee Jounal, to furnish me

First — with a stock or swarm of pure Italian bees that are as good workers as half breeds.

Second — a queen that will reproduce others, exact counterparts of herself, with no varia- tions.

Third — a queen that is entirely yellow and will reproduce others iu any numbers, like her- self.

Fourth — a queen that produces workers iu any number, Avith/o'.tr yellow bands.

Fifth — a queen that produces drones all yel- low, or with ouc-half brown on the two last bands only.

Persons having any or all of the above-de- scribed stock will do well to let it be known through the Bee .Iouknal,

St, CHABiiES, Ills. James M. Marvin.

Send us the names of Bee-keepers, with their Post Office address.

It is high time that zoologists and physiolo- gists should turn their attention to a phenome- non in the history of the reproduction of ani- mals, wbi(di, during the last few yearf^, has warmly interested the apiarians and set them in the greatest excitement. I mean the mode in which each separate colony of bees contrives that the worker, -drone,- and royal-cells pre- pared by it are always furnished with the proper eggs, from which, as is required by the arrange- ment of these different kinds of cells, the worker- larvae, drone-larvfe, and queen-larvae destined to dwell in them, are always disclosed. Hence the oviposilion in the bee-hive must be effected according to peculiar rules, in order that the conditions just mentioned may be fulfilled. This act of oviposition must be subjected to determinate laws, v.diich do not affect the ovi- position of most other insects, as in these it is a matter of indifference in what consecutive order and number male and female eggs are laid. But the question, how each separate bee-colony succeeds iu obtaining the suitable supply of eggs for all its combs, differently as these are pre- pared as regards the number and arrangement of the three kinds of cells, has not been easily answered. Nay, we may perhaps say that this process has hitherto appeared to be an impene- trable mystery, the solution of which has not been effected by the most careful endeavors and observations of the apiarians continued for many years. This mysterious circumstance, which distinguishes the oviposition of the bees, has also been the cause that from time imme- morial, the apiarians have been disputing about the signification of almost every individual step in the process of reproduction iu the bees. This contest has continued even to the present day, and it is scarcely possible to imagine a single absurdity with regard to the history of the re- production of the bees, which has not already been expressed in sober earnest by some api- arian, and is now to be read in print iu some of the innumerable bee-books. The greatest confusion especially was caused by the ciicum- stance, that people could not agree with regard to the sexes of the bees. The drones were re- garded as females, and the c^ueens as malos ; sometimes it was supposed that the workers alone had the care of oviposition ; sometimes the true act of copulation between the drones and the (jueen was supposed only to take place iu the interior of the hive ; the wedding-tlight of the queen would then only be a sort of purifi- cation. Whilst from another side it was asser- ted that the act of copulation was never per- formed in the hive, but always high up in the air during the wedding-flight. The act of coi- tion was thus entirely denied, the queen becom- ing fertilized by the agitation of her body during the wedding-flight. I could fill many pages here with these contradictions, which are deposited in the annals of the historj'^ of bee- life, and by which the study of this otherwise so interesting subject from books; has been stunted into a most ungrateful task.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

The endless dispute about the reproduction of bees, often carried on with great animosity, in Avhich the opponents of the different theories of generation relating to the bees often show- ed themselves to be mere dilletanti, miserably furnished with natural -history information, was not fitted to attract the interest of physiologists. Indeed, it appeared as if the apiarians wished I o fight the battle out among themselves without foreign assistance ; for the contest was never brought within the province of an earnest in- vestigation of nature. Moreover the naturalists could not very easily take part in the dispute, as they were mostly deficient in the practical knowledge of the economy of bees, without which every attempt to settle the matter must have turned out imperfect, and would have been received with direct distrust by the obsti- nate bee-masters, to whom such an attempt might have served as an instructive hint. In this dispute of the apiarians, which was con- stantly blazing up afresh, the activity of the naturalists limited itself to their ascertaining and establishing as an incontrovertible truth, by the aid of the dissecting knife and the microscope, that the drones are the male indi- viduals, that the queen is the female individual, and that the workers are not merely a sexual, but female individuals wliose reproductive organs had not come to their full development. Upon this subject investigations were made and published by the zootomists at very different periods. I refer only to the w(n-ks of Swam- merdam, Reaumur, Mademoiselle Juriue, Suck- ow, and Ratzeburg. Although the representa- llons of the male and female sexual organs of the bees have been copied from Swammerdam's Bib- Ike Naiursi by various writers Upon these insects, and consequently the facts established anato- mically were communicated to the apiarians, yet for a long time these truths could not boast of a recognition by all bee-keepers. These ento- motomic investigations probably did not appear sufficiently significant to the apiarians, because there Avere still many things in the history of the reproduction of the bees, which could not be explained with this knowledge of the sexual relations of these animals. Many practical apiarians looked upon this anatomical proof of the sexes of the bees merclj' as theoretical stuff, and returned to their so-called practical way, which they imagined to be the right one, with- out regard to these facts, preferring to explain the difierent sexual functions in a perfectly arbitrary and unnatural fashion, according to their own individual and often very limited views.

After I had, in the year 1837, ascertained the existence and signification of the seminal re- ceptacle in female insects, and in 1843 called attention to this reservoir of semen in the queen bees, by the functions of which many phe- nomena in the reproductive activity of the bees, wliicii had hitherto remained problemati- cal, or had been incorrectly explained, might be properly conceived, these investigations ex- erted no particular influence upon the perverted views of most of the apiarians. They probably paid no further attention to them, regarding them as theoretic;*! stuff", and yet, by the recog-

nition of the function of the seminal receptacle, a phenomenon in the bee-hive, which had been a source of wonder from time immemorial, could now be correctly explained. Thus it had been ascertained by me that after copulation had taken place, the semen of the drone, which filled the seminal receptacle to overflowing, re- mained in this place, capable of impregnating the eggs, not merely for months, but for years, as might be seen from the movements of the spermatozoids of this semen continuing for that period. This explains how a queen, fertilized by a single coitus, after discharging her eggs in the first year, may again in the following year, and even still more frequently, lay eggs capable of development, such as the hive re- quires, as fertilizing semen is constantly pre- served in her seminal receptacle, to fecundate eggs even for so long a period. But even this discovery was ignored by most of the apiarians. As a general rule, fresh scruples as to the value of such anatomical and microscopical investi- gations were constantly rising among them with respect to the determination of the sexual functions of the bees.

There were two phenomena especially in the economy of the bees, which troubled the minds of the apiarians Avith reference to the division of the sexual functions in those insects. I mean, first, the capability of an . imperfect- winged female to produce brood, and, second, the production of brood in queenless hives. Those who acknowledged the queen as the female individual of the bees, and, in accord- ance with the physiological laws hitherto cur- rent, ascribed to her the proi)eriy of laying eggs capable of development only after previous copulation and the filling of the seminal re- ceptacle with spermatozoids, were, in conse- quence of the first-mentioned phenomenon, rendered doubtful Avhere and when the copu- lation of the queen bee is afl^ected. From this arose the dispute, abundantly battled out in the books and journals relating to bees, as to whether the queen copulates in or out of the hive. That the former was possible was thought to be proved by the imperfect-winged ciueen laj'ing eggs capable of development, and thus the two sexes of the bees were supposed to perform the act of copulation in the interior of the bee-hive, although such a copulation in the hive had never been seen. In those cases in which the second remarkable phenomenon previously mentioned occurred, namely, brood in a queenless bee- hive, we should entirely mistake the sexual functions of the bees. Such observations were principally employed in raising objections of insufficiency and untenability against the scien- tific endeavors at the determination of the sexes of bees.

In most zoological and entomological works we find all the acrimonious controversies re- garding bee life either imperfectlj'^ mentioned or scarcely indicated, and heflce it may have happened that the history of the reproduction of the bees has remained untouched by those physiologists who have specially occupied them- selves with the generation of animals. On this side no one had any idea what difficult i)roblems are here presented to . science for solution.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

75

Moreover, the physiolo.t^ists were lately enp;aged by anotlKT very attractive but also very dillicult subject, which "incited them to inquire after the laws, according to which the a&exual repro- duction, previously regarded as an exception and now characterized by the name of AUer- nntion of Generation, occurs disseminated among the lower animals, together with sexual generation.

By the entomologists the physiology of re- pro(iuct-on has been very scantily enriched of lute, as most of them found their task only in rectifying the speciesof insects. Many of them endeavored, at the expense of much time and trouble, to determine tliose species which have been furnished with names by Linna?us and Fabricius, whilst the majoiity found a stiJI greater i)leasure in enriching the systematic catalogues of insects, with a few perfectly new, although extremely insignificant species.

As up to a very recent peiiod the apiarians formed a sort of close corporation, Avisliing to answer the most important questions relating to the reproduction of the bees among them- selves, it maj' thus have happened that the fruits with which the knowledge of the history of reproduction was enriched by the labors of modern naturalists, could not be perceived at all by this close and short-sighted circle, and consequently could not be made use of by them. Nor did any voice ever force its way out of their circle which might have called in the assistance of the physiologists in the decision of certain problems in the reproduction of the bees. Only within the last few j-ears has the demeanor of the apiarians changed in a most satisfactory way, and it must be said, in praise of the pres- ent circle of apiarians, that at this moment it numbers among its members men who have arrived at a conviction that bee-life does not merely serve to furnish man with wax, honey, and mead, but that it constitutes an extremely remarkable link in the great and most multi- fariously composed chain of animal existence, the importance of which, hoAvever, can only be understood by the assistance of knowledge, such as is furnished by the present development of the natural sciences. By the activity of these enlightened men a complete revolution has taken place in bee-keeping ; a rational pro- cess introduced by the apiarians, and rewarded by the richest results, now celebrates the most complete triumph over empiricism; {lud the names of Dzierzon and Berlepsch above all deserve to be named as conquerors.

[For the .\merican Bee Journal.]

Italian Bees and Red Clover.

Mr. Editor: — In looking over the September number of youi excellent Journal, I read an article from Mr. .J. McCune, in which he pro- poses two questions to " bee-men and novices." The second of those I propose to answer, as I claim to be one of the persons to whom the question is addressed.

" Has any one, not raising queens for sale, ever had bees to toork freely on the second crop of red clover f''

I propose to answer this question to his entire satisfaction. I cannot claim, however, that I saw my bees work on red clover, second crop; but will state thiwi Mr. B. Z. Replogel, of llagers- town, Lul., and myself visited the apiary of Messrs. Langstroth & Son on the ?A day of August last, and after spending a short time in the examination of a few stocks of bees and their Italian ciueens, and the patent machine for extracting honey from the comb in frames. I asked Mr. Langstroth to settle tlu- c[uestion, with me at least, whether the Italian bees could gather honey from the second crop of red clover or not. He requested Mr. R., myself, and seve- ral others to step into his clover patch, which was close at hand, and satisfy ourselves on the subject. We did so, and found the Italian beea Avorking freely upon the bloom, williout seeing a single black bee. G. B. Long.

HoPKiNSviLLii, Kv., Sept. lo, 18G7.

Bradford County, Pa.

This county being a white clover and buck- wheat region, is a good place for bees. The drawbacks are very changeable weather both summer and winter, long winters find foulbrood.

This disease is the greatest enemy of all. We know nothing of its cause or cure. If you know anyihiug that will prevent or cure ibis disease, you will confer a great benefit on your readers by publishing it.

I bought an Italian queen bee, reared a few queens trom her, and gave them to some of my black colonies. The result is I get more honey stored by the hybrids ; but they are so cross that I have sometimes wished I had never seen them. They tiud their way into the house and everywhere where there is honey.

I know that there is a great deal said and written about the good nature of the Italians when pure, while it is generally admitted that hybrids are more vindictive than either variety when imre. Now, how can this be reconciled with the laws that govern all other transmitted qualities of animal or vegetable being?

I know of nothing else that deviates so strangely as it is claimed that bees do in this case. Where do they get this tendency to pug- nacity, if not from their ancestors ? And how can their progenitors impart that Avhich they do not possess ?

If the truth be hid from the public tosubservc speculation, or for any other reason, it cannot be so held very long, and honor to the man who is honest enough to tell it lirst.

P. Peckham.

Foulbrood still remains a mystery, its source or cause being alike unknown. No efficient prevention has yet been discovered; nor has any prompt, conveniently available and unfail- ing cure yet been devised.

It is unquestionably true that impure Italian bees, or hybrid, are peculiarly ill tempered and irritable. For the present we must rest content to know the/a<-< without presuming to assign a reason for it.

Send us the names of Bee-keepers, with their Post Oflice address.

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

(Froai the Canada Fanner.]

Honey and Hew to Judge It.

There arc many kinds nnd qualities of. houejr- Almost . every kind of llov.-er scCTetes lioncy-iie- culiar to itselfand possessing- to a emisidei'ablc ex- tent, the properties of the plant or'llower whence it is.derlved.' Henc? some kinds of honey are very unwholesome or poisonous, fteing ,G:athered by the bees from noxious floAvcrs^; other kinds again are simply unpleasant to taSte — not fit for the table. It has been supposed by inany that bees make honey, but such is not the Case, they only gather it from the floAvers that secrete it ; hence its different qualities and flavors. A's we have fev*' if any poisonous llowers in Canada, we have lit- tle or no unwholesome honey. In the Southern States nnich of the honey is quite poisonous, and cannot be eaten until after it has been boiled, which is said to evaporate a portion of its bad qualities. There are people who think they can- not eat honey even in Canada, without first boil- ing It ; but if such were to select honey gathered from white clover or bass wood, I have no doubt they could eat it as safely as any other sweet.

Bees never mix the difierent kinds of honey when depositing in the hive. If bees commence to work on white clover they will work on noth- ing .else, so long as that kind of honey can be ob- tained to any great amount, and aJl that kind is deposited by itself. When they leave that for buckwheat they no longer deposite it in the same cells with the clover honey, but in adjoiiiing cells, or in a separate piece of comb. Experienced bee-keepers are aware of this, and as soon as buckwheat blossoms they remove all boxes that are nearly full — that is, if they which to keep the clover honey pure. Again, when removing honey froni boxes for the purpose of straining, those pieces of comb containing buckwheat honey may be separated, and the clover honey preserved pure. If some of those who exhibit honey at the fairs were to be more careful as to the kind of lioney they selected for exhibition, they would be more likely to obtain prizes. I have seen fine white clover honey greatly injured by leaving a small portion of buckwheat honey mixed with it. There being so many kinds and qualities of honey, there is a chance for selection.

As our Provincial Fair is close at hand, I take the liberty to explain how lioney should be judged — in other words, to point out what the characteristics of good honey are, for the benefit of those who may wish to compete, as well as for those who may be appointed to judge. Though I have no reason to complain, having received first and second prizes for two or three years, yet many times at our county fairs I have known the prize to be awarded for honey on account of it possessing one peculiar feature, that of being thick ; at other times on account of its being of a very light color ; Avhile little or no regard were paid to other important qualities. Honey in the comb can onljMjc judged by its appearance, so long as it is exhibited in close boxes, so that it cannot l>e tasted. It often happens that an in- ferior article of honey in the comb obtains the ])rize, us the jnize is awarded to tliat which is the whitest ; but the whitest comb docs not al- ways contain tlie purest honey. Yet, as before

I stated, so long as honey is oxLibltcd in close boxes, it is proper to award a prize for the whitest comk. . It is, lioweyer. quite diffcr'^nt with hon( y in the jar, which is open \.:> JnsMCC- tion. and which, to be first-class, shoidd possess the following characteristics : ligiitcolor. thick- ness,-Jvnd pleasant flavor. Though lionoy may not alwayi^; possess all these C(ualities, vet ti;o nearest approach thereto should be awarfi'^'d tlie first prize., It would be very improper to uunrd the first prize to a jar of honey on account of its light color, if another jar wan 'of a thicker con- sistency and better flavor, although cons!der.ibly darker ; and so of the other, qualities. I may safely saj' there are only two kinds of honey gathered in Canada which possess all the above qualities, One is gathered from clover, nnd the other from that abominable nuisance, the Canada thistle. Both, if properly jirepared from virgin comb, are light in color. That gathered from the thistle is generally somev.iiat thinner than clover honej', but its flavor is more aromatic, and to most tastes more agreeable, especially when combined in proper proportions witli clo- ver honey, Avhose llavor it overcomes or hides. The proportions are about one part of clover honey to two parts of thistle honey. This, when properly prepared, Avill eclipse all other honey, and carry oft' the prize, as I have proved for three years. J. H. Thomas.

Brooklin, Ontario, Sept. 4, 1867.

Flanders' Apiary.

The editor of the Ohio Farmer recently visited Kelley's Island, in Lake Erie, and gives the fol- lowing account of what he saw there in the '-bee line:"

"W. A. Flandeks, the Bee Man. — Professor W. A. Flanders, you may have heard of him, has his Apiarian Institute on Kelley's Island, and of course Ave visited his Institution. Mr. Flanders has a host of bee-families, dwelling in busy harmony under every green tree in the neighborhood. Talk of big prices for merino rams, Flanders can get more money for an Ital- ian queen bee, with three rings around her tail, than any ram pedler can get for the best Ver- mont merino in his flock. Flanders shoAved us (in a vial of alcohol) one of these amiable little female sovereigns Avho had lately fallen in a duel Avith another amiable little female sovereign, for Avhich Ire declared, Avith a sigh Avhich came from as loAV doAvn as the seat of his broad pantaloons that he Avoukl not have taken sixty dollars ! Bugs is riz ! But then the thing can be settled by arithmetic ; here are fifty other amiable little female sovereigns, bred from this little insect in the vial, for each of which Flanders can take from tAventy to twenty-five dollars. The demon- stration is plain — a little insect not so big as a tooth-pick, Avorth more money than a r-hort-horn bull ! The idea avouUI be ridiculous if it Avas not true. But Flanders has improved upon the ori- ginal Doctor Jacob ToAvnsend, and instead of being satisfied Avith the orthodox full-blood Ital- ians with three rings, has got one better, and shoAved us a queen of his raising with four rings around her body, all of the royal purple and gold."

THE AMEHTOAN BEE JOURNAL.

77

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER, 18G7.

E^TnE American Bee Journal is now publislied nionlhly, iu the City of Wivshi-nglon D. C.,) at '$2 per annum. All conmiunioations honld be addvesscd to the Editor, at that plucc.

Ouu reniurk in tlie last luunbia' of the Bee Journal respecting side-opening hives, was not designed to express an opinion as to their qual- ities as a home for bees, but simply to state the fact — of whicth many bee-keepers seem not to be aware — that such hives are not a new inven- tion. Thej' have been in use in Europe for more than thirty years, and especially in the shape given to them by Dzierzon, when intro- ducing the movable bar or slat, have been till quite recently the "crack hivf." there of im- proved bee-culture. Latterly, however, they are regarded with somewhat less favor, and are no longer exclusively used, though undoubtedly still retained by the greater number of apiarians. Of their. properties, good or bad, we do not now undertake to .speak, as we have never tried them. Mr. Langstroth, we believe, used tliem before adopting the present construction of his hive, and it is fair to presume that he did not reject them without sufflt ient reason. "VVe re- gret exceedingly tliat his continued ill-health precludes the hope that he will be able, for some time yet, to state what that reason was

Our esteemed correspondent, Novice, seems to labor under a misconcepiioa also, respecting tlie Langstroth liive. He appears to regard it as restricted to one particular form — broad aad ll.nt. This is by no means so. You r.iay give it any sha|)e or form you choose, or find conve- nient, oi- deem advantageous — broad and flat, oblong and shallow, oblong and deep, square and tall, or square and fl.it. Any form you choose to give it still leaves it a Langstroth hive. "We have it now, and have long had it, of tlnee dilTereni forms— scpiare and shallow ; square and deep ; and oblong, narrow, and of medium depth. V.'ith ordinary cire we have had no diihculty in wintering bees weU in any of these; but it is prec'.scly with the sJuilluir Jrive that we luive been mo>t successful in tiiat particular. "We have never used the corncobs, and cannot say whether thej' are more trouble- some than serviceable, or not. The removal ol tlic hone5'-board is oidinarily ;;1! ihri! is r.'- (iuired iu this rcfrion.

A comparative tei^t between adjoining' hives of dilfering shapes is apt to be deceptive. Wo have known bees.to pass the winter in a very different condition in two neigliboriug old-fash- ioned box hives of precisely the same shape, make, dimeusions, and materials, and contain- ing colonies and storcii so nearly equal in the fall, that it would not have been ea.sy to point out an essential difference. Botli survived the winter — the one in good condition, bees lively, and with surplus stores; the other weuk,.lauguid, and stores nearly exhausted. The cause of the difference was certainly not in the shape or size of the hives, or of the material of which they were made. We have no doubt that those who use straw hives exclusively, which are usually thought the best for wintering, have occasion- ally experienced similar contrarieties.

When Dzierzou's side-opening hives were first introduced in Germany, the general com- plaint of those who tried tiiem was that "bees winter badly in them." This objection con- tinued to be urged for several years. Gradually less Avas heard of it, and finally it ceased to be mentioned. Meantime no material change had been made in the form of tUe hive. Use and experience probably enabled those who have them, to put matters in better trim in the fall than they could originally.

If a full set of frames is kept in the Lang- stroth hive during tlie entire season, they are unavoidably placed in close proximity to each other. There may then occasionally, Avhen honey a'.ounds, be some diiFiculty iu removing the fi'-yt frame This is not the case, however, if one fiame is lei't out du.ring the working sea- son, and the others set no further apart than they should be, leaving the vacant space at one side.

A badly made top of a L mgstroth hive will leak; and so. we imagine, Avill a badly made top 01' roof of any other. We have Langstroth hives that have been in constant use for thirteen years, and never leaked ; and have others that did leak the first season. A device susceptible of being well and eific'ently executed, is not to be condemned for a defect not inlierent.

So long as multiplying stock i.s the main ob- ject, the jioney-board of the Langstroth hive is decidedly useful, and- a eon vcnience. When that object has been aeconiplislied, and large honey harvests are mainly aimed at, it can be dispensed with. Properly adapted supers may then be substituted; or, retaining the lionej"- board, asecond tier of frames, with aiiorjzontal divider, may be introduced with obvious ad.- vantage. This has been done years ago iu the

78

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Langstroth hive ; and it still remained a Lang- strotli hive, even with such change of arrange- ment.

We do object to making the movable frames laterally a fixture, for nothing is gained by it. Why tie together the fingers of your hand when whatever can be done with them thus tied, can be done with them separate, and many things in addition utterly impracticable otherwise ? Originally both frames and bars were thus per- manently fixed, but the advantage of liberating them was soon perceived, and the marvel now is that thej'" were not at first made free. Boys may use bladdefs when learning to swim, but will never become experts in the natatory art, if they adhere to those supporters permanently.

As regards hives, the more simple they are the better. All you really want is a box — whether square or oblong, flat or tall — to receive, enclose, and support the frames. The top, the honey- board, and the frames should be movable. The bottom may fie movable or not, at the option of the operator. All beyond or beside this only complicates matters, without superadding any advantage. We have observed, however, that fancy and habit have as much to do with fixing preferences in bee-culture as in other pursuits ; and that assiduous practice afterwards, even with ill-adapted means, enables the bee-keeper to get along very satisfactorily to himself, and often with tolerable success. IJives, too, are frequent- ly contrived or selected in accordance with pre- conceived notions, in the expectation that the bees will conform to our whims. This has al- ways been a general error Avith those who aimed at producing something superior to the common cottage hive, instead of studying the natural habits and wants of the bee, and then set king to adapt their inventions or modifications thereto. A large majority of the model hives in the Patent Office plainly indicate that of their authors, many really knew little about bees, and others resorted to ingenious efibrts to evade or circumvent the patented claims of meritorious inventors. In this regard, however, demonstrations of inge- nuity are by no means confined to the sphere of bee-culture.

Another Bee Plant.

The plant named below groAvs plentifully in the marshy grounds on the borders of the East- ern Branch of the Potomac (the iVnacostiii) at Washington, and furnishes most valuable fall jsasturage for bees, as it remains in full bloom several weeks. Our bees are now busy on it, and frequented it last year till the firet week in

October. It is unfortunately an annual, and may not furnish eciually abundant supplies every year. The honey it jaelds is excellent and well flavored. We enclosed a specimen of the plant to Prof. T. C. Porter, of Lafay- ette College, Easton, Pa., and have from him the following in reply.

" The plant you enclosed is Blclem; clirysniu themoides, Michx. (Bur-Marygold). You will find it in Gray's Manual. It is common in swamps and along the muddy borders of streams throughout the United States. I did not know before that bees worked on it, and will add it to my list of honey-bearing plants.

If all the bee-keepers of the country were to observe the plants frequented by bees, and what they gather therefrom, and dry flowers and leaves, however rudely, and send on those specimens to the Bee Journal with their notes, I could readily identify the plants ; and thus very valuable material for a bee flora woidd accumulate in a short time. Dried specimens of plants, unaccompanied by writing, can be sent by mail for a trifle."

For the Ameiieaa Bee Journal.

Swarms Deserting Brood.

Mr. Editor : It has often been asserted that a colony of bees would never desert a hive w'hen brood was present in its various stages. Indeed, I have always laid it down as a rule that sure in- ducement for a new swarm to stay in their liive, was to take a card of brood comb from a full hive and put it in the new hive at the time of swarm- ing. But I have a case in point to the contrary. On the 10th day of July, I forced a swarm into a new hive, and as I always do, inserted a card of brood comb. At the time there were matur- ing queen cells in the parent stock, and every- thing appeared to be in the best condition. But on the tliird day while a natural swarm A\'as in the air, this forced one left its hive and joined the one on the wing. Subsequently they both left lor the woods. On examining the deserted hive, I found new comb commenced, but almost wholly destitute of bees.

Has any other had like experience, and how will we account lor the occurrence V

B. S. HoxiE.

CooKSviLLE, Wisconsin, Sept. 10, 1867.

STW Inserting brood comb alone is not always a preventive of desertion, especially if the brood is nearly mature. Select a comb with unsealed brood, add another containing honey, (or take one containing both unsealed brood and honej^, ) and supply the swarm Avith vrater, and it is not at all Ukeiy to forsake its hive. — Ed.

A Singular Case.

I have a queen bee laying eggs Avliich do not hatch. She is forty-eight daj's old, and cannot fly. jAMEfc' M. Marvin.

St. Charles, III. Sept. 9th, 1807.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

{9

[From the Ohio Parmer.

Success in Bee-Kceping.

I thought I would give your readers a little of my experience in bee-keeping. I had twenty- four ^twarms last fall, which I liuried at com- meneenient of winter as usual. Most of the hives were rather light, as my bees made but lit- tle honey last season. When 1 look them from the clanij) in the spring, I Ibuud lliat two swarms had starved to death, and oni' died afterwards from having lost its cjucen. The remainder were in good condition. I put on tiie honey boxes about the time that the AvliiU" clover made its ap- pearance, having previously stuck a piece of nice white comb into nearly every box. I use the Langstroth liive. and use three boxes to a hive that will hold thirteen pounds each. As soon as a box is full I lake it off, and put another in its place.

Now lor tl'.e result of their labor this season. From tli(> 2d of July to the 14tli of August, I took from the twenty-one swarms and their in- crease. 9G3 pounds of nice bo.\ honey, nearly all of v.-h.ich I have sold for cash at my own door, ^he increase is ten good swarms saved, and two or three that ran or flew away.' From three hives that did not swarm. T toolc over eighty pounds each ; from a young s^\•arm that came out on the 20th of June, which I put into a hive filled with empty combs, I took over seventy pounds ; from another that came out June 21st, to which i also gave empty combs, I took lifty pounds ; from another that came out about the lOtli of July and was put into an empty hive, I took twenty-six pounds.

Apiary. Cr.

Bv J)G;! pounds of honey $21G 00

10 swarms ." 50 00

Total $2G0 00

Apiary. Dr.

To expenses, including care, burying, honey boxes, and interest on capital invested, and everything except hi^■es 4G 00

Net profit f 220 00

Can Professor W. A. FlanderSj the bee man of the Apiarian Institute on Kelley's Island, who raises Italian ciueens that have one ring more than p»/v, or any other bee man, show a better result from tweutj'-one swarms of Italians, or three or four single swarms, if kept in Cf^nmon si/.ed hives V Tire Italians may be, and probably are. an improvement on the common bees, but I think I should be a very ungrateful fellow^ to complain of my natives.

A. C. BniGnAM.

TnuMBULi., Ohio, August, 18G7.

P. P. — Since writing the above, I have read the account of ^Ir. Gould's (of Wenham, ^lass.,) success with Itahans, whicli pretty aearly beats me, but not qv.ile. I have tried his corncob ar- rangement for wintering bees, but like burj'ing much the best. I have never succeeded in ob- taining near as mucli surplus honey in small boxes as I have in larg<'r ones. A. ('. IJ.

Correspondence.

^Iartinsburg, Pa., Sept. 7. Inclosed please llnd two dollars for your Bee Journal. I am a ))eginner in business. My success was poor until now, jiiospects are good. On May 20th last, I commenced witli four colo- nies and increased them to Ibnrteen. Ten nf these Aveigh over one hundred pounds each, and two of them over one hundred and fifty pounds each. The remainder will winter well. My hives weigh about twenty -live pounds each, whicu is included in the above figures. Let this suffice for the present, and at some future time I will give you my experience somewhat in detail, which if you think fit you may publish.

S. 13. Repi.ooei,.

Fr;i)ERALSDXJKO, Md., Sept. 8. I am ver.y much pleased with the Bek Jour- nal, and wish you much success. I will avail myself of every opportunity to advance the in- terest of your valuable paper.

;M. L. Smith.

New Berlix, Pi., Sept. 12, 18G7. Inclosed please find two 'dollars for the third volume of the Bee Jouuxal, which I think is getting better every day. If bee-keepers know their own interest they will not do witliout such a valuable periodical.

II. B. Olut.

Littleton, (N. H.,) Sept. 12.

I purchased a swarm of Italians last foil. They wintered badly, and consequently have done nothing but to make up their loss.

I noticed a cjuestion in the September number of the Bee Journal, whether any one not rais- ing queens for sale ever had Italian bees to work freely on red clover. I have watched mine closely this summer to ascertain, having heard that they did; but I am satisfied they do not work (ni red clover as long as white clover is plenty. After that is gone they will take the red.

Another article from the pen of H. A. Terry, concerning his bee plant. I should like to have a few seeds very much. Would the gentleman send me a few in a letter, I will pay him for his trouble.

Mrs. Laura P.\(.i:.

YOUNGSVILLE, (Pa.,) Sept. li). Inclosed please find two dollars ($2) for vol- ume third of your Bee Journal. Cannot do without it.

WiLLARi) J. Davis.

[For the Americai Boo .Tounial 1

Italian Bees.

Mr. Editor : I am sure that every render of your valuable paper, if he is at all interested in bee-culture, must be well rewarded for the small outlay of the suli eription i>ricc.

80

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

It is soinelimes consoling' to one that lias liad a certain kind of tiaining or experience, to know that otliers have arrived at like eonelii.-ions by almost the same road. And while 1 admire the earnestness and candor with Vvhich each writer puts forth his views, Imust yet confess it is high- ly aniiising to read the articles and advertise- ments about Italian bees.

']"lie assertions made and the sharp Mis iu- duip'd in by the diflerent correspondents, remind me ol' the old.story of t lie ciiameleon . One gives one lest, anotiier something else. One raises them on an "Island twelve'niiles from shore'' (nice place, surely, out there on the watei', rock- ing in tlie cradle of the deep,) another raises thl-m on tlie top of a high mountain, where "na- tive" bees cannot fly.

And now. I submit, is it not too bad, with all this painstaking on the part of disin teresti d men, and when I iiad pictui-ed to myself the pleasure ofpossessingrtJiepuie queen, just to see how the striped fellows would look, au<l handle her pro- geny,( never expecting to raise anymore that Would ))e good for anything, because I have no mountain or island on my premises,) to have another writer put in his pen and say : ''Gentle- men, stand back, jon have no pure queen in the lot ! "

^Vell, friend Grimni is not to be fooled. lie is going t<) make a ten-stritehy going I'igiit to the place where they maniuacture the simou pm-e jidiele ; and as he lives only some thirty or forty miles from me, I liope I may live to see <jne.

Now seriously, g(M'.tlemen, if it is so much trouble to get pure "stock, tiud tluMi more trouble still to keep it pure, what iii(hicement can it be for small fry like myself to tliirdc of Italianizing my "nati\-es y" I am only left to the cruel mercy of the hybrids, which thi'y tell us is something like the'hiite of an liidiai'i : once get him mad at you and he is sure never to forget the injury. But tile strangest thing ot all is that these men with such asseTtions can iiersiiade others to buy. Will some one come to the rescue?

li S. IIOXIE.

( OoxsviLLE, Wisconsin, Sept. 20, lyG7.

For the American Bee .Tournal. Wasting Wax, Hives, Bed Clover, &g.

Mr. Editor : Ju'. Quir.by says tliat bees, when constructincj comb are constantly loasting loax, the quantity often amounts to a handful *>r more, ^•:. (See his '-Mysteries of Bee-Keeping ICxpiaiiied," pages 2")! and 252.) I used to tliink tliat it v»as necessaiy for the bees to waste con- siderable wax in (;ostructing their combs; but lor the hist six years I have known better. If you have the; bees in the right kind of hive, and ventilated just right, they will not waste -one particle. \Vhile\hey are building comb, it is iK.'cessary that they should be kept in as small a com[)ass ivs possible, in order to keep up snflicient heat to work the wax : and then there is none lost. For tills purpose, I lind a division board indispensable. Mr. Quinby\s two stoiw bee- iiouse on page 111, looks nice in a picture, but in pi-aetice the upper story is good for nothing

for bees. I trit.'d that plan sixteen years ago, and so know justliow it Morks. Again, he says that some hives will do well, and others stand- ing by their side yield no profit. I must confess that I was greatly disappointed on reading his late work. I exjiected tliat it Avould be fully up to tlie times. AVliy did he not tell ns how to remedy this and make all swarms equally pros- perous? Well, Mr. Qninby will probably say that it is easy enough to o-i'ticise ; but let Galhii) write a bettei-book. I could not jjossibly do it, because I am no scholar. lint let ever}^ one try to make the JJee Joitrnae the best source of in- formation on the lice question.

Mr. J. L. ]McCune wants to know if ever any one had bees to work freely on red clovei-. Yes: in some seasons the blossom is shorter than in others. I recollect four different sea.sons in my experience that the common black bees worked very freely on it, and gathered large quantities of honey. At other times the blossom is so long that neither black bees nor Italians can gather honey from it.

Mr. S. C. Wilson's difficulty can be overcome bj- using boxes large enough to contain a full frame, or a close-iitting division board in his full-sized hive, with bees enougli to occupy the full frames. Small boxes are a perfect uuisanci' any way.

Eeisha Gaeeup. -

Osage. Iowa.

For tlie American Bee Journal . Foulbrood.

Foulbrood made its appearance in my apiary ten years ago. Five years ago I let my bees run out on this account, and I procured others free from disease. Since then my bees remain- ed nnafiected, till since they have gathered from the pine this .season, and I now lind one- lifth are tainted with foulbrood. Is not this strong evidence that tliis disease originated from Ihe tiuid collected by the bees from the in- sects on the pine ?

I used to hold the idea that foulbrood was of recent origin in this section. But on inquiry among old bee-keepei-s, I find that they lost stocks manj' years ago ; and from the synijjtoms the}' g;ive me,* I have reason to believe that it was from foulbrood. From this and othei- in- tbrmation, I have come to the conclusion that foulbrood existed in this section from the .same inciting cause ever .since the bee was intro- duced,"though the fact was not brouglit into l)ublic notice. Ignorant bee-keepers may lose all their stocks from this disease and be unaware of the fiict — attributina-the injury to the inroads of the moth. ' " 11. B. Oebt.

New Berlin, Pa.

A northern man who recently emigrated to Jettersou county, in the lower Valley of Vir- ginia, madi; l,r)0O pounds of honey from 50 bee stands last .summer, Avh.ich he sold for !;4.')0.

Send us the names of Bee-keepers, with their Post Ofilice addresss.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

HNOVE^IBEH, ISGT'.

No. 5.

True Parthenogenesis in the Honey Bee.

BY PROf. C. T. E. VON SIEBOLD.

Whilst I was occupied witli my task of estab- lishing a parthenogenesis in Psyche Helix and Selcnohia triquetreUa and Uchenella^ I did not omit to bring witliin the limit of my investiga- tions other insects also, ofTvhichthe story Avent, that the females were capable of independent reproduction in the virgin state without the as- sistance of the male individual. It was of im- portance to look carefully at the honey-bee, upon the reproduction of which the most ex- traordinary statements have been made at all times by the various bee-keepers. Amongst these statements my attention had already been turned to that remarkable faculty which was ascribed to certain worker-bees, and which was said to consist in their being able to lay eggs capable of development without copulation.* In the year 1851, therefore, I put myself in communication from Breslau with various bee- keepers, and in this way became acquainted with the distinguished apiarian Dzierzon, pas- tor at Carlsmarkt, near Brieg, in Silesia. By this apiarian, who is gifted with an admirably acute power of observation and free from pre- judices, I was furnished partly in letters and partly Ijy word of mouth, with information upon the economy of bees and the most import- ant phenomena of bee-lile, of a kind such as I could never have obtained from zoological and entomological works. What surprised me most in these communications, Avas the entirely new theory of reproduction which Dzierzon had es- tablished, with which he then made me ac-

* Hunter ia his paper "On Bees," Phil. Trans., 1792, refers to this opinion, but uad been unable to confirm it. "It is asserted by Kitm that when a hive i.s deprived of its queen, laborers lay eggs;" * * * and Wilhclm says that it is the laborers only that lay drone-eggs. Hunter then quotes from Schirach: -'A young queen lately hatched was put in a hive, winch had been previously a.scertained to contain no drones, and whose quecu was removed; and yet the young bees laid eggs." L'pon which ho remarks: '•There is no mystery in this; but did they hatch?" The definite reply to this que.'-tion, and the nature of the product of the virgin egg, are amongst the valuable facts established by modern research and observation.

quainted, and by which all the phenomena re- lating to the process of reproduction in the* bees, which so often border upon the marvel- lous, may be completely explained.

One of these remarkable phenomena is the property just referred to, possessed by some worker-bees of laying eggs capable of develop- ment, a property which is denied by no obser- vant bee-keeper, but could not hitherto be sat- isfactorily explained in any way. The dissec- tion of the worker-bees had shown that they possess undeveloped ovaries, that the seminal receptacle is only imperfectly developed in them, and that, by reason of the abortion of their copulative organs, they are by no means in a condition to copulate with a drone (a male bee) and allow themselves to be fertilized by him. But whence then should this reproduc- tive faculty of certain worker-bees arise? At first I attempted to bring this reproductive power into connection with the Alternation of Generations, and expressed the supposition that similar circumstances might occur among the bees as amongst the aphides; and that conse- ciuently amongst the bees individuals were pro- duced at certain times, which, as nurse-like creatures, could produce brood, without fertili- zation. But if nurses really did occur in the bee-colonies, these must have been recogniza- ble by dissection, as instead of ovaries they would contain germ-stocks, and no trace of a seminal receptacle. I, at the same time, ex- pressed the wish that I might soon have an op- portunity given to me of submitting baes Avhich had been ascertained to be fertile workers, to a careful dissection and microscopic examination, in order to decide whether or no they really were nurses.

But when I became acquainted with Dzier- zou's theory of the propagation of the bees, and constantly grew more and more convinced of its correctness, it was evident to me that we cannot speak of a nurse-formation amongst the bees. To inform mytselfas completely as pos- sible about this theory, I went myself to Carls- markt and held a conference with Dzierzon on the 2Gth of July, 1801, in which I opposed all possible doubts to his theory of reproduction; but these were constantly set aside by him, and

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

with such convincing reasons which could be brought in accordance both witli tlie anatomi- cal relations of the bees and with the physiolo- gical laws of iuse«t and animal life in general, that at last I could no longer hesitate in admit- ting the correctness of Dzierzon's theory of re- production.

Dzierzon expressed his views on the theory of the reproduction of bees in the year 1845, in the Bienenzeitung of Eichstadt, but without par- ticularly emphasising the most important de- tails of his theory, t consider it necessary to reproduce the views expressed by Dzierzon in that journal, word for word. They run as fol- lows:

"Presupposing what will be referred to and proved in the following numbers, that the queen (female bee) to become good for any- thing must be fertilized by a drone, (male bee) and that the copulation takes place in the air, I express the conviction, from which all phe- nomena and mysteries may be perfectly ex- •plained, that the drone-eggs do not require fe- cundation; but that the co-operation of the drone is absolutely necessary when worker-bees are to be produced. Whilst in the higher animals the male is the perfect and ruling creature — the bull keeps together and as it were rules the herd of cattle, and the cock does the same with the hens — the reverse of this takes place with the insects. In the wasps, hornets, humble bees, ants, and especially in the bees, the per- fect female forms the central point and holds the swarm together. As even the drones are subordinated to her, they are also in themselves altogether imperfect creatures, for the produc- tion of which so many forces and conditions are not necessary even on the part of nature as for the production of the queen, and what is the same thing of the workers. (The ancients even appear to have indicated this by the denomina- tion/wcms.) The truth of this assertion ap- pears at once from the fact that as everything that is capable of the more difficult and greater effect may also produce the easier and smaller one; so every stock, which is in a condition to produce worker-bees, may also produce drones, when suitable cells are not wanting in the nest; but not inversely. In copulation the ovaries are not fecundated, but the seminal receptacle, that little vesicle which in the young queen is filled with a watery moisture, is saturated with semen, after which it is more clearly distin- guishable from its white color. The activity of the ovary in the normal state only commences after copulation, but is not necessarily caused thereby; hence many unfecundated queens lay no eggs at all, whilst others lay drone eggs; and even workers do the latter, although, from their want of a seminal receptacle, I regard them as quite incapable of copulation. I am convinced that such eggs are sufficient for the production of drones, whilst the egg from which a queen or a worker is to be developed must come in contact with the filled seminal receptacle. This is certainly only a hypothesis, and will proba- ly remain so, but one to which every close ob- server will no more be able to refuse assent, than the hypothesis of Copernicus, that the earth turns round upon its axis, for all the mys-

terious phenomena in the commonwealth of the bees are very simply explained by it."

In a separate bee-book, Dzierzon subsequent- ly summed up his views upon the reproduction of bees, as a regular theory, in the following manner:

"Therefore, and this must be well borne in mind, in the copulation of the queen, the ovary is not impregnated, but this vesicle or seminal receptacle is penetrated or filled by the male semen. By this, much, nay all of what waa enigmatical is solved — especially how the queen, can lay fertile eggs in the early spring, when there are no males in the hive. The supply of semen received during copulation is sufficient for her whole life. The copulation takes place once for all. The queen then never flies out again, except when the whole colony removes. When she has begun to lay, we may, without scruple, cut off her wings; she will still remain fertile until her death. But in her youth every queen must have flown out at least once, because the fertilization only takes place in the air; there- fore no queen which has been lame in her wings from her birth, can ever be perfectly fer- tile; I say perfectly fertile, or capable of pro- ducing both sexes. For to lay drone eggs, ac- cording to my experience, requires no fecunda- tion at all. This is exactly the new and pecu- liar point in my theory, which I at first only ventured to put forward as a hypothesis, but which has since been completely confirmed. Three young queens with imperfect wings have occurred during the past summer, and these, from the imperfection of their wings, could evi- dently never have taken the fertilizing flight, and also on dissection proved to be unfecunda- ted, nevertheless laid drone eggs." "By this, all the mysteries which we have hitherto vainly endeavored to unriddle, are completely solved. In the first place the enigma: Why is it that many mothers — they may be either queens or workers in their form — are only capable of pro- pagating the male sex or drones? Because the former are either unfecundated or their fertility is exhausted; the latter, on the other hand, are incapable of fertilization."

"For I am firm'y convinced that the egg-lay- ing worker-bees, which occur abnormally, are fi'om the want of a seminal receptacle, just as little capable of being fertiUzed as the young queen in want of sound wings. Moreover, there is certainly no doubt that by the peculiar tone of her wings the ciueeu allures the drones to her, and disposes them to copulation, of which a worker is of course incapable. In th3 second place, the before-mentioned power of the fertile queen to lay worker and drone eggs at pleasure, is rendered very easy of explana- tion by the fact that the drone eggs require no fecundation, but bring the germ of life with them out of the ovary; whilst otherwise it Avould be inexplicable and incredible. Thus, as it has already been shown that the ovaries are not im- pregnated, but that the seminal receptacle is filled during copulation, the queen has it in her power to deposite an egg just as it comes from the ovary and as the unfecundated mothers lay it; or by the action of the seminal receptacle, past which it must glide, to invest it with a

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higher degree, ahigherpotcncy of fertility, and awaken in it tl)c germ of a more perfect being, namely, a (jueeu or a -worker bee. This of course she docs instinctively, Induced by the Avidth of the cell lo be furnisbetl." "For the production of the iLiiiales in the bee-hive, there- fore, more conditions and forces are necessary than for tiie production of males or drones. Every mother which is capable of producing worker brood, can also lay drone-eggs, but not inversely."

As was to be expected, these views upon the reproduction of bees called forth the most lively contradictions amongst the bee-keepers. They were attacked Avilb the most violent polemics in the Bek Jouiin.vl above-mentioned, at the same time, however, that most of the oppo- nents being destitute of any knowledge of the anatomical structure of bees, and of any in- sight into tlie physioloiiical import of the se.vual functions in insects, laid themselves open so miserably that it must have been an easy mat- ter for Dzi(>rzon to silence them. But as it was alinost entirelj' dilettanti speaking to dilettanti, the dispute never came to an end, the most in- correct, e.Ktraordinaiy, and absurd assertions upon the coi)ulation, fecundation, and oviposi- tion of the bees, &c., being put forward in sober earnest as established truths, without its being observed how completely such views, devised in the fancy of a bee-keeper, were des- titute of anj'thing like scientific proof. Hence it was possible that simultaneously with the theory set up by Dzier/.ou, which its originator sought to support Ity important new evidence from time to time in the Bienenzeititng, ques- tions for investigation and reply were again and ag.iin i)ropounded in that journal, upon which we must luive long been perfectly clear, since the most imi)orlant points in the repro- duction of the bees had been elucidated by Dzicrzon's theory.

Thus in the different years of the Bienenzeit- "ung up to the most recent time, (1856,) we find the following questions i)Ut forward as not satisfactorily answered, and the following points referred to as doubtful by various bee-keepers: namel}', Avhether the drones are really the male bees; wlicther the drones might not have the care of the hatching of the eggs; wiiether the drones are not truly abortions; whether there are not also male worker-bees; whether the queen is not perhaps fertilized by caressing or \)Y mere agitation; whether the copulation be- tween the queen and a drone does not after all take place in the bee-hive, and more of the same kind.

In opposition to these variously contradictory questions, I, as Vice President of the third meeting of German Bee Keepers, lield on the second of June, 18o2, at Brieg, in Silesia, gave an exposition of the anatomical relations of the three kinds of bees, the drones, the queens, and the workers, and called upon the bee-keepers present to express their objections and doubts against 'he particular points of the theory es- tablished b}^ Dzierzon. This was done on sev- eral sides; Dzierzon, who was present as presi- dent of the society, defended his assertions with the means which his abundant observations,

conceived with a correct understanding, fur- nished to his hand; whilst I came to his assist- ance with my observations made Avith the dis- secting needle and the microscope, whenever reference was \\vm\v. to the dill'erent anatomical relations and the signification of the internal and external sexual organs of the bees.

Althougii the majority of the ai)iarians did not so quickly drop their preconceived notions and incorrect views as to the economy, und es- pecially the reproduction of the bees, yet a con- stantly increasing number of voices was grad- ually raised in the Bicnenzntung, to coniirm the correctness of the individual points in the theorj^ of n^produetion juit forward by Dzier- zon. Peojjle began to intei'est themselves in the anatomical structure of the bees and of in- sects in general; they took notice of the know- ledge obtained in recent times by the micro- scope, by which a clearer view of the function of the male seminal fluid in the interior of fe- male insects had been gained. To strip every- thing doubtful from those assertions in Dzicr- zon's theory which still had too much of the garb of a hypothesis about them, and allow them to appear as naked truths, those apiarians, whose sole object was to get at the truth, took care that various individual bees, the exact ex- amination of whose condition might furnish tiie right explanation of different doubtful points in Dzicrzon's theory, were handed over to prac- ticed entomotomists for dissection and opinion. In this waj^ this theory constantly gained in firmness and form, and became strengihened in such a manner that it may now claim to have taken root in the soil of science, there to await a further development. Great merit in regard to the recognition of Dzicrzon's theory is due to Baron Berlepsch, of Seebach, near Langen- salza, in Thuringia, as that intelligent and ex- perienced a]narian neither shunned sacrifices, time or trouble to obtain the most important in- formation upon the hotly contested questions relating to the reproduction of bees from his numerous bee-colonies, which are extremely well arranged for observation. In a series of apistical letters,* Berlepsch gave a sj'stematic exposition of the new theor}^ of the I'eproduc- tion of the bees, and supplied the individual positions with proof supported upon the most arduous experiments, by which he has shown himself to be a distinguished observer and acute naturalist.

It must also be mentioned that Dzierzon de- serves to be celebrated as making an era not only in the t'heory, but also in the practice of bee-keeping. He has, namely, given the bee- hive an arrangement, by which it becomes pos- sible for the bee-keeper not only to follow the observation of the individual bee-colonies, and to check the proceedings of their individual members, or of the foreign intruders of the most exact and certain manner; but also to control and guide the entire economy of the individual hives from all sides. He hit upon the happy idea of causing the bees to build their combs

*.\ transl.ation of tlip substantial portions of these apisti- cal letters was published in the first volume of the Ameri- can Bkb Journal, under the caption of "The Dzierzon Theory."

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from transverse slats placed loosely behind one another in the upper space of the bee-hive, by which he was enabled as often as he pleased to examine the whole of the combs in a hive one after the other, the interior of the hive being rendered accessible by taking away a movable back or front wall — as by this arrangement each individual comb, clinging from beneath to the loose transverse slat, can be taken out with this, examined on both sides, and again suspended in its place without injury. By the help of this ingenious arrangement, it had become possible not merely to trace what went on in a bee-hive from day to day, or from hour to hour, he could even convince himself most exactly Avith his own oyijs at any time, as to what was taking place in every individual cell in the ditfcrent combs in his hives. He was also enabled in this wa}^ to procure a knowledge of all the pro- ceedings of the workers in the interior of the hive between the combs, and also to witness the doings of the queen bee. These were all advantages which even the celebrated hives with glass walls could not in the least present, as these latter bee-liives only permitted the surface of a single comb, which was turned to- wards the glass to be inspected, but otherwise allowed only a very small and extremely im- perfect insight into the interior of a colony of bees.

Dzierzon could give the most exact account of the condition of his bee-hives. He knew the number and the kind of cells which were daily or hourly supplied with eggs by the queen; he knew in wliat time the larvse in the eggs ar- rived at their exclusion; he was enabled to watch the gradual growth of the larva?; he could exactly ascertain what kind of feed was fur- nished to this or that larva by the workers; he could acquire the most positive information as to the time of preparation of a bee-larva, as to the period of the escape of the bee from the covered cell, and as to the number and nature of the queen cells; in this way he was always informed in what condition the queen govern- ing a bee-hive was; he could detect every dis- turbance, every irregularity, which induced by multifarious circumstances, easily occurs in the well-ordered economy of a hive, as quickly as its cause.

What advantages this must have afforded to an apiarian endowed with such an acute and un- prejudiced power of observation as Dzierzon, may easily be imagined. By this agency the most important and instructive information re- garding the proceedings of a bee colony might flow in upon that acute observer, and it could not but happen that at last the extremely re- markable and concealed process of the repro- duction of the bees would be correctly penetra- ted by the eye of man. But even for practice the Dzierzon bee-hives were of the greatest im- portance, for Dzierzon could know exactly, at any time, and of any one of his bee-hives, how strongly it was peopled, how industrious its inhabitants were, and what they were occupied with. He could always inform himself whether the number of workers was in proportion to that of the brood produced by the queen, whether the number or presence of drone larvae

was or was not useful to the hive, whether the necessary store of food was present, &c. With all this the intelligent bee-keeper and possessor of Dzierzon hives, by the aid of which a com- plete insight into the state of each household of bees might be attained, could exercise a cor- recting and directing action by adding the wanting number of necessary workers to a hive which was poor in Avorkers, or taking away some of the combs filled with eggs and brood from scantily peopled hive, so as to lighten its work, and hanging them in an abundantly peo- pled hive for furUier care. The careful bee- keeper now knew from Avhat hives he had to remove the combs Hlled with drone-larva? which were either unnecessary or dangerous; he was enabled to save a hive, the inhabitants of which, although otherwise industrious, threatened to become demoralized by the loss of their queen from this dangerous state of anarchy, by taking care to replace this loss where the bees them- selves omitted to do so. In short with the as- sistance of Dzierzon's hives, an experienced and careful bee-keeper may go to work like- an intelligent gardener, who, by cutting away the unnecessary roots, and attending properly to the bud-bearing twigs, prepares and supports his trees for the production of a rich harvest of fruit.

In turning to the more exact exposition of Dzierzon's theory of the reproduction of bees, I give prominence to the most important points in the history of their propagation, upon the es- tablishment of which Dzierzon must have laid particular stress, as a number of the proceed- ings in a bee-hive relating to reproduction can only find their correct explanation and elucida- tion if we maintain that the young tin fecundated queen never copulates in the bee-hive, but always outside of tJiis, high ujj in the air. I pass over the lively dispute which has been carried on amongst bee-keepers from time immemorial for the defence or rejection of this point, and only refer to the fact a queen has never been sur- prised in the act of copulation within the bee- Inve by any apiarian who has obtained an in- sight into the interior of a hive by the emploj'- ment of Dzierzon's hives. The drones as long as they remain in tlie hive are always extremely sluggish insects which are not even roused fiom their quietude and phlegm by the prox- imity of a queen desirous of copulation; on the other hand, when a warm, clear, and still day has allured them out into the open air, the sexual and copulative impulse is awakened in the highest degree in these otherwise sluggish drones. They rove through the genial air high over their hives with a loud humming to attract the attention of a queen, who would be im- pelled to take her Avedding-flight by the same favorable Aveather. At any rate, very fcAV of the many thousand drones attain the longed-for happiness of being selected and accepted by a queen for a husb;ind, it being well-known that the number of female bees is very small in pro- portion to the great number of male individ- uals. But by means of this disproportion, the fcAV female bees on taking their Avedding-fiight, are always sure of attaining their object, as from the number of drones roving through the

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air Avith the samo intent, it will not be difficult for a quoc'u to niiiko choice ofau agreeable con- sort.

That the copulation of tlic bees takes place in the open air, is certainly nothing remarkable, as we see so many other insects perform the act of copulation while flying fre('ly about in the air. It is true that tiie copulative act is very quickly completed by the bees, and this is pro"i)er to all those insects in general, which, Willi the bees, belong to the order h^Mnenoptera; whilst the males and females of insects of other orders usually remain for days closely united in copulation. For this reason it is one of the rarest events, for even the most observant ento- mologist to suri)rise a pair of hymenoi>tcra in flagranti. The bee-keepers therefore must not be surprised that the act of copulation in bees has hitherto been so little observed. However, it has aceideutall}' been seen now and then by human eyes, when a pair of bees, united in the act of copulation, dashed down upon the earth from the upper regions of the air. Such isolated observations, information upon which has also been given in the Bicnenzeitung., are certainly suflicient evidence that the bees copulate out- side of the hive.

A still more convincing proof of the occur- rence of this act of copuLation in the open air is furnished bv the appearance and behavior of the terlilized queen on her return from her wedding-fiight. The completion of the coitus of sucli a queen may betray itself even exter- nally; not only does the external orifice of the sexual ai)paratus, which was kept closed before the wedding-llight stand open, but the torn male copulative organ remains inhering in the vagina, and partly protrudes from it. In order to determine with certainty fiom its nature what this foreign body, which had often been detected in the vagina of a queen on her return from the wedding-flight really was. Baron von Berlepsch forwarded to me for careful examina- tion on the 21st of Julj% 1853, one of these queens, from the gaping sexual orifice of which definitely formed parts protruded. The results with which the exact anatomical and microsco- pical examination of this queen has furnished me, have been given by me in the B enenzeitung, Nov. 26, lPo4. By this anal3'sis, I was able to establish, that those definitely formed parts in the vagina of the (lucen were nothing but the torn copulative organs of a male bee, (drone.) An intimate union of the two sexes of bees must, therefore, have taken place. The re- maining behind of torn i)ortions of the male sexual organs in the interior of the female vagina, is, however, a circumstance which oc- curs not unfrequeutly in olh<r insects, especial- ly in beetles. With this condition of the exter- nal organs of the queen examined b}' me, the state of the internal generative organs also agreed exactlj', tor the seminal receptacle (sem- inal vesicle,) which is empty in all virgin fe- male insei ts, w = s in this queen filled to over- flowimrwith spermatozoids (seminal filaments.) This queen, therefore, had returned to her hive certainly fertilized, and would have possessed the power for a long time of cflecting the neces-

sary f('rlilizalion of th(! eggs during oviposition with this sup[)ly of nuile sennui.

As in the act of opulalion of the bees, the penis of a drone is conq)letely protruded out- wards, and as no particular muscular apparatus exists for the extension of the penis, the cir- cumstaiue that the drone only copulates iu flight, has an important signification, to Avhich Pr<jf. Leuckart has already called attention. During the movement of the wings, the dilferent air-sacs of the tracheal system of the drone are filled Avith air, by which means these can act by pressure in the interior of the body of the bee upon the neighboring penis which is to be pro- truded.

After this single fecundation, a queen-bee can, for a long time, lay male or female eggsa^ xcill., for by the filling of her seminal receptacle with male semen, she has acquired the power of producing female eggs, whilst before copu- lation and Avith an empty seminal capsule, and therefore in the virgin state, she can only lay male eggs.

The second and most important point of tlie new theory of the reproduction of the bees, is the proposition established by Dzierzon, that "«W eqgs wliich come to maturity in ilia two ova- ries of a queen bee are only of one and Ihe same kind, which, ichen they are laid without coining in contact icith the male semen, become develoj)cd into male bees; but, on the contrary, lohen they are fertilized by male semen, produce female bees. ' '

Dzierzon therefore asserts that every egg laid without fertilization by a queen-bee produces a drone, and that every fertilized egg laid by her produces a worker or a queen, according as the larva excluded therefrom is nourished with wnrker-food or royal-food.

This proposition of Dzierzon's theory neces- sarily made the greatest noise when it was first announced, and requires above all to be sub- mitted to the closest examination. Before I undertake this examination, I Avill only remark that one circumstance speaks a priori in favor of this proposition of Dzierzon, namely, that by adopting it every phenomenon, however re- markable, in the sexual existence of the bees may be easily explained. But as a time-hon- ored physiological law is at once abolished by this proposition, namely, that an egg which is to be developed into a male or a fein/ile individual must always be fertilized by the male semen, the affiiir seems of suflScient importance to be weighed and examined from all sides with the utmost care. I have taken the trouble upon myself and tested Dzierzon's assertion with all the means at my command, by which I have convinced mj'self in the following Avay of its correctness.

In the first place, I may appeal to the fact that it is a general occurrence amongst insects, that the females, even when they have not copu- lated, deposite their mature eggs without fe- cundation, it is therefore nothing remarkable that a virgin ([Ueen deposites ( irgs. But we must be astonisiied that these eggs, although unfecundated, do not remain nndc-v-eloped; nay, what is more, that only drones or male bees are produced from such eggs. As to the truth of

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thif phenomenon, plenty of observations are adtlucecl by tlie apinrians, of which I bring for- ward only as the most convincing example, the drone-productiveness of a virgin queen with imperfect wings. Every observant and expe- rienced bee-keeper knows the. ill consequences ' introduced b}^ the queen -bee which has been j excluded with crippled wings, and which has ! acquired the douiinion of a liee-hive. She finds i herself prevented from undertaking the wed- ding-flight, but loUows the impulse to oviposi- tion, and supplies worker-culls and drone-cells indiscriminately with unfecundated eggs. These arrive at development, the larva; excluded from them are provided with nourishment by the workers, tlicy grow up, but all of the same size and the same nature; for they are all drone- larva3. Those which have grown in worker- cells cannot find room in these, and therefore the workers elevate their narrow cells by sub- sequent additions so as to obtain room, and in this way produce misshapen combs, or combs with the so-called humped brood (biickelbrut).

A very interesting experiment was made by Berlepsch in order to confirm the drone-produc- tiveness of a virgin queen. He contrived the ex- clusion of queens at the end of September, 1854, and therefore v\t a time when there were no longer any males; he was lucky enough to keep one of them through the winter, and this pro- duced drone-offspring on the 2d of March, in the following year, furnishing 1,500 cells with humped brood. That this drone-bearing queen had really remained a virgin, was proved by the dissection which Prof. Leuckart executed at the request of Berlepsch.

The true cause of such a drone-productiveness in a bee-hive, however, could only be detected by an apiarian as acute and endoAved with such a distinguished power of observation as Dzicr- zon, whilst up to this time the unfortunate oc- currence of an excess of drone-brood in a bee- liive has been quite differently and falsely un- derstood by other bee-keepers. They laid no stress upon the fact that such a hive only con- tained drone-brood, but they merely wondered that such a hive, governed by a queen witli crippled wings contained any brood at all; and they endeavored to explain this phenomenon by the supposition thai this unexpected tirood could only be produced ky a fertilized queen. But as the queen from which this brood was derived liad been found to be crippled in the wings, they erred in respect to the affair of copulation, and supp sed that this crippled brood-bearing queen was certainly fertilized, and that conse- quently the act of copulation was eflected by the queen-bee within the hive. This erroneous conclusion of course brought in a number of other errors with regard to the signification of particular bee individuals and their functions, by which a correct insight into the process of reproduction in the bees must always have been disturbed. Dzierzon alone did not allow him- self to be diverted from the right path in his observations; he maintained that the female bee can only retmn fertilized to her hive after the performance of her wedding flight. He did not, howeyer, content himself with the matter of experience. He went further in his rational

way of investigating bee-life. He examined more closely the egg-]a3'ing and drone-bearing queens, which, according to his observations, were to be regarded as virgins. He tore away the apex of their abdomen, by which means he succeeded in getting sight of the seminal recep- tacle, which, in a female bee, is of the size of a pin's head. Dzierzon knew from experience that a fertilized bee in the normal state con- tains a miUc-white sQmmi\\ capsule, which, when crushed, gives issue to the milky seminal fluid. He knew that the empty seminal capsule of a newly excluded virgin queen is not milk-white, but limpid; and he convinced himself that in those drone-bearing queens with crippled Avings the seminal capsule was limpid and empty of semen, and consequently in the same state as the seminal capsule of a virgin queen. I have spoken Avith Dzierzon upon these observations, and as from my own microscopical examina- tion, I was well acquainted Avith the state of the sexual organs of virgin and fertilized queens, I Avas thus in a position to judge quite safely, from the description which Dzierzon gave me of his investigations made Avithout a micro- scope, that he had acquired perfectly correct notions as to the diflerence in the condition of the sexual organs of a virgin and a fecundated female bee, and therefore could not well have deceived himself in this respect.

Moreover, I felt myself the less inclined to doubt the correctness of these observations of Dzierzon's just reported, as I could not but re- member that, according to my OAvn observa- tions, the females of certain psycMdm lay unfer- tilized eggs which ar® also developed, bufe inversely, instead of males produce nothing but females. Dzierzon, however, by other ob- servations, furnished me with evidence in faA'or of his proposition, that drones alone are ahvaj'S produced from unfertilized bees' eggs when they are developed, and that consequently in order to obtain drone-l)rood, it is not necessary that the queen bee should fertilize the eggs when laying them. As I have already mentioned, it happens noAV and then in a bee-hive, especially Avhen it has lost its queen, that individual Avork- ers lay eggs. This phenomenon has long been known to every experienced bee-keeper; nay, it had already been ol S-'rved that only drones are developed from these eggs laid by workers; but it is only from the attentive observer, Dzier- zon, that Ave knoAV Avhy such egg-laying Avork- ers arc ahvaysthe parents of drones, or, in other Avords, why only drones are always developed from these eggs produced by Avorkers, if they attain to development. This phenomenon stands in the closest connection with the drone-pro- ductiveness of the virgin queen-bees already mentioned.

[to be continued.]

[For tlie American Bee Journal ]

Questions ADSwered. In reply to J. L. McCune, Vol. 3, page 58: Question 1st. There trill. Question 2d. I do not believe any person ever had bees Avork freely on red clover.

J. H. Thomas, Breeder of Italian Queens. Brooklin, Canada.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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[Translated for the Boe Journal.]

Development of the Italian Workers.

BY TIIE BARON OP BEBLEPSCH.

On the 22cl of May last, Mr. Axthelm, residing lierc, received an Italian queen lice from Prof. Moua, of Polleiiio, and I assisted iu preparing a nucleus hive for her reception. "We concluded to avail ourselves of the opportunity to observe the process of development of the workers in its various stages, from the hatching of the egg to the perfect maturity of the insect as a honey- gathering bee, and to si)are neither time nor trouble iu ascertaining and noting the facts with all possible minuteness.

The nucleus was formed in this manner. We took a comb of brood from a very populous colon}' of black bees, confnied the quren thereon in a cage, added a comb containing honey, and four empty combs, supplying some of the cells of one of these partially with water. Having these arranged in the nucleus hive, we brushed olfinto it all the workers from six frames, allot- ting the few Italians which accompanied the queen on her journey to a distant colony. Con- sequently, in the experimental nucleus the queen alone was of the Italian race, the Avorkers being native or black bees.

On the Sod of Maj% at precisely 7 o'clock in the morning, the queen was lilierated, and on the 24th, at 7 a. m., we found tweniy-one eugs iu the cells of one of the empty coml)s, but not an egg Avas found in the brood comb, all the cells of which contained uncapped brood. We tad purposely selected such a brood comb, in order to be able to ascertain exactly when the queen would begin to 1 ly eggs.

As already stated, twentj^-oneeegs were found in the cells precisely twenty-four hours after the queen was liberated. These eggs had in all likelihood been laid very shortly before 7 o'clock on the morning of the 24tli, as they vfcrc so feio in number; and it may hence be fairly inferred that a fertile (pieen, suddenly inter)'Ui)ted in ovi- positing, would recpiire nearly twenty-four hours after liberation before her ovaries could resume their function. This queen had been prevented from laying nearly live daj's during her transit from "PolJegio to Coburg. Not a single egg was found in the piece of comb in the transport hive, and it was scarcely jiossible that it should have contained any, as nearly every cell was stored with honey.

We allowed the queen to pass over on another of the empty combs densely covered with bees, and then set this iu the sun that we might see lier lay. At thirteen minutes past seven she laid the lirst egg, and after laying five eggs more before a quarter of eight, Ave replaced her in the hive and remoA'ed the comb containing the twenly-one eggs previously laid. We also brushed olFthe bees from the other empty comb inserted on the 22d, and removed it Irom (he liive, that avc nught be iio<itively certain that tlie oldest egg in the nucleus Avas laid on the 24th, at thirteen minutes after seven o'clock iu the mornlDg.

On the 26th of May, at thirteen minutes after seven in the morning, precisely forty-eight hours later, not one of these eggs Avas yet hatched. To be certain of tliis, both the combs containing eggs Avere lifted out and the bees brushed oft", that each of us might carefully examine them. Again, at thirteen minutes past twelve at noon, at thirteen minutes past three in the afternoon, and at thirteen minutes past seven in the even- ing, not a larva Avas yet disclosed. But on the morning of the 27ih, at thirteen minutes past tive o'clock, sixty-nine eggs were hatched. Thus larva; Avere dislosed from sixty-nine eggs in the interval lietAveen sixty-one and seventy hours. I do not say in from sixty-one to seventy hours, because at fifteen minutes past seven o'clock on the morning of the 24th only six eggs had been layed.

This corresponded with an experiment I made in IB")!), but Avas in direct contravention of what Gundelach alleges, (in his Supplement, page 2o,) that the larva emerges from the egg in tAventy-four hours. Hundreds of observations have taught the incorrectness of this statement.

On the 3d of June, at thirteen minutes past five o'clock in the morning, six days aceord- iu'jly after the hatching of the eggs, not one cell Avas yet sealed up, though it Avas evident that arrangements for sealing up Avere in several instances being made, as the inner margins of some of the cells Avere obviously broadened. At noon two of the cells Avere already so nearly sealed over that only a small central hole Avas still perceptible. At thirteen minutes past five o'clock iu the evening nine cells were com- pletely closed. It was thus found that in six and a half days after the hatching of the eggs the first cells AA'ere scaled OA'er. This harmon- izes essentially Avith one of my experiments made in IS.jO, and with those ot Gundelach as detailed in his Treatise in 1S42 and in his Sup- plement in 1852, but directly contradicts the statement of Iluber, who assigns five days as the term that the larva remains unsealed in the cell.

On the 11th of June, at thirteen minutes past seven in the morning, precisely eighteen days after the hatching of the eggs, none of the brood had yet emerged, though the appearance of the cappings on the comb first sui^plicd Avith eggs showed plainly that many j'ouug bees were nearly mature. At twelve o'clock, noon, and also at three o'clock in the afternoon, no bees had yet left their cells. But Avhen Ave renewed the examination at thirte n minutes past seven iu the CA'cning, avc had the great gratification of seeing that tAvo bees had just cut through the caps of their cells and Avero about to emerge. In a minute later both Avere b'wn.

It Avas thus ascertained that an Italian worker may be maturely developed in eighteen days, twelve hotcrs, and about one minute. At thirteen minutes past eight o'clock iu the evening, just before dusk, avc re-examined the hive, and found that six bees had left their cells. On the 12th of June, at thirteen minutes past seven in the morning, preci-^el}' nineteen days after the first egg Avas laid, at least two hundied and fifty bees had emerged. It Avas thus further ascer- tained that, in the summer scasou, the Italian

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Avorker does not ordinarily require nineteen full dajis for its perfect devclopm'nt.

From the 12th of June forward the hive was closely observed, daily, between the hours of twelve at noon and three o'clock in the after- noon. On the loth, on the fifth day accord- ingly, (counting from June 11th fourteen minutes after 7 o'clock in the evening, when the first two bees were born,) no Italian bee had yidl shown itself outside of the hive. As on the 17tli and ISth the thermometer fell to r)0-\ so that, though the locust trees were then in full bloom, very few old bees left their hives, we feared that we should find our experiment partially defeated when warm weather recurred on the lOlh. For if Italian workers Avere seen to issue in numbers on that day, as the eighth, it would not follow, as a matter of course, that they do not leave their hive till on the eighth day after emerging from the cell, because the cold weather experienced on the sixth and sev- enth days (June 17 and 18) may have prevented them from making their appearance. But to our great joy, our apprehensions proved un- founded, for on the 19th, the eighth day, only a single Italian bee presented herself on the alighting-board, without attempting, however, to leave it, but soon retreated into the hive again, though the thermometer, at the moment other appearance, (three minutes past 1 o'clock,) stood at 72°.

On the 20th, the ninth day consequentlj^, we saw only four Italian bees leave the liive hovering in its front, and speedily returning. The thermometer stood at 72'^ in the shade. But on the 21st of June — or on the 10th day — when the thermometer stood at 78^, the Italian bees flew sparingly, and in increased numbers not before the 22d.

This result is quite remarkable, and does not accord with any previous experiments. Thus:

1. Besides the utterly abortive experiment which I made in 185G, I made three new and very i)recise ones in 18G4-0, which uniformlj^ in- dicated the eighth day as that on which the young bees first made their appearance in con- siderable numbers in front of their hives, though a few showed themselves on the seventh day, on the alighting board, but retired again with- out attempting to fly. Earlier than on the seventh day, I have never seen young bees leave their hives, although, besides the experiments now referred to, I have made observations in forty or fifty instances.

2. Mr. ilalb, who assisted me in the previous experiments, can corroborate the statement that not a bee left the hive prior to the seventh day; and Mr. Ilopf, who, in 1864 and 18G5, Italian- ized at least sixty stocks of black bees, informs me that '■'before the seventh day no young bee leaoes the hive.''''

3. Dr. Donhoffdistinctly mentions the seventh day as that on Avhich the young bees first left his experimental hive.

4. Dzierzon says "after leaving the cell, a week i^asses {seven days) before one or more young Italian bees will make their appearance before the hive wiiile the bees are flying." Tliis agrees precisely with the statements under 1 and 3. In his treatise on "Rational Bee Cul-

ture," he says more vaguely '■'■several daj's;" and it would seem as if he wished to reduce the period within seven days, thus approximating one his earlier statements, according to Avhieli the young bees made their first appearance out- side "about the third day."

5. Bottner, in the Bienenzeitung for 18G4, page 138, says "at least six daj^s."

6. Wittenhageu, in the Bienenzeitung for 18GG, page 48, says: "In about eight days the young bees become strong enough to venture to leave their hives on a warm, calm day, to dis- charge their fteces."

7. The Novice, of Coblentz, {Bienenzeitung, 18G4, page 188,) saj^s: "I once saw young bees fly out on tha fourth day;" and Fisher makes a similar statement in the Bienenzeitung for 1863, page 31. Decidedly as these statements differ fiom mine, I will not undertake to discredit them, because the assertion is direct and posi- tive, and both the Novice and Mr. Fisher are accural e observers. In such cases much de- pends on by whom the observation is made. Many observers are very superficial, drawing hasty conclusions, without noting the facts care- fully, or preserving well-ascertained data for I'u- ture use. Only loo frequently are surmises and conjectures substituted for facts, and conclu- sions deduced from insufiicient ]n'emises.

8. Schiller, {Bienenzeitung^ 1861, page 98,) says "the workers fly out the day alter they are born, for purification, and thencetorward regu- larly in quest of pasturage, w7iich needs no proof.'''' No experienced observer Avould make any such statement. A bee not more than twenty-four hours old, cannot fly at all, but drops to the ground almost perpendicularlj^, if thrown into the air.

So far as I know no further statement in this connection has appeared in the Bienenzeitung, for what Prachel says (B. Z., 1855, page 123,) is too vague to be of use.

I can say very positively that in my last ex- l)eriment, the young bees first began to fly out on the tentii day. llow is this to be explained, in view of my own previous observations and those of others? I will hazard these surmises:

1. The nucleus colony w:is weak, and the hive disproportionately large. Hence the bees were not crowded, nor could a high internal tempera- ture be maintained; and the influence of warmth on the activity of bee^ is very well known.

2. The queen had laid an unusual number of eggs. Hence, on the 18th and 19th of June, when the young bees should have come forth, the brood-combs were not densely covered ; and on the 18th the weather was too cold to al- low bees to fly.

On the 23d of June, the twelfth day after the birth of the oldest of the young bees, and thence- forward, Mr. Axthelm and myself watched the hive with the most scrutinizing attention, re- lieving each other like soldiers on guard. But it was not till the 30tli, between 1 and 2 o'clock in the afternoon, consequently on the 19th day, that we first saw young Italians bringing in pollen — three then came laden with pelleis. The weather was highly favorable from the 23d to tlie 30th inclusive, and the locust trees were in full bloom, yielding honey in abundance.

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Nevertheless we could not find any young Ttiil- ians lirhisiing in honey till tin* .^Olii, tlioucli Ave examined about twoniv individuals daily during tliat time. Only on the first of Ju]}^ a considera- l)lo number of Italians brought in pollen and hoiiei/. Hence, leavingout ol" aeeounl the three ])ollen-bearing bees seen in the oOlli, the young Italians first licgan to gather lioney and jiolk'n from the surrounding pasturage on the Iweu- ti(^th day after tludr l>irlh.

This result, also, does not correspond ■with any ])reviously obtained.

1. In my three previous experiments, the young bees frequented the pasturage ou the sixteenth day.

2. Sir. Ilopf assured me that in his apiary the sixteenth day always proved to be the first on Avhich the young bees went honey-gathering.

8. According to Dr. Donholl", {Bienenzeitung^ IS.")'), page 1G3,) the bees first gathered honey and pollen on the nineteenth day.

4. Botlner saw a few yciung bees bringing in honey and pollen ou the twelfth day, but not in numbers till on tin; thirteenth and fourteenth.

5. Tlie Novice of Coblentz found a k\v young bees bringing in pollen on the twelfth day, but usually not before iho fourteenth.

6. Fisher once saw j'ouug bees bringing in pollen on the tenth day.

7. Count Stosch states (B, Z., 1800, page 278,) "a bee must be at least iiDO weeks old before she goes out foraging." On page 285, he names the sixteenth day.

8. When Schiller says that it requires no further proof that the bees fly out for purifica- tion the daj' after thej^ are born, and thence- forward regularly in quest of pasturage, it only requires no further proof to show that he is a poor observer.

9. Wittenhagcn remarks that "at the average age of fourteen days the bees commence regular labor."

10. Dzierzon's casual statements relating to this jioiut, are too vague to be taken into ac- count.

According to the foregoing, I conceive that for the present, and until better advised, we niaj' assume that ordinarily the bee leaves for forauing on the sixteenth day. From this, ac- cording to locality, some important practical considerations follow. In most sections of the country the supply of pasturage fails prior to the j 10th of August — that is, after that date hives rarely increase in weight. Now, if we assume nineteen dai/a iis the term retjuired in summer for tlie perfect development of a worker bee from the egg till it leaves the cell, thirty-five ihiys elapse before it becomes a iierfecth' active honey-gathering insect. Cousequently"^iu such a district, all the eggs laid after tlie sixtli of July Avill produce bees that cannot aid in any pro- ductive labor in tluit year. Hence the truly intelligent rational bee keeper should diligently endeavor to have only as many Avorkers bred after the twenty-fourth of June, as will suffice to keep the hive populous enough for wintering well.

It is important to know at what age precisely bees ordinarily commence active labors. I would, therefore, request the correspondents of

the Bienemeitung who desire to advance ra- tional bee-culture, to institute numerous and exact observations next year, so as to elucidate this subject more fully.

Piaclice, unless based at all points on correct theory— or, if I may so express it, practice that is not truly applied theory., is mere bee-keeping relying on good laek. Correct practice can only emanate from correct Iheoiy ; and he who is either too dull or loo indolent to study the theory so as to comprehend it clearly and be able to apply it, may keep bees, but knows nothing of bee culture. The more clearly theory in all the minutest details is evolved and developed, the more definite and precise will the praciice become, and the less necessary will it be to pro- pound rules. He who is thoroughly grounded in the theorj^ will always know how best to pro- ceed in practice; Avhereas he that is Avholly or partially unacquainted with the theory will scarcely ever know how to proceed, though he be furnished Avith a volume of empirical instruc- tions.

For the American Bee Journal.

Italian Bees.

Doctors differ quite as much in relation to Italian bees as sick patients. It is true that in most respects all agree that the pure Italian bees are superior to the natives, but all depends on their purity; and here is Avhere the "dilfereuce comes in " One dealer in I aliau bees says "the workers are distinguished from the natives by ayelloAV band around the abdomen;" another says "three yellow bands or rings;" a tliird makes the markings of the queen a test of puiity; a fourth tests the purity of a queen by her progeny; and a fifth makes the very amia- ble disposition of the Avorkers, or the "impecca- bility of temper," a test of pmiijr A person entirely unacquainted Avith Italian bees, after hearing the dilferent opinions of these doctors, if he purchased a queen parity guaranteed, Avould hardly know Avhere to look for a relial)le test. In fact, Avill these dillerent parties Avho are engaged in the sale of queens purity guar- anteed, forward another if the progeny of a queen sold d-oes not come fully up to iheir own standard? For instance, suppose a queen is purchased of a party claiming that the queen progeny of a pure que n should be duplicates of the mother, and the purchaser finds in rear- ing (iueens artificially early in the spring or late in the fall, that they diller very much in color, Avill another queen be forAvardedV Or Avill the purchaser learn for the first time that the queen is not expected to duplicate herself except in the SAvarming season? Again, suppose a queen is purchased of a party claiming three yclloAV bands as a test, and her Avorker>ilo not all shoAV three yelloAV bands, Avill the purchaser be sup- plied Avith another, or Avill he be told that it is only Avhen the bees are young and the abdomen distended, that the three yellow bands can be seen? And if so, is this the fact? One Avriter for the Ameuican Bee Jouu.nal claims that they should sIioav lliree yellow bands under all circumstances, Avhether old or young, abdomen

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distended or contracted. Which is correct? Again, suppose a queen is purchased of a ven- dor of these one-banded d Is and her workers

do not all show phiinly even one _yellow band, will another queen be sent? Or will the buyer be coolly informed that the Italians are a variety of tlie common bee, and are liable to '■'strike bach to the original type;'''' that "my bees have improved since I purchased them, and must be pure?"

Now, dear Journal, is there not considera- ble, if not more, humbug about this Italian bee business? Are not purchasers semi-occasional- ]y, if not oftener, victimized in purchasing queens? It so seems and feels to me to the tune of the first cost of the queens, the loss of a bundled dollars' worth of surplus honey esti- mated, and the time and trouble of hybridizing an apiary, to say notbing of the extra slings. As I am a novice in ^)?(re Iialian bee-keeping, I do not propose to enter into the present dis- cussion in relation to these vaiious tests of purity, but hope it will be continued until some standard of purity is established, upon which all parties can agree. It has been seven years, I think, since they were first brought to the United Slates — quite long enough for somebody to have learned something about Italian bees.

Victim.

^eii

[For tlie American Bee Journal.]

OverstcJeking.

There are often too many bees kept together. I got more honey from forty old stands last season than I ever got from two hundred; and bees carried away, when I had many at home, did better.

There never will be bees enough to get all the honey, or to rob the air of the fragrance that exhales from opening bloom. But honey secretes faster than it exhales, and the success of bees depends on the amount of surplus. If there are so many bees that they find nine out often places already rilled, and the tenth with only a small supply from having been recently visited, much of that little will be needed to re- pair the wear and tear of collection, as the bees lose the greater part of their time and labor in flying from place to place examining empty blossoms.

If there are so few bees that they find three- fourths of the flowers they visit supplied with a good accumulation of honey, more will be ob- tained in less time and with less labor, and a smaller proportion will be needed to sustain the laboring bees.

A small" apiary will therefore afi'ord more honey in proportion than a large one.

Lemont, III. T. H. Miner.

P. S.— The dearth here is severe. Bees doing poorly. More honey in proportion to combs and bees than usual.

iiii

An Iowa bee-keeper travelling through that State recently, remarks: "A few Italian stocks which I chanced to find, worked busily on the flowers of the great Western prairie. 1 counted twenty-six varieties of flowers visited only by the Italian bees."

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Purity of Italian Queens.

It appears from a foreign paper in my posses- sion that Mr. John Lowe, of Edinburgh, with a view to test the Dzierzou theory, set to work to obtain hybrids between a-pis mellifica and apis Ugustica, and also between apis mellifica and ajns fasdata. The result of his experi- ments, which I give in his own words, was "that Ligurian queen-bees fertilized by Englisli drones, and Egyptian queen-bees fertilized by English drones, botii produced drones, which, as well as the workers, were hybrid in their characters and bore unmistakeable evidence of the influence of the male parent." From this Mr. Lowe drew the conclusion "that the eggs of a queen-bee which has been fertilized by a drone of another race, whether they develope into drones or workers, are in some way af- fected by the act of fecundation, and that both sexes of the progeny partake of the paternal and maternal character of the parents or race, from which it follows that Dzierzon's is not the true theory of reproduction in the honey-bee."

Now while I fully endorse the conclusion ar- rived at by Mr. Lowe, "that drones are in some way afl'ected by tlie act of fecundation," yet I cannot say with him that the Dzierzon theory "is not the true theorj^ of reproduction in the honey-bee." I fail to see that the Dzierzon theory is materially crippled by the f;ict of the drones being in some rcay alTected l)y the act of fecundation. The pith of the Dzierzon theory is that all the eggs in the ovaries of the queen- bee are uuimpregnated; that the eggs Avhieli produce Avorkers are impregnated when passing through the oviduct by coming in contiict Avith a sperm reservoir and receiving a minute por- tion of its contents, Avhile the eggs that proauce drones pass the sperm reservoir Avilhout com- ing in contact Avith it, and hence are not im- pregnated. This may be true, and still it may be a fact that drone eggs are in some toay af- fected by the act of fecundation. But the de- duction generally draAvn from the Dzierzon theory that drones are therefore pure^ cannot be strictlj^ true, if a queen has mated with a drone of another race. Neither is Mr. Lowe correct in saying that such drones arc hybrid in their character. The truth lies betAveen the two extremes. Mr. LoAve has simply discov- ered Avhat others had discovered before him, namely, that di ones are in someioay alfected by the act of fecundation. He does not attempt to explain that "some way," but jumps at the conclusion that they are hybrid. I Avill, there- fore, for the benefit of the honest breeder of Italian queens, explain hoAV drones are afiected by the act of fecundation. The truth is that the Avhole system of the queen-bee is atfected or changed by the act of coition. In other A\'ords the lile-giviug principle received from the drone by the queen into the sperm reservoir is also, by absorption and circulation, carried through the Avhole system and becomes a part of her very nature," and hence is transmitted to her progeny. It Avill then at once be seen that if a pure Italian queen cohabits with a black drone,

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her eggs, wliicli are a part of herself, will par- take 11) ji ccnuiii extent of (lie nature of (he drone. ThercCoro, Iicr drone proven}', allhoni^h uol liylnMils, \\i I show uiiMiistakcahle cvuh'nce of th<' iiiducnce of (he male parent. Not only so, lint thi! euffs of a qnecii are affected liy (he iniprcuna'iion (hat proihieed herself. In other Avords, thuiinprennalion of an egg does not end Avilli (he production of a queen-hee, hut through her system is transmitted to her eggs sulMcicnt to cause (hem to produce drones. In this way we can without diiViculty account for the pro- duction of drones from the egg of an uuimpreg- nated ciueeu.

If breeders of Italian queens will accept and acknowledge the above truths, there is an end to the discussion of the purity and non-purity of the "three-handed," '-two-handed," and "one- banded" bees. For it must be clearly seen that if (pieens to the tliird and fourth generation continue to mate or cohabit with drones pro- duced from a (pieen that has mated with a com- mon drone, their jirogenies, though not hybrids, will show the intUicnce of the black race by the number of bands, some of the bees losing one and perhaps two bands. Hybrid bees not only lose one and (wo, but even the three bands, ap- pearing as black as the native bees — showing the Italian blood, however, in the shape of the abdo- men, wliich is more pointed than that of the black.

In order, then, to improve the purity (if I may be allowed the expression) of our Italian bees, it is only necessary for breeders of Italian queens to destroy all drones produced by what we call hybrid queens, or queens that have mated with common drones, allowing their queens to cohabit only with drones produced by queens that mated with an Italian drone. This every honest breeder will endeavor to do when purity of race is desired.

But while speaking of the purity of Italian bees, I must say tliat I fail to see that Professor Varro's "impeccability of temper" and A. J. Root's "breathing" process are of any value in testing the purity of Italian bees, for two reasons. Firat, neitlier test is needed, or of any avail in proving tlieir purity. Second, both are liable to failure. It must be at once conceded that im- peccability of temper, or a disposition to bear being breathed upon belongs only to three-banded bees; and as a hybrid cpieen never produces a full colony of such, therefore three-banded bees are pure, and no further test is needed, Again, there arc times when Professor Varro's "bees will be found wanting impeccability of temper. If not when operated upon by himself, they will when operated upon by some other person, the effluvium of whose body shall not be so accepta- ble as that of his own. Nothing can be more certain than that son>c persons are far more likely to be stung than others. I think my Italians pure, but I find them quite too ready to stintr, yet not so much inclined to do so as the natives or the hybrids. If Professor Varro or any other person has Italian bees that will not stiii"; me, let them set their own price and thev shall have it. ' J. H.' Thomas.

Bkooklin, Oktakio.

[For the American Hee Jonrual.]

Wintering Bees in the Ground.

]\Ii{. Editok: In resjionsc to the inquiry of VY. T. in your September number, page f;8, I would say (hat low and uniform Knnperalure, dryness, darkness, (ranquilily, srcuiiiy airainst mice, and slow renewal of air, are conditions required for wintering bees in the ground. I use the mode which experience has proved suc- cessful.

In well drained sloping ground, I dig a ditch half a foot (l(!ep r than my hives are tall, and one foot wider than they are broad. I drain that (liteli for greater security. If fearing the falling in of the earth, I stay the ground with some old planks. Tlieu 1 lay in the bottom two 4x4 inch beams. Upon these I place my hives, having i^reviously raised tliem from their boltom boards by iiiserting strips of half inch laths. I remove top-boxes and leave open all the holes in the honey-boards, in order to give the bees plenty of air. Then with plaisterer's laths I frame pipes or flues, the longer ones des- cending to within four or live inches of the bottom; the shorter ones to be placed in the roof. I place one of these flues at each end of the ditch, and another after each third hive — alternating a long and a short one. Finally, I prepare a support for a double-sloping roof of old boards; and then cover the roof vfith straw nearly a foot high, and place on that a lajer of eaith equally thick— making together eighteen or twenty inches.

By these means bees are maintained in a low temperature, and remain dormant for mouths, consuming little honey; and are all alive and active in the spring.

This is the best way to preserve feeble and poorly supplied stocks.

Last year I wintered some third swarms in the ground, giving them honey in boxes, which remained untouched— the small quantity of honey they had in their hives, having been suf- ficient for their support.

I came from France four years ago, and am my own instructor. 1 shall receivelhe French Bee Joiirnul and will translate for you such ar- ticles as I may deem serviceable to bee-keepers in my new country.

Chakles Dadant.

IIamiltox, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Mr. Editoii: Referring you and the readers of the "Jouuxal" to my iormcr article, (see Bee JouiiNAL, Vol. 3, No 4, pages G;3 and 04,) I propose, after relating a further experiment in bee-culture, to give (he rcsuU of such experience during (he bee season just now closed.

On April 1, 18G7, after careful examination, I found (hat out of thirteen colonies of the fall of 1800, I had eight in fair condition, two quite weak and light, and four dead ones, or rather the remnants (hereof On Ajiril 14th, I discov- ered that one of my we di colonies was being robbed by one of my strongest. On this I at once removed the colony that wasbeing robbed from its stand, opened and examined i(, and

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finding a healthy looking and fertile queen, with some brcod and stores, I removed the rob- hiug colony to the stand of tlie r^ibbed one, and placed the robbed colony on the stand of the robbing one. Alter a fcAV minutes tlie bees be- came quiet, th(( robbing ceased, and both colo- nies did well from that day forward. This ex- pedient in this instance proved to be the very best that I ever tried or ever saw tried to pre- vent robbing. Whether it will prove effectual or not in otiier cases, trial and time alone will determine.

My further experiments during the past spring, are stated in brief in my ibrmer article. I may remark here, however, tliat in each case where I started an artificial colony, using a sealed queen cell as a basis, I used a full comb containing honey, brood, &c., in which I in- serted the queen cell. I also remark that during the present season, I started and built up from the nine original colonies which I liad on the 1st of April last, eighteen lull colonies of bees, with an abundance of stores for wintering, and have taken surplus, w' hich was deposited in top boxes, about 170 pounds

All increase of colonies after my expciiment of April 2sth, heretofore alluded to, was effected by us ng a sealed queen cell and one or more full com" s ot honej% brood, etc., placed in an empty liive and giving it the pl.Tce of a full col- ony which was overstocked with bees. In no inistance did I resort to either drumming or the use of smoke.

I invite no controversy, but do invite infor- mation as heretofore, 'or which see my former article. In other words, if any reader of the JoTJUNAL has succeeded better tlian I have in the increase of full colonies, amount of surplus stores, and above all, in securing uniform straight combs, I should be pleased to learn how it was done.

Belmont.

Crystalization of Honey.

I have several times seen it stated in the Scientific, Amfrkan and elsewhere, tliat the crystalization of honey is caused l)y the action of light. In opposhion to this theory allow me to i)resent two facts. We frequently take up honey late in the season, (in November and December,) place on tin pans and set them on shelves in tlie cellar. Some of the honey, of course, leaks out of tlie cells, and in a few weeks will be found crystalized in the bottom of the pans. Yet no light enters the cellar from the time we bank the house in October till some time in March.

Again, our strained honey we put in jars, and after replacing the covers, set them in a dark closet where no light enters. In the spring the honey that remains unsold or unused, will be found completely "candied." In my opinion exposni"e to the air and cold have more to do with the crystalization of honey than light. — J. L. W. in Scientific American.

[For tho American Bee Journal,]

Several Points Considered.

IIl:^Si5ND us names of bee-keepers with Post Oftice address.

1. A writer asks on page 58, volume 3, of the Bee Journal, "Has any one not raising queens for sale ever had bees to work freely on red clover?" I am not raising queens; have none for sale, but have repeatedly seen Italian bees Avorking free 13'^ on red clover. I consider the insinuation contained in the question unjust. 1 have a hybrid stock from a black queen that collected light colored honey last August, while ])ure black stocks were gathering freely from buckwheat a very dark colored honey. I do not know the source of the light honej'', but suspect it was from red clover.

2. Another writer on page 50, volume 3, of the Bee.Touunal, heads an article "A singular case." I think the case a plain one. The col- ony referred to had a superannuated queen; that is, a queen whose stock of spermatozoa was nearly expended, causing her to lay many unimpregnated or drone eggs. The instinct of the bees led them, under these circumstances, to supersede her with a young queen at the earliest moment in the season, which they did by raising a queen from one of lier/«o worker eggs. You will find an account in the last May or June number of the Jouknal of a simi- lar proceeding as early as February 28; but this was in a w'armer latitude, namely, in Kentucky. I am inclined to think from these two observed cases, that aged queens are often thus super- seded, and at so early a period in the season that tlie fertilization of the young queen is dif- ficult and often impossible; and hence the loss ot colonies late in the spring that have passed the wnnter successfully. I think it would be an advantage to allow no queen to remain in an apiary longer than two years. Kill them as soon as the honey harvest is over, or sooner, and let the bees raise new ones while drones are abundant. Of course it would be necessary to watch such hives as are deprived of their queens to prevent rolibing, and to be sure that they obtained feitile young queens. A still better way would be to raise the queens in nucleus boxes.

3. Mr. A. J. Root, page 53, volume 3, of the Bee Journal, gives a pretty good result from a colony of Italian bees, and calls for more figures in regard to common bees this season, ifere are some A double swarm of black bees hived June 28 in an empty hive; that is, with- out any old comb to assist them, tilled the lower part of a two-story glass Langstrolh hive, hold- ing twelve frames, and deposited about seventy- five pounds of surplus honey in the second story, entirely free from brood and bee-bread, and mostly sealed over. Another double swarm of black bees hived July 1st, gave me thirty-six pounds of honey, besides handsomely filling Jhirteen frames for their own use in the body of the hive. The hybrid swarm mentioned above, aslo hived July 1st, did just as Avell as the last mentioned dou])le blai k swarm, viz: filled thirteen frames and furnished six boxes of surplus honey, weighing thirty-six pounds. Four other black swarms hived the same day,

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all filled the body of their hives, thirteen frames, but j'ieUlcd no surplus. They were small swarms Noae of them had any old combs given to them, lor I had noneto give. 1 would have paid a d»>llar a sheet for perfect empty combs for their use, and would have made money by the operation. The only swarm I had lasLj^ear, hybrids, gave me this year twenty dollars worth of surplus honej-; and one swarm forced July 24th, has completely tilled its tliir- teen frames, and, I believe, would have pro- duced considerable surplus honey if bo.ves had been given to it. Yet, notwithstanding such success with black bees, I iuieud to Ital- ianize my apiar}^ next season.

4. From an inspection of the combs in all my hives, I find a "general lule" of irregularity in comb-building, namelj', the five or six central combs are invariablv straight ami Avithin the frames. Outside of those, on each side, they are inclined to curve towards the middle of the hive, and sometimes cross from one frame to anotlier near the ends of the frames. In the spring of the j'car, after the combs become hard- ened with age, and are comparatively empty of hone}'-, it is not a difficult matter to rectify all this by straightening all the combs. To do it, remove tlie hive from its stand, and set an emi)ty hive, (presuming that all your hives are of the same size, as they ought certainly to be), in its place. Takeout all the straight combs from the central part, and set them carefully in their own order in the empty hive witli all the adhering bees. We come now, perhaps, to two frames joined together with comb. Cut away the comb careful 1}' from the frame to which it is least attached; remove the frame, brush off the bees into or in front of the hive, being care- ful in all the operations not to injure the cpieen (there is in fact no necessity for injuring a sin- gle bee); lay the frame on a board or table, and I with a knife ci-owd the comb into the frame | just where you want it. This is best done, not by laying tlie knife on the comb and pushing, but by placing the knife between the comb and frame, and prying it into place gradually. A common table knife is best. If tlie comb is built too thick in certain places, as is often the case, slice it off to the proper thickness with a liot knife, lieated by holding it for a moment against a hot flat-iron. Draw the knil'e rapidly through tlie comb, and it will not bruise a sin- gle ceil Heat it again as often as it cools. You will be surprised to see how nicely even a dull knife will cut under the circnmstances, if you have never tried it before. I tliink, how- ever, that a very simple expedient Avill secure all straigiit comiis. I have never tried it, for I have never had the meens at hand. In fact, it has occurred to me only since seeing the combs built in my hives this summer. I raise the back end of the hives three or four inches higher than the front, while the combs are building. As above stated, several combs situated central- ly are invariably straight. The irregularity begins towards each side of the hive. Now my idea is to place in the hive before hiving the swarm, two straigiit combs, one at each point Avhere the curved combs usually begin, say at cue-third of the width of the hive from each

side. This would divide the hive into three equal parts or spaces, each so narrow that the bees would hardly have room to deviate from the straight line enough to carry one comb across two frames. Will some one who has spare straight combs try this next year, and re- port the result?

R. BlCKFORD.

Seneca Falls, N. Y., Oct. 7, 18G7.

Correspondence of the Bee Journal. ITALIAN BEES IN TIIEIll NATIVE HOME.

LETTER FKOM MH. ADAM GUIMM.

Bellinzona, (Canton Trssin,) September 12, lH(i7. On my arrival on the European continent on the night of the 27tli of August, T concluded to visit Mr. Dathe, at Eystrup, near Hanover, who is well-known as an expert and successlul cul- tivator of Italian bees. My puri)o.se Avas fiist to compare the Italian bees and queens which I had brought with me across the ocean Avith those of Mr. Dathe; secondly, to visit the heaths ofLuneburg that I might personally examine the bee-stations there; and tliirdly, to a.scertain whether the Italinn bees there reared are less disposed to sting than their native black bees — conceiving that I should thus enjoy the best opportunity to form a correct judgment on this point. On arriving at his residence I found Mr. Dathe so much occupied in sending off queens, that he requested me to call again next day, Avhen he expected to be more at leisure. On the folloAving morning he called for me at the hotel, and I accompanied him to his house, Aviiere 1 opened the lAVO nucleus hives I had brought Avith me, and gave the bees an oppor- tunity to fly. Very few Avorkers had died on the voynge; but I had the morlilication to see one of the ([ueens, Aviiich I Avas showing to Mr. Dathe on the comb, suddenly take Aving and leave i'or ]iarts uuknoAvn. Alter minute inspec- tion Mr. Dathe declared that my a\ orkers and queens Avere fully equal to his own. He re- niiirked further that I Avould not obtain e(inally handsome queens and AVorkers from Pr(ites>or Mona; thoutih he by no means intended that the remark siiould imply that Prof. M.'s bees Avere not of the pure Italian race. jMr. Dathe then kindly showed me his arrangements for queen-raising and several unfertilized J'ouug (pieeus. I found these all of a beautiful yellow color, there not being a dark or broAvn sh one among them. After close comparison I could perceive no difference betAveen his bees and my own. In reply to my ([ueslion Avhether all the young (picens produced Avere uniformly of the same^color as the mother, he i-aid that such was by no means the case. He, hoAvever. had a queen last year, from Aviiich he reared a hun- dred yelloAV young queens before he obtained a dark one, and that one Avas nearly black; but that I might calculate on finding nearly one- half of Prof Mona's (pieeus dark. We then proceeded to his heath ainary, situated at a dis-

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tance of not more tliau Ih miles. I found there | black race at Zising. A stage of four hours about oue hundred colonies, mostly in Dzierzon j brought us to Splugen, where I was told there mov^ible com!) hives, though there -were among are no bees, the climate being too cold and them a few colonies in common straw hives— rough for them. After another stage of four these having been boucrht by Mr. Dathe from hours we reached the summit of the road across some of his neighbors. Tiiis, he said, became ne- | the Alps at this pass, and saw a peak elevated

cessary, as he had sold nearly all his old stocks last spring. So long as we were in the vicinity of Italian stocks, avc were very little annoyed by the bees; but when we approached tiie black bees at tlie heath apiary, I was repeatedly stung, though I was equipped with a bee-cap, and I then removed to a respectful distance. Mr. Dathe said that he uses a bee-cap when work- ing among his bees, and this was especially ne- cessary Avhen his black bees were at work on tiie blooming heather, as they were then pecu- liarly ill-tempered. Only too soon did I be- come convinced of the correctness of this re- mark. We went to visit another heath apiary only a mile further off, and while we were yet about ten rods distant, the bees attacked us. We nevertheless advanced to count the hives and inspect their interior arrangement. There were 174 stocks placed in a square, lacing tiie cardinal points, set in two tiers witli the hives not more tiian si.\' inches apart. Tiie whole was inclosed with boards, and the hives were of straw. Their size was about 1,000 cubic inches, and their diameter at the base about twelve inches. They seemed for tiie most part well tilled, and the bees were hanging out in lai'ge clusters. Mr. Dathe remarked that the pasturage on the heat lis this year was particu- larly plentiful. When I compare the deport- ment of these bees with that of my own, among which I can pass and repass daily without bee- cap or other protection, unattached and unan- noyed if I simply let them alone, I am no lon- ger surprised that Dzierzon and other distin- guished European apiarians declare that the Italian is mueli more docile than the German or common black bee. I3ut I have had in my own a|)iary some black bees as docile as the Italians. I was, indeed, stung by bees of either race, but not more proportionally than the Rev. Mr. Langstroth was when I visited him two years ago, and we opened a large number of hives together. But to seat myself on the frames of a stocked hive of Italians, I should only venture to do after being jirotected in the rear by an ample application of Prof. Flanders' celebrated bee-charm/

After a long and agreeable interview with Mr. Dathe, 1 ileparted fully satisfied that lie is one of the best practical apiarians. His little treatise on Italianizing common stocks, sur- passes in brevity, thoroughness, and compre- hensiveness, every Avork of the kind I have ever read. I have obtained his permission to publish a translation of the pamphlet, but Avhethcr it will be done, is among the uncertain- ties of the future.

From here I went to Bavaria to visit my parents, and thence to Bellinzona, Canton Tessin, the present residence of Professor iMona, where I arrived on the evening of the 11th of September. I may remark here that Avhilo crossing the St. Bernard, I made constant in- quiry about bees, and found the last of the

only about 800 feet higher, covered with per- petual snow. Though the conductor told us that this was oue of the warmest days he had ever known in crossing, I found it cold enough to make an overcoat comfoitable. Vegetation was sparse at the foot of the mountain and along the road-sides; and I am well convinced that no swarm of bees ever voluntarily passed across this mountain chain. After a brief de- tention on the highest point, we began to de- scend, and in five hours reached Bellinzona, situated about thi'ee miles fi'om Lago Maggiore. This morning Prof. 3Iona called on me at the hotel, to conduct me to his ap ary, and in five minutes I had the gratificatiou lo see the Italian bees in their native home. Professor Moua's assistant, Mr. Uhle, a German from Hanover, immediately opened several populous hives, and showed me a beautiful 3'ello\v queen, and also a darker one with only some narrow yellow bands, but whose workers were as high- ly colored and as fully marked as those of the brighter queen. On my remarking that the darker queen would be pronounced impure in Germany, Prof. Mona and Mr. Uhle laughed and said" the yellow queens were the exception, the darker ones having the nurmal hue; and assured me that their customers in Austria pre- ferred and ordered the darker queens, alleg- ing that they are hardier and moi e prolific. In Germany, however, the brighter queeusare pre- ferred, though he was liimself of the impression that these are really not so hardy or long-lived as the darker. When I told Prof. Mona that some American bee-keepeis contend that the genuine Italian queens are of a brownish color with the point of the abdomen bkck; and that others maintain that all tlie daughters must be du- plicates ot their mothers; he advised me to in- vite them to a personal examination of the Ital- ian bees in their native land, the Canton Tessin and the adjoining Italian districts, and he was persuaded they would candidly admit their er- ror. When I observed that some German apia- rians alleged that the Italian bees were not al- together pure, even in their native land, but th:it there too black bees were occasionally found, he ofl'ered to carry me around among the neighboring farmers in a circuit of several leagues, and promised to give me a dozen queens if I succeeded in finding a single living black bee in all their stocks. I accepted the offer, rather from curiositj' than from any expecta- tion of success. Between nine o'clock in the morning and ten in the evening we visited a number of apiaries and examined the bees, with- out detecting the least variation in color or finding a single black bee. We found, indeed, a few apparently superannuated Avorkers which seemed at first view to have only two yellow bauds, but on closer inspection it was evident that the third had merely changed to a dark brown hue. In reply to a remark that my own Italian bees Avere much brighter-colored, with

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the thircl yellow band of greater breadth, he said tlio cireuinstaucc was simply tiie cllcct of food and climate; that liis bcc-s also, when carried up the Alps during t jo summer, assumed a brighter color. I then told him t.hat tlie workers produced by a queen obtained from the Rev. Mr. Laugstioth, were not near sohantl- some as those from ([Ueens I subsequently reared from lier brood; and that, I ascribed tlieir bright- er color to the tine honey of the linden trees on which tlicy subsisted almost exclusively. He exjjresscd hiseutire concurrence in that view of the matter.

I again visited Prof. ]\Iona on the lOlh of September; saw how he prepared his ((ueen nuclei for transportation; and examined the arrangement of tlie hives in which he sent off entire colonies. I must conless that I could not conceive of any mode better adapted to the purpose than that which he employs. I had the curiosity to inquire how many (queens he sent olf in the course of the j'ear. lie replied that this year the number would exceed two thousand. I was permitted to examine; his ac- count-book and found that he bad tilled nearly two hundred orders, prior to tlie lirst of April The queens forwartled went to the several transalpine Cantons of Switzerland, to all the German States, to Hungary, France, and Eng- land. The orders are annually increasing in number. He showed me several letters just re- ceived, one of which ordered fourteen queens; another contained this remark; "IMy Italian stocks are very heavy, and all my common stocks, save two very populous ones, are light. Senil me six more queens."

In the afternoon we visited the apiary of a Catholic pries^ about a league from Beliinzona. We were kindly received, and when Professor Mona presented me as an American bee-keeper who desired to see his bees, be brought out a bottle of the tinest wine I ever tasted to treat us. Learning in the course of conversation that I had about ^ix hundred hives, he said that he had about two hundred, nearly all of which were distributed among the farmers of the neigh- borhood, who attended to them for half the profits. Here, too, I noticed at one of his hives several si^emiugly very old bees which wire nearly black, but on close examination I could di tinctly tiace the faint remains of the origi- nally yellow bands, which had now assumed a dark brown hue. The j'oung bees had, with- out an exception, the three j'cllow bands. After this we visited another apiary, being the twelfth. I had already, on the first day, in- quired of ^Ir. Uhle whether be was not occa- sion dly stung by the Italian bees. He replied that this frequently happened, when he was opening queenless stocks, or colonies hav- ing only (pieen cells or an unimpregnated queen. He then requested me to notice and count the stings he might receive, as they af- fected him so little that he paid no attention to them, though never using a bee-cap. I must say that the Itali.m bees here seemed to me to be remarkably docile, though the heather and buckwheat Avcre in full bloom — more docile in- deed than mj^ own in AVisconsin; and in the course of these two days, I was stung by them

only once, though continually passing and re- passing the IVonts of iheir hives, and frequently taking up i'landluls of bees.

Prof. Mona lias piincipally movable comb- hives in his apiaries, but among the faimers every variety of ordinary hives are met with, both of straw and wood. Tiie hives commonly used here seemed to me to be ver^^ small, in coni- par'son with uiy own, containing onl}' from 1,200 to 1,800 cubic inches; but tlie most of them were very heavy. Bee pasturage here is of long continuance, though not abundant at any one period.

The systen\ of (iueen-raising adoj)tcd by Prof. ]Mona, app' ars to me to be cthcacious indeed, but very slow. At the risk of being considered a boaster, I would say that if I had naught else to attend to I would rear as many queens in two months, as Prof. Mona and his assistant do in the entire summer.

Having now seen the b<'es of the Pev. Mr. Langstroth, at Oxlbrd, Ohio, of Mr Richard Colvin, in Baltimore, Md., of Mr. G. Dathe, at E3'strup, in Hanover, and those of Prof. Mona, and of the farmers in his neighliorhood, and Carefully compared the queens, I think 1 may claim to be qualified to form an opinion iesi)ect- iug Italian bees and queens. It struck me ijolh last year and during the pist summer that i)re- cisely those of my colonies which IkuI paiticu- larly bright yellow workers, were on the average less productive in swarms and lioney, than tlio.se with workers darker colored; ami swarms from these yellow colonies, moreover, issued later than those from darker colonies and hybrid stocks. And I incline to coincide in opinion wiih Mr. Dathe, who, in the jiamphlet already reterred to, remarks that "veiy yel- low queens are m(>ve d. licate than those of a browner hue." p7of. Mona is of tin; same opin- ion. It seems to me, theretbre, that those bee- keepers who desire to introduce the Italian race in their apiaries, not for the beauty of the bees, but for their greater productiveness, woidd do well to give i)reference to the daiker hued, which are most esteemeil in their native land, ^though duly ap[)recia*.ing beaui}', I should stdl greatly i)refer a colon}' of pale yellow or dark colored bees that yieldeel me twenty pounds more of surplus honey, to a much luuulsomer but less proiiuciive 3'ellow one. On tlie whole, I conceive we should more elliciently jiromoie bee-culture, if instead of makaig it an ol)jcct to rear beauiiiul yellow bees, we aimed at pio|ia- gating from and niuUi])lying the more indusiri- ous ami most productive. Por dairy purposes we CL-rlainly prefer raising calves from suiierior milch cows than from inferior milkers; and should not the same principle be ai)i)iicable, with like advantage, in bee-culture? Would it not be practicable to improve the race of bees, whether black or yellow, bj' juilicious selection in breeding"::' More than Ibriy years ago, Ram- dolir, adisimguishcd German apiarian, oLiserved that coloni( s were frequently met with, which, with their progeny, greatly excelled others in indu.^try and piodiicL.veness; and he advised that such colonies sliould be preserved and bred from.

In conclusion, I would state that Prof. Mona

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has appointed me his sole agent in the United

States, for the sale of Italian queens reared at his apiaries; and I hope to be al)le to effect ar- rangements in Bremen and New York, by which those who desire to obtain queens from the parent country of tlie apis ligustica, can be supplied directly from abroad on the most rea- sonable terms. I enclose an advertisement of Prof. JMona, and likewise a certificate from under his hand, that I have purchased from him one hundred Italian queen bees of undoubted purity. These I desire to have inserted. Tliey will be followed in due time with a price current and further particulars.

Yours respectfully,

Adam Grimm.

[From the Canada Farmer.]

Alsike Clover.

I had a small field of three and a half acres that I had summer-fallowed, and subsequently took a crop of fall wheat from it in the autumn oflSGo. In the following spring I plowed it once and sowed to spring wheat, and seeded it down to alsike clover, putting on only five pounds of seed to the acre, harrowed in Avilh the last harrowing. I should state that the field has had no manure fc'ince if was cleared, some eight or ten years ago. The clover ger- minated and came up well; and last fall I pas- tured it very lightly. In the spring of the pre- sent year, about the 20th of May, I sowed a barrel and a half of plaster on the field, and now I am cutting and securing the crop for seed. I iiave five good size wagon loads in the barn, and lh(!re are fifteen or si.Ktecn more in the field. The average length of the stalks is about two and a halt^ feet; but in some of the hollows it is asliigh as four and a half feet. Of course it was all down in one tangled mass, and it occupied eight long days for one man to mow it. It apptars to be extremely prolific in seed. I think it would have been better to have pas- tured it till the first of June for a seed crop, as it would not then have grown so tall or been so badly laid.

In regard to its adaptation for bee pasturage, I find it excellent. During about four weeks it produced a multitude of blossoms, and the bees literally covered them from morning till night. Out of curiosity on the 24tli of June, I drove out a common sized swarm of bees into a hive filled with empty comb, and having weighed them set them in one corner of the clover field. After the lapse of a week I weighed them again, and found that they had gained twenty-seven pounds. This additional weight was of course all honey, for there was no comb to build, nor could there have been any weight of brood in that short interval of time.

IIoNhY may be clarified by placing the ves- sel coutaining it in hot water, and continuing to skim as long as any scum rises.

For tlie American Bee Journal.

Bee-Hives.

Bees usually work more from eight o'clock in the morning till noon, than during the rest of the day.

I have been much amused in reading the re- marks on bee-hives in the Jouunal; so, to amnse others, I return the compliment by sending the article below, taken IVom the Rural Neio Torlcer. It was written in 1801, by "Abram Mudgett, of Great Valley, N. Y." I hope Mr. Mudgett *'still lives," and that the Editor Avill mail him a copy of the Journal containing the republica- tion of the article, as I am not willing to deal with any one "behind his back."

I wish ]\Ir. M. would let us hear from him through the Journal, with regard to his birch- bark hive; and especially whether his combs still remain "white," and particularly whether he still continues in the "tame mink" business, since many in the West are anxious to get pos- session of something that will destroy the moth- worm. Now for the article:

"A NO-PATENT HIVE.

Having seen models of diflerent bee-hives in 3'our valuible paper, I will introduce one for the benefit of bee-keepers, which is superior to any other in use. It is made of birch bai k, and costs about five cents. My experience wiili this hive is five years. The comb remains white; it has grown no darker for the last three years; the bees winter on les's honey, swarm earlier, and have one-third more wax. As the hive can be made to hold water, there is no hiding-place for the miller, although I have no millers about my apiary, as I keep tame minks, which exterminate them. I hive kept from twenty to one hundred swarms for the last thirty years, and consider the birch hive, and the minks to catch the millers the two most im- portant discoveries to bee-keepers that I have nia'le in that time."

This birch-bark hive will doubtless please many readers of the Journal, so far as cheap- ness is concerned. Just think of it, only "five cents" for a good substantial hive that keeps the combs "white," and is in short "superior to any other in use!"

M. M. Baldridge,

St. Charles, III.

[From tlie Iowa Homestead ]

How I Wintered Bees in the Langstroth Hive.

I placed them side by side Avithin two inches of the ground, drove stakes in the git)und, and put in shingles and old boards, so as to leave a si)ace of two or three inches all around the hive, except in front, (which was left open). This space I filled with straw; the honey box and honey-boards wore taken otf, and the caps filled with straw. My bees wintered in excel- lent condition, and consumed, I judge, a com- paratively small amount of honey.

B. p. Snow.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

97

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, NOVEIMBEIl, 1807.

(t^"TnE American Bee Journal is now published monthly, in the City of Washington, (D. C.,) at $2 per annum. AH communications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

The revived discussion of the question whcth. er the drones are, in any respect, alfected by the fertilization of the queen bee producing them, has induced ns to republish from Prof. Von Siebold's treatise on ''True Parthenogenesis in Bees and Butterflies,^^ that portion which re- lates to the reproduction of bees. The work was translated and published in England ten years ago, and a few copies have reached this country; but not having been rcpiiuted here, the portion most interesting to them is not gen- erally accessible to American apiarians. The article will occupy three or four pages in three consecutive numbers of the Jouunal, and can- not fail to be instructive to inquirers.

Dzierzon, it will be seen, was the first to no- tice the phenomena which liave also attracted the attention of apiarians in this country; and was, in consequence of his manner of treating them, charged with abandoning one of the chief points of his own theory. Eut Prof. Siebold conceives that the matter is susceptible of an explanation in no wise militating against that theory.

"No facts have yet been adduced which we can regard as necessarily contravening the doc- trine that fertilization is not needed for, and does not influence the production of drones; or as at all conflicting with the views expressed on page 175 of the second volume of the Bee Journal.

[For the AmeFican Bee Journal.]

"Woe be them Attic dapsterlings what writ

Thom sassy 'pisHes, with them plenty wit,

As dabbles 'bout them fjiims 'tliout sides "round it!

There's many a. grins in lots o'scribblin' fiz,

Since 'talian flies gets piur, an bugs is riz. " — Ignus Faluns

Mr. Editor: Among the many futile attempts which have been made of late years, with a view to improve inventions which cnlightined minds have hiiherto considered i)erl( cT, none are more conspicuous and ludicrous than those pertaining to the culture of the honey bee. Extraordinary as has been the intelligent ial skill, wasted upon investigations innunierable as the stars in the azure vault above, in the fruitless attempt to discover how the human mind reasons, there is yet this to recommend

the pursuit of the abstract sciences that they fuinish fruitful themes of healthful, mcMital ex- ercise, during hours of recreation, whicli could, in rainy weather, be not more useful: y em- ployed.

You may sayllobbes, "the man of a hundred heads," war rif/hi in demonsi rating that there was no dilference between right and wrong, yet you cannot say the same of the inventor of a bee hive who has never become proof against the sting of t]i(> beo. You may say Locke, Des- carte-!, and ^Mah'branche were rif///.f., li;ul they proved to j'^ou that the human 77iiiid Is impressed upon mule skin, yet you cannot say tlie same of the inventor of a bee hive whose absence oj mind is stamped upon every i)art of his inven- tion. And you may excuse David Ilume even Avho believed that there was no belief, yet you cannot thus excuse the inventor of a bee hive who believes that everybody believes there is no belief -AH jrcrfcct as his own.

Simplicity being the first predicate of perfec- tion, it follows that complicated bee hives are a nuisance. Porosity, lightness, and warmth being the three prere(|uisites of a perfect material for a bee hive, it follows that in the absence of corktrunks we have to rely on straw and porous M'ood; and now since the durability of these has become objectionable on account of their negative qualities in these respects, perforated sheet iron, tin, and zinc, and cast iron, with the addition, perhaps, of steel and platina, bid fair to take the lead as articles, jier excellence, in the construction of all perfect hives, except- ing the only good for nothina:, old fashioned, ugly-looking, ill-shaped, bee-killing, honey- producing "cracked old kittle," which cost Prof. W. A. Flanders & Co., and 'Smallei 'taties," such an immense amount of lungs, cash, and literary efforts, to reclaim from the inevitable doom of oblivion.

But, ]\[r. Editor, my purpose was not to be seduced by a subject so fascinating, for I have got a bee hive of light, durable, airy material and construction, which I have been so fortu- nate as to invent, through the instrumentality of Prof Flanders' invaluable "Bee Charm.'"' (See BiiE Journal volume 2d, pp. 18G, 206 ) There is no patent obtainable upon it, and therefon-, mj'- dear ]\Ir. Bee Journal, I would like to secure j-our assistance in the perpetua- tion of another impeachable good upou all who are in favor of getting the cheapest, bestest, and most handiest bee hive in these United States and all Anu-rica besides. I've got a whole book of Greek and Latin (juotations all readj^ for any emergencj', and if I should not succeed in my laudable enterprise, I will send the book to any editor, of good standing, with one of my immovable, immortal, and immacu- late bee hives, free gratis for nothing at all, ex- ce|)t a puff or two in his county pajier.

INIeanwhiie, I shall remain, as belore, respect- fully, yoLir super-|)roli\' ai.iloquax,

Prof. A PIASTER Alsatius, a. ]\r..

Corresponding Secretary of Coon Island Golden Ap'ary, 12^ miles from shore.

C^There's lots of folks what think them there tin skips of mine more better as any they was used to.

98

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Experience of a Novice.

No. 8.

MY ONE EXCEPTION TO ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.

Those of my readers who have followed me thus far may recollect that iv my first attempts at que en-raisiug I finally removed my Italian queen from_ her hive (which hive was theLnng- strotli I had so carefully made from the book), and that I succeeded in getting quite a number of queen -cells.

Well, as the Italians had built queen-cells so readily, and, most of all, were so much quieter and easier to handle than my black bees, I con- cluded to keep them at the business. Accord- ingly I used all the cells and gave them fresh bmod to raise more. This time I left them one cell; but, strange to say, they clung to the young queen, and killed her almost as soon as hatched.

Well, "my beauties," thinks I, I will have to trj^ once more; and I gave them a whole frame of brood to encourage them to keep up their spii its for ten days more. In eight days and twenty hours, according to a memorandum kept at the time, I opened the hives to count my queen-cells. I found them all torn open, and on looking further found the largest queen I have ever seen — "a young giantess," as some one has expressed it. The bees were then working on the blossoms of the basswood — a coincidence with the case of the great number of queen-cells raised on one occasion by Mr Grimm, as stated in the Bee Jouknal, Vol. 2, page 170

in a few days more I found that she had al- most filled the combs with eggs, which hatched in due time. The bees proved to be hybrids. A s our fall last year atforded no pasturage, it took nearly all of their honey to raise the brood; and in November they were nearly desttutc. I treatetl them to twenty pounds of sugar syrup with the rest of my stock, and did not see my "tall" queen again till the warm weither in February. Then I found her tilling her combs with eggs at a great rate, and some days alter found quite a quantity of larvse and immature brood in front of the hive. I let it pass, how- ever, supposing some of the brood had got chilled and were carried out by the bees.

Toward the last of March, on opening the hive I could not find a pai tide of brood, and scarcely any honej', and the bees much dwind- led down. I had no Langstroth frame con- taining any honey; but near by stood and American hive that had died out from being too old. as mentioned before. I now saw the inconvenience of having two kinds in an apiary. The American was nearly full, l)Ut I could not exchange tlie frames; so I decided on what I then considered a bold expeiimeut, as it was pretty cold weather at the time. I put the American hive in place of theirs, and brushed them otf, "giantess" and all, nearly starved and stupid with cold, into the cold hive, picked up those that fell on the ground, tumbled them in and left them to do the best they could. But

towards evening, feeling some remorse about the rough manner in AvhichI had treated them, I ventured to look in u-pon them, and found that they had so far recovered as to remember that they were hybrids, and objected to any further assistance. Still I managed to get a peep at "giantess" and the preparations they had made for housekeeping with the benefit of plentiful supplies.

After that, as they had become quite weak, I decided to let them build up as fast as they liked; and when I began to take frames from the rest to raise queens, my wife bade me let the one with the large queen alone and see how strong they would get, as she had doubts of "my policy" in artificial swarming, &c.

Towards June tliey seemed pretty strong, but had not got their combs cpiite down, and had not clustered out any; yet, for fear they might swarm, I did remove a comb from the centre.

Two days after this, it being necessary ior my wife to be away, I requested a neighbor's wife to watch and inform me at the store, which was not far off, if my bees sliould swarm. Sure enough, about ten o'clock, she came in out of breath to tell me they had swarmed. Contrary to all known rule and regulation, they had not waited to cluster or anything of the kind, but poured out of the hive "pell-mell," as if Old Nick himself was after them; hurried up into the air, and ofi" in a northeasterly direction — the largest swarm that had ever been seen, as all 'agreed.

Of course it was "giantess" on the rampage. I had been thinking of clipping her wings only that very morning, and now she was gone. In despair I seized my hat and set otf in the direc- tion indicated; but only succeeded in learning that they had been seen to pass over a certain house, perhaps twenty rods, from my apiary. Resolving that I would get them yet, if within the bounds of possibility, I rel-urued home to make examinations

I found the hive almost entirely destitute of bees, but every cell filled with brood and honey; even the frame I l)ad given them, partly filled with empty comb, was full nearly to the bot- tom, and the outside frames solid with sealed honey. But, strange to tell, not a qu'cn-cell in any stage was to be seen, and scarcely bees enough to build one, as it then seemed.

Perlmps it may be as well now to follow the fortunes of this hive to the end, as the novelists say, if my readers will allow the digression. I have always had much trouble with my young queens, just before or al)out the time tlu-y began to lay. One in particular, I used to expect to find "clustered Avith her quart of bees on some neighboring tree in spite of brood, larva}, or eggs, almost every evening when I camiiliome. Well, just the Sunday morning previous to the event narrated, as I was enjoying the cool air in the girdeu among my bees, with rather a disregard to habilinients, that is, without hat, coat, or shoes, I Avas surprised to hear faintly the peculiar hum of swarming bees, and just caught sight of my AVOcdd-be truant nucleus going over the fence. As its queen Avas a fine one, I started in pursuit, seizing my bee-hat and a queen cage on the way. Over the fences and

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

99

gardens we went, across several streets, pre- sentiup: rather a queer sight to the pjood pcoi)le on their way to churcli, and only stopi)C(l at a friend's apiary, some twenty rods or more off (the very one before mentioned), wlio was just hiving a swarm of black bees, witli whicli my miniature swarm seemed desirous of forming a partnership. (.Query — CouUl my bees have heard the swarm coming out at that distance, or was it merely accidental?) I stationed my- self at the entrance of the new hive, and as her majesty made her appearance, I prevailed on her to enter the queen-cage, and carried her back home — a part of her subjects being loyal enough to follow. Ou the way home, I bethought me of an expedient to make her stay — strange I had not thought of it before — "clipping her Aviugs," namely. I had tried the seven-sixteenths of an inch arrangement, but where the bees passed through, the queen had managed to go also, as had been the case that very morning. I accordingly got the scissors and clipped one wing; and to make assurance doubly sure, thought I would clip the other wing also. This seemed to cut rather hard, but I did make it come; when, behold, I had cut off a foreleg too, which sh(! had thrust between the blades iu the insane atten)pt to save her wing. She was put back, and staid at home at least until the open- ing of our story. When I found that the deserted hive had no queen-cell, I went immediately for the clipped queen; but she too had caught the fever and gone. If she had no wings she had • feet, at least a part of them, and as she could do no better, had gone on foot. By Avatchiug the few remaining bees that remained around the small hive or box, I actually saw them fol- low on her track, when I found her nearly half way across the garden, surrounded by her re- maining subjects. From the manner in which they followed her trail, I think that she must have left a peculiar scent along the ground she had traversed.

She was caged again and given to the swarm, or rather the hive where the swarm was; and as the few bees left did not seem hostile at all, she was released after a short time, and I sup- posed all was right. But after a week or more, finding them queenless, with a large number of queen-cells started, I concluded that cither they had killed her, thinking they could raise a bet- ter looking one, or that she had taken another fancy to a pedestrian exploiatiou. My wife Buggested that if I had not clipped her wings on Sunday, she might have proved more profit- able.

I am really afraid that that truant swarm will have to stay away until another month, or sometliing valuable may be crowded out of the Bee JouiiXAL, to give room for the long article from Novice.

It^In the article in the Journal for last mcmth, page 65, second column, in the 18th line from the bottom, the w^ord "improve" should be "impure."

To unite Bees in the Fall.

I alarm the bees in both hives which I wish to unite, then leave them a few movements to

fill themselves Avith honey, I then put one of them over an empty hive, (my hives have mov- able bottoms), take each frame out, and shake or brush the bees into the hive below. When all are out, set the other in its pla(;e, and pro- ceed in the same way. The bees all brushed to- gether thus in an empty hive, are too much frightened to quarrel. I then arrange all my frames containing honey in one liive, and set it over the one in which the bees are. They all go up rapidy and take possession of the frames like the coloiy. One of the queens will, of course, be killed; and hence, if jou have any choice between them, search for the one you least care for, and destroy lier.

Every empty comb should be saved. Indeed no piece of good Avorker-comb should ever be melted for Avax. It is Avorth five dollars a pound in honey boxes, or fastened into the frames for the use of the bees. — Mrs. E. S. TUPPER, in loica Homestead.

[For tlie American Bee Journal.]

A Profitable Apiary.

Silas "Way, of this county, is one of our best bee-keepers. He has noAV tAvo hundred and thirty hives of bees — all natives. He Avintered over one hundred and twenty-five colonies, and from them had nearly tAVO hundred natural sAvarms. Many Avere consolidated, and the whole number of swarms were put into one hundred and five hives. His crop of honey in small boxes amounts to nearly two tons, which he is selling at thirty cents per pound. He has one hundred and twenty-five colonies iu the the improved Langstroth hive; the remainder iu box hives. The shalloAV form of this hive is his preference, as he claims that he can get more surplus honey from Ioav broad hives than from tall ones. From eighteen Langstroth hives that did not swarm, he has secured 1,080 pounds box honey — sixty pounds, worth eigh- teen dollars, per hive. Mr. Way loses no bees in winter. They are Avintered in a dry dark cel- lar, directly under the living room of his house. His greatest difficulty has been to find room enough in the tops of his hives for the accom- modation of the bees that store surplus honey. He has a plan now that he thinks will obviate this difficulty. The inside depth of the comb- frame that he uses is 9^ inches; but he purposes to make one hundred more this Avinter, with frames only 8 j inches in the clear. This change will give him more room for boxes, and Avith tAVO sets he thinks he may be able to give his bees all the room they can use to advantage. He thinks he can get by this arrangement, coupled Avith good management, 100 pounds surplus honey from any good hive of bees that is kept from SAvarming, provided the season is an average one for this latitude. On his box hives he uses two honej''-boxes; but on the Langstroth hive lie can use three of the same size. He claims that the three boxes on frame hives are filled Avith honey as soon as the tAvo on box hives. Mr. Way does not tcork the fra7ues&t all; in fact, pays no more attention to frame hives than to box hives. Still, he finds

lOO

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

it for his interest to use them. His hives are made in the simplest and cheapest way that he can devise, and do not cost him to exceed two dollars per hive complete, with one set of boxes. They are all planed and painted, and present a fine appearance.

RECAPITULATION.

APIAKY.

To 125 hives of bees, at $8 each, in-

[For the American Bee Journal J

Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Associationu

eluding hives. 10 per cent, interest on capital.

APIAKY.

By 230 hives of bees, including hives,

at $8 each.

4,000 pounds of honey @ 30 cents. -

DR.

$1,000 100

$1,100

CR.

$1,840 1,200

$3,040

PROFITS, $1,940.

The exact yield of surplus honey is not known, but the above amount is not far out of the way. If materially wrong, I hope he will correct the mistake. M. M. Baldridge.

St, Charles, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Melilot Clover— No. 2.

Melilot clover came into blossom this year early in July. For a few days in August there were no blossoms — about ten days in all. This is the first season that the plant failed, in fair weather, to give a supply of honey for a single day after it began to bloom. About the middle of August a fresh supply of blossoms made their appearance. Since that time the plant has been constantly in full bloom; and to-day, (Oct. 15), the supply of blossoms is as large as at any other time this season. In fact, the plant is literally white with blossoms, and is visited as freely by the bees as one could wish. The past three days have been warm and pleasant, being fine weather for the bees to work. There is not a doubt but the plant will remain in bloom till winter sets in, although we are having a serious drouth — the worst we have had for many years. Pastures are nearly ruined for present feeding; and many farmers, and others, have been obliged to fodder their stock. Many kinds of weeds are "dried up," that usually arc green and vigorous at this season of the year. We are therefore much encouraged with regard to the value of Melilot clover for bee pasturage in seasons of drouth. We have also had some frosts, but, as stated in my former article, they do not injure the blossoms of this clover. In this respect Melilot clover is as hardy as what are known as the "frost flowers" of the prairies. I have now some fresh seed that I will mail, in small parcels, to all applicants on receipt of a few stamps for postage and putting up. The seed may be sown any month of the year.

M. M. Baldridge. I St, Charles, III,

MEETING HELD ON THE IOWA STATE FAIR

Notice was given out during the Iowa State Fab', that there would be a meeting of bee- keepers on Friday afternoon, October 4th, and those interested in bee-culture were invited to be present.

Much interest was manifested in the move- ment, and about 150 bee-keepers were present at the meeting. An organization was perfected, entitled "The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Association."

The following were elected as ofiicers of the association:

R. R. Murphy, Fulton, Ills., President,

David Hess, Lyons, Iowa, Vice President,

M. M. Baldridge, St. Charles, Ills., Sect'y,

H. A. RoDGERS, Treasurer.

committee on CONSTITUTION.

J. Bullard, Evansville, Wis., M. M. Bald- ridge, and James M. Marvin, of St. Charles, Illinois.

The main object of the meeting was to organ- ize. There were many questions asked and an- swered with regard to bees; but no notes were taken of these proceedings. The American Bee Journal was highly endorsed by its readers present, and all bee-keepers were ad- vised to become its subscribers and supporters. A request was made that these notes be sent to the American Bee Journal and other periodi- cals friendly to the association, for publication.

The meeting then adjourned, subject to the call of the Secretary. Should the State Fair be held on the same grounds the ensuing year, there will doubtless be another meeting at the time of the Fair. Notice will be given in the Bee Journal and other papers, when the mat- ter is decided. Meantime the Secretary invites correspondence, with suggestions as to the time and place of holding the next meeting. It may be advisable to have a session next spring. The Secretary would be pleased to receive the names and post office address of those who desire to become members of this association.

M. M. BALDRIDGE, Secretary.

St. Charles, Ills.

The queen bee is the soul of the colony. No bee-keeper should undertake to winter a queen- less colony. It is inevitably doomed to destruc- tion, and all efforts to carry it through the Avin- ter in that condition are bootless — involving a waste of honey, and a misapplication of time and labor. Unite the bees in the fall with some other colony, and fumigate the combs with brimstone, to preserve them for the use of early swarms next spring.

|^"Send us names of bee-keepers with Post Office address.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

JOEOEMIBEK, ISG'?'-

No. 6.

Parthenogenesis in the Honey Bee.

BY PROF. C. T. E. VON SIEBOLD.

[CONTINUED.]

It was ascertained anatomically by Made- moiselle Juriue, that the worker bees are noth- ing but female bees whose sexual organs are aborted. By careful dissection the ovarian tubes not perfectly developed may be exhibited in all workers, connected with an undeveloped oviduct. I have already shown in the year 1843, that in all workers there is connected with this undeveloped oviduct, an appendage which perfectly represents the seminal receptacle of queens. On this appendage I could discover the seminal duct, the seminal capsule, and the two appendicular glands, with their common efferent duct in the workers; but all these sepa- rate parts of the seminal receptacle were in a very undeveloped state.

In what follows I will endeavor to explain by what cause the ovarian tubes, which in the normally-formed workers always remain empty, may become exceptionally filled with eggs in certain workers. It is well known to apiarians that in hives which have suddenly lost their queen, the workers, if they wish to put them- selves in possession of a new queen, select some worker-cells furnished witJi an egg or a young larva, and enlarge these into royal cells, (queen's cradles) and that they do not then bring up the larvaj which are excluded from the eggs already laid in these former worker-cells, or which were found in them already excluded in such cells, with the ordinary worker-food, but fur- nish them with royal-food, as indeed all the eggs deposited by a fertilized queen in worker- cells are of onO kind, namely, female. But in order that the female sexual organs of such a larva may acquire their development, the larva must receive royal-food; if, on the contrary, the female sexual organs are to remain undeveloped for the advantage of the organs of the worker- bee destined for work, this object is attained by the administration of worker-food. I leave it undecided in what the distinction between worker and royal food consists; for the apiarians

have hitherto been at variance, as to whetlier the larva; of workers and queens received the same food, but the latter in greater quantity; or whether the queen's food differs from that Ot the workers not only in its quantity, but also in its quality. From Leuckart's recent investi- gations, however, it appears that there is really a qualitative difference between the two kinds of food. The larvae destined to become work- ers only receive the paste prepared by the work- ers in their digestive organs during the first days of their life, whilst in the latter days of their larval existence they are fed with pollen and honey. The queen-larvae on the contrary, are supplied with tlie above paste during their whole larval existence. Leuckart found the first traces of the internal genital organs in the female larvoe of six days old. It is exactly at this time that the change of food takes place in the worker-larvfe, which, up to this period, are nourished just like the queen-larv?e with the same paste. In this way we get an explana- tion of the circumstance which has been ob- served by most experienced apiarians, that a female larva does not require the usage of a queen from its earliest period to become per- fectly sexual, but that worker-larvte, even sev- eral (six or seven) days old, may alio be reared to queens, when their narrow cells are subse- quently enlarged, and they are abundantly sup- plied with royal-paste instead of with worker's food, (pollen and honey).

If, then, it is certain that a worker-bee or a queen may be reared indifferently from every larva of a worker-cell derived from a fecundated queen, the case may probably occur in one bee- hive or another, that by some confusion or dis- turbance in the regular distribution of the food, some of the royal food falls to the lot of one or several worker-larvaj in the neighborhood of a queen's cell, into which royal food is carried, by which their sexual organs are more or less developed. By this influence the development of the female genitalia may have been abnor- mally elevated in a worker up to the power of laying true eggs. Such egg-la5nng workers, however, always remain unfecundated; they do not feel like peifect female bees, and undertake no wcdding-tlight; which, indeed, would be of

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

no w^e to tliem, as the clevclopment of their copulative and fccundative organs has not kept pace with that of their ovaries and oviducts. The external sexual organs, as well as the sem- inal receptacle, remain abortive in these egg- laying workers, for which reason they are not in a condition to copulate and receive fer- tilizing semen. They will, therefore, only be able to lay uufecundated eggs, from which, if they actually arrive at development, only male bees (drones) are produced, no matter whether t'hey were laid in worker-cells or drone-cells. The cause of the production of an excess of drones and humped-brood comb in a queculess liive is, therefore, that as regards the nature of her deposited eggs, an egg-laying worker-bee is in exactly the same position as an egg-laying virgin queen — both can only be the parents of drones.

Why the egg-laying workers can only lay unferti'ized eggs, I have already explained in my letter to the Baron of Rerlepsch. At that time, indeed, I had not been enabled to dissect an egg-laying worker-bee; so tiiat the principal proof of the correctness of my views as to the drone-productiveness of the workers still had to be obtained. This proof Baron von Bcrlepsch has since furnished by dissecting a worker-bee ■which was laying drone-eggs, and finding there- j in a small ovary with about eight pretty well developed eggs, but no seminal receptacle. He j did not content himself with this investigation of his own, but in order to make the unl)eliev- ing apiarians more inclined to accept the truth, he also called in the assistance of an entonioto- ' mist. At the request of Berlepsch, Leuckart, of , Giessen, dissected at Seebach two workers taken ; in the act of laying eggs, of which, unfortu- ! nately, one individual as Leuckart reported, | w^as no longer in good condition; but on the \ other hand, in the second individual he was ! able to prepare the sexual apparatus with its '> different parts in connection, and to recognize the egg-laying bee from its construction at first glance. On the right side he found six, and on the left five, ovarian tubes, with single mature eggs. The single oviduct, as Leuckart said, was without appendages. In the first-mentioned egg-laying worker also, Leuckart could detect no seminal receptacle, although this structure is still distinctly recognizable in the queens, even when the other eirtrails are almost entirely dissolved by decomposition. I must here re- call the fact that, as I have already mentioned, the seminal receptacle is not entirely wanting in the workers, but that it remains undeveloped in them, and may be detected as a small append- age to the oviduct by a close microscopical ex- amination. Leuckart overlooked this appendage in the egg-laying bees examined by him, but has convinced himself, as he himself admits, by subsequent investigations of the presence of tlie rudimentary seminal receptacle in worker bees. At any rate, it appears from the investigations of Berlepsch and Leuckart, that in the egg-lay- ing workers dissected by them, the seminal re- ceptacle was not present in the same degree of development as in the queen-bee, as in its per- fectly developed state it is visible even to the naked eye, of the size of a pin's head, and con-

sequently could not have escaped the notice of those two observers.

Another cause of drone-productiveness in a ' bee-hive may also be explained consistently with Dzicrzon's theory. Thus in certain, but undoubtedly very rare cases it happens that fertilized queens in advanced age, towards the end of their vital activity, become drone-bear- ing, after showing themselves to be normal up tothat period, as regards the production of drones, females, and workers. Normal fertil- ized queens, therefore, in course of time lose the faculty of producing workers and females The brood deposited by such old queens can only be reared to male bees — certainly, accord- ing to Dzicrzon's theory, for the self-evident reason that the store of semen in the seminal receptacle of a fertilized queen is gradually ex- hausted. As a queen onlj' undertakes the wed- ding-flight once in her life, and fertilizes many thousands of eggs destined for the worker-cells for several consecutive years, with semen re- ceived by, a single act of copulation,* although one or two spcrmatozoids of the male semen are employed in the fecundation of one egg, yet the seminal mass w^ill at last be used up, and at the same time the old queen will lose the factilty of laying the recjuired number of ferti- lized eggs.

From the circumstances hitherto described, it will be evident how a queen, which has not been fertilized, or an old queen, or an egg-lay- ing worker, must act injuriously upon a colouy of bees. They constantly caupc confusion in a hive, as they only produce lazj'^ drones, and cannot, from inaliility to produce new workers, replace the lohsof workers, to which every bee- hive is exposed. On the other hand, a colony of bees which rejoices in the possession of a vigorous fertilized queen will thrive well, as the drones, the workers, and the queens required for the emigration of j^oung swarms, are pro- duced by her at the right time, and in the pro- per proportions as to number, for which pur- pose the workers prepare and arrange the ne- cessary drone-cells, worker-cells, and queen- cells.

Dzicrzon's theory also includes the assertion that every normally organized queen must at the same time possess the power of laying male or female eggi at will; that tft to say, of leaving an egg xinfertilized, or depositing it fecundated at will, when eiujaged in laying her eggs.

The answer to the question, how a queen can

know when she has to lay a male or a female

egg, will be that instinct will tell her, and truly

at the moment when she pushes her abdomen

into a wide drone cell, or the narrow cell of a

worker for the purp(;se of laying an egg. The

disiinction of the wider and narrower cells will

certainly be felt out by a normal queen witli

I her abdomen, and by this sensation she will

! knoAV that she must fertilize the egg to be de-

' posited in a narrow cell, while she has to lay

down the egg Avithout fecundation in a wide

i one. By the peculiar texture of an incomplete

' royal-cell too, a normal queen will be instmct-

1 ^According ti a statement made to me by Dz'erzoD, a i qn ea may acquire the power o^' laying fer ilizei eggs for ' Uve yeaiK,"by u single uormally executed copulation.

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i voly induced to fertilize tlie egg to be deposited in il. B.y this iiioMiis D/ierzou might liavc ex- lihiincd Ihiit iilicuonuMioii in thehco-hive Avliich has ahviiys excited astonislinieiit as a wondor- t'lil iiiysteiy, namely, that faculty possessed by a uovmal queen of furuishing the drone-cells, ^vorkereells, and queen-ceils of the combs, ■which are arranged in dilTerent number and order in every bee-hive with the right eggs. It would certainly still remain to he proved from the organization and arrangement of the 1 scpaiale sections of the female sexual organs, lliat it really was possible for a fertilized queen, by the presence of decidedly voluntary mus- cles, to retain the semen in the seminal recepta- cle or evacuate it at will. From tlic investiga- tion above referred to, which I made upon fer- tilized female insects, it appears that by the copulation of insects the ovaries are not fecun- dated, but that the seminal receptacle is filled with semen, and that the fecundation of the egg only takes place during oviposition at the mo- ment when the egg to be laid slips by the orifice of the seminal receptacle in the oviduct. Witb regard to this, I may refer to those female in- sects, which, after the completion of copulation, survive their males in the autumn, hybernate with the ovaries imperfectly developed, and only lay fertilized eggs capable of development in the following spring, after their ovaries have become filled with mature eggs. Such females, therefore, preserve the male semen received during copulation in their seminal receptacle, keep it fresh probably by the aid of the secre- tion of the appendicular glands of the seminal capsule, and evacuate it at pleasure when re- quired during the act of laying. For this pur- pose particular voluntary muscles do really exist. I have observed them in the vicinity of the exterior of the seminal capsule in many female beetles. In the immediate vicinity of the seminal receptacle of female bees also, I have seen A^oluntary muscles without, however, being able to state with certainty what definite functions they have to perform. From this the possibility of a voluntary evacuation of semen from the seminal receptacle of fecundated female insects could certainly not be denied, especially as the voluntary deposition of male and feruale eggs by a ciueen-bee may be proved by the brood produced from her. After I had called the attention of Yon Bcrlepsch to the existence of voluntary muscles of the seminal receptacle, he expressed' himself upon this point in the fol- lowing way: "Probably the queen has the fa- culty of closing the orifice of the receptacle at l)leasure, perhaps bythe contraction of the whole vesicular membrane, or even that of removing and somewhat retracting the whole receptacle sidewaj's from the tube of the oviduct into which it opens, so that those eggs which she wishes to deposite in male cells may glide past untouched by tlie semen."

The power of a fertilized queen to lay male or female eggs at pleasure, may also be proved by the following experiment. In a Dzierzon hive we may, to a certain extent, compel a fer- tilized queen to lay male or female eggs. The construction of one of these hives permits the nature of the combs prepa'rcd in ilby the work-

ers to be closely inspected. If the workers of a hive furnished with a normal queen prepare too many drone-cells, which wc mny, pcrhaj)?, not wish to have, or if the hive requires more workers, we UG^iy remove the drone combs, whose cells the ciueen would have supplied with male, that is to say, unfertilized eggs, and in- stead of these suspend combs with empty workers cells. The queen will furnish these combs also with eggs, and indeed to correspond with the nature of the cells, with female or fer- tilized eggs, from which the workers may rear their like. In the summer we nuiy induce the queens of populous hives to lay dronc^eggs, if we suspend an empty drone-con)l) in the midst of the hive. From this it follows that the intelli- gent bee-keeper has it in his own hands in what direction he will turn the activity of this or that colony of bees, and that by suitable assistance he may prevent the disorganization and de- morilization of a bee-hive.

Before I turn to the strictly scientific proofs whicb I have still to furnish, in order to give permanence to the view upon the reproduction of the bees put forward by Dzierzon only as a hypothesis, and raise it to the rank of a theory, so that it may take its proper place in the his- tory of animal development, I will here cite a few more empirical proofs, by which alone the correctness of Dzierzou's theory would be con- vincingly shown, if its importance did not re- quire still more impressive facts for its estab- lishment.

I must not omit to mention that Dzierzon himself, after calling a number of opponents into the field by the promulgation of this new theory, and after all possible imaginable objec- tions had been raised from the most various sides against its correctness, began to doubt the perfect tenability of his theory. Notwithstand- ing that Dzierzon very recently expresses him- self with peculiar reserve and caution upon cer- tain points of his theory,* other experienced apiaria-ns still held very firmly to it, as after it had once become familiar to them by its assist- ance every occurrence in a bee-hive, however unexpected or appi^ently strange, was instantly understood by them.

Above all we must here mention Herr von Berlepsch, who has set himself the task of test- ing Dzierzon's theory in every direction, with his abundance of bee-hives. His establishment of bees, which is most carefully attended to, and kept in the most exemplary order, also offers quite uniquely in its kind by the disposition, ar- rangement, and mass of its materials, the best and most certain opportunity- of testing and an- swering those questions relating to bee-life raised by Dzierzon.

The following extremely interesting experi- ments were made by Berlepsch, which must again convert Dzierzon to himself, since he ap- pears to have become a dombter of his own theory.

In May, 1854, Berlepsch caught an old fertile

I queen and confined her in a small queen cage,

I in order to incorporate her with a new eolonj- of

bees after its establishment. She was in the

*See his Bienevfreund aus Schksien, ISb^l, No. S, page 04.

lOi

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

normal state, and up to that time had produced the necessary drones and workers. Berlepsch gives the following account of this queen: "As I was closing the lid, (of the queen's cage) which ran in a groove, I pinched the queen so strongly at the apex of tlie abdomen, that she contracted the whole abdomen like a bee that had been stung, and allowed it to drag after her. I thought at first that she was lost, but as she was still liv- ing an hour afterwards, ajid sitting again ex- tended and quiet, I gave her back to her people. She laid, as before, thousands of eggs, but from all these nothing but dro7res were henceforward devdoj)-ed. If T had only dissected this queen as soon as I became aware of her drone-productive- ness, I should at least have seen whether the seminal vesicle was still in existence and nor- mally filled. But I delayed the dissection, and when at length I wished to undertake it, the queen was gone. This certainly was a very re- markable occurrence, which speaking loudly in iavor of Dzierzon's hypothesis of tlie unfecun- dated state of all male eggs, was communicated by me privately to President Buseh for his opin- ion, as I could not then form any definite opinion for myself, not then knowing with certainty that the vesicle is the reccpiaeulum seminis^ and the white slime (its contents) the sperma virile. Busch, however, was flso unable to Ibrm an opinion; my servant Gunther on the contrary, thought that perhaps the receptaculum had been crushed and destroyed. This, however, I re- gard as extremely improbable, as tlie crushing of the receptacle, which is generally very firm, between the soft surrounding parts of the body of the queen, without quickly leading to the death of the latter herself, ■ is scarcely possible. I believe, therefore, that it was only the organs which may act in opening and closing the orifice, or in retracting and advancing the receptacle that were lamed, stiffened," &c.

If I am to express any opinion upon this inter- esting case, I suppose that by the pinching of the abdomen the seminal receptacle of the queen filled with semen, was torn away from the ovi- duct at its opening point, by which the queen thus injured, was no longer enabled to fertilize her eggs during deposition, and therefore could only lay unfertilized and consecfuently male eggs. Berlepsch reports as follows upon another ex- periment confirmatory of Dzierzon's principal point, which he made in consequence of study- ing J. Muller's Phyrdologiedes Menschen: "Now only did I obtain a full conviction of the existence of the spermatozoa; and Avhen I read in the above mentioned work that high and low temper- ature cause the movements of the spermatozoa to cease, I thought to myself: Now you have a com- plete explanation of Dzierzon's case;* and if it be true that in apis melUfca, the male eggs reg- ularly develope themselves spontaneously into males, but are only converted into female eggs 1 y the fecundation of the spermatozoa, every normally fruitful queen must cease to lay female female eggs from the moment when we succeed in rendering the spermatozoa motionless (killing

*BerIepsch here refers to the case commtinicated hy Dzier- zon, that a queen which had been frofted for a long time, after being brought to life by warmth, only laid male eggs, whilst previously she had also laid female eggs. '

them) without destroying the mother herself At the end of June, 1854, therefore, I took three very fruitful queens, imprisoned each of them in a queen cage, went to Muhlhausen and placed the cages in the ice-cellar of an inn-keeper there who was a friend of mine. There I left them for about thirty-six hours. The queens were of course completely benumbed, regularly covered with hoar frost, and when I returned Avith them to Seebach, I exposed them to the sun, which was just rising. For a long time none of them stirred; at last, towards seven o'clock, I observed movements of the feet in one of them. By means of a fine bit of wood I put a little honey upon her proboscis, and in ten or twelve minutes more, she had again returned to life. The two others on the contrary were dead. This appeared very remarkable to me, as even worker-bees, whose vitality, however, is very much weaker than that of "the queens, generally survive such a short freezing; and the only rea- son I can find for it, is that the temperature of the ice-cellar was too low, and therefore the queens were too much penetrated by the frost, if the circumstance that the ciueens were too heavy with eggs, and therefore less able than at other times to bear external injurious influences upon their bodies, may not have co-operated to pro- duce death. I returned the revived queen to her people. She laid, as before, thousands of eggs, but from all of them only drones were evolved. When I subseciuently examined the semen, I found it less consistent and with a yellowish tinge."

From this extremely interesting experiment, it follows evidently that the male eggs of the bees require no fertilization. The spermatozoids which this queen, exposed to such an intense cold, contained in her seminal receptacle, were certainly benumbed, and did not again become capableof movement after the thawing; so that therefore this ciueen could only have laid unfec- undated eggs, for even if she had emptied the contents of her seminal receptacle over the eggs when laying them in order to fertilize them, the numbed spermatozoids would have remained in- capable of action.

A third empirical proof by which the principal point of Dzierzon's theory of reproduction is supported, is furnished l)y the phenomena which may be observed in the production of males amongst bees. Attention has only been directed to the production of hybrid bees at a A^ery recent period, since the Italian race of bees has been in- troduced' into Gennany'by Dzierzon and Ber- lepsch. The so-ca>led Italian bees form no sep- arate species, but must only be regarded as a variety of the apis mellifica. These Italian bees are distinguished at the first glance by the leather- yellow color of their abdomen from theunicolor- ous blackish-brown German bees. In the females and workers of the Italian race, the first, second, and third abdominal segments appear of a rusty- yellow color, (colore rufo-ferrugineo) and mar- gined with black. This black margin is very narrow on the first segment, broader on the . second, and broadest on the third. The Italian drones have the middle of the hinder margin of the second, third, and fourth, and often that of the fifth abdominal segment broadly rusty-yellow

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Kt,')

by which the bhickish brown abdomen of these drones appears to bo furnished on the back with from tlirec to lour nisty-brown transverse bands, of whicli the first is the broadest. The German drones on the contrary, have tlie abdominal seg- ments only narrowly margined witli rusty-yel- low. According to the statements of Dzierzon and Berlepsch, Avh« have done especial service to the brecdiiig and diffusion of the Italian bees in Germany, these golden-yellow bees are not only more beautiful, but also more industrious and' better tempered than the German bees. These latter properties are also the cause of tlie Italian bees having become so much liked amongst us, and of so great a demand liaving recently arisen for them, so that Berlepsch found himself under the necessity of declaring publicly, that '•Hf the Italian f/ood-tempercd, industrious race, with its beautiful color is to be kept pure and stereoti/pcd, perhaps even improved, Dzierzon and I must be left in peace f)r at least one summer.'''' It is a well-knoMai fact that by the crossing of different races of a species of animal, hybrid forms are produced, winch unite in various ways certain characters of the two individuals of dif- ferent races which were employed for the pro- duction of such hybrids. It was natural to sup- pose that in tlie bees the production of such race hybrids must be combined with peculiar modifi- cations. If Dziej'zon's theory proved correct, w^e might beforehand expect that by the copula- tion of a unicolorous blackish-brown German and a reddisli-brown Italian bee, the mixture of the two races would only be expressed in the hybrid females and workers, but not in the drones, which as proceeding from unfecundated eggs must remain purely German or purely Ital- ian, according as the queen selected for the pro- duction of hybrids belonged to the German or the Italian race. In fact the expectations of the ^ apiarians were not disappointed. It is true that in these crossings of the races many remarkable occurrences, such as also happen contrary to expectation, in the crossing of our larger domes- ticanimals were still necessarilj' left unexplained. According to Eerlepsch's observations, 1. Many Italian mothers produce partly black and partly variegated hees under all circumstances; that is t) say, whether they have been fecundated by a German or an Italian drone; 2. Many Italian mothers produce onl}' variegated bees when they arc fertilized by an Italian drone, but variegated and black ones mixed when fertilization is ef- fected 1)3' a German drone; and 3. Many Italian mothers produce only variegated bees under all circumstances; that is to saj'^, whether they are fertilized by an Italian or a German di-one. Such | true Italian queens, adds Berlepscli, produce | Italian bees from the' very first, when fertilized bj'an Italian drone; but on the contrary, when fertilized by a German drone, they also produce German bees at first for a longer or shorter time. Here I must insist upon the fact that these statements of Von Berlepsch only refer to the production of workers and female bees, but by no means to drones. He endeavored to explain these surprising and singular facts, which re- posed upon two j'cars' experience, in the follow- ing manner. He refers to the existence of the appendicular gland so intimately connected with

the seminal receptacle, to which I had already in the year 1837 ascribed theofDce of preserving l;y its secretion the seminal mass remaining for months in the seminal c;ipsulc in a frcsli state. Berlepsch, starting from this view, now tliouglit that the maternal liquor of the ajipendicular gland constantly penetrating (into the seminal receptacle) gradually permeates iJie spermatozoa to such an extent that their paternal elements are overpowered by the maternal ones. If the mother bee is of pure Italian blood, none but va- riegated bees must be produced from her fertilized eggs as soon as the spermatozoa derived from a German drone arc sufliciently permeated; but on the contrary, if the mother be not purely Ittdian, black bees will always remain. This conjecture which I only quote here for the present as a con- jecture, without saying anything for or again.st it, Berlepsch also endeavored to support by the behavior of a German queen, which being fer- tilized by an Italian drone, ])roduced last year variegated bees amongst the black, but this year only black bees.

In all these observations with reference to the propagation and multiplication of the Italian race of bees, the brood of drones always turned out purely Italian or purely German, even Avlien crossings occurred between German and Italian bees, according as the queen subjected to crossing belonged to the Italian or the German race. Bui in order to attain certainty witli regard to these phenomena, the observations to be made for this purpose must be performed with the greatest care. The observations will have to be made with individuals of perfectly pure race, which will not always be obtained with ease and cer- tainty, since the breeding of the Italian swarms side by side with the German bee-hives is already carried on amongst us to a very great extent. How difficult it may be to find a peril'ctly genuine and pure queen for sucli experiments, is shown by the mixtures of the two races of bees in ques- tion, observed by Berlepsch and already referred to. I can, therefore, lay no very great stress upon an observation which Dzierzon made upon an Italian queen, and which, as I have already indicated, has made this cautions apiarian doubt- ful of his own theory. This isolated case, in which, moreover, some circumstance might pro- bably have remained unnoticed, cannot over- thi'ow a proposition, the correctness of which has been confirmed in so striking a manner by a number of other observations. How Dzierzon was surprised by some such disturbing accident appears from his own statement, which I will givehere literally, iu order to show that Dzier- zon is not one of those who cannot be led away from a preconceived oi)inion, whether it be right or wrong. His words* are as follows:

"Continued observations of the liybrid hives must be no less adapted to raise the veil more and more to penetrate into the obscurity and finally bring the mysterious truth to ligiit. If the drone egg does not require fertilization, Ital- ian mothers must always produce Italian drones, and German mothers German drones, even when they have been fertilized by drones of the other race. The Silcs'an Apiarian (Bienenfrcund)

*Seo Bienen/reund aiu SchJesien, 1854, No. S, pajfe 03.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOUBNAl

possesses hybrid hives of hoth kinds, and did not permit any want of observations so far as the limited time enabled him to make them, but he met with new unsolvablc riddles. The Italian hybrid mothers have, throughout, completely con- firmed the supposition and produced the most beautiful Italian drones, one almost more beau- tiful than the genuine stocks, the maternal stock itself. Of two German hybrid hives, one also produced only the ordinary black drones; the other the same, but unexpectedly amongst these a few appeared which glittered like gold, and v/cre yellower than any single bee even in the genuine Italian hives. It certainly was possible that even here a beautiful Italian amongst the ■workers, of which a portion had the color of in- digenous bees, and another i^ortion that of the Itahans, might have laid some eggs, from which the few yellow drones might have been produced. Nevertheless, the Silesian Apiarian is not par- ticularly inclined to explain the phenomenon in this way, so as not to expose himself to the sus- picion that only a predilection for his hypothesis led him to have recourse to this explanation, as in point of fact the deposition of eggs by worker bees when a queen is present, is an exceptional occurrence of the rarest kind. Although the vesicle tilled Avith semen does not implant the vital germ for the drone in the egg, may not a peculiar emanation from it nevertheless act in determining the kind and color?"

Dzierzon is certainly in the wrong, when, for the sake of this one observation which disturbs him, and in order to explain it, he again calls in the aid of the long overthroAvn hypothesis of an imra seminalis. Von Berlepsch has taken the trouble to invalidate the case detailed by Dzier- zon, which is said to speak against his own theory. He very justly observes that in tbe preceding, Dzierzon has not established the fact that those few golden drones were actually pro- duced by the queen, and not by a very fine egg- laying worker; (as thehalf of the workers in this hive consisted of these) for although the presence of an egg-laying worker together with a queen is a case of the very rarest occurrence, yet it can be proved that such exceptions do occur. ^ Ber- lepsch also points out with reason that Dzierzon was never perfectly certain on the point, whether the queen, in whose hive he observed the remark- able yellow drones, was by birth of the true German race, or produced from hybrid brood. Dzierzon himself adds the warning to the state- ment of Ins case, that in such observation great caution i% necessary to avoid erroneous conclu- sions, as on such occasions we must be perfectly sure that the queen belongs by birth to the right race; for if she has been produced from hybrid brood it is impossible for her to produce even pure drones, but she produces half Italian and half German drones. However, I regard this doubt, which had been raised in Dzierzon with regard to his own theory, and by his own observations, as a sutficient reason for getting further informa- tion from Herr Von Berlepsch, who had obtained great experience in breeding Italian bees for the last two years, with regard to the real truth in the production of hybrids taking place between Italian and German bees. On the 2d of March oflast year, (1856) he replied to my questions

put to him for this purpose, in the following man- ner. In the first place he referred to his obser- vations already published in the Blenenzeiiung^ where he says: ' 'Ail queens wMcli are of a beauti- ful yellow externally only produce Italian drones, even when they produce partly Italian and partly- German workers. A German mother, whicli was fertilized by an Italian drone, produced German and Italian workers, but only German drones. When on the contrary the mother is not of a fine yellow — when she has traces of black in her, the drones also come forth mixed, whether the mother be fertilized by a German or an Italian male; of course because the males only take after the mother." To this Von Berlepsch added the following commentary in his letter: "An Italian queen fertilized by a German drone, or a German queen by an Italian drone, constantly (only one exception has occurred to me) produces females (workers, queens,) of three ditferent colors; a. Tribe Italians, that is to say, as yellow and banded as the female descendants of Italian queens which were fecundated by Italian drones; b. True, Oer- mans, and c. Mongrels. With many mothers the Italian, and with many the German descend- ants predominate; but the mongrels, which as regards color, are intermediate between the Ger- mans and the Italians, are always in the minori- ty, and indeed in the greatest minority, for in many hives avc rarely see a mongrel, and in many none at all. Now as the queens are only workers, otherwise, that is to say, further de- veloped, the same conditions occur in them also, and in hybrid mothers the color of the royal de- scendants depends upon the egg. If the egg would have given a true Italian worker, it also furnishes a genuine Italian queen, &c. The males, iDitliout exception, follow the mother as regards color, and during the last summer 1 was unable to discover with hybrid mothers even a single male which resembled its father, in spite of the most careful observation and closest exam- ination.

After such imijortant empirical facts, derived from the observation of a great number of pro- ductions of hybrid bees, it must tlierefore be re- garded as certain, that in accordance with Dzier- zon's theory, bees of pure race are deprived of tli6]:ower of producing hybrid drones.

[CONCLUDED NEXT MONTH.]

[For tlie American Bee Jovu'aal ]

American Bee Plant.

Over the name of A. A. Terry, on page 58, of the September number of the Bee Journal, volume 3, avc find an article recommending this plant as a great honey-yielding plant in the vi- cinity of Cbicago. Will the writer of that article please favor me with a package of seed of said plant, and I will reciprocate the favor.

I am passionately fond of bee-culture, and wish to procure the best honey -yielding plants.

The reason I make this request through the Amekican Bee Journal is, I enclosed some money directed to Mr. Terry at Chicago, (111.,) but received no answer. Chicago may not be his address. A. Salisbury.

Camakgo, Douglass Co., III.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

107

For I e American Bee Journal.

The Eureka Hive Again.

BoMnASTES ab Initio, Fruioso do flnlbus.

At length I own the power of the pill,

(Horace Epod. xvil, 1.)

The physic makes liim worse and sicker still.

(Ancid xii, 40.)

Mn. Editok: — As our .amiable and beloved brother correspondent, Wni. A. Bennett, con- fines my strictures upon Allen's Bee Hive to j)lain EnriUsh^ I would beg your leave at present to remark brielly that inasmuch as the bombas- tic introduction to the object under review, July No. 1867, page 17, smacked so strong of Greece and Rome, I felt asthough all my Greek and Latin quotations were necessary to imjjress his super-lucid, logical faculties with my liigh appreciation of his ancient rhetoric; and as though his Sophocles and Virgil were not dis- graced in the presence of an Archimedes and a Cicero.

If brother Bennett means to pick a literary quarrel, 1 confess that I am not the man who has sought either to provoke his acidulated re- torts, or to engage in a dispute upon so ignoble an object as the hive in question, but simply meant to inform my bee-keeping friends upon matters with which I consider myself as. well acquainted as brother B. Still, as iilain Eng- lish seems to be good enough for mv very modest friend, I shall not refrain from giving to him, as well as "to all whom it may concern," my opinion in his vernacular dress.

In the first place, I disclaim all intention to misrepresent his language. The withdraw- ing of frames from the hive is a very simple matter in any movable comb-hive; not so, how- ever, their replacement, without killing any bees. It is one thing to open a hive and close it, for the mere purpose of gratifying the curiosi- Xy of a visitant friend, and quite a different one to perform practical operations with the same.

In nine cases out of every ten, the practical apiarian wishes to ascertain the state of the central combs only, not merely of one hive, but of nearly all, in as short a period as possible, and in these particular instances I deny the least adaptedness to public favor to this puffed- up imitation of a hive, which as described else- where, requires indefinitely more skill in man- agement and time in operating, than the Lang- siroth hive in any of its various legitimate forms. Supposing the operator would Avish to confine the queens toward the end of the honey season, he, with the Langstroth hive, removes the honey-board, shifts and lifts any particular frame where she is most likely to be found; and not unfreqneutly this hive may be opened, the queen confined and hive closed up, before a side- opener is ready for the removal of a single frame. Does he wish to obtain brood from a side-opener Avith the thermometer at GO or 64? Even Mr. Bennett, if he understand anything about the matter, will surely not pretend to in- sist that he can obtain it, rei^lace the frames, and insert it in its appropriate place without

chilling it, or killing it outright. And how would it work with these hives, were you to take away the queens Avith the view to their constructing queen cells, intended for the mul- tiplication of stock, at a time when the hives with permanent sides are often too cold to in- sure their construction and safe removal to nuclei?

Now, all this, in addition to what I have al- ready said elsewhere, is surely not a very great great inducement to apiarians who understand their business, to produce and introduce them into their yards; and if these do not patronize your hive, your hive will surely never become popular^ and this I call plain English, without misinterpretation, as well as the point which I intended to establish, and which time will prove I have established.

As to 1)rolher TtVwnQiV s.'^Hncidenta.l allusion ,'''' Sir, you will find by referring to his description that tliis frame work and frames WM're by liim considered "perhaps the most important im- provement;" and that therefore (luihhling about incidentals were unnatural, inasmuch as the main subject is altogether w^orthless in itself. These, my very dear sir, are no misstatements, and need not the assistance of my silent friend Cicero to make them weigh with that class of people who buy Jiomes for their bees, as we think, clearly pre-eminent.

If, however, these plain English ventilations of the "Home" are not thought sufficient to put it in a healthful condition, the subject may, by a little more pressure and the forebearance of the Editor, be made susceptible of admitting such a quantity of condensed steam, which, by bursting the container, will cause it to collapse of its own accord, and occasion the loss of another grain or two of that homoeopathic apis with which its logical advocate is so super- aboundingly imbued. Yet, as in my opinion, I have neither harmed nor fondlecl the poor thing in any way, I would earnestly entreat all those fond of the "best of its kind," to in- A'est a couple of dollars in the purchase of a dozen or tAvo, and report their favors through the present medium, and thus help it and its protectors upon their legs, for the sole sake of another additional public good. And if already I have not done more good than harm by thus indirectly adA'ertising an object, which, in my private opinion, publicly expressed, is altogether worthless in profitable and extensive bee cul- ture, I shall feel more happy than hurt by brother B.'s irascibility, Avhich smacks a little too much of that kind of logic, that ahvays en- tirely fails at writing or reasoning a darling hobby into public favor and approbation.

You will, therefore, perceive, Mr. Editor, that I have not endeavored to coniorm to syllo- gistic reasoning, because movable sides and distanced frame-Avorks have beeu coherently reasoned out of use "long, long ago." And as moreover that kind of reasoning Avould avail but little Avith a Avriter so dead set against quo- tations, Avho can yet quote the illustrious "moon of green cheese," "the Avorld-lbmed millstone," and "Necker's two spears of grass," without giving credit to the dapstcriug world for the

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same, I have concluded to annihilate him iu

plain, English, thus:

'•Howling, roaring', anri a thousand groans, Expressed his torments in most dismal tones."

Cicero de Finibus, ii, 29.

Profoundly, your "very learned and lumi- nous servant," F. Varko. Canton, Pa., October 12, 1867.

[Frum the Iowa Homestead.]

Luck in Bee-keeping— Drones and Moths.

Editor Iowa Homestead : When I was twelve j'ears old my father told me that as he could never have any luck with bee;^, I might buy a swarm and have it for myself; and in those days bees would not do anything without you bought somebody's luck, and you must not pay money for bees, but if possible exchange sheep for them, &.c. I could find plenty of swarms at three dollars each, but they would not sell their lucky swarms. I finally found a widow who sold me her lucky swarm for seven dollars' worth of hemlock lumber, with a ver- bal agreement that I was to have her luck with it. The consequence to her proved to be bad, for her bees would swarm and go into the woods, &c ; but I had the best of luck. I kept that swarm twelve years in the same comb, and 1 never failed to have two swarms and some- times three every season, and a box of honey from my old swarm. My young swarms would do well the first season, but only once in awhile one that would do as well as tlie old one the second season. I soon began to study what made that swarm always have a fertile queen — always be lucky — simply because the comb was built right; every comb was straight, and every comb was a brood comb. If y. u get the hive in the right form, and attend to the build- ing of the comb the first season, you will have all lucky swarms. I make all lucky swarms now, and I do not consider a swarm in proper working order until it is made into a lucky swarm. There is no need of having small swarms in the fall t') double; the summer is the time to fix up your bees for winter — fall is too late. Again, I want you to understand that I do not claim that the hive I use is the best, by any means; but my method of building up swarms is correct, I care not who says to the contrary. That is the method I have recom- mendetl: We will suppose that you allow your bees to swarm naturally; well, here is a large swarm that come out when the basswood is in lull bloom. The bees make comb very rapidly, and fill their hive with comb in eight days, as 1 have known them to do; at least one-third of said comb will be drone, or store comb, which is good for nothing for raising woikers next sea- son; or, we will say a second swarm comes out at the same time Avith a young queen; it will take her some time to come up to her full breeding (lapacity; if they fill the hive, th«re will be more honey than bees, and large quantities of the ccaiib is built for stores, &;c. Neither of those swarms will be lucky swarms, either for raising bees or storing honey, just so long as you keep the comb in that condition; and here I will let

some of my bee-keeping friends into a secret — that is, if you do not have any more drone comb in eaclithive than you want, (which is but very little, whcreyou keep a number of swarms), your bees will not be expending time and honey raising drones, and you will not have to pay a patent-right man anything for his drone trap; in other words, if j-ou do not raise drones you will not have them to catch, on the same prin- ciple that if you do not raise any moths you have not got to catch them with a patent moth trap. I never lost a swarm by flight or with the moths, because I keep lucky swarms, I sup- pose. E. Gallup. Osage, Iowa.

_— ^

For the American Bee Journal.

Can Italian Bees be Improved?

Dear Journal: Having been a reader of your columns for a year or so, I have become somewhat acquainted with j'our numerous cor- respondents, and feel rather inclined to be reck- oned as at least a sort of second cousin in the family. And since one of the family "living some miles from land, away out from shore," who has raised an Italian queen which pro- duced a worker progeny^ with four yellow bauds, instead of the usual number of three, and thus became the t>bject of a criticism by a brother, namely, "raising Italians more than pure,'''' I wish to say a word on the subject of purity of varieties, and the improvement of the sanre.

For the last five years I have been experi- menting with the Italian variety, and have re- ceived queens from ]Mr. Langstroth three or four times; and have bred from a queen raised by Mr. Colvin, of Baltimore; also from one from an apiary in the north part of this State; and likewise from one of six queens which were brought here by Prof. Harrison, of Ohio.

In these experiments I think I have verified the following facts:

First. That the Italian bee can be improved just as easily as any other animal, and by the same means. That is, by selecting the largest, brightest-colored, most prolific, best tempered, and best honey-gatherers, and breeding only from such colonics as have these qualities.

Let this be done from year to year by every apiarian, and the man that lives "several miles from land" will not be the only one who will raise qiteens '■'more than pxirey

One year ago last September, I received my beautiful queen from Rev. Mr. Langstroth, that breeds workers fully up to the standard. In size the workers are pcrceptibl}' larger than any of the old black variety tbat lever saw. In color, they have, without exception, three yel- low bauds, whicli are always visible, whether the bees are loaded with honey or not; and the remaining bands are of a whitish yellow, so that the bee presents a yellowish color through- out. When 1 saw the progeny of this qucyn, I thought I had drawn a prize. The young queens raised from her weie nearly all higlily colored, with one of a darker hue occasionally. Alter I commenced breeding from her last spring, I observed one day pouring lorlh from a colony

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

109

into which I had inserted a queen last fall, such 11 shower of bright golden bees as my eyes had never seen betore. In size and color, I saw at once that Mv. Langslroth's queen could not compete wiih this out!. And what raised my enlliusiasm to ahnost a fever heat was, to see that the drones were as bright-colored as the workers. I immediately commenced breeding from this queen alone, and have not failed in all I have raised this summer, in producing young. ([Ueens as bright .-is the mother.

And now to the second point, viz:

Queen f ran br Juid whose queen-'progeny willall he of (i briijJtt yellow, excejyt the two terminal rin;js of the abdomen, which will be of a darker color approarhinc/ to hroion.

I saw such a Btatcment questioned by many of your correspondents, after it was made by IMrs. Tupper, of this State. My experience, thus far, goes to verily her's.

And further, almost all writers disagree with me in the following, and I am not certain that I am correct; but at present I look with suspi- cion on any queen as proper to breed from, which dous not produce bright yellow drones as well as workers. The black bee exists in Italy as well as the bright and pure yellow va- riety; and lience all may not be pure that are imported from that countrj'. The experienced apiarian, however, can onlj' determine this point: So to guard against any possible im- purity, let every apiarian remove all stocks from his apiary, which do not produce bright drones as well as workers, and the result can- not but prove satisfactory.

But as every sermon is supposed to have three heads, so has my sermon on bees.

I hasten to my third point, viz:

Pure Kalian bees are extremely amiable in tem- per or disposition.

I do not know why such is the case, but in corroboration of what all assert who have ex- perimented with them, I know that my Italians are not a tenth part as much inclined to sting as the common bee.

From the foregoing facts, coming under my own observation, I propose to select such colo- nics alone as have the characteristics of workers of larger size; bright yellow bands, three in number; amiable disposition; whose drones also are bright yellow; and which are strong in num- ber and rich in stores. From the best of these select the queen or queens to breed from, and remove all the others some distance away.

If this he persistently done, I have no more doubt that the Italian bee will ultimately bo very much improved, than I have of the capa- bility of improving by a similar process, sheep, swine, neat cattle, and horses.

E. L. Briggs.

Mt. Pleasakt, Iow.\.

Mr. Curtis in the London Gardener'' s Chroni- cle, 1841, states that his garden beans suffered greatly in the spring of that year, from the holes which humble bees (Bombus terrestris and luco- rum) made in the blossoms, as they usually do, to get out the honey contained in the nectary; which operation, injuringthc pods in their earliest state, four-fifths of them were destroyed and pro- duced no beans.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Purity of Drones.

On BoAui) Steameu Amekica, Between New Yotik and Bremen, August 27, 1867.

Editor op the Bee Journal: On reading the "Bienenfreuud aus Schlesieu," published by Dzicrzon, volume 1, 1854, pages C3 and 64, I observed that he liad really found in a hive with a black queen impregnated hy an Italian drone, some beautiful yellow drones; and that ho thinks further investigation is necessary to solve this question of the purity of drones. Whether he has made any more observations or not, I have not learned; but presume that he has long ago come to the conclusion that drones from impurely impregnated queens are impure too, even if not in the saa)e degree as the work- ers. If there'is the slightest degree of bastardiz- ing perceptible in the drones of such mothers, they must of course be impure; and an Italian queen impregnated by such a drone is bastard- ized, even though it be not to the extent that her progeny show their impurit3^ Perhaps the imperfect three stripes in one of forty of the worker progeny of such queens, which a well- known writer rcmaiked to me were found in all her pure stocks, is a consequence of such an impregnation. I found about such a propor- tion of imperfectly marked workers m5'self in a small number of my hives. But these same colonics have, in most instances this year after swarming, raised queens from their own brood whose worker progeny is perfectly marked. But not only these colonies, but nearly twentj^- live others that had each a number of apparent- ly perfect black workers, have this summer raised queens whose progeny are beautiliil and all perfectly marked. I therefore come to the conclusion that the Italian bees "run in" as fast as they "run out," if in an apiary or neigh- borhood one or the other race is predominant. To raise purely impregnated queens will there- fore be very easy for me hereafter. The pro- portion of bastardized queens raised this sum- mer, whose progeny I saw before my departure from home, was onl}^ fourteen out of about one hundred and lifty.

It will be interesting to the readers of the Bee .Journal to learn that I have taken two small colonies of Italian bees with me on my journey to Italy, intending to compare them minutely with Prof. Mona's bees in Italj', if I succeed in carrying them there alive.* I will fm-ther make veiy careful observations whether the bees there are all perfe«tly marked with three bands, incprire of Prof. Jlona whether or not 5'oung queens vary in color, and whether it is required that they should be splendid yel- low, leather-colored, black, or brown; and pro- bably got the Professor's answer in writing, fo be sent in the original to the editor of the Bee Journal.

If it should then appear from my observations and the Professor's reply that the queens in my apiary are bastardized, I will frankly state it,

*Tliis letter was in type for the last nnmber of the Beb J'TiiyAL, Vuit inUavcrtantly crowded out.

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THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL.

and give as clear a description of liie pure Ital- ian or Liguriaa bee as I may be able to make. I trust that on seeing the pure race in its native country, and comparing a liundrcd queens raised and impregnated there, I shall be as well qualified to write about the purity of Italian bees and queens, as a Professor, who derived all his knowledge about this matter from half a dozen well marked pure queens and about half a dozen more of their daughters.

Hoping that these few lines may reach you safely, and that they may find room in the Journal,

I am, yours,

A. Grimm.

[For the American Bee JournaJ.]

Side-Opening Hives.

Mr. Editor: — I noticed in the October num- ber of the Bee Journal an article by Novice about bee-hives, and as he is using a side-opening hive, and one in which the frames Ibrm.the lioney- board, I thought I would give my own experience with regard to that class o/ hives.

Three years ago wishing to Italianize my stock of bees, I concluded lo try the movable comb-hive, and so made a few that year of the Quinby form of the Langstroth hive. Being sat- isfied that the movable comb or frame hive was the hive for the apiarian, I concluded to make no other. I had seen the American hive and was pleased with it. It seemed to me that the side- opening feature, and also the arrangement of the top of tlie frames to form the honey-board, might be adopted with advantage in the hive I was using. So last year all my hives were side-open- ing ones, using the same frames I had been using, but having strips of the proper width and thick- ness glued on their sides and so cut as to leave vacancies for the bees to pass through. I pre- ferred gluing them on to increase the width of the toj), because they could then be very easily taken off if desired. I had the impression which others have, that the honey-board was superflu- OU.S, giving the bees the air-space and the thick- ness of the board, as so mucli extra distance to travel.

I watched the two forms of hive closely, and could not see that there was any difference in the amount of honey stored in the boxes; while the disadvantages of the solid top frames were so ob- vious, that the fifty hives made this year were all made with honey-boards, and also the strips taken off the frames of last year's hives and the additional height necessary for the air-space put to them, and honey-boards made for them also. I found that it was so much trouble to take off the boxes, and so many bees were killed in put- ting them back, that I always disliked opening those hives. When there were no boxes on the hives, they could be opened rather than the other forni of hive. But with the honey-board it makes no difference whether there are boxes on the hive or not, save the increased weight of the honey- board.

The side-opening arrangement of last year's hives is retained; but I have scarcely used it all this year. Occasionally a ^warm will build

combs so irregularly tlmt it is an advantage to have a side-opening hive. But there are so few su«h cases that I have not made any more side- opening hives, and probably never shall.

And now I would like to ask a question. What is the best height for the movable comb hive where bees arc wintered in-doors? Mr. Lang- stroth's hives, I believe, are nine inches high. Mr. Quinby makes the Langstroth hive twelve and one-half inches high. Mr. Otis and others claim that bees will store more honey in boxes in the shallow hive used by Mr. Langstroth, than in the higher one recommended by Mr. Quinby. In the plan now adopted by myself as well as others, of putting empty boxes under those nearly full, I am not sure but that the shallow hive is the best; and I have pretty much decided to adopt that form in the future. I am aware that it is inconvenient to have two sizes of frame in the same apiary; but if bees will store more honey in the shallow form of hive, I am willing to risk the inconvenience, as I can look upon them and treat them as two separate apiaries, independent of each other. L. C. Francis.

SpRiNGFiEiiD, III.

[For the American Bee Jom'nal.T|

Italianizing Colonies of Black Bees in Bos: Hives.

I find but little trouble in introducing Italian queens to black bees in box hives.

When the honey-gathering is not profuse, I select my time one-half horn* before sunset, so ag not to be troubled by robbers while the distui'bed colony is not prepared for self-defence.

I capture two black queens of an evening. 1. I take a plain box the same dimensions of tl'.e width and breadth of the mouth of my hive. 2. I invert my hive, placing the box on the inverted hive. I blow some smoke of rags in the joints about the lid which is now down, then commence drumming on the hive vrith a small stick, and in ten minutes I remove my box and shake the bees out on a sheet spread near the hive, and capture the black queen. 3. I insert my caged queen between two flakes of honey-comb, containing young bees, if possible. It is all unnecessary to wait six hours before inserting her. I let her remain till the second evening, when I blow some smoke under the hive and again invert it; take my queen cage out and remove the cork, draw a piece of newspaper over the mouth of the cage, tying it fast around the cage with thread. J then daub the paper with honey, and perforate it with a few holes with the small blade of a pocket knife; then put the cage back to its proper place, invert the hive, and find all right nine times iu ten.

Experience has taught me that if the caged queen is placed among the larvae and eggs, the bees arc not so apt to start royal cells.

I do not wish to be understood as recommend- ing the box hive, but only to assist those who already have bees in them and are not prepared to transfer, and who wish to have Italian bees.

The Langstroth or movable comb hive in some form, is an almost indispausable requisite to every propagator of bees. A. Salisbury.

CA3IAUG0, III.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Ill

[For the American Boe Journal.]

Summer Feeding of Bees.

I moved my bees out of the cellar on the 9th of April last. On the 19th they had gathered considerable honey from maple sap. They had an abundance of brood in stages, and the Italians had drones luitching out. Tlie spring was very cold and backward. On only a very few days in May could the bees come out of their hives. June proved to be nearly as bad. The bees had to draw on their old supplies, and a great many swarms in this section came near starving. From the 3d of June to the loth, while the wild plums and wild apples were in bloom, they gathered somewhat more than they consumed. From the 15th of June to the 11th of July there was literal- ly nothing for the black bees to get. Some swarms actually starved to death. On the 11th of July the sumac began to blossom, and lasted till the 24th, when the bees began to gather honey from the linden or basswood. From that time tmtil the 6th of October, those swarms that were in a condition to do so, gathered abundance of honey. On the 9th and 10th of July, I examined some black stocks for my neighbors, and found no eggs nor brood in any stage in their hives. Of course such hives were not in a condition to store honey or raise surplus bees for increase this season.

During all this time, while the black bees were starving, the Italians were busy at work every day raising brood, and increasing very rapidly. (I have scattered white clover seed broadcast all around me, and it does first rate, so that I shall have that to keep me along next season. )

Some people say that it does not pay to feed bees. I know that it pays just as Avell to feed bees when they need it, as it does to feed any- thing else. Where I lived in Wisconsin for a number of years before white clover came into the country, I had to feed bees in the latter part of June and the earlj^ part of July. But then I had not the l)enefit of the basswood, for there was none within three miles of me.

I find that bees need feeding Avith me oftener in the summer to make it profitable, than at any other season of the year. For instance, just be- fore basswood blossoms there is a scarcity of for- age. The (lueen stops breeding, or if not alto- gether, she will to a certain extent, even if an abundance of sealed honey remains in the hive. Now, if you will give two table spoonsful of very thin sweet, (even if it is made of the cheapest quality of sugar) to a swarm every evening for a week, you will have the cells well filled with brood when the honey season commences. On the other hand, suppose you do not stimulate by feeding, the honey season comes and the bees fill all the cells with honey in advance of the queen. The consequence is that you have a weak swarm of bees during the whole season. I am aware that this can be remedied to a certain extent in the movable comb hives, by taking out a full frame and inserting an empty one. But I have invaria- bly found tliiit fifty cents worth of sugar, fed at the right time and in the right manner, produced five dollar.s'' worth of surplus bees or surplus

honey, (or in about that ratio) over and above what tiiey would have done, if they had not been stimulat(;d.

Of course this summer feeding is not necessary every year and in all localities. The inexperi- enced will say, how are we to know lor certain when to fe(?d, and when not to feed? When bees have gatlured iioney through the da}', you will ahvays hear a loud roar or hum in tlie evening, if you go near the entrance of tiieir liive. If they have not gathered anything, all will be quiet and still. If you thus ascertain that they are gather- ing nothing for a number of days in succession, then feed of course.

Fall feeding is not profitable, because if bees have been ])roperly managed through the sum- mer, you will not have any stocks that need it. There are hundreds, yea thousands of people who never know that it is necessary to feed bees some- times in the summer. But it certainly is. A hint to the wise is suflicient; but columns written to others on the subject would do no good.

Elisha Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

A Strange Occurrence.

Last spring I had a stock of bees in a frame hive. They were not very strong in nmnbers, but had a very fertile black queen, and the workers were common bees. They worked very well all summer, and stored some sur])luR box honey. On the 30th of October, I thought I would take out the combs and cut winter passages in them. I took them all out, looked them over, and cut the jiassages; but could find no eggs nor sealed brood, or in fact any brood at all. I then thought of course the stock had swarmed, and there was a young unfertile queen in the hive. So I looked the frames over to find the queen, and found her all right in the hive. I knew the queen as I had clipped her wings to jirevent her from flying away with a swarm when I first hived them. She appeared to be all right, as lively and active as ever; but does not lay, and has not, I should think for some time. Now, if any one can give any reason why this queen does not lay, I would like to know it. She is but one year old.

F. W. D.

(t^It is not unusual to find stocks without eggs or brood at the time mentioned. Italian queens commonly cease laying at an earlier period, but recommence depositing eggs sooner than black Ciueens.

Sparrman has given us an amusing account of the honey-ratel ( Viverra meUivora) which has a particular instinct enabling it to discover bees, and attack them in their entrenchments. Near sunset the ratel will sit and hold one of his paws before h\^eyes, in order to get a distinct view of the object of his jiursuit; and when, in con.se- quence of his peering about in this manner he sees any bees flj'ing, he knows that at this time of the day they are making for their habitations, whither he follows them and so attains his end.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[From the Country QentlemaE.]

Fun Among the Bees.

Messrs. Editors: One of my neiglibor'sboys in passing tlirougli my apiary, would take a sticl< and scrape off" the bees clustered on the hive and then run. He wanted to have some fun, lie said, when asked why he did it. It made the bees very cross, and I was in hopes that tlicj' would teach him a lesson and make him respect them. It is a long road that never turns, and one day they got their satisfaction in a somewhat novel and pleasing way. In passing through mj' yard one day with his New Foundlaud dog at his side, the}' stopped to look at a large swarm clustered on a hive. They were quite close up, when some fifty bees let loose and jiitchcdin, which made the youngster hide quickly in some tall grass hard by. His dog, having more courage, Avas bound to fight it out, and bit, and snapped, and growled, right and left, until about a thousand bees came to the assistance of his friends, Avhich made it so warm for tlie dog that he sought his kind master in haste. Strange to say, his master was angry with him, but the dog staid by him like a true friend, with hundreds of bees for company. The young chap, very soon tiring of his tor- mentors, went into the house and got under a table. Not stopping to close the door, his ever faithful and loving New Foundland followed with a good swarm of bees with him, and they all went under the table, which made it so warm for our friend that he hastened out of the house and made for home, followed by his loving i'riend and a small swarm of bees. It taught him a lesson that he did not forget, and should be a warning to other boys not to have fun with bees.— i?. W. B.

[For tbe AmericaE Boe Journal.]

More Seeming Puzzles.

Mr. J. H. Thomas, of Brooklin, Canada West, gives a very good explanation about the two or more queens in one hive, so far as it goes; but it does not go far enough. I have had sixteen 3'oung queens in one hive atone time this sum- mer. But to the point. I have something more for him.

On the first day of last April, I found a swarm in a hollow tree, and I brought them home with- out disturbing them. A few days after Itii^ped up the log, to look under and see how they were getting along, and in doing so the centre comb filled with brood and honey, fell down. I made a smoke of chips in an old tin pan, to smoke the bees so as to get them off the comb. I then inserted the comb in a frame aud put it into another colony. On returning to look at my log, the suioke was issuing out of it in all directions. As the wind Avas blowing verj^ brisk, a spark had caught in the rotten jkVOod of the log. I took a pail of water and put out the fire, and in doing so wetted the bees considera- bly. I then split open the log and transferred the bees, comb, and ,all into a frame hive. While doing this, I found an old queen with one wing

and one leg gone. I put her with the bees. (I found her on the ground, where I had split open the log.) As it was a very strong slock and I had Italian di'ones, aud the weather wus too cold to raise queens in small boxes, I took out the queen on the third day after transferriug, and behold, she was perfect, both wings and legs were all right! I supposed that when I examined her before, her wing and leg must have been stuck to her with honey or water. I destroyed her, and exchanged all the brood aud eggs with my Italian stocks, so as to have the bees raise an Italian queen. (And here I will remark that I prefer exchanging brood in this way, instead of transferring mj' Italian queen from one swarm to another.) Fivcdaj^s after the exchange of comb, I examined the swarm to see if they had started any queen; ; but found that they had uot. In three daj's more I ex- amined them again, and was going to give them more Italian eggs, but found two queen-cells started close together, and about one inch square of comb occupied with eggs! Here was a [joser. Where did these eggs come from? I proceeded to examine every comb carefully, to ascertain whether there was a queen present, and found the identical old grand mam with one wing and one leg gone! The other queen was a very fer- tile one, for there were large quantities of brood in the combs when I transferred them. So here was an instance of two queens in one hive all the winter, and both fertile. About om -third of the old queen's eggs hatched out drones in worker cells, and the remainder were workers. This accounts for my finding drones in this log, which I then supposed had lived all the winter. Perhaps the three other instances, which I men- tioned in a former number of the Bee Journal, in answer to Mr. Grimm, may also have been cases of this kind. Who knows?

I have spun this j^arn out perhaps longer than necessary, but I wanted to give friend Thomas all the particulars. Elisha Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

The newer, fresher, and cleaner the comb used for guides is, the more acceptible will it be to the bees. Darker and older comb, even such as has repeatedly contained brood, may indeed also be employed for guide-comb, though bees are apt to hesitate awhile before availing them- selves of it. But old comb which has become friable from, age, and may readily be crushed to powder with the fingers, must always be re- jected. The bees would not use it, aud when constrained to remove it by want of room in the hive, they would lose much precious time in the operation, and would most likely replace it with irregularly built comb.

Bees, in the formation of their cells, have to solve a [n-oblem which would puzzle some geome- ters, namely, a quantity of wax being given to form of it similar and equal cells of a determinate capacitjr, but of the largest size in proportion to the quantity of matter employed, and disposed in such a manner as to occupy in the hive the least possible space. — Kirby.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUIINAL

lU

[For the American Boe Journal ]

Securing Straight Combs.

Mn. Editor: — I see tluvt Mr. Bickford in the JouKNAi, No. 5, pp. 'J2 and !J;}, for November, 18G7, lias liit upon the f/e/ieral idea ofwhat has proved with me as being tlie best plan to scenre nnirorni strain'ht combs. He says that his idea is '-to place in the hive before hiving the swarm tiro st'i aight covibs^ one at each ■point where the curved combs UAuall// ber/in^ say at one-third of tlie width of the hive from each side." Of course I have no means of knowing where his bees ■usually begin to build curved cotnbs, except from his article above rel'erred to. My experience in former years, however, has proved to me that so far as my own and some of my neighbors' bees are concerned, they have never adopted as a rule of practice, any ]iarticuUir point within the hive, where it can be said that they "usually l)egin to build curved combs." I have had nat- ural swarms to build combs very similar to Mr. I>iekibrd's description. But, on the other hand, I have just as often had them build unilbrm straight combs on one side of the hive and curved, if not decidedly crooked ones on the other side, I have seen uniform straight combs on each side of the hive, and curved ones in the centre; others with unllorm straight combs throughout the ii|>per portion of the combs with curved lower ends. ]\Iy experience has also convinced me that full colonies or swarms are more likely to construct unilbrm straight combs than light or small colonies or swarms arc.

Let us now recur to the general idea of Mr. Biekford above— that is, the use of straight combs to be placi'd in the hive before hiving the swarm.

Straight combs, or combs that 'are uniform in ^traightness, so arranged or placed in the hive that the curvatures or irregularities in the seve- ral combs will correspond with each other, is the practice that I adopted in artihcial swarm- ing during the past summer. I have been using what is known as the •'Harbison Improved Pa- tent Hive," with nine frames in each hive; and by the loss of four colonics in the winter of 180G and 1867, had at my command in April last, thirty-six spare combs to commence operations with. In April last, I cleaned, trimmed, and straightened these combs as well as I could — making th«m uniform in thiclcness and uniform in struightness. I was also careful in the use of these combs, in so arranging them in the hives as to leave any slight curvature in the combs used in' each hive to correspond with each other. This I regard as being an essential precaution to be strictly w'atched and followed in practice, whenever dry combs are used as guides in the brooding apartment of the hive. A mistake or neglect in the strict and careful observance of this precaution may be, and from observation, I believe, has been the cause of bees starting and building short and irregular brood-combs at- tached to the sides of the full combs, in the in- terior of the hives — thus rendering the removal and handling of the full brood combs difficult and dangerous throughout the brooding and swarming season of the year.

What is necessary in the guide combs, is to

have full sheets of combs of a uniform thickness, and as straight as they can be made by first warming and tlien pressing them. Thus filted out, if tlie operator shall carefully arrange the combs thus prepared, so that any slight curva- ture in the several combs used in each hive, will correspond with each other, the elements of suc- cess in securing the desiretl uniform straight combs Avill be under the control of the practical ai)iarian.

The next step to bo taken is to use in each hive in which a natural swarm is hived, or an artilicial swarm is placed, enough of these guides to insure the building by the swarm of new combs corresi)onding with the guide combs. The number of dry combs to be used in each hive, may be, and as 1 think ought to Ijc, varied according to the size of the swarm and the size and shape of tlu; hive in. which they are put. For a small swarm in a full sized hive, I would like to have the use of from four to six guide combs, to be varied to suit the season — if early, four will do — if late, six will not be too many. For a full swarm, three or four will be suliicieut — or even two, if early in the season. As to the particular iilaceiu tlie hive in which they should be set, I think it quite immaterial. I should not place them all together, either in the centre, or on either side of the hive. My practice has been so to arrange them in the central part of the hive as to leave one, and sometimes two, empty frames between them; and this arrangement se- cured for me, in each case, during the past sum- mer, in all my j-oung colonies (eighteen in num- ber) uuilorm straight combs, corresponding in slight curves and thicknesses with the dry combs iised in the several hives.

In each case when I used a comb full of honey, brood, i&c, with a capped queen cell as a basis lor a new colony, I selected the dry combs which were placed in the hive with it, corresponding in shape with the full comb thus used.

I am of the opinion that each full sheet of good sound brood comb is worth to the practical apia- rian, who has in use movable comb hives, at least one dollar jier pound for the purpose indi- cated above. To this may be added the help to his bees and profits in surplus honey.

Nov. 4, 1807. Belmont.

The indefatigable hive-bee as she flies from flower to flower, amuses the observer with her hum, which, though monotonous, pleases by ex- citing the idea of happy industry, that whiles the toils of labor with a song. When she alights upon a flower, and is engaged in collecting its sweets, her hum ceases, but it is resumed again the moment that she leaves it.

The majority of insects, either imbibing their food in a litiuid state, or feeding on succulent substances, require no aqueous tiuitl lor diluting it. Water, however, is es.sential to bee*, ant.<, and some other tribes, which drink it wiih avid-

ity.

In the Ukraine some of the peasants have 400 or 500 bee-hives, and make more profit of their bees than of their corn.

114

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL,

[From the (Albany) Country Gentleman.]

Egyptian Bees.

As several have lately made inquiry about the Egyptian bee in your columns, I will, for their gratification, give the facts I am in pos- session of. Early in 18G6, Rev. L. L. Lang- strotli honored me by consigning to my care some Egyptian queens he had ordered from the Berlin Acclimatization Society. It so liap- pened that on their arrival Mr. L. was in New York, and took charge of them. They arrived in fair condition; but I do not know what suc- cess he had in propogating from them. The first week in September last, I had more con- signed to me for Mr. Langstroth, and they ar- rived in perfect condition. On the 28th, I re- ceived two nuclei on my own account, and have been successful in introducing queens. I will rear a few queens this season to test their progeny. Mr. W. W. Cary, of Coleraine, Mass., has an interest in this importation, and he has assisted me in their management. I mention this fact as it will give confidence to all who know his high reputation, that every exertion will be made to breed them in purity, which will be done in an apiary five miles from iiis Italian stock. Mr. Gary's success in breed- ing Italians pure is owing to his great care, and very favorable location — his large and constant sales to other breeders show their high appre- ciation of his stock.

I can only write of the appearance of the Egyptians, having had but little experience with them. They are smaller than the Italian, but of similar markings. The Avorkers have a 3^el- low spot on the back, partially masked by hair, but brilliant when the hair is wet and laid. Their abdominal rings being fringed Avith white hair, and the black being more glossy, gives stronger contrast of color, and I think, would be pronounced by all more beautiful than the Italian. The drones are handsome, the poste- rior portion of the abdomen being heavily fringed. I have seen some Italian queens hand- somer than the Egyptian queens I now have, but reserve my opinion until I have seen more of them. As to Mrs. Tupper's test of an Italian queen's purity, "duplicating herself" in her queen progeny, I have no faith in it, for every close observer knows that the native black queens vary very much in size and color, where there was no possibility of any admixture of foreign blood; and we have yet to learn how much may be done by careful selection of queens for breeding. I have a few live specimens and some in alcohol, now on exhibition at the fair of the American Institute.

European writers describe the Egyptian bee as being less docile than the Italian, which may be owing to not fully understanding their habits and how to handle them. Prof. Vogel, who lias had the largest experience with them, finds no difllculty, and I apprehend none. Their industry and fertility, and all other points, can be fully tested next season. No one can fail to be charmed with their beauty. — Ehrick Parmly^ New York.

For the American Bee Journsl.

Building Combs and Storing Honey.

Editok Jouenal: — Rees will commence at the base of frames of a certain size to construct combs. About the middle of July last, I put on my hives a number of boxes containing each fourteen frames, each nine inches deep, with the top slat provided with the usual triangular strip, but without any guide-combs, nor did I rub them with beeswax. The result was that in four-fifths of these boxes, thus put on for surplus honey, the combs were built from the bottom upAvards, in the usual shape, with the exception that the combs thus built Avere from two to three inches thick and very irregular.

Another class of frames Avas six and a half inches deep, but precisely similar in all other respects. All of these contained good-shaped combs, built in the usual Avay. Now, as I am a subscriber for your most A^aluable Journal, and have perused its pages in vain for some- thing on the subject, giving tlie experience of others, I have been led to try a number of ex- periments, and have come to the conclusion that more surplus houcy can be obtained by the use of a set of shallow frames than can bo ob- tained in the same length of time, from a hive arranged Avith a crown board on which four or six small boxes are placed. And for this rea- son: the croAvn-board has atendency to confine the animal heat, too much to the bee-chamber below. Bees require a certain aniount of ani- mal heat to enable them to build comb after the Avax has been secreted in tne rings of the abdo- men, and there is a deficiency of this heat in the surplus boxes thus placed.

I have used t-he Langstroth movable comb hive for several years, and found that though with the crown-board and small box arrange- ment, I had very populous colonies with the beG-ciiamber Avell-stored Avith the precious nec- tar, still from some unknown cause, the bees frequently failed to store surplus honey in the top boxes. I am aware it Avill be said that some of the requisite conditions were Avanting. I have not been without bees for the last six- teen years, and for some seven years past, I have been a tolerably close observer; and if any of the needed conditions were wanting, I haA^e not been able to discover it.

The best mode of securing surplus honey should engross the attention of the bee-keeping public. I would not be understood as discourag- ing the propagation of the Italian and other varieties of the honey bee, the multiplication of colonies, &c. That is all right and projier, and just as it should be, for very much depends on it. It is in fact one of the essential elements of success. The principles of apiculture have been as well defined as they could be; but the prac- tice is still in its infancy, at least in the western and northwestern States.

James McMullen.

OSKALOOSA, Iowa.

The construction of the combs of a bee-hivO is a miracle which overwhelms our faculties.

KlfiBY.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

115

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Voluntary Contractility of the Queen Bee at Oviposition.

Mr. Eeitor:— It is to bo greatly lamented that the skilful tisheniian, Dzierzon, has hauled the biggest fishes from the melliiluous river of Bee- dom. Yet we ne*?d not wonder at his success when Avc consider that his "great big" bait, sea- soned with the penetrating genetic flavor of teu- tonic scrutiny, has made it impossible for the numerous shoals of minnows and other small fry to get a tenable bite upon it. Occasionally a good-sized sucker makes a "glorious nibble," and holds on to it till it appears a considerable distance above the water, when whap! plumb it tumbles down again, and vanishing affrighted below the surface, leaves nothing very notable behind it, but a dashing splash and momentary ripple. While fragmentary remains of this un- wieldy bait still tantalize the hungry voracity of the small fry below the opaque surface of this mystic river, the fragmeutal dash of impurity in Italian bess on shore, in a similar manner still baffles the hungry imagination of every theoretic apiarian.

Various, and to all appearance, very plausible theories have repeatedly been presented to ex- plain the origin of this objectionable dash, and inasmuch as in these dashing latter days, dash- ing objections are levelled against the well-estab- lished Dzierzon theory, I feel constrained also to dash down my views upon this interesting sub- ject, not so much with the intention to instruct the reader as to show him that, like the good- sized sucker above alluded to, I have a pretty good hold upon the bait and expect to be luiuled above water, not caring whether I will tumble down again or not, for an ablution now and then hurts nobody. If I should be doomed to sink, may my body rest in peace Avith Dzierzon,

Takiug Dzierzon's whole theory of reproduc- tion in bees, as deduced from the hypothesis that iti copulation the ovaries of the queen are notfe- cundaied, to be correct, it must be easily per- eeiv^ed that all the eggs in both sections of the ovarium remains drone eggs before they glide past the .mouth of the spermatheca filled Avith the drone's semen. The question now naturally arises: How, then, if all the eggs must glide past the mouth of the spermatheca, does it happen that some eggs develope into drones, some into ■workers, and some into queens?

Dzierzon, indeed, tells us that the queen has it in her power to deposite an egg just as it comes trom tlie ovary, as drone-laying mothers lay it, or by the action of the spermatheca past which it must glide, to invest it with a Jiigher jwtency of fertility, «fcc., and that she does so instinctive- ly, induced by the width of the cell to be furnished. But he does not attempt to say how this is d'^ne. Tlie link is wanting here, and tlie difficulfy of knowing Jtotc this is done, does not, I think, re- quire us to ran.-;ack nature for analogy to solve the (HfRculty to supply this link. No, ^Ir. Edi- tor, how ingenious jNIr. Wagner's theory upon the subject may at first appear to the majority of readers, it is open to two very serious objections

First, It directly contravenes proposition third of Dzierzon's theory, as set forth in tlie cele- brated Api-itical Letters of the Baron of Ber- lepsch, Avhich dellnitely stales that "the queen possesses the ability to lay male or female eggs at idea sure, ni^ iha particular cell she is at any time supplying may require." Second, It leaves unexplained tlie well-known fact that the queen does lay eggs in cells not more than one-eighth of an inch high, when and where, of course, no involuntary compression can take place.

Viewed from the standpoint of the first objec- tion, it denies voluntability to the queen; where- as, viewed from the standpoint of the second ob- jection, this voluntability the queen visibly in- sects upon. The fact that Mr. Quinby comes to the assistance with his "-may 6e," that, just at the moment of the passage of the egg, or the act of lajang, the contents of the abdomen are crowd- ed downward, and it enlarges sufficiently to touch the sides of a cell only one-eighth of an inch deep, only cssts the will of the queen upon contingencies; whereas, these prove only the ex- ception to the general rule of the queen's manner of ovipositing. As if aware of the insuflicicncy of his supposition, Mr. Quinby advances an ar- gument of his own, which, instead of throwing light upon Mr. Wagner's theory, only throws the veil of lurid offuscation around his argument, lie adds: "When I first saw the smallest queen that I ever raised, ichose body was even smaller than a worker'' s, it occurred to me at once that if she ever laid, it would be a test of the princi- ple. Her body being small, it could not, of course, be compressed like others, and a large portion of her progeny would prove to be drones in worker cells. The result was just what I ex- pected— one-half icere drones.'''' And here, Mr. Editor, with due deference to Mr. Wagner's theory and Mr. Quinby's writings, permit me to state that, in my opinion, if there ever was such a queen, not only //«/but all, her progeny vmst'hace been drones in worker cells, since "the terminal ]ioint of the drone's abdomen is inserted in the sheath of the queen's vagina before the extrusion and inversion occur — thus affording the terminal section with its horns, the middle sec- tion, and the bulb containing the spermatophore, time to assume their proper relative position within the cavity of the vagina," it were, I should think, altogether impossible that the male genetalia, if they could pass the external orifice of a queen even smaller than a worker, should find room to intrude and-invert in the vagina of such a diminutive queen. Now, if reasoning in the language of men, whose reputation for learn- ing and skill in entomotomistical demonstrations is unquestioned, be not purposely sophistic, I would like to be told wdiere the test t.) establish this principle of involuntaiy compression in the empiric statement of Mr. Quinby is to be looked for.

Nor is it necessary to entertain Mr. Harbison's incongruous views in explaining the impregna- tion or rather fertilization of the queen's eggs. Mr. Harbison, it is true, admits that the queen exercises certain knowledge, will, or understand- ing in her manner of depositing eggs. But, in- stead of endeavoring to give birth to an entirely new and uuolyectionablc theory, by murdering

no

THE AxMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

ail old one he lias involved himself iu a maze altogether inextricable.

He contents himself with believing that a snf- ficieut portion of the seminal fluid to cause the egg to generate is incorporated with it in its ibrniation; that one of t!ie ovaries will produce <h-oiies, and the other workers; that the anomaly of drone-laying queens arises from the imperfect development of that part of the ovaries which produces eggs for workers; that the queen has, indeed, a seminal sac, although anatomists have repeatedly demonstrated that this sac is sur- rounded by "a muscular tissue, by the contrac- tion of which compreasion is effected and the contents Ibrced out through the discharge pipe into the oviduct." And yet Mr. H. does not be- lieve that the queen has a full control over the outlets of the bilateral oviducts, of which no anatomist has ever, to my knowledge, intimated that they were capable of either muscular con- traction or compression. What a monumental faith the originator of such a theory as this must have possessed? And were it not tor the above- mentioned second objection he has raised against Mr. Wagner's theory, we might, without com- punction, have passed him by with a most be- nignant apiarian smile.

Now, it need not be denied that all motion and locomotion in animated nature depends di- rectly upon the will in each individual creature, as much as the free exercise of the will in each individuality upon certain instinct or reason, to account for the ahility of the queen to lay her eggs in either drone or worker-cells at jileasure. For I cannot discover the least propriety, neces- sity, or adaptability of means to end in denying the queen her legitimate instinctive power — vol- untary contractility.

If, however, it be said that the point at issue — the movement of the muscles comes under the head of organic contractility, I reply that organic contractility in the point at issue, is directly de- pending upon the will of the queen also, anUthat that apparent encroachment of will upon organic movement is the very link which has so long and so sedulously been sought after.

How, then, is the fertilization of the queen's eggs eff'ectedV It is an undeniable truth, that in animated nature, rcs])iraMon as well as the call of nature, can, in a measure, be suspended at will. The former we suspend at every act of swallowing, and the latter we may^ suspend at every act of voiding. Now, it requires no great stretch of thought to believe that by the sense of feeling, the queen in the act of ovipositing ex- actly knows when an egg reaches the proximity of the spermatheca, and that by the sense of see- ing she is equally well enabled to distinguish a drone cell from a worker cell. If, then, it be her pleasure to supply a drone cell, she applies a little voluntary contractilily, closes the dis- charge-pipe of the spermatheca, and allows the egg, just as it comes from the egg-bed, to glide past it into the cell, where, as all admit, it will develope into a drone. On the contrary, should she please to supply a worker cell, she causes the egg not to glide past the spermatheca, but directly before its discharge-pipe, when, by the repilitious acts of voluntary contractility and recidivation, she fertilises this egg and all succeeding ones to be

laid in similar cells, icith more or less seminal filaments, according to the more or less perfect conformation andfulness of her spermatheca, and the inore or less complete control she has over tht muscular net-work surrounding the same. All eggs thus fertilized become worker eggs, and when deposited into worker cells, are developed int© workers or queens, just as the good people of the hive then may will it. .

The link is inserted. In my opinion, it fills the theoretic vacuity of Dzierzon's theory.

In order, therefore, to give the objector to this theory time to collect and arrange his arguments against it, I may say that by it we can account for the origin and multiform appearance of the fragmental dash of impurity in Italian bees, with- out the assistanceof either Mr. Kirby's ^'■smashed up drones^'' theory, or Mr. Thomas' theory of absorjjtion and circttlation, and thus proceed to state the indisputable fact that there are to be found in Italy, as well as in Switzerland and Germany, bees of the common variety.

That some black bees there as well as here and elsewhere, do make at times their appearance simnltaneouslj^ with three- banded, two-banded, and one-banded bees in one and the same hive, need not here be denied by either Prof. Mona, Mr. Uhle, or Mr. Grimm. For it just so hap- pens that I am acquainted from my youth up with a gentleman not far off, who raises no queens for sale, who is reliable and who claims "to be qualified to form an opinion respecting Italian bees" also, and who, likewise, (I can sustain the allegation myself) has seen Italian bees in their native clime a long while before either Mr. Uhle or Mr. Grimm had wound their way over the Alps. The trouble with which Italian bees in Italy might be purified from any objectionable impurity, would be, comparatively speaking, nothing. But please, sir, without im puting any motives of deception or dishonesty to any person, to recollect that scientific bee-culture in Italy is of quite recent date, and comparatively speaking, nothing either.

Now, if I may be permitted to state the fact that strolling dealers in Italian bees and peram- bulating agents of foreign exporters, in order to obtain the wished-for number of queens, are com- pelled to buy their bees for many miles around their respective bee depots from peasants, who, ignorant as a class to such a degree, that in order to disprove the fact of the queen's laying eggs at all, they could at best quote Anthony Conova's treatise on bees, and say with him they don't believe it because they have never discovered any egg shells on the bottom board or before the hive, it must be evident to the least reflecting that this much complained of fragmental dash of impurity is not at once and altogether eradicated by the simple act of purchase and exportation.

Will not Prof. Lewis Bonner and the other semi-Italian gentleman who bought up thirty stocks of Italian bees for Mr. Parsons, of Flush- ing, in 1859-60, give me a lift "w therearV I assure them that although this peculiarly con- venient locality be not at all ^'protected by an ample applicatioii of Prof. Flander^s celebrated bee-charm,'''' they need not fear to be stung by either American or imported '■'■high-breds.^'' I know it.

THE AMERICAN iihlb] JOURNAL.

117

Therefore, uulcss imported Italian queens were raised in Italj-, Germany, or Switzerland, and tested "wiLli a view to iniprecdhilitii of Ifiiiiirr and (UHinclii'C coloving there Ukfirue; and unless after importation, tlu; OAvner of sneli eonfine his ex- clusive, attention to rearing and testing a man- ageable nun\l)er of daughters to he purified and kept pure by an established criterion, the pur- chaser may find that his hhirl--Hreak d and ring- speckled pure Italian queen will produce workers that can stand no test of purity whatever.

In regard to the remarks of ]\fr. Tliomas upon my Impeccability of Temper, I liave, therefore, at this time nothing to say, further than that in Europe, my test constitutes the rule and not the exception with Italian bees; and that were it not for this fact, I should not have dared to advance it as a reliable test of purity in America. Hence I must again insist that if it be at all desirable to obtain liees possessing this admiiable trait, the honest breeder of Italian queens (without dispos- ing of his Loice-hvcd drones), should test his workers upon tihe scale of impeccability.

Mr. Thomas, in my opinion, reasons very co- gently. I congratulate him upon what he has advanced, and if the stubbern I'acts above alluded to can be rocked to sleep, and the positlveness of his conclusions thus be converted into truths, I shall be ready to accept and acknowledge them of course. If truth has suiFered on my side, I stand ready at any moment to retract.

I would also beg your leave, Mr. Editor, to inform Mr. Thomas, in conjunction with what precedes, that I will not sell him any queen at any price; but if he thinks that my impeccability of temper is worthy of preservation, he may give me a friendly call in person, whenever it may please him, with the express purpose of examin- ing my limited number of Italian stocks, and then, if lie can find any one of them "that will not sting him," he may take its queen along, as Prof. Alsatius 'rtrould say, '■[free grniififornotJiinf/ ' at all, except a puff or tico in his covnty paper.'''' If this affectionate tender of generosity does not characterize me in the estimation of j\Ir. ' Thomas as a most singularly true and careful : bee-raiser, I would not risk to send him the i Italian fly; for how can /know that my most j precious effluvia and impeccibility of temper is \ applicable to/i/.f psychical temperament and phy- ! sical constitution.

In conclusion, permit me to remark that I am i neither a professional physiologist or anatomist; j tliat microscopic observation, however servicoa- i hie in demonstrating lifeless organism, may still fail to assign its appropriate office to the "wheel within the wheel" in animate nature; and that ; there exists on either side of the lens, organic animation which can never be brought within its scope.

With many respects to all, I remain.

Prof. F. Vakro. "Washington, Pa., Nov. 13, 1867.

"A bee," says Dr. Paley, "amongst the flowers in spring, when it is occupied witliout intermis- sion in collecting pollen for its young or lioney for its a.ssociates, is one of the cheerfullest objects that can he looked upon. Its life appears to be all enjoyment— so busj- and ?o pleased.

[From the Steubcnvillo Herald.]

Profit of Italian Bees.

Mu. Editou: Having but four Italian colonies to commence with at the commencement of sum- mer, tliree of whicli were pure and one hybrid, and using the three tbat were genuine to rear queens to supply my apiary, it w-as impossible for me to form a correct estimate of their capa- city to store honey when left alone, as compared with the black bee. But the following state- ment of the j)roduet of a single colony in tiie apiary of T. L. McLean, which came under my observation, and for the truth of which I appeal to Mr. McLean himself, seems to confirm what has already been asserted, that they will accumu- late in the same locality twice the amount of honey that the black bee will. At the commence- ment of spring Mr. T. L. McLean's apiary con- sisted of one Italian colony with some seventeen black colonies. On the 27th of ]\Iay his Italian colony swarmed, beating his black bees two or three weeks and was done swarming before they commenced. It sent off three swarms, and in sixteen days the first swarm swarmed. This swarm with the rest, filled good-sized boxes to the bottom, and together with the parent liive, stored eighty pounds fff surplus lioney. Now the least figure that an Italian colony sells at in the common box hive, at any place where they are sold, that I know of, is twenty dollars. At this price the swarms themselves would amount to eighty dollars, and eighty pounds of surplus honey at twenty-five cents a pound would amount to twenty dollars. This, with the price of the swarms, will foot up the snug little sum of one hundred dollars profit on a single colony of Ital- ianbees. For information concerning the su- periorit}^ of the Italian bee over our common kind, as also, the best method of its safe intro- duction into black colonies. I would refer your readers to the Amekican Bee Journal, pub- lished monthly, at two dollars a year, by Samuel Wagner, Washington, U. C. This journal is a medium through which practical bee-keepers communicate tiieir experience, and its editor is one of the most theoretical as well as practical bee-keepers in this country. To those who are pursuing bee culture for profit, this journal is of inestimable value. John L. McLean.

Richmond, Ohio.

-^

The cells of the combs as built by the bees have all a slight inclination upwards,' tlie better 10 retain the lioney stored in ihem in its liquid state. In attaching guide-eombs to the frames care must therefore be taken, especially when broad pieces of comb are employed, to give these the proper adjustment — that is, to pre- serve the upward inclination of the cells in each piece. This will greatly facilitate the further extension of the combs by the bees. The bees will indeed use combs improperly adjusted in this particular, though with some reluctance evidently; and there is always more or lessten- dencj' to irregularity.

li^"Send us names of bye-keepers with their post office addres?.

118

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

THE AMESIOAN BEE JOUENAL.

WASHINGTON, DECEMBER, 1867.

ESf^ The American Bee Journal is now published monthly, in the City of Washington, (D. C.,) at f 2 per annum. All communications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

C^^Our present supply being exhausted, we cannot furnish new subscribers with copies of Nos. 1, 2, and 3, volume 3, of the Bee Jour- nal. We shall liave those numbers reprinted at an early day, and send to those who have or- dered tliem.

l!l^"Want of room and time compels us to de- fer the publication of several articles intended for this number of the Bee Journal. Communica- tions should be in our hands before the 15th of the month, to enable us to avail ourselves of them conveniently for the next succeeding issue, as we desire to have the Bee Journal published reg- ularly at the beginning of eacli month.

Sl^^We received lately from a correspondent in West Virginia, a specimen of a plant linown there by the trivial names of Iron or Brush weed, and which is said to be "an important lioney plant'' in that section — coming into bloom about the first of September and continuing until frost; the honey gathered from it being of good quali- ty."

We submitted the specimen to Prof. Porter, who says it is "the Aster ericoidcs, L., which is exceedingly common along roadsides and in ne- glected pastures. I have never seen bees worlv- ing much upon it, and greatly question its honej^- bearing quahties. But there is one Aster which richly deserves attention in this respect. It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant, and pro- duces a great profusion of reddish purple fiowei-- heads of large size late in autumn; audi have frequently noticed bees working most diligently upon them, when nearly everything else had yielded to the blighting influence of the frost. It is a perennial and will grow well in ordinary mould. It is the Aster NoDm Anglia, or New England Aster."

lE^^Tlie following note respecting tlie breath- ing test, was received from Mr. Boot just as this number of the Journal was going to press:

"Perhaps it is due to the readers of the Jour- nal to state that the Breathing Test, described in the September number, doe's not answer in

cold or cool weather.

"V/hen the article was written I had not seen a failure. But since in trying them in cool weatiier, tliey manifest considerable excitement, especially if tried suddenly. However, I have never yet had the full bloods sting me at such times, although they act very much as if they would. Still there is a marked difference in their behavior from the hybrid bees.

"I should have made this statement sooner, but awaited the result from others.

"Medina, Ohio. "A. I. Root."

[For the American Bee Jon-rnaX]

Fixed Frames.

Mr. Editor: — I noticed in the October num- ber of the Journal an article on bee-hives, iu which the writer says he cannot see the objec- tion to keeping tlie frames all fixed at equal distances. Now, as I am only a beginner my- self, I should perhaps not say much; but as facts have a value far above theory, I will state my objections to such frames.

in the first place, if frames with closed tops are used, the bees will glue them to each other with propolis their whole length, so as to make it very difficult to open a hive, especially in cool weather, which hardens the propolis and makes it adhere very firmly to the frames. In prying them apart you cannot then avoid jarring the combs, which greatly enrages the bees; whereas in the Langstroth liive, the operation is per- formed without any jarring wliatever.

Again, when you come to shut the hive, you cannot avoid pinching and crushing bees, in swinging or bhoving the tops together, which of course also irritates the colony. But in the Langstroth hive, where the frames are separate throughout, there is no danger of killing a sin- gle bee. Nor, as no two combs are built just alike, can you conveniently change combs from hive to liive, as is readily done where the Lang- stroth hive is used. In hives having frames with closed tops, every frame has to come to a certain place, allowing no chance for adjusting waving or bulging combs; while in the Lang- stroth hive you can make ample room for any comb, however waving it may be.

Again, suppose you want to examine a comb in the middle or back part of the hive, you have to move every frame till you come to it, whether there be one or a dozen; whereas in the Lang- stroth hive, such an operation is quickly and easily performed.

I have been ufcing the last-named hive for two seasons, and think it incomparably supe- rior to any other with wliich I am acquainted. Hoping I have made my objection to tlie kind of frames referred, suflicienlly plain and intelligi- ble, I will stop.

Yours respectfully, H, S. S.

EVANSEURG, Pa.

The hive-bee sometimes manifests an antipathy to particular individuals, whom it attacks and wounds without provocation.

THE A.MElilCAM r»KE JOURNAL.

119

[For tho AnioricRn Bee Jnurnnl.]

Experience of a Novice.— No. 8.

Bolbre avo start in piuvuit of ",i,nantess" and lu'i- n'tiiUK', perhaps 1 niiglit rriiiarkthat I forth- with hiolced up all my rLinaiuing fertile queens aud elipped one -wing of each, (clipping a leg I have decided to be unnecessary). After having thus made all the rest sale, I look up the pursuit.

It was towards evening as 1 started otf across the meadows, and the air was fdled with per- fume from tlu! many blossoms which have always possessed a double charm for me since I have made bees a study, although they were fascinat- ing before. As 1 passed a piece of rising ground the sound of humming bees seemeil to till the air with a continuous roar, as though it were full of th(5m, although none Qould be seen. It Avas some time before I could understand it, until I came to the conclusion that it was occasioned by the bees from toAvn passing to and fro from the acres of snow-white clover, which seemed to in- crease as I passed further on. I had been look- ing for Italians, and had noticed them occasion- ally at work until I got about a mile from mj- apiary, where they almost ceased to appear, al- though black bees were in great plenty. Half a mile further on, as I ueared a piece of woods in a direct line in Avhieh my swarm had fiown, 1 found the clover blossoms almost exclusively co\ - ered Avith hybrids. The clover Avas so plenty about there as to present almost a perfect mass ofAvhi^e blossoms. And on going home in a different direction, I found the hybrids gave place to black bees at about such a distance, thus settling the question that the truant sAvarm was in that viciniiy.

Perhaps I should have remarked that I had previously examined mj' books, and found that Langstroth mentions a similar case of bees going off Avithout clustering, aud that they Averc lound by taking the line on Avhich they Avere last ;-ecu to move.

In this case I had taken the direction by climb- ing to the top of the house and noticing where thej- Avould strike the forest in pas.sing over the liouse of the friend before-mentioned. As I had seen them at work, if I had not found their precise location, I returned home Avell satisfied with the progress made and my Avalk.

In a fcAV days I again visited the locality Avith bee-box aud honey, in order to line themas per directions in Bee-Keeper's Text Book. But though I caught a number, they did not seem to care for lioney, and Avould not n(jtice it even when I poked their noses into it. They had evidently made up tiieir minds not to be It'nal.

On further con.>ultation of tho Text Book, 1 learned that I must Avail until forage Avas not so plenty. I did so, but as I Availed until the Avhite clover Avas all gone, I couid not tind any bees to start Avith; and after several unsuccessful attempts, concluded that "bee hunting"' avus not my forte. I Avas going to abandon them in despair, Avhen in August we discovered Italians at Avork in a buckwheat field near there. Bringing the bee- box again into requisition, we soon had a line in

the desired direction, and presently a host of bees going and coming on a "bee-line." How- ever, they did not all strike the Avoods at the same point, and after looking in vain at all tho trees Avithin a quarter of a mile, Ave decided to "cross line."

We had left the Text Book at home this time, but thought we remembered the directions. Catching a boxful ol' bees and carrjing them about a quarter of a mile, Ave let one out to see AvJiich Avay he Avould go dome. After circling around some time, he struck off northeast, 'i'hinlc- ing Ave had not come far enough, we went another quarter of a mile and let out some more. Tliey moved northeast also. Well, we reasoned, bees of course know Avhich Avay home is, and we will take them far enough, so that they will have to come back. Ho Ave tried half a mile. Still northeast. Another quarter oi' a mile, and on letting the balance out, as they too settled in a northeast direction, my companion (who only Aveiglis 240 pounds avoirdupois,) declined going further, as he Avas sure they had located someAvhere on the opposite shore of Lake Erie.

Home again. Some of our acquaintances shook their heads, remarking Avhat a crazy fel- low that was, chasing after a swarm of

bees, thfy knoAviug all the time he Avould never find them. They (the bees) had been adver- tised in the Gazette Avhen thej' first went off, so that everybody knew about it.

But rce were going to have them just for spite — see if we didn't.

We engaged the services of an experienced bee-hunter, and prepared ancAV for the siege. Being reinforced Avilh a bottle of oil of anise ac- cording to his direction, Ave soon had half a swarm at AVork, aud Avhilst Ave amused ourselves in carrj'ing the bait along in the direction from Avhich they came, he went to examine a piece of Avoods beyond those in Avhich Ave had been look- ing when tliey first Avent into the trees. It Avas not long bei'ore Ave heard the Avelcome news that he had "fbunil them."

SAvinging our hats with loud huzzas for our success, Ave approached the tree. Sure enough, Ave found them in the top of a toAvering oak, going in and out as much at home as if they had a perfect right to be there.

In going from the buckAvheat field they had Ijcen compelled to pass a small corner of Avoods, and as some had gone over it and others around it, it had created the confusion in regard to their locality.

A suggestion from any of our readers as to hoAv Avc can get "giantess" down without damage to her majesty, would be esteemed a rare favor by IS'oviCE.

P. S. — As Ave propose leaving her till spring, there Avill be ample time for hints on the subject.

The economy of a nest of waspn differs from that of the /;<<'.s', in that the eggs are laid not by a single mother or queen, but bj^ several; and t'.iat i hese mothers take the same care as the Avorker^ in feeding the young grubs.

£:^°Send us names of bee-keepers with tlieir po.t office address.

120

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Patent Hives.

Mr. Lang'stroth somewhere in liis valuable work on "The Hive and Honey Bee," (a note at the foot of page 61, third edition, I believe,) cau- tious persons purciiasing patent rights "to be care- ful to find out just what is covered by the patent device, wliich they are careful to conceal, while they are loud in their praise of other parts which any one has a right to use." He might add — "or which in some cases are covered by patents of other parties."

Acting imder this advice, I determined this spring to write to a widely known Western firm, engaged in vending a patent hive, which they claim to be ahead of anything yet out, and ask them to forward me a copy of the claims under their patent.

They replied tliat they had no printed copies of their claims, not having time to prepare them, and were too busy to make a written copy; but in the fall would have some printed and send me one; (which I have not yet received) and wound up by advising me to get their "book and be satisfied, as all the points chiefly dwelt on, are covered by the patent."

Now it happens that I had read their book, and this w^as my very reason for Avriting to them, as I was not satisfied by any means. The points that seemed to me "chiefly dwelt on" were—

1st. Movable frames. As they could not pos- sibly claim these, we will say nothing more about them.

2d. UprigTd form of Jtwe. Now as upright hives seem, from all accounts, to have been used as long as bees have been domesticated, we sup- pose they do not claim this.

3d. Side-opening. German apiarians have used this feature for upwards of thirty years, and Mr. Langstroth tested it before he fixed on hives with a movable cover, as the most desirable form; (see October number of the Bee JouiiNAii); and however loose the workings of the Patent Oftice may be, a patent would hardly be granted on so old an invention.

4th. The use of two boxes for sui'jylus honey .^ one above the other., to induce the bees to work more readily in empty boxes after full ones are removed. This is an idea of Mr. Quinby's, pub- lished by him (Mr. Q.) long since.

5th. The hive being zce«^Aer ^woo/. This is a most absurd thing to claim, for almost any hive, if well made, would be so.

Gth. The arrangement for ventilation and nu- cleus swarming. Tins may be patented, but how are we to know?

7th. The entrance regulator. If this is cov- ered, it is certainly not worth mvich to any one owning the Langstroth right, as it is much more conii)licated, and we think less useful than the triangular blocks.

There are several other points "dwelt on," but as we have already written more than are in- tended, they must remain unnoticed.

You may judge from the above how near a man can guess at what he pays his money for. Yet, strange to say, from certificates of Express agents and postmasters, published l)y the firm,

it would seem that they find plenty of customers. We would like to know if any of them were fur- nished with more reliable information than that with which we were expected to be satisfied.

The plea that they had not time to prepare copies of the claims under their patent, is hardly credible, when we see the quantities of circulars, pamphlets, «fcc., which they distribute through- out the country. It is assuredly part of a man's business to inform his customers wiiat they are buying from him. Mr. Langstroth, whose health is very poor, and who has as much business as any apiarian, still manages to find time to pre- pare copies of his claims, although he cannot write his new book, which all his friends are anxiously w^aiting for.

We have written this not from a wish to in- jure any one, but simply to warn bee-keepers against purchasing rights from any one without firet knowing precisely what those rights are.. If any one feels agrieved b^ our remarks, we shall be most happy to have him answer us through the medium of the Bee Jourkal, so that its readers can understand the merits of the case.

D. M. WOBTHINGTON.

Elkridge, Md., Nov.. 8, 1867.

P. S. — I have no interest in any patent, save an individual right in the Langstroth hive.

D. M. W.

Preservation of Empty Combs.

New, clean, and straight empty combs are of great importance and value in bee-culture, where movable frames are used, and should be care- fully secured from the attacks of vermin and insects. Miceand the bacon beetle, (Dermentes lardarixis) though not wont to devour them, are yet prone to gnaw and damage them. The most formidable enemj' against which we have to guard is the larva of the wax-moth. If once in possession of a comb, these nauseous Avorms multiply rapidly, and subsisting on tlie wax, soon reduce the whole to a filthy mass of web- entangled excrement. Combs Avhich have never contained brood and are free from pollen or bee- bread, are not so liable to be attacked by the wax-worm, as brood comb long used and stored with pollen.

Empty combs should be suspended separately in an airy upper chamber, and frequently iu- s.pected. A mere glance usually suffices to de- tect the presence of larvse in these combs, and if taken in hand immediately the grubs may easily be removed without injury to the comb by inserting a splinter of wood in the cell in- fested, twirling it around a few times, and then withdrawing it with the worm and its web. Repeated examination, however, is necessary, because the cells may contain eggs, which do not all hatch simultaneously, but disclose from time to time, as the state of the atmosphere around is more or less propitious. The most effectual preventive is to suspend the combs in a tight box, and exposing them there to the fumes of brimstone. They should be well aired again before given to the bees.

EE Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

jANTJAK-i^, ises.

No. 7

Parthenogenesis in the Honey Bee.

BY rHOP, C. T. E. vox SIEBOLD.

[CONCLUSION.]

Notwithstaudiug the experiments hitherto made in a practical -way by which Dzicrzon's theory has acquired the right of asserting its justice, we cannot reject the demand that, bj^ means of di- rect experiments, we must acquire the conviction that the drone (gfjs require no fertilization for their development^ wlulst the same eggs, in order to furnish female or worker bees, must he fecun- dated; for it is only by such strict scientific proofs that this new theory will acquire a firm and se- cure basis.

Since the production of fishes by the artificial fecundation of the eggs had been carried on of late years with such fortunate results, it was natural to think whether it was not possible to establish the correctnessof Dzierzon'stheorj- in- controvertibly hj the artificial impregnation of the bees' eggs. But this mode of proof was ne- cessarily given up again at once as impracticable, for whoever submits the eggs of bees to a close examination will immediat^cly see that these eggs, from their extreme delicacy, are quite un- fitted for such experiments. There would be no possibility of extracting mature eggs uninjured from the ovaries, in order to transfer them either unfecundated or artificial]}^ impregnated into cells to be taken care of by the bees. Nor would these delicateeggs bearwithout injury the contact ofa brush, however fine, moistened with the semen of male bees, aswouldbe recpiired for artificial im- pregnation. Prof. Leuckart proposed to employ eggs which had already been laid as drone eggs in drone cells, and to fertilize them artificially afterwards, in order in this way to decide the question, whether we should succeed byaitificial impregnation in developing such eggs into work- ers or queens. He called attention, however, at the same time, to tiie difiiculties whicli are op- posed to the success of tliis experiment. He justly pointed out that only very fresh and newly deposited drone-eggs should l)e made use of for artificial fecundation, for as soon as the thin al- buminous coating, with which the eggs of in-

sects are laid, becomes dry, whicli certainly takes place quickly on deposited eggs, the semen em- ployed for artificial impregnation can no longer penetrate through the pores of the egg shell into the interior of the egg, by which means alone as will be sliowu hereafter, the fertilization of the eggs of insects can be completed. From the im- portance of the object which'would be attained by these experiments, difficult as they are to car- ry out, I heartily join in Leuckart's wish that such experiments should be undertaken by many hands; perhaps one or the other of the experi- menters would be so fortunate by the concurrence of several favorable accidents as to attain what from Dzicrzon's theory must apriorihe expected as the result. From the preceding statements it follows that the artificial impregnation of bees' eggs coqld not as yet be employed in favor of Dzierzon's theory.

Very different hopes were awakened in this respect when we became acquainted Avith the existence and ofl3ce of the micropyle of the eggs of insects. Since Leuckart and Meissner have seen the spermatozoids penetrate the egg-shells through their peculiar openings into the interior of the eggs of insects, we must say beforehand that if Dzierzon's theory proves to be correct, this process can onlj' be observed in those eggs of bees which are destined for evolution of fe- males or workers; and that in the eggs which re- main unfecundated, from which only drones are developed, no spermatozoids will penetrate through the micropyle, whilst the micropylar apparatus must e.xist in exactly the same degree of development in all these eggs, as all eggs are originally of one and the same kind and nature.

Those eggs of bees whicli have to undergo a fertilization are fecundated at the moment when they slip past the orifice of the seminal duct of the receptacle within the oviduct, (vagina). At this moment, as w(! may certainlj' suppose, some spermatozoa are pressed forth out of the efferent duct of the seminal receptacle, and these in this way ])}• means of their mobilitj- find an opportu- nity of penetrating through the micropjiar ap- jjaratus into the interior of the egg. That the act of fecundation of the insect egg actuallj^ takes place at the point of the vagina just mentioned, was asserted by me in the year IfcST, and con- firmed by au observation which I made upon

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Musea vomitoria. In Musca vomitoria and its allies, which had not yet completed the business of ovipositiou, or perhaps had been disturbed in it and had not immediately met Avith another suitable place for the deposition of their eggs, the eggs occuring in the ovarian tubes and in the oviduct differed in the following extremely in- teresting manner. Tlie egg which was fixed between the vulva and the orifice of the seminal receptacle, had already begun to develope itself and contained an embryo, whilst the egg found in the oviduct above the orifice of the" seminal duct, Avhich was perfectly equal in size with the preceding one, did not betray a trace of the com- mencement of the development of the embryo, any more than the eggs contained in the Fal- lopian tubes. In such female flies the seminal receptacle always contained mobile spermatozoa. At that time we contented ourselves in the ex- planation of the process of fecundation, with the supposition that the contact of the spermatozoids sutficed to incite the egg to development. More recently we have been compelled to drop this theory of contact, since we have been able to trace the penetration of the spermatozoids into the interior of the (^gg. The process of impreg- nation will now have to be more precisely con- ceived in the following manner: The fecundation and capability of the development of the egg are not produced merely by the immediate contact of the semen with the e.gg^ but the elementary constituents of the semen, the mobile seminal filaments must actually slip into the interior of the egg^ very probably to become destroyed here first, to be dissolved and then mixed with the elementary constituents of the egg.* For this purpose the eggs of insects possess a micropylar apparatus, that is to say, one or more small aper- tures at one of the poles, through which the spermatozoids must get into the interior as far as the yelk of the egg, in order to complete the act of fecundation.

Leuckart was the first to set himself the task of ascertaining by direct observation, to what modifications tJie penetration of the spermato- zoids through the micropylar apparatus of the eggs of the bee would be subjected according to Dzierzon's theory. For this purpose he went to Seebach at the end of May last year, in order to be able to make use of the most abundant selec- tion of the necessary objects for investigation. A better opportunity for such investigations could be presented to him nowhere else than in the immediate vicinity of the grand bee-establish-, ment at Seebach, in which, however, we must also take into account the disinterested liberality with which Herr von Berlepsch sacrificed his apiarian riches for the purposes of such physio- logical and anatomical investigations.

Leuckart' s intention had already been an- nounced by Berlepsch in the Bienenzcitiing^ and I was therefore extremely anxious to know what results Leuckart would obtain from these See- bach studies. These have been recently pub- lished by Leuckart in the above-mentioned jour- nal, from which I will here communicate the most important of the results.

*The cases of true parthenogenesis are, of course, to be understood as forming the exceptions to this rule.

Leuckart was, of course, obliged in the first place to turn his particular attention to the mi- cropylar apparatus of the eggs of bees, of which he gave the folloAving description; "As in the eggs of most insects we distinguish in those of bees two membranes, an inner one the so-called vitelline membrane, and an outer one the egg- shell or the chorion. Both membranes are ex- tremely thin and delicate: even the outer one, which otherwise (especially in those eggs which are deposited freely) is of considerable thickness and firmness. The vitelline membrane is struc- tureless, whilst the chorion is covered with a delicate hexagonal lattice work, as with a net- work, as far as the hinder (lower) flattened end of the Qgg which "feerves for its attachment. The micropylar apparatus lies at the anterior or su- perior pole of the egg, .which is last excluded during oviposition (and afterwards contains the head of the young larva. At this point where the ridges of the chorionic network run together, we see a little fi^n-shaped figure (of about 1-70 millim. ) with about twelve rays. The rays of whicli the lace is composed form the optical ex- pression for the same number of micropylar canals which run under the surface of the cho- rion. At their lower diverging ends these canals are open externally, whilst they open into the in- ternal space of the eggs with their opposite ex- tremities. The structure is exactly the same as in a number of other hymenoptera, but with this distinction, that in this case the micropylar canals are most extraordinarily thin and deli- cate, so that we can hardly convince ourselves with certainty of their real nature, and at the first glance might be inclined to regard the rays as ridges, such as also occur on other parts of the chorion. The canals can hardly be more than one five-thousandth part of a millimetre in diameter, though certainly still sufficient to al- low the passage of a seminal filament. During the last period of its stay in the ovary, the bee's egg receives another external coating of an al- buminous nature, which, indeed, is reduced to almost nothing on the anterior (superior) half, but gradually thickens posteriorly, and acquires a very considerable development at the flattened posterior (inferior) pole. This albuminous de- posite serves for the attachment of the egg to the wall of the cell." Although I do not quite agree with the Leuckartian conception of the micropy- lar apparatus of the bee s eggs, and am especially compelled to regard the above-mentioned mi- cropylar canals as something else, a detailed criticism of this representation of Leuckart' s would lead me too far, and I therefore reserve this for another occasion, and will make use of the expression micropylar apparatus, without connecting therewith exactly the same idea as that which has been formed of it by Leuckart. The possibility of success in the before-mentioned artificial impregnation must depend as Leuckart has very justly observed, upon the thin albumi- nous coating of the eggs of bees; for as soon as this albuminous coat has dried, which will cer- tainly be the case within a few minutes of the deposition of the eggs in the waxen cells, the orifices of the micropylar apparatus will be plas- tered over with it, so that the seminal filamfints

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123

will be prevented from penetrating into the in- terior of tlie egji'.

Lpuck;irt's statomont, also, that it is impossi- ble, IVoiu the o.\t(M-nal eondltion of the bee's egg, to arrive at anj'' eonclusion as to the sex of the bee whieii is to be developed in it, is important, and I can fully confirm it.

Leuckart now hoped "by the assistance of the microscope to ascertain the presence or absence of the seminal filaments upon thcmicropylar ap- liaratnsof freshly-deposited drone-eggs, and from this to draw a conclusion as to their iecundation or non-fecundation," as he knew "that in many cases it is not difficult to discover the seminal filaments single or in strings, sometimes even in very considerable ones, in the albuminous layer covering the micropylo in i'reshly laid esrgs, and even to witness the act of slipping in through the micropyle." Unfortunately these hopes were not fuUilled, for Leuckart was compelled to admit that what he observed is not sufficient for the decision of the question, and only possesses some value in as far as Dzierzon's hypothesis is not directly contradicted by it.

Leuckart accounts for the failure of his design as follows: "The bee is one of those insects which, in fecundation, only deposite very few seminal filaments, perhaps in many cases only a single one, upon their eggs. Important and sig- nificant as this circumstance is for the practical breeding of bees, as only by it does it become possible that the queen, notwithstanding her immense fertility, can lay eggs for years to- gether without exhausting the contents of her seminal receptacle — it is evident that this is equally unl'avorable and unwelcome to the phy- siologist who is in search of these filaments. To this, we may further add that in bee's eggs the seminal filaments have not to penetrate through a thick albuminous layer before reaching the chorion, as is so frequently the case in other in- sects; but that they are deposited almost imme- diately on the micropylar apparatus, and conse- ([uently can penetrate through its canals in a very short time. Lastly, if Ave consider the dif- ficulties which arc tlirown in the way of micro- scopic preparation of the bee's egg, by the great elasticity and delicate texture of the chorion, we can hardly complain of an observer if he has not arrived at any satisfactory result in this case. I admit freely that the investigation of the bee's egg has been the most difficult of all the numer- ous investigations of this kind which I have un- dertaken during the last two summers."

By an unlucky chance Leuckart, whilst in Seebach, found no opportunity of examining perfectly fresh-laid bee's eggs, as at the time when Leuckart undertook these investigations, Yon Berlepsch could, by no means, bring a queen to deposite her eggs. As the result of these See- bach studies, therefore, Leuckart could only fur- nish the editor of the Bicnenzeitung with the following information: "But you wish then to know to what my investigations have led in gen- eral? I reply that en two occasions only I met with some undoubted seminal lllaments upon the micropyle of bees' eggs. On one occasion a sin- gle filament; on the other several, four or five, (and j'et I have most care full}' examined more than fifty bees' eggs). On both occasions it was

upon worker-eggs that I found the seminal fil- aments. On drone eggs I have never been able to distinguish a single seminal filament, although I probably examined more drone-eggs than worker-eggs, and amongst these such as had been laid at the utmost a ([uarter of an hour pre- viously. You sec the result is doubtful. At all events it appears rather to speak in favor of than against Dzierzon. But I must repeat that this appearance is possibly deceptive. In the interest of science it would delight me exceedingly if other observers should bo more fortunate than I have been in this respect."

For the satisfaction of Leuckart, I may state here that I have actually been more fortunate than him, and that I have sepinwhat his eyes did not succeed in beholding. "Until" (so Leuckart closes his statements relating to this subject), "cither by experiments or by direct observation, the strict proof is obtained that it is only the eggs of the female bees that are impregnated, the ques- tion as to the CEUsality of sex in bees remains an open one. Theoretical and other reasons may henceforth induce us either to support or oppose Dzierzon, and we may increase the materials for the settlement of this question in an indirect way — its decision cannot possibly be brought about thereby. ' ' I have, in fact, been able to furnish by direct observation that evidence which must have been required by science as alone suf- ficient for the establishment of Dzierzon's theory. How far I may consider myself justified in this assertion, may be ascertained from the following statemets:

Although I knew that Leuckart was about to commence the above-mentioned investigations at Seebach, I had also long before undertaken to make similar investigations in the interest of science. Without knowing that Leuckart had already carried out his Seebach studies and with- out being acquainted with the results which had been obtained from them, I also went to Seebach in the middle of August last year, because I was convinced that such investigations could only be undertaken by the aid of the abundant materials which would there stand at my command by the acknowledged complaisance of Ilerr von Ber- lepsch, I certainly entertained but little hope of attaining my end, as the season of the j'ear was already too far advanced for such investigations. On the 21st of August I was received by Herr von Berlepsch with the assurance, calculated to inspire very little encouragement, that I would probably find it difficult to meet with the neces- sary material which I required for my investiga- tions at so late a period of the summer, and therefore that I had little chance of solving the problem before me, especially as Leuckart had been there at Whitsuntide, and therefore at a more favorable season of the year, but bad de- parted without attaining his object, and confessed to Yon Berlepsch that questions relating to Dzier- zon's theory could not be solved by the micro- scope, on account of the very great difficulties which were to be overcome in the investigations to be made for that purpose. Nevertheless, I did not allow m3'selfto be deterred from entering upon these investigations.

I was, however, actually astonished at the bee material which oflfered itself to me in See-

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bach, for the masses of bee colonies as well as their judicious arrangement, so favorable to ob- servations of every kind, surpassed all my ex- pectations. I found a lumdred and four Dzier- zon hives overflowing with honey and bees, destined for hybernation, and indeed distributed in various ways in eight places in a spacious or- chard, amongst which I was particular!}^ sur- prised at the pavilion containing twenty-eight , bee-hives, already frequently referred to in the t Bienen?.eitung. The distance of these eight bee f establishments from each other was never more than forty feet Rhenish. Amongst these hives there were nine genuine Italian colonies of bees, tlie number of which might have been much greater, if, as Herr von Ber-lepsch stated, seventy Italian mothers had not been furnished by him to other bee-keepers, and the hives generally were considerably reduced by the various scien- tific experiments. What has been of particular service to Von Berlepsch in his bee-keeping, is the assistance of his servant Gunther, who being endowed with excellent talents, has been in- structed by Berlepsch himself in the mystery of bee-keeping, and has approved himself in a dis- tinguished manner.

I immediately set to work and examined a great number of female eggs, with which the great bee establishment of Herr von Berlepsch still furnished me in large quantities. It first occurred to me to make myself well acciuainted with the organization of the eggs of bees, so as not to be exposed to delusions or errors subse- quently in seeking for the si^ermatozoids. It was only after I had actually ascertained the structure of the egg envelopes, the micropylar apparatus, and the yelk, and practiced myself in the preparation of the eggs of bees, that I turned my attention to the spermatozoids, by whose presence or absence the principal decision was to be given. Above all the most exact acquaint- ance was required with the individual ridges of the lattice a\ ork of the egg-shell, Avhich is com- posed of irregular hexagons, as well as with the folds of the vitelline membrane accidentally pro- duced during examination, so as not to confound these things with spermatozoids which had be- come motionless.

After I had in this way made myself suflBcient- ly familiar with the examination of the eggs of bees, I had a comb brought to me at ten o'clock jn the morning of the 22d of August, containing female eggs which had been deposited at the ut- most an hour before. I might expect before- hand that no trace of spermatozoids would be recognizable externally on these eggs. I there- fore directed all my attention to their contents, and hoped to discover the spermatozoids which had already penetrated through the riiicropyle in p the interioir of the eggs. I soon convinced my- self that there was no possibility of discovering the delicate seminal filaments between the gran- ulovesicular yelk masses. The linear object to be sought for was too subtle to be capable of dis- covery with certainty amongst the many mu- tually crossing outlines of the yelk vesicles. After various vain endeavors to render the inte- rior of the bee's egg accessible to the inquiring eye, I came at last to the idea of employing an artifice, which I soon had acquired by practice.

and which allowed me to survey at least a portion of the inner space of the bee's eggs with great clearness and tranqnilily. I crushed a bee's egg quite gently with a very thin glass plate in such a manner that it was ruptured at its Uicer pole opposite the micropylar apparatus, and the yelk gradually flowed out at this spot, by which pro- cess a clear empty sjjace Avas produced at the upper pole within tlie micropylar apparatus, be- tween the egg envelopes and the yelk, Avhich was retiring dowuwards. I directed my attention very particularly to this empty space, which I saw slowly produced under the microscope during the effusion of the j^elk. The production of such a preparation, of course was not always success- ful, tor sometimes the yelk flowed out of the ruptured envelopes withcut the production of this empty space; the yelk also sometimes re- mained diffused in the upper part and allowed no certain judgment as to the presence or ab- sence of seminal filaments. An error rrx the crushing of the agg^ a little too much pressure upon it, or perhaps also a peculiar less tenacious consistency of the yelk, probably caused the con- tents of the yelk to retire in evefy direction from the pressure, and therefore also to press upwards against the micropylar apparatus.

From the above-mentioned comb I examined ten eggs, which I succeeded in transferring, uninjured from their cells, upon an object glass, which, from the delicacy of tliese eggs, is al- waj^s a matter of difliculty. The result of their microscopic examination was as follows:

The first female egg exhihited nothing re- markable. In the interior of the second egg to my great delight, I observed three distinct but motionless seminal filaments within the empty space which had been produced at the superior pole of tbe egg by the ffowiug out of the yelk through the inferior pole. In a third egg after the retirement of the 3'elk, I saw in the superior space of the egg which had become empty, a single motionless seminal filament. In a fourth Qgg I again observed three motionless seminal filaments at the same spot. A fifth egg pre- pared in the same way, exhibited no seminal filaments. A sixth and seventh had probably been too strongly squeezed in their preparation; the necessary empty space could not be pro- duced in the interior of the egg at its superior pole, for which reason I regarded these prepa- rations as of no use for investigation. In an eighth and ninth egg successfully prepared, I again saw a single motionless filament in the superior empty space of the cavity of the egg. In the tenth egg the preparation was quite un- successful. This comh, with female eggs, after being carefully preserved in a room, was made use of for the continuation of these investiga- tions at eight o'clock in the morning of the 23d of August. An eleventh egg was spoiled during preparation, as also a twelfth. A thirteenth egg was in an extremely interesting condition. Alter it had been twenty-two hours out of the bee-hive and had been successfully prepared in the way above described, it exhibited two sper- matozoids in the clear empty space between the egg membranes and the 3'elk, which had r*^- til'ed on the crushing of the egg. One of the seminal filaments performed very lively tortuous

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movemcnU. The second filament was rigid, but adhered lirnily lo tlie other seminal Ulamcnl, and was thus moved b}-^ its movements. These movements were first seen by me at about half- past eight, and were also observed by Von Berlepsch and Guuther, and by two other wit- nesses. Three minutes afterwards the seminal filaments were still active. The preparation was then put by and not again examined under the microscope lor fifteen minutes. The move- ments of the first seminal filament had then ceased also, but both spermatozoids, although motionless, were still distinguishable iu the same spot. A fourteenth egg furnished no re- sult, its preparation being unsuccessful. Iir a fifteeuth four distinct but motionless spermato- zoids were discoverable in the space which had become empty during the preparation between the envelopes and the retreating yelk.

On the same day another comb with female eggs was removed from another bee-hive; they might at the utmost have been twelve hours old. The investigations continued with these eggs gave the following results. A sixteenth egg, the preparation of which turned out well, exhibited no semiual filaments iu its interior. With the seventeenth egg the preparation was unsuccessful. An eighteenth egg contained three seminal filaments in the spot above men- tioned; one of these %om active. In the nine- teenth and twentieth eggs the preparation was unsuccessful. The twenty-first contained two motionless seminal filaments, as did also the twenty-second. In the tweuty-third egg on the contrary, I could distinguish four motionless seminal filaments. With the twenty-fourth and twenty-filth eggs the preparation was unsuc- cessful. The twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh again exhibited each a single motionless fila- ment, andthe twenty-eighth, two of them. The four following eggs all showed only a single motionless seminal filament. The examination of the thirty-third egg was again unsuccessful. Tt)e thirty-fourth and thirty-iil'th eggs exhibited three motionless spermatozoids, and the thirty- sixth egg examined by me contained one active and three mo^ioule^^s semiual filaments. Iu the thirtj'-seventh and thirty-eighth eggs, I could only perceive a motionless spermatozoid; in the thirty-ninth, fortieth, and forty -first on the con- trary, I was able to discover two rigid sperma- tozoids.

On the 23d of August a third comb furnished with female eggs, Avas also employed for inves- tigation, the eggs in Avhich had only just been deposited. Tliese eggs, however, did not show themselves favorable to the above-described mode of investigation employed by me, because the yelk would not detach itself so easily from the vitelline membrane after the rupture of the envelopes. But when I succeeded in producing the empty space between the envelopes of the G^'^ and the yelk in these eggs, I often found it possible to discover spermatozoids in Iheir in- terior. Not to weary the reader, I Avill onlj' enumerate a portion of these investigations in their order: The forty-third (Sgg allowed a mo- tionless seminal filament to be detected, sitting externally on tlie micropylar apparatus. The forty-fourth and forty-filth eggs furnished no

results from unsuccessful preparation. The ex- amiiiation ol' tliese wasnot repeated until seven o'clock in the morning of the 24th of August, when these deposited eggs were fifteen hours old. The forty-sixth egg contained several coiled but motionless spermatozoids. In the forty- seventh egg I was able to discover one motionless seminal filament. With the forty- eighth the preparation was unsuccessful, and with the forty-ninth and fiftieth, I was obliged to leave it doubtful whether the object which might have been taken for a seminal filament, was such in reality. Both the fifty -first and fifty-second eggs allowed a motionless seminal filament to be clearly distinguished in the empty sjiace, Avlieu the yelk had retracted itself down- ward from the micropylar apparatus by the rup- ture of the egg shells.

If I sum up the observations just referred to, they furnish on the whole a very favorable re- sult, considering the difficulties of the investi- gation, for I have also convinced myself that these investigations of the egg of the bee are, as Leucliart has very justly asserted, amongst the most dilficult of all investigations of the kind. Amongst the fifty-two female bee-eggs exam- ined by me with the greatest care and conscien- tiously, thirty furnished a positive result; that is to say, in thirty I could prove the existence of semiual filaments, in which movements cottld be detected in three eggs. Of the other twenty- two eggs, twelve were unsuccessful in their preparation. At the same time I may also in^ dicate particularly that the observations with positive and negative results followed each other quite irregularly, but alternating at very short intervals, Avhich probably was only de- pendent upon the favorable or unfavorable con- sequences of my preparation of the eggs em- ployed for observation. If the question is to be raised why Leuckart wasnot so fortunate as to see wiiat 1 have succeeded in seeing, I can make no oilier answer, but that probably the ditferent mode followed by us in our investiga- tion is to be blamed for Leuckart's want of suc- cess. Berlepsch informed me that Leuckart did not examine the contents of the eggs by the c'arefitl compression of the bee's egg, but that he confined liimself to submitting the eggs in a perfectly uninjured state to an external ex- amination.

It is certainly to my mode of investigation alone that I am indebted for tho successful re- sult of these observations, which were made with an excellent microscope of Kellner's. The careful rupture of the egg membrane effected always by me, must prove an extremely im- portant manipulation, for by this alone it was possible evidently to isolate the delicate seminal filaments which had penetrated into the cavity of the eggs and become concealed by the yelk mass, as after penetrating into the egg they pro- babl}' continue adhering for some time to the micropylar apparatus by their caudal extremity and remain behind, isolated in the upper empty portion of the cavitj' of the egg during the issue of the yelk mass after the rupture of the mem- branes.

Above all things, however, it was of conse- qucAce to me that \ should be able to examine

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male eggs (drone eggs) also in exactly the same way; and Herr von Berlepscli actually procured for me the means of doing this, aUhough at first he had given me but little hope of obtaining such drone eggs even in small numbers. It was truly a chef-d^ (euvre to obtain drone eggs at so late a season: hoAv my acute and experi- enced friend, as it were, compelled a queen to lay male eggs, the reader will be able to under- stand from what follows.

In No. 79 of his bee hives, Herr von Berlepsch possessed a queen, which he knew to be near her death, as her bees had been constantly con- structing royal cells since the end of June, and the queen furnished these with eggs by which her loss might be replaced. Berlepsch, how- ever, had not permitted the larvfe in these cells to come to exclusion, and thus this aged mother was still alive when I arrived at Seebach and inqjiired for drone eggs. A little while before this queen had laid drone eggs, but Berlepsch had destroyed this drone-brood also as being useless. At last the workers had enough of it, and commenced no more cells. Berlepsch's object in this case was to determine how long the life of a queen might be prolonged artili- cially. When I came to Seebach this queen was still laying an occasional egg. On the 21st of August Gunther received the charge to feed the hive, No. 79, in the evening with fluid honey. The next evening (August 23d) two combs with covered worker-brood and between the two an empty drone-comb, were suspended in this hive. The following morning (August 23d) there were twentji'-seven drone-eggs in this drone-comb, and about sixty worker eggs in open cells of the worker combs. Berlepsch had carefully ascertained previously that not a single egg was present in the open cells of both the foreign worker-combs when suspended in the experimental hive.

I examined these twenty-seven drone-eggs which might have been about ttvelve hours old, and which agreed perfectly both in their ap- pearance and organization with the female eggs, with the same care and by the same method with Avhich I had treated the female eggs, and did not find one seminal filament in any one of the eggs, either externally or internally. I must also add that only the seventh, thirteenth, and twenty-third eggs were unsuccessfully prepared. In all the rest of these drone-eggs the yelk re- treated slowly and completely from the upper pole of the egg-envelopes, after bursting the membranes; the desirecl empty clear space be- tween the micropylar apparatus and the retreat- ing yelk was produced in the interior of these eggs, so that if seminal filaments had been pre- sent in them, they certainly would not have escaped my searching and inquisitive eye. In order to be quite satisfied as to this remarkable negative result, and to obtain the full significa- tion of it, several female eggs of the same queen which had furnished these drone eggs were ex- amined for comparison; for the objection might certainly have been raised, that this queen might have laid nothing but barren eggs, as being already weakened by age and near her death, she might have had no more spermato- zoids in her seminal receptacle. Nevertheless,

many of these eggs contained seminal filaments; they were the tvvenlyseven eggs already men- tioned by me, namely: the sixteenth to the forty- second eggs.

To this result of my Seebach investigations, which proves the correctness of Dzierzou's theory by direct observations, I maj^ also add that Herr von Berlepsch has lately informed me by lettei', that this queen subsequently after my departure from Seebach, also laid female eggs, from which workers were developed; but she herself only died on the 19th of September, 1855.

[For the AmericauBee Jovunal.]

Italian Queens.

Mr. Editor:— Allow me to give you a few jottings of my experience in apiculture.

I commenced in a small way a number of years ago, to keep a few stocks of bees. At that time it Avas but little trouble to take care of them, as they almost invariably did well in any kind of hive or gum; for the country Avas then new and Avild fioAvers abundant. But soon there was trouble in the camp. The bee-moth began its ravages among the stocks, and in a short time my prosperous colonies dwindled aAvay; and it was oulj^ by the greatest care that I managed to keep my stocks from being en- tirely destroyed. Thus bee culture became neglected, as it Avas a source of vexation and no profit.

Something had to be done, and Ave are in- debted to the practical investigations of Huber, Dzierzon, and others in Europe, and of the Rev. L. L. Langstroth and others in America; and their improvements in moveable comb hives have proved that success in bee culture does not depend upon luck, but upon proper management. And now the careful apiarian can increase his colonies at pleasure, and in or- dinary seasons look for a good supply of sur- plus honey to pay him for his labor.

Last spring being convinced that the Italian bees were more prolific and more easily man- aged than the black bees, I commenced to Ital- ianize, and had the pleasure to see at the end of the season that I had increased my stock to tAvice the number, all in good condition for going into winter quarters. I purchased my Italian queens i'rom Mr. Adam (3^rimm, of Jef- ferson, Wisconsin, and they proved to be just as he represented them, very fine. Mr. Grimm wrote to me since his return from Italy, where he had been to purchase a lot of Italian queens of Prof. Mona; and as I wanted to see queens just from their native Italy, I concluded to make Mr. Grimm a visit. I went and found him busy in preparing his extensive apiary for the introduction of the queens just imported by him. I had the pleasure of seeing all his im- ported queens, and found them invariably (7ar7c- colored; (with tAVO or three exceptions) yet they showed distinctly the yelloAV stripes pecu- liar to the Italians, and the workers accom- panying them were beautifully marked. Mr. Grimm's apiary is perhaps the largest in the West. At this time he has six hundred and six colonies. His home apiary numbers over three

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hundred colonics. The other apiary is two miles iind a half distant. All the colonies seemed to be in good wintering condition. Mr. G. uses the Laugstroth hive. I am satislicd that if there arc any i)Ure Italian bees in this country, Mr. Grimm has them; and if Mr. Vic- tim and-others who are so afraid of being vie- timizcd wouhl purchase a queen of Mr. G., with his guarantee of purity, 1 would Avager a red appic tliat he or they would get wh at they want. I stayed with 3ilr. G. two days and left for home, taking with me several of his beautiful queens for my own apiary in Ohio.

S. Sanford. LiHA, Ohio, Oct. 29, 18G7.

Kentucky Bee-Keepers' Association.

Lexington, Ky., Nov. 25, 1867. Editor Bee Journal: — Pursuant to a call issued some time ago, quite a number of bee- iiccpers met at the Court-house, in this city, on the 20th instant, and organized a Kentucky Bee Keepers' Association. Inclosed you will tind an account of the proceedings.

D. Burbank,

MEETING OF BEE KEEPERS.

Lexington, Nov. 20, 1867.

Pursuant to notice previously given through the papers, quite a large number of bee keepers from various parts of the State met at the Court- house in this city, and on motion, R. T. Dil- lard, D. D., was called to the Chair, and J. W. Reynolds appointed Secretary.

Mr. I). Burbank, in a few pertinent remarks, stated the object of the meeting to be for the purpose of organizing an association of all in- terested in bee culture, and consulting as to the best means of encouraging and advancing this important interest.

Mr. Burbank moved the appointment of a committee to arrange business for the considera- tion of the convention, which motion was adop- ted.

Dr. John Dillard, Messrs. R. A. Broadhurst, Wade, Egbert, Burbank, and Brown were ap- pointed said committee.

R. A. Broadhurst, Principal of the Female Orphan School at Midway, addressed the con- vention on the importance and profitableness of bee keeping, fortif3'iug his conclusions by ex- amples under his own experience; demonstrat- ing beyond doubt that a farmer cannot lay out the small capital required to commence the business in anj' manner to secure as certain and lucrative return. He described his apiary on the plan he pursued, and imparted a great amount of valuable information concerning the subject.

We do not pretend to give auj'-thing like a full and accurate report of the speaker's instruc- tive and entertaining remarks. From his cx- l)erience with the common and Italian bees>, he regarded the latter as most profitable.

Dr. John Dillard said he commenced keeping bees about five j'ears ago, with nine swarms of bees, using the common hives. By a short ex- perience, after losing numerous swarms, he adopted the Langstroth hive, and he is con-

•vinced that it is thi hive best adapted for beo keepers here and elsewhere. He has carefully o])served the Italian bees, their habits, &c., and is fully satisfied that they are by far the most profitable. They commence working earlier in the season and continue later. He has observed that they work better on the second crop of red clover than tlie common bees.

Capt. N. Craig, of Scott, addressed the meet- ing at length, lie has been a practical bee keeper for fifty years, and approves of Lang- stroth's system of bee-keeping; thinks the Italian the most profitable bee. It is a longer lived and a better worker. He thinks yellow pine the best material for making hives; thinks the frames in the interior should be of white pine or yellow poplar. In regard to moths, the best remedy is cleanliness of hives. He pre- fers the Langstroth movable comb hive to any other that he has used ! Thinks buckwheat good bee pasture.

The Rev. Dr. Dillard made some remarks as to the pleasure and profits of bee-keeping. Has been a bee-keeper for fifty years. Thinks Langstroth' s the best hive. Said persons in the highest ranks in Prussia and other coun- tries in Europe devote much attention to bee- keeping.

The committee to arrange business for the convention reported the following officers for a permanent organization of a Kentucky Bee Keepers' Association: Dr. John Dillard, of Fayette, President; R. A. Broadhurst, of Mid- way, S. F. Drane, of Eminence, William J. Moore, of Danville, N. A. Rapier, of New Ha- ven, D. L. Adair, of Hawesville, and Cyrus Simmons, of Bowling Green, Vice Presidents; Wesley Spencer, Secretary, and D. Burbank, Treasurer.

The committee also reported various subjects for discussion, only one -of which Avas consid- ered for want of time, viz: the best mode of wintering bees.

Dr. John Dillard gave his experience; was of opinion that tlie most important matter was to prevent dampness, has used straw in the tops of his hives to absorb the moisture from the respi- ration of the bees, and keep them warm, but thinks corn cobs, being non-conductors of heat and great absorbants of moisture, thg best thing he has tried; he removes the honey boards and caps, and packs the vacant space above the frames with cobs.

S. C. Brown corroborated the remarks of Dr. Dillard, and spoke at length upon the advan- tages and disadvantages of wintering bees in dark cellars or buildings, or burying them, &c.

David Butcher preferred wintering bees on their summer stands. His plan is to place over the hives large boxes and fill the space between the hives and the inside of the boxes with saw dust.

Dr. George S. Savage moved that when this meeting adjourn, it be to meet at this place on the second Tuesday of December, at 11 o'clock A. M. Agreed to.

D. Burbank moved the appointment of a com- mittee to draft a constitution for the association and report at the next meeting. Adopted.

The chair appointed as the committee D. Bur-

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bank, J. M. Tipton, Dr. John Dillard, and Dr. R. J. Spurr.

Dr. Savage moved the appointment of a com- mittee to procure a speaker to address tlie asso- ciation at the next meetiuc;. Adopted.

D. Burbank and R. A. Broadhurst were ap- pointed ^aid committee.

The convention then adjourned.

J. W. Reynolds, Secretary,

[For the Ameiicau Bee Journal.]

Italian Bee-Breeding.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Questions by Querist.— K"o. 3.

What is vi^anted is light color in all the bees, strong constitutions, good workers, not disposed to sting if well managed.

To obtain light colors, raise from .the lightest colored parents of both sides; avoid breeding in- and-in further than to get the color, as it has a tendency to weakness if carried too far.

To improve the constitution and workers, breed from the best not near related.

To improve the disposition, breed from parents that show these qualities most. This object can be arrived at more speedily by breeding in-and- in, as it will take only a few generations to make them too docile to defend themselves at all. Therefore if carried too far in that direction, like an overgrown branch of a tree, it fails the first ill-wind.

To succeed, have control over the hive, bees, and combs. Let such queens as are selected lay in the drone-combs, and no others be allowed to produce drones at all; and the drone mothers no queens, unless the object is to breed in-and-in — which is a poor plan if the desired qualities can be got without.

The breeding should be done generally by one pair of queens for an entire apiary each year. Many generations of queens can be raised alter all other drones are killed, if the hives contain- ing the drones wanted are kept queenless.

Jajies M. Marvin.

St. Chakles, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Begicidal Attacks.

In rearing queens last summer, at first one- third of the number were lost by regicidal at- tacks. This was more frequently the case in nuclei containing young bees exclusively. Re- turning from her we>lding flight, the queen has acquired a peculiar odor, and is hence not read- ily recognized by her companions, but received and treated as a stranger — being enclosed by angry bees in a ball or cluster about the size of a hen's egg. A whiff of smoke will scatter these bees. The bees composing tliis angry ball will sting each other, and are dragged out in front of the hive. This gives the careful apiarian notice of what is going on within. Caging the queen over night within the hive is necessary to insure her saTety.

Delhi. Davis.

IIl:^Send us names of bee-keepers with their post office address.

Perhaps some of the Jouunal readers have been looking for more questions by Querist. If so, they shall be gratified. Querist is highly pleased with many of the answers to his ques- tions in No. 2, and hopes those in this number will be as promptly attended to.

The most of us are satisfied ihsit fra^ne Jiives are better than box Jiives for bee-keepers in gen- eral; and as that point seems to be pretty well settled, let us now settle tAvo more points, viz: the best size and the best form for hives.

These two features are inherent in cM bee hives and are not covered by a patent, nor can they be, for they have been public property as long at least as bees have been domesticated. I hope, therefore, that no writer who proposes to discuss the points named will make use of the word patent, for the purpose of bringing before our notice some jiarticular patent hive that may be worthless or otherwise.

Those who have given these points — su'c and form — careful thought, will find that each of them may require an article by itself, and that it will then be as long as most of us are willing to read. Some of the Jouknal readers may tiiiukthat Quiuby, Langstroth, andolherc, have given us the ))est size for a hive. It may be so, but I have my doubts about it. Two thousand cubic inches, or about a bushel, may be as they claim the best size; but if so, let us have the rea- sons why.

I presume no one will claim that the best shape has been settled among all classes of bee- keepers, for if this were true, we would not find so many forms of hives in use. Now there must be some particular shape that will secure the bee-keeper more advantages than any other. It may be necessary to discuss the best shape for general purposes — that is, for those Avho winter their bees in the open air; and also the best shape of hive for those who winter in suit able repositories. Latitude may also have something to do with the shape of hives, as bees south of latitude 38" would Avinter in the open air in hives of less depth than several degrees north of it. Querist.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Straight Combs.

I use dividing boards with a few holes bored through them. They are placed in the hive the same as the frames; first a frame and then a board. Put pieces of combs on the frames, fastened with melted beeswax on the underside of the frame. The bees will lengthen them perfectly straight.

Delhl Davis.

There is a species of butterfly found at the Cape of Good Hope which, when seized or at- tacked, defends itself like the lioncy-bee by sting- ing. It is the only one of that class of insects known to be provided with .a sting. It is there called the bcc-moth.

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[For the Boo Journal.]

How about Pure Italians?

Dear .TouKNAL : — I wanl some light on the Italian h(:c quoslion. I have purchased two Italian queens, and liave raised a dozen. My bees now are all Italians and hybrids, or they are all hybrids, llow am I to know which ? Onlj' about five out of every six of the workers from the purchased (lueens show the three 3:0! • low bands ; the other one-sixth show only two. On the other hand, the workers from the queens Avliich I raised, vary greatly. In most of the hives, about one-sixth of them show the three bands, and the other five-sixths show only two distinctly. As to temper, they arc all about alike — a little more amiable than the black bees. I found, Avhcn nearly the whole colony was hybrid, that still the black bees annoyed me more than the hj-brids ; yet my bees Avill all sting.

Cannot some one Avho has eyes, who can count a hundred, and who has not made up his mind on the distinguishing marks of Italians, visit some apiary where imported queens are kept, and examine carefully a large number of Avorkers, both of imported queens and of Ameri- can born queens, and report the result to the Journal. There is truth in the matter, if we can only get it. One misfortune is 'hat the observations of many persons are worthless. You cannot trust their eyes, and must receive with allowance their honest statements. I latojj' called to see a man who has long kept Italian bees. I wanted light. He informed me that Jhere was no doubt about all pure Italians showing the three bands. I went to see. Putting his hand on a hive he said, "here is a queen that I am very sure produces pure workers." I stooped down and commenced examining carefully the bees at the entrance. I saw at once that about one-fourth of them showed only two yellow bands. I told him so. He would not believe. I pointed out the bees. He caught one to pull its abdomen and show me that the yellow teas (here, but covered vj') un- der one of the folds. It was hard to find. But still he is confident that all pure Italians shoio distinctly the three yellow bands ; and he is equally confident that he has pure Italians. I believe he writes sometimes for the Journal. There is no use in such persons as my friend going to see other people's bees. They know, without looking, that all Italians show the three marks. 1 hope they do, and that the question will soon be settled.

Many persons have the opportunity to ex- amine the workers produced from imported qnecns. There can be no doubt about their purity. "Will some one have the goodness to make the examination, and vii\)on the fdcts in the Journal. Let him tell us how manj'- bees lie has examined, and how many show dis- tinctly the three yellow bands. And, above all, let him keep his eyes open for those which show but two bands. I have a notion tliat even if there be such among pure Italians, they are harder to see than those which have the three bands. Indeed it is quite probable that some

people could not see them at all. light. Who will give it ?

But I want Inquirer.

[For the American Bee Joarnal.]

Experience of a Novice.— No. 10.

Dear Bee Jounnal : — The following items of experience may be acceptable:

During tlie dry weather the past fall there was considerable robbing among the bees in our vicinity.

About the middle of August, I observed one evening two swarms of black bees that I had bought -this season to be very busy till nearly dark. Supposing that some other bees were robbing them, I proceeded to contract the en- trance; but soon saw that the returning bees, instead of being light, were so heavy that in many cases they fell to the ground before reach- ing the hive, and on killing a few found them gorged with honey. Next morning I found them again at work, and fiutillj' lined them to a neightior's, where one of his best hives, as he called it, was literally black with bees, which we eveutuall}' found coming from four difl'crent apiaries. Of course the honej'' was soon gone; but the remarkable part of it was that not an Italian bee was seen there, although I had twenlj'-three Italian stocks, and only the two black ones. The Italians were at the time at work on red clover, and on nothing else that we could discover.

Mr. Editor, do you not think it rather harsh and ungentlemanly for a correspondent to make the assertion that he does not believe any one ever bad seen Italian bees work freely on red clover, after the contributions we have had on the subject? Why should beekeepers use so little forbearance with each other? It seems to me that we can develope real tacts from actual experience, without so much picking at each. other and doubting each other's statements. For instance, Professor Varro reasoning to sh >w that Mr. Quiuby could not have had a fertile queen smaller than a worker. Now, Mr. Edi- tor, I did raise a queen much smaller than an ordinary icorker. A number of my friends saw her, and laughingly called her my " Bantam queen." Contrary to our expectation, she met a drone and was seen to return with the usual drone appendage. She afterwards laid eggs Avhieh produced fine Italian workers; but she laid so few that, after keeping her about three months, she was replaced by a more fertile queen. We do not think her eggs produced any drones at all. She was raised in cool weather, in a small nucleus, and was nearly all of a jet black, although raised from my first Langstroth queen.

To return to the robbing. The Italians did learn it later in the fall. After buckwheat was gone, all queenless hives, for a mile or more around, were greedily appropriated; and the numi)er was ciuite considerable, so that one stock of hj'brids Avorked some in boxes on stolen honey. This gave the Italians rather a bad name among some; but in no case could I learn that there was any fighting, and most of

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the hives despoiled were already occupied by the moth ■worm.

On one occasion I bought a box hive of black bees that would make no atteinpt to protect their stores; and after trying every way to stir up their auger and make them show fight, in despair I shook about a teacupiul of young Italians into the hive one evening, and by con- tracting the entrance these lew young bees next morning repelled a host of Ijlack robbers that had got well started too, as they had previously carried off nearly half of the contents.

I have no fear of Italians being robbed, whether queenless or not.

As an experiment I put two black queens in one hive, and after half an hour found both well treated, as the stranger had been from the first; but they were on separate frames. In fact I do not know whether I removed the one I put in, Qv the original. Could not queens be introduced in that Avt'y, without the bees being conscious of any loss at allV

A second experiment of the same kind re- sulted in finding one queen dead at the entrance of the hive after an hour's time. I could not tell which one, as I had not marked the stran- ger.

At the third experiment, I found the two queens both well treated, on the same side of the same comb, after about an hour. The bees were working but very little at the time.

One more item and I am through.

As I have been at considerable expense in trying both the Langstioth and the American hive, I was deeply interested in two articles on hives in the December number of the Bee Journal, and must say the ideas given me in them are worth more than all I have paid for the JouRKAL many times over. The first year the bee3 were in the American hive, I had but little trouble in opening them. But a few days ago, in trying to open some of my heavy stocks in cool weather, I found much troul)le in get- ting the movable side out, and more in getting the frames apart, and finally so exasperated the bees in closing them that they came up to the top of the frames, so that I had to resoit to smoke — something I very seldom do. Again, in attempting to exchange some thick heavy combs for light thin ones, I was obliged to give it up on account of the frames being kept at equal distances.

If I succeed in wintering in the Langstroth hive this Aviuter, as well as the American hive, I think I shall conclude that Mr. Langstroth knew what he was doing when he made his hives the shape he did.

I certainly have had more surplus honey from the Langstroth hives this year than from the American, but have been trying in vain to find some other reason for it. I used the shallow boxes made for the American hive, put them directly on the frames, and put an empty one under when half full. I have had no trouble with brood in the boxes, but in some cases some pollen.

This winter I have made an inch and a half hole in the end of the Langstroth caps, covered with wire cloth, and then tilled the cap closely with straw, replacing the whole after removing

the honey-board. T alwaj's Avinter in the open air. At present — December 10 — they are dry and healthy.

An earnest desire for improA"ement, and good AviU among all beekeepers, is the prayer of

Novice.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Proposals Wanted.

In the October number of the Journal, page 73, we find an article under the above heading. Well, friend Marvin, we will propose.

First. If Ave understand you, you intimate that hybrids are better workers than pure Ital- ians. If so, Avhy not be satisfied Avith them? Or if not in possession of them, why not Avish proposals for them?

Secondly. We can furnish you Avith such a queen as Avill reproduce others like herself to an indefinite number, and all counterparts of herself, particularlj^ if all made in one mould.

Thirdljr. A queen as yellow as beaten gold, and which will reproduce others in any num- ber, of course for the same price.

Fourthly. As to the prolincness of this queen Ave cannot speak. That would perhaps depend on the purse of the purchaser. As to the Avork- ers and drones they Avould certainly be yelioAV, like the queen, unless Ave should fancy to have their feathers dyed. As to their docility, Ave can speak in the highest terms; but of their lo- comotive poAvers Ave cannot say much. The piice Avill certainly be high; and Avhy should it not be for such extra stock? We cannot state the exact sum until Ave consult a goldsmith.

But, seriously, Avith articles like that referred to, breeders of Italian queens have much trou- ble. They have a tendency to produce doubt as to the purity of Italian bees, in the minds of many Avho contemplate introducing the Italian variety in their apiaries. Wh}'- not be satisfied Avitli the Italians as Ave liaAa^. them? Yea, Ave should be grateful for a kind of bees that so much interest us, and adds so largely charms of apiarian knowledge; and not only this, but adds at the same time to our pecuniary resources.

Again we say, Avhy inquire for a thing that has no existence? Perhaps, indeed, the article was intended for such persons as come before us boasting great things and displaying cuts, &c. If so, Ave say amen! but it should have been intimated. 11. B. Oj>dt.

Neav Berlin, Pa.

— iriliii

[[2^ Where it is intended to perform an opera- tion on a populous colony, Avhich is likely to re- ciuire much time, it shouUl be undertaken about noon on a clear and calm ilay, Avhen many of the bees are abroad. The combs are then less croAvd- ed, and the honey-laden bees returning from their foraging excursions, are less irritable than under other circumstances. A still better plan is to remove the hive to some distance and set an empty or decoy hive in its place on tlie stand, till the intended operation has been performed.

Bt^Send us names of bee-keepers Avith their post oflice address.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

131

[For tlie Amevican Bee Jourual ]

Various Items.

Editor Bek Journal :—Aftin- gonding you my IcUcrof iScptcmber IStli, Irom Bellinzona, Ciuiton Tc'ssiu, I visited a great ininiber of jipiarics in tlic iieigliljorliood of BcllinzoTia, Aviioic Prof. IMoua bought swarms to got the (|uccns be was ooustantly sending olF. I liad llius an opportunity to sec and compare abo.ut thirty more queens, besides the hundred "which the Professor l)ud packed or was packing for me. I am positive that there were not two of them exactly alike in color and size. I have seen all shades of color, from one whose abdo- men was brown-yellow or leather colored, except the ]ioint, down to perfect black ones. The large-sized queens were usually handsomer than the smaller ones, which were either perfectly black, or had but very narrow yellow rings, where the workers have their three rings. The yelloAV rings were narrower on these queens, than on their worker progeny. With all this diirereucc of color and size in ciueens, 1 could not lind a perceptible dill'erence as fur as tlie workers are concerned. When 1 supposed I had found a diiferencc, and examined the swarm more closely, 1 could cjuiekly satisfy mj^self that the workers I saw at the entrance ol tiie hive were merely older bees than those I saw in front of neighboring hives. Being fidly satislled that, at least as far as I went,, no common or blade Lees could be found, 1 conclu- ded to examine drones only, thereafter. All the drones I was able to lind at tliat time, (Sept. IG — 18) were of course old ones, and I could not perceive the least difference. They seemed to me to be smaller than the common black drones, and differed so little in color from each other, tliat an inexperienced observer Avould have mistaken them for black drones. All the difference consisted in three very narrow stripes on the edge of the first three rings of the abdo- men, where the worker has the black edge to the yellow bands. By very close examination, liowever, I found some brown spots ou those parts of tlie first three rings, where the workers have the yellow bands. Mr. Uhle told me that these spots are more visible when the drones are young.

Comparing my own former view with the statements of Mr. Dzierzon (who, by the waj^ does not claim that he ever saw Italj-, or the bees there), that the Italian bee in Italy itself is not perfectly pure, Avith my present observa- tions, 1 must concede that 1 was mistaken. I am now fully satisfied that the Italian bee, at least in the neighborliood where I have examin- ed it, is a pure distinct breed— distinct from the black bee, however much the queens may dilier in color and size. If this were not so, Iioav could the workers of a perfectly black queen (one of those which I showed to Dr. S. fejjuiford, of Lima, Ohio,) be exactly of the same color as those of the brightest queen? IMuch rather do I now believe that the golden-colored queens are iu some way btfstardized. Dr. Ziwanski writes, in his annual report to the German Bce- Kecpcrs' Convention, for 1&U5, " AVhoevcr ex-

pects an original Italian cjucen light or yellow colored, deceives him'self. They are all ot them more dark than light, almost black, and one who docs not knov? them, would find it difficult to discover any difference, nay, would I)crhaps find a common queen lighter colored than an Italian. The ligbter and the more splendidly yellow an Italian queen looks (those Irom Pollegio never look soj, the greater ground there is tor suspicion." All the dought- ers of originally imported Cjueens are dark again, but produce the prettiest Avorkers. Mi". Dathe, who, however, never saw Italy nor the bees there, agrees with Dzierzon, who considers only those queens pure that are perfectly yellow, and then says, on the next page of his pamphlet, "When we declare the pretty yelloAV colored Italian race as the pure full-blood race, we do not mean to say that the darker or browner colored race is less valuable in a practical view. We find everywhere iu nature the lighter color more noble and tender, the darker more durable. jSo are the darker queens less tender.''^ Travelers in that portion of the country where the striped Ligurian bee is found, reported in former years inUie (jlerman Bieneuzeituug, that the nicest colored bees were found in the neighborhood of Lago Maggiore. Shall w^e then take the Italian bees lOund in this part of Italy as the standard of Italian bees ? Or shall we accept as the standard Dzierzon's bees, who succeeded in propagating higher colored queens from the original fmported stock V As I have more than forty queens which I imported from Italy, safely introduced in my apiary, I shall have the means of making more careful examinations next summer. If I do not lose them during the winter, I will in due time send further reports.

Prof. Moka's Experience on Nice Queens.

Conversing Avith Prof. Mona, one day, about the beautiful golden yelloAV colored queens sold in America, "he related the following: "We had a pretty nice ciueen this spring, and intend- ed to breed from her, as our customers in Ger- many often ordered nice colored queens ; but we had so many crippled and deficient queens from her progeny, a number of which never laid an egg, and also three whose eggs never hatched, that Ave rejected her as unfit to breed from. We are convinced that the darker queens arc hardier and more prolific." I must add that ou my return from Europe, I found in my apiary four of those pretty yelloAV ciueeus whose eggs Avould never hatch. One of tbem was de- suoyed in the presence of Mr. Crowfoot, ot Hartford, Wisconsin.

A Colony of Italian Bees in a very Shall Hive.

On the 13th of July, 1865, I hived a small second SAvarm in a hive eight inches high, ten inches Avide, and sixteen inches long, contain- ing eleven frames six by eight inches in the clear. This little second SAvarm filled its hive with combs, and stored honey enough toAvinter on. In the spring of 1SG6, it Avas so weak that it could brood only on one comb during the month of April. It however multiplied so rap- idly afterward, that it filled two top boxes with honey Avcighing tAventy-four pounds, and had

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lioney enough in tlie hive to winter on. This spring it came out all right. I made an artifi- cial swarm from it which filled a douhle hive of the size of the mother hive, and stored ahout ten pounds of honey in boxes. The mother stock filled its hive, and made about fifteen pounds suiplus honey. I have not noticed a drone in this little hive for three seasons. How TO Separate Swarms that Mix during Swarming.

If two or more swarms unite during swarm- ing, I do not attempt to separate them imme- diately. I hive the whole together in a large eleven frame hive, place them in a cellar for half an hour, light a candle, then take out about half of the frames with the bees on into another empty hive. I then look for the queens, which are usually found in a small cluster of bees, on the bottom of the hive. Lifting this cluster cut with a spoon, I part them with some tobacco smoke, catch and cage the queens, sus- pend one between the frames of each hive, di- vide the bees equally, and let them stand in the cellar over night. A. Grimm,

Jefferson, Wis., Nov. 6, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Common Failures.

Mr. Editor : — Those Bee Journals came promptly. We owe its correspondents and editor a debt of gratitude for their philanthropic and gentlemanly course in difl'using knowledge upon the interesting and neglected subject of bee-culture.

In canvassing several towns of this State I found, with the exception of one or two in each town, no scientific bee keepers. Many have been induced by local agents to buy comb frame hives and transfer their bees even as late as August. And as several of our last hocey sea- sons, especially 1866, were very unfavorable, most of the transferred stock perished, which was generally attributed to the hives. In an- swer to inquiries, I have heard the following experience from difi"erent individuals, whom, for convenience sake, we will suppose to be one man :

" My father before me always kept bees, and I have kept them ever since ; and we know how to keep them by this time, you see. But now the patent hives, cold winters, millers, mould, and robbers, have ruined my bees."

HoAV so ?

" At one time we got up to twenty swarms, all in box hives (tiie best hive in the world.) The next winter the snow drifted over them some, and one-half of them died, with honey enough in the combs, and to spare. Some time in the spring, several more were robbed, honey, bees, and all. Then my bees did not swarm as usual that season, except one that swarmed three times, and went back every time. I thought the millers troubled them, so I lifted them up and put some cobs under, that the worms could not get up ; but for all that they destroyed a number of swarms. The next win- ter I put them in my chamber, and during a pleasant day they some way got the rags and

papers out of the holes, and at night they were all over the windows and floors, dying. The remainder did better that year. The next win- ter I stopped them up with cobs to keep the mice out, giving them air enough as I supposed,

and put them into the cellar as neighbor B

did early. By the last of February, I was working at my potatoes, and something smelt bad, and grew worse every day. Finally, I looked at my bees. I found two colonies were still alive, but the mice had gnawed the cobs out and eaten the heads off of most of the bees. In the other hives the bees were at the bottom, dead, rotten, and mouldy. So you see how diflicult it is to keep bees in our days."

Now there is no fiction about this. It is a fair representation of the sentiments of a ma- jority of the beekeepers in the country, very many of whom, though good citizens and in- telligent men in other respects, are totally ig- norant of first principles, a knowledge of which is indispensable to profitable beekeeping. What we want, then, is to introduce the Bee Journal, in every beekeeper's family. This would create an interest in the subject ; and then, with the aid of movable frame hives, the business can be reduced to a system and made profitable, instead of depending on hide, as many beekeepers imagine.

Vermont. O. C. W.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Question.

It has been said that bees will not build combs on a painted surface. If so, its importance is obvious in many ways. Can any one give his experience in this matter? Apis.

California.

Bees. — From the San Bernardino Guardian we learn that parties who go bee and honey hunting have met with a great deal of success this summer, the wild bees being very plentiful in the mountains and cauous. Some of the bee trees th«it have been cut, yielded as high as two hundred and fifty pounds. As a general thing the bee hunters have brought in but few swarms, preferring to take their honey and let the bees remain until their hive is again full. So suc- cessful have been the culturists that there has been exported this year a quantity of honey, pure, strained honey — not in the comb, but in cans, amounting to the astonishing figures of twenty thousand pounds! — ten tons of honey, sent by a few persons from this valley this year. With such a result from such a trivial source, what would our valley not produce in the more important branches of husbandry, if proper en- ergy and enterprise were exerted? A few years ago there was not a hive in the valley.

There is a species of parasitic larvje called Volucella hombylans, which live in the nests of humble-bees, braving the fury of their stings and devouring their young.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

133

[For tho American IJee Journal.]

Purity of Italian Bees.

Editor Bee Journal: — A few days ago I received the December number of the Journal, and was miicli pleased to find that men like Prof. Varro take the trouble of publicly censur- ing my report about native pure Italian bees, contained in my letter addressed to you from Bellinzona. Now I wish that the Professor, as Avell as the other kind readers of the Journal, would re-read the article on purity of Italian bees in page 19, Vol. 3, of the Bee Journal, (line six from the top), where he speaks of Italian bees in their native purity. If he says, speaking of native pure queens, that they are brown with a black dot or two upon their body; and speaking of an exclusive reliable test of purity in Italian queens, that impeccability of temper in their worker progeny, in addition to their distinctive three yellow bands, by which they are known in Italy and Switzerland, con- stitutes that test; and that Jie han bees that will not stiiiff, even if the frames in their hives are smashed down, he surely defines pure Italian queens and bees that are more than native pure. As he tells such a straightforward story, and his testimonv is nowhere impeached, I am forced to believe him, right or wrong. But I am at a loss to know what good result bee-keepers would derive from such a test of purity, so long as no breeder of Italian bees ever claimed that he had any or has advertised any such queens or bees for sale, while the Professor refuses to sell any at any price that might be named. But the Professor changes his ground in his article in the Bee Journal, Vol. 3, page 116, column 2 — speaking there of a fragmental dash of im- purity in native Italian bees, claiming that some black bees there, as well as here and elsewhere, do make their appearance simultaneously with three-banded, two-banded and one-banded bees, in one and the same hive; and calling in to his assistance the testimony of a gentleman he has been acquainted from his youth. Now I wish the learned Professor wotild once more read my report, to see whether I had noticed any of these black bees and my opinion about them — beginning at page 95, column 1, line 23 from the bottom. Those bees which a superficial or inexperienced observer would have taken for common black bees, are bj' no means of the com- mon black breed of bees. On careful examination they show three ftrown. bauds, instead of the yel- low ones of the other bees. Two days after send- ing off my letter from Bellinzona, I found a col- ony, one half of whose workers were thus brown banded, but they were not black bees; and I must further add that those bees were not all old ones, as I previously supposed, but young ones just hatched, intermingled with old ones; nor was this surprising to me. I had noticed, during my crossing the Alps, a dilferent breed of sheep from any that I had seen in my neigh- borhood in America, (I am no sheep breeder), and noticed in some large flocks of white seve- ral brown sheep. Shall we, for this reason, con- clude that this breed is not pure, since it is not constant in color?

When I went to Italy, I had the impression that I would find there at least a few hives of the common variety of bees, but I did not, though visiting about twenty-five different apia- I'JL'S. After iill, I would not assume the respon- sibility to say that no black bees, whole colonies or single bees, are to be found in all Italy. But I was satisfied in my mind that Mona's bees answered the definition of pure Italian bees laid down by most of the German and by one Eng- lish writer on Italian bees. For instance, Rev. Mr. Dzierzon answered my question put to him in a letter, regarding what constitutes the prin- cipal points of superiority in Italian bees, thus: "They are more docile and more industrious than the black bees. They defend themselves better against robbers." Rev. Mr. Kleine, on page 199 of this book on bee culture, second edition, 18G4, says: '-The first three rings of the worker bees are yellow-colored, but black edged. While yet young their color is lighter, but grows darker with advancing age. The drones are darker-ringed than the workers, though not differing in size from German drones. The queens are sometimes lighter, sometimes dark- er-colored. The lighter golden colored they are, the higher they arc esteemed." Dathe in his pamphlet iormerly referred to, says: "Of the six abdominal rings of the worker bees, the first two are orange yellow-colored; the third one is, according to greater or less degree of purity, more or loss orange-colored or whitish; the next two rings are whitish, the edgings as well as the point of the abdomen are black. The drones partly have very narrow yellow rings, and are not unlike the German drones; partly they have a great deal of yellow." The most differently colored aie the queens. The best ones are yellow to the tip of the tail (splendid specimens); others are less yellow, and others still are perfectly dark. ' ' Describing the points of superiority, he says: "The Italian differs from the common bee in less irascibility, and though she can sting as well as the German bee, she is far milder, not only when not dis- turbed, but also during ordinary operations." Mr. Neighbor in his work "The Apiary," Lon- don, 1860, in the chapter on Ligurian on Italian bees, page 200, he says: "Their special advant- ages are greater fecundity of the queens, less irascibility, and a more handsome appearance." Prof. Varro says as far as impeccability of temper is concerned, in Europe, my test con- stitutes the rule, and not the exception. Now it will be observed that none of the distinguished wi iters here quoted, claims that the Italian bees do not sting. They simply claim that Italian bees are more docile than common or German bees. I should be much pleased if Prof. Varro would state how he became aware of this European test of puritj\ I would also ask those bee keepers who have the first volume of the Bee Journal, to read page 62; and I think it would conduce much towards elucidat- ing this point, if the editor would republish that portion of Kleiue's articles on Italian bees.

It further seems to me that Prof. Varro lays undue weight on the fact that queens are bought up in Italy by perambulating agents of foreign exporters, from ignorant peasants for many

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miles around, to procure the required number. For my part, I cannot see any objection to this, so long as it is not shown that the bees raised by Prof. Moua are superior to those of ignorant peasants, and I must say that I could not see the slightest difference. I will concede, how- ever, that the ignorant class of people may be incapable of raising bees that will not sting. But, so far as my recollection serves, I have not encountered any man who claimed that he had bees that woukl not sting, except Professor Varro. Nor would such bees suit me if I could get them. How long would it be before mis- chievous boys would destroy the stocks and steal the honey? In common with the Baron of Berlcpsch, I would sooner submit to a dozen stings a day, than be deprived of this formida- ble weapon of defence.

Every experienced bee keeper knows that bees vary greatly in their behavior at different times. My pure Italian bees, and some of my hybrids, are nearly as gentle as and behave like Prof. Varro' s, during the time that white clover is in bloom; but their deportment is very dif- ferent at various other periods.

As to the charge of Mrs. Tupper that my apiary must be greatly bastardized on account of its rapid increase, will not Dr. S. Sanford, of Lima, Ohio, bo kind enough to report what he found in my apiaries when he visited me?

And now, Mr. Editor, if you do not find this epistle too long, p'ease insert it in the Journal, as I have no doulit that many readers take an interest in the discussion. A. Grimm.

Jefferson, Wis., Dec. 11, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Profits of Bee-Keeping.

Mr. Editor: — Seeing a statement by Mr. Baldridge in the Journal for November in re- gard to the profits of an apiary owned by Mr. Silas Way, has prompted me to give you and the readers of the Journal a statement of the products of one owned by myself and son. We had at the commencement of last winter one hundred and thirty-six stocks, very lightly stored with honey, as the season had been the most unfavorable for honej' I have known dur- ing the twenty -eight years I have owned bees. Our bees came out in the spring alive, except two slocks, and both of those starved. But one large Italian left about fifteen pounds of honey which they could not get at, because there were no winter passages through the combs. After they were set out in the spring, Ave lost some stocks by starvation and brood rot, (foul brood) so that when the honey season opened we had about one hundred and fifteen healthy colonies. Three-fourths of these had to be fed previous to that time. We fed them on cheap sugar. Swarming commenced on the 14th of June and ended on the 14th of August; the Italians tak- ing the lead at least two weeks and closing later by three weeks than the natives. A number of our young Italian stocks swarmed in August after filling eight boxes; and the one that came off on the 14th of August gathered honey enough to winter. Wc now have two hundred and

four stocks, besides one that we have sold — • making ninety young stocks all in good condi- tion. Many of our natives did not swarm at all, but I believe the Italians all swarmed.

Honey in glass caps sold G,155 pounds

Strained honey sold 350 "

Strained honey on hand 250 "

Box honey on hand 380 "

Honey sold in family or given away 100 "

7 OOrt U

The above statement is not far from correct, I think, as we have kept the account.

Our bees are mostly Italian, and are as pure as can be found anywhere; bred by Mr. W. W. Gary, of Golerain, (Mass)., who possesses supe- rior advantages for rearing pure Italian queens, and is a man perfectly reliable in all respects.

I think we have greatly increased the value of our bees by the introduction of the Italians. It seems to give new life and energy to all their movements, however slight the mixture with the natives.

I have given the amount of honey our bees have stored, and now I will give the product of a single stock of hybrids which I had in a large box hive. It cast a swarm on the 20th of June. This I put into a hive on which I use four glass boxes, and from which we took fourteen full boxes of seven pounds each. The mother stock cast a second swarm from which we took four boxes, making together eighteen boxes or one hundred and twenty-six pounds of honey. I then transferred the old stock, and should think it would weigh an hundred pounds. There being no young brood to hatch, I think the con- tents, apart from the hive, would weigh seventy- five pounds, which added to the surplus abov^- mentioned, would make tw^o hundred and one pounds, besides three swarms in good condition to winter.

We had other Italian bees that did equally well. One cast a swarm and filled fourteen boxes, and the cast filled five boxes, besides some only partially filled, and cast a swarm. Another Italian swarm came off on the 2d of July and filled twelve boxes. Our honey was mostly gathered from clover and sold for thirty cents per pound. Doty Brimmer.

HoosiCK, N. Y.

A specimen of Trebizond honey, which still retainsthe deleterious properties ascribed to it in Xenophon's Anabasis, was sent to the London Zoological Society in 1834.

There are always some people who are so for- ward in their belief that the very fact of seeing a statement in print is authority enough for them. — Mudie.

It is in those cases of which we can personally observe or perform only a part, that association and co-operation is of much value.

I^^Send us names of bee-keepers with their post office address.

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WASHINGTON, JANUARY, 18G8.

^W The Ajiektcan Bee Jouknai^ is now published monthly, in the City of Washington, (D. C.,) at $2 per annum. All communications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

'We have again on hand a large number of interesting and valuable communications re- ceived too late to appear in our present issue. The occurrence of the Christmas holidays made it necessary for us to anticipate the usual time of going to press.

The Erica, or Heath-like Aster.

Dr. J. W. Iluuler, of Salem, North Carolina, ■writes to us as follows, respecting the species of Aster recently mentioned in the Bee Jouknal by a correspondent, as a valuable bee plant:

"I see in the last number of the Journal that you speak of a plant that has been sent to you from West Virginia, and which you call the Aster ericoides. We have the same plant here. It is a great honey-yielding plant; and if it had not been for it this fall the majority of our bees Avould have died before spring. You seem to doubt its honey j'ielding qualities, but I can assure you that it is an invaluable plant for bees. I know some stocks that gathered as much as thirty-live pounds of honey from the time the Aster bloomed until frost killed it. It was a pleasure to go out in the fields and along hedge- rows and see the bees gather honey."

In the character of a iceed, this Aster abounds in the fields in the neighborhood of Washing- ton, Pity it does not possess sufiicient exchisive- ness to supplant and eradicate the noxious wild garlic so prevalent in the same quarter.

[n response to a correspondent, wc would remark that one of the primary objects of the Bee Journal is to enable practical bee-keepers to communicate with each other, easily and freelj', on all topics interesting to them, as such. Hives, processes and manipulations are thus expected to be brought under notice and dis- cussion; merits and demerits pointed out; ad- vantages and disadvantages ascertained; the valuable separated from the useless; the new and well-tested brought into favor, and the in- efticient or obsolete discarded — in short, the chaff winnowed from the wheat. This, of ne- cessity, involves inquiry, investigation and dis- cussion, which can only be conducted to any

valuable purpose when untrammelled. To this end the Bee Journal cheerfully affords room, indulging its correspondents with the largest liberty compatible with propriety; for it is a settled ma.xim with us that whatever Avill not bear discussion has no right to challenge ac- ceptance. We much desire, however, that cor- respondents should treat each other courteously on all occasion.s.

It is, moreover, very desirable that investiga- tion and discussion should be the work of dis- interested parties — of persons sincerely anxious to aid in evolving the truth and advancing bee- culture, whether as a business pursuit, a scien- tific study, or an amateur hobby. Wc shall ever be pleased to receive and publish the ob- servations, remarks, and comments of practical men; but would respectfully decline the favors of those who write merely to "praise up" some favorite fancy or contrivance, or to "run down" others. If from actual experience or well de- vised and carefully prosecuted experiment, dis- advantages of any kind, in any case, have be- come manifest, point them out plainly that others may be benefited — regardless whether or how it affects the interests of originators or pa- tentees. So likewise let that process receive your approval or praise which has stood the test of scrutiny, having been found valuable on actual trial. In every case, however, be sure to give us the facts, plainly stated, so that what- ever may be thought of the accompanying com- ments or theories, there shall ever be something valuable added to our stock of knowledge.

In conducting this journal we have no par- tialities to indulge. Entertaining very decided — • perliaps peculiar — notions on some points, we are not prone to obtrude them on our readers; and are quite willing that those who differ from us should enjoy their own opinions, and ex- press them, too, when tkey please, in our col- umns.

This may seem to have a tendency to keep disputed questions unsettled. But till they are satisfactorily solved, it is better thus than that they should be summarily disposed of by the ar- bitrary dictum of any one. The muddiest stream will, in tiwie, work itself clear, if allowed free cour.se.

laii

Editor Bee Journal: I would wish you to tell your printer not to change again my phra- seology so as to make me say just the reverse of what I wrote.

On page IIG (B. J.) where writing about what IVIr. Harbison believes, after the phrase a seminal sac, eleventh line from top, the fol- lowing sentence is left out altogether — ''that she

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has no control over this seminal sac, although," &c., &c. And then, instead of beginning the next sentence by saying: And yet Mr. H. does believe^ the negative "not" is interpolated be- tween does and believe. Let him correct his misstatement in the next number; and please do tell him that,

"When I am writing oi freshly blown roses. He never may make it of freshly blownnoses.'''' Minor mistakes are ot no consequence. Very trulj' yours, F. Varko.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

On Wintering Bees in the Open Air.

Mr. Editor: — Intelligent apiarians are aware that most bee-keepers in cold climates, who winter their bees in the open air, are not satis- fied with their success in any style of hive yet devised. While the hives are kept tightly closed at the top, moisture condenses or freezes upon their interior surfaces, and often ui3on the combs themselves. In this way many colonies contract disease, or perish entirely. (See p. 340 of my work on the Hive and Honey Bee._) If the honey-boards of movable comb hives are removed and the tops of the frames covered with corn cobs, straw mats, old woolen gar- ments, or any non-conducting, or (in common phrase J "warm" materials, it is easy to keep the bees dry without too much escape of heat.

There is, however, one source of trouble which seems to have escaped the notice of most observers. tVhile the weather is moderately warm, the bees do not get into a very compact mass, but as soon as frosty nights come, they instinctively contract their cluster, so as to as- sume as compact a form as possible; even crowd- ing into all the empty cells within the cluster. Now it would seem easy to provide in movable comb hives, all the conditions which are essen- tial to their successful wintering, if the colonies have sufficient bees and honey. A proper num- ber of the central combs, which have the least honey and are most suitable for early breeding, should remain in place as best adapted to the winter quarters of the bees. If necessary, some of the fuller combs should be brought nearer to the center, so that in long continued cold, the colony ma}' not perish for want of provisions easily accessible. When no winter passages are made through the combs, the bees in the outside combs when they feel chilly, retreat from the colder surfaces of the comb to the cen- ter, and if there are not enough of them to keep up the proper temperature, they soon die. Should the weather become sufficiently warm, the bees will remove them from the hive, and on the return of another "cold snap," the same process will be repeated until by frequent losses, the hive often becomes too much depopulated to survive ihe winter, or too weak on the open- ing of spring.

The making of winter passages will not al- ways prevent these disasters. It is true that the bees becoming sensible of tbe increasing cold contract their cluster, and that driven away

from the outer surfaces of the combs, they con tract centrally; and it would seem almost cer- tain that those in the outer combs, when they find themselves unable to keep warm, would, in contracting strike the winter passage, so as to get one comb nearer to the center; and if too cold there, would pass still one comb nearer to the center of the hive. The colony by con- tracting or expanding centrally, according to the state of the weather, would thus be always in the best condition for wintering comfortably. This theory is admirable enough, but unfortu- nately in practice, it often fails.

The sudden change from moderate to very cold weather, seems to deprive the bees of the admirable wisdom they so often exhibit in adapt- ing themselves to other emergencies. They are often as foolish as human beings, who, when almost frozen, insist upon lying down to take their ease. They contract centrally to be sure; but the two outside clusters often fail to strike the winter passage, and huddling together mis- erably perish.

Making the walls of the hive double, or lining them with warm materials, will not prevent such disasters; but will often aggravate them by tempting the chilly bees to hug up against these comfortable substances until they are too far gone to join the central cluster, even if they knew how to reach it.

How can we best prevent such losses? I sub- mit the question to your readers, and may, iu your next number, give the results of considera- ble experimenting upon this important subject. L. L. Langstroth.

Oxford, Butler Co., O., December, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal. ]

Chickory as a Bee Plant.

As there have been several jjlants recom- mended in the Bee Journal, as furnishing pasturage for bees, I would name another — '■'■Chickory " It is biennial or perhaps peren- nial, as pieces of the root will grow. The pre- pared root is used, especially by the Germans, as a substitute for coffee. It flowers from early in Jul}' till frost, yielding both honey and pol- len. There are not many flowers on which I have seen bees work so industriously, except the raspberry. I would recommend it to Mr. Salisbury, and others, who wish to grow plants for bee feed. The seed can be obtained of R. K Bliss & Son, 41 Park Row, and 151 Nassau street, New York, at twenty cents per package, and doubtless from other seedsmen also.

Canfield, Ohio. J. Winfield.

[For tlie American Bee Journal ]

Novice wants to know how to get "Giantess" down safely from that big tree?

Very easily. Place at the root of the ti'ee an empty hive, contaiuiug a small quantity of

's "Bee Charm."

Excelsior.

P. S. — Use double the above quantity of the infallible "Bee Charm" if you wish to have the bees carry down the combs and honey, and de- posit them nicely in the hive.

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[For thp Amoricac Bne Journal.]

Uniting Bees in Box or Movable Comb Hives.

I noticed au incfiiiry in the Bee Jouknal, volume third, p^ge 57, as to the best method of laniting bees. My mode of procedure is tluis: If the bees are in box hives, drive out the bees you wish to unite, in an empty box. First, in- vert tlic hive containing tlic bees, and set the emptj' box on top. Tlien take two small sticks or use tlie palms of your hands, (sec Lanfji^troth on the Hive and Honey Bee, 'dd edition, page 155,) rap the sides of the hive smartly from ten to fifteen minutes, and the bees with their queeu will be found clustered at the top of the box. Now blow some smoke into the hive with which you wish to unite them, to drive the bees up among the combs. Close the en- trance, and drum the hive, as in the former case, from three to five minutes, till a loud humming islieard within. Then carefully turn the hive bottom side up; take the box contain- ing the expelled bees, and shake them into the inverted hive; set tlie latter right side up, and the work is done. Tt may be well to look at them ten or twenty minutes afterwards; and if found fighting, blow smoke into the hive for a minute or two, which will give them all ou(i scent, and they will mingle without further trouble. But when the work is properly per- formed, this latter operation is seldom rec^uired.

Where movable comb hives are used, the operation is cjuickly performed. First blow smoke into each hive. Close the entrance, and drum them as above directed until the bees have filled themselves with honey, which will be in four or five minutes. Remove the honey- board from each hive, lift out the combs from the hive you wish to unite, and shake the bees olT on tlie top of the frames of the other hive; close the hive, and your work is done.

Henry S. Lee.

EVANSBURG, Pa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Raising Queens.

[For the American Bee .Tournal.] Italian Bees and Red Clover.

I cannot make my bees raise queens from worker eggs, with any degree of certainty. Does it make any difference whether the eggs are in new or old comb?

Last spring I forced a swarm from a frame hive, giving the swarm two sheets of brood comb, and set the old hive on the stand of a strong stock, which I removed. They did not build any queen cells, though I gave them a sheet of comb containing eggs, at lour different times without success. At last I gave them a sealed queen cell on Friday, and on Monday following — in three days — the queen had laid a circle of some four or five inches of worker eggs. It is now the best stock I have; but it gave me no surplus honey.

The forced swarm swarmed twice.

What was the cause of the failures?

C. T. Adams.

West Medway, Mass.

In reply to the question — " Has any one not raising queens for sale ever had Italian bees to work freely on red clover?" — proposed by Mr. McCune in the Bee Jouunai,, vol. 3, page 58, Mr. Long says, on page 75, '" 1 propose to an- swer this question to his entire satisfaction. Mr. Laugstroth reciuested Mr. R., myself, and several others, to step into his clov(!r patch, which was close at liand, and satisfy ourselves on the subject. We did so, and found the Italians working upon the bloom, without see- ing a single black bee."

Mr. L may have answered Mr. McCune's question, but the answer is not entirely salia- factor)^ to me. Are there any black bees in Mr. Laugstroth's neighborhood? Mr. L. is en- gaged ill the sale of ciueens. If he rears his own queens, supplying his cu.Stomers with a pure article, he must of necessity have first Italianized all the bees in his immediate vi- cinity; in which case there would have been no black bees to work on red clover. The Italians will ]irobably sometimes work on red clover, and so will the natives; but will they work on the red clover when the natives will not? Will they collect and store fjny more honcj^ in a season, than the natives, in conse- quence of their superior ability to collect it from red clover? To many of the readers of the Journal this question may seem of little cou- secjuencc; but to beekeepers residing in locali- ties where the main dependence lor bee pas- turage is white clover, with but little of that, and where ttiey are surrounded by large fields of red clover, it is of considerable importance; and some of them at least, before purchasing the long-billed variety, wish to know \.\ie facts. If tlie statements made by most of those who are engaged in the sale of queens were accepted as evitleuce upon this point, the proof would be conclusive. Mr. Quinby, in "Beekeeping Explained," new pages 311 and 312, says : '■ I had two colonies nearly all changed, several hybrids, and a number in which I had just in- troduced the queeas. I had about sixty native colonies, and all Italians marked with the yel- low stripe, which would have made about three good swarms, in one apiary. White clover was blossoming in abundance and the early red or pure clover in small ciuaiitities. Here was a chance to see if thc^y frequented the red clover more than the natives. I found nine Italians to two natives on this plant. The two excep- tions might have been black hybrids." In a note, at the bottom of page 313, he further says: "This was important to me. If the honey from white clover could sustain sixty or eighty colonies, that from the red would sustain nearly as many more, and I could krep double the num- ber each y'ar." In his circular for 18G7, he also says: "/ have no opportunity to see them tcork on red clover, as little is raised in this vi- cinity.'" What is the trouble here? Has Mr. Quinby or his neighbors suddenly ceased rais- ing red clover? Or has he discovered that, as bee pasturage, it is of no practical value to the

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Italian bees? If so, " why not be frauk about it, and say so?"

Mr. Laugstrotli says they work freely on red clover. Other dealers repeat the assertion; but most of them reside in localities where there is no red clover raised, and obtain their informa- tion from parties residing at a distance. Mr. Quiuby, in his circular, further says: "The testimony that thej^ do so is very strong. Mr. Stevenson, of Albany county, N. Y., assures me that a colony of his — the only one he had in 1864— filled the surplus honey boxes with a good quality of clover honey in August, while liis black bees in the same yard collected only from bnckioheat.''''

If disinterested Italian beekeeping readers of the Bee Jouenal will please give, through its pages, the result of their observations and ex- perience on this point, either for or against, they will oblige A Beekeeper.

P. S. When the above is answered, I may propose a few more questions relating to Italian bees, on points where superiority is claimed and the claim disputed — suchas their being less disposed to rob; also their very amiable, kind, quiet, peaceable, mild, tractable, docile, com- pliant, human breath-loving disposition, &c. A. B. K. OR Victim.

[For the Americsiii Bee Journal.]

The Italian Bee Question.

Mr. Editor:— That "a little learning is a dangerous tiling," was never better exemplified than on the subject of bees. A man with a dozen hives, and a few months' experience, assumes to understand everything that can happen, or ever will happen; knows the effect of a wet sea- son, a dry one, a cold season, a warm one, a plenteous yield of honey, a season of scarcity; can tell what effect these conditions will have on wintering bees, the moth worm, foul brood, and other things, and thinks himself master of apia- rian science; and the less he really knows, the more he presumes. And when he has read the production of some one equally ignorant with liimself, he is not content till he has thrust the obnoxious quackery into the faces of all. The result is, there can be no science whatever es- tabhshed. What one attempts to build up, an- other is interested to pull down. No one has yet a reputation for accuracy in all things, that will warrant us in repeating his experiments without watching the result. Every one that knows anything on this subject, must experiment for himself. But I protest against any further teaching of this sort. No fact should be ad- mitted as established for one moment, without a long series of experimental observations by men of ability who ca7i see things as they are, without prejudice, report without misrepresentation, and can deal jtistly with his fellow man without the compulsion of the law.

Ever since the first introduction of the Italians, there has been a raging controversy as to purity. Nothing too absurd to offer as a test, evei-y one of which, when unsupported by some other test, can be shown to possess no reliance whatever.

If the teaching of the ignorant, dishonest and in- experienced were excluded, we might have more profitable matter. I say the ignorant, because he talks of that of which he knows nothing; the dishonest, because he slanders and misrepresents for his own or friend's benefit; the inexperienced, because he is too iKisty in his conclusions to be reliable, — as has appeared in the Journal for the last six months.

Does not Professor Varro destroy much confi- dence, in any science he may presume to teach, by his^misrepresentation in the Bee Journal? It gives the wliole breadth and depth of his ob- servation, and betrays the shallow foundation upon which his science in this matter is based. He has procured queens "from two different sources" and raised "sixteen flying ones," and sets himself upas JM(?^e of purity; while another, who has procured queens from near a dozen sources, and has raised thousands, he does not allow to be reliable. Also, he sets up a standard varying materially from Mr. Langstroth.

On page 19 — Bee Journal — he makes a gar- bled extract from my circular, endeavoring to show that I have no Italian bees with more than one yellow band. What was his motive? If it was/«M" and honest, why did he not give the whole of what I did say — at least this much : " We have no test of purity that is wholly satis- factory," and I do not remember of ever pre- sttming to give one. On the contrary, I gave what I believe all would agree to be a test of im- purity.

Prof. V. says: " To my certain knowledge the best apiarians always speak of three yelloic rings, and so does Mr. Langstroth." As Mr. Lang- stroth is added as if not included in the "best apiarians," I am interested to know who they are. When a man talks about certain knoicledge, we have a Q'ight to suppose it means somethmg more than bombastic pretension. Wlien he has informed us who the best are, I hope he will in- form us tchat constitutes 6fs< apiarians? Whether aptitude for jumping at conclusions, without a single reason beyond the say-so of some one else equally ignorant? Whether morality is embraced in the word best — ability to report truthfully — no pretension of hnoioledge when only guessed at? Whether ability to observe correctly, wait- ing patiently the developments of nature before deciding? AVhcther the ability to manage suc- cessfully, for the third of a century, the largest apiaries in the whole country, is included?

Mr. Worthington, page 48, havmg a copy to improve upon, has exceeded the Professor just a little. In speaking of that article, he says : "It is certainly the fairest and most satisfactory which has been given by anj^ American bee- keeper in your paper. There must be a great deal of harm done the bee interest of the country by the immense number of impure queens sent out yearly by men who ought to know better than to go into the business before they had made themselves perfectly famihar with the markings of the Italian bee as settled by the best European apiarians." "It is surprising to see how boldly the gentleman who considers one band all-sufficient, sets forth in his circular, as tests of purity, the very marks and temper, which any one who has read volume first of the

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Bee Journal, or Mr. Langatrotli's writings on the subject, Icnows arc certuiu indications of mixed blood."

Relative to the m'lrktngs as settled by the best European apiarians, I would ask lolio they are, and it)]ii',n it was s^ctllcdf Where it was, and just how, and wliat it was? About going into busi- ness before becoming acquainted with all these things, it may be attributed to the same cause that makes D. M. Worthingtou assume to be uni])ire in this matter, evlilently with borrowed experience, as is indicated by liis rel'erence to tlie Bee Journal and Mr. Langstroth. I think I have seen a tlescription of pure Ijees from Mr. Langstrotli, a little at variance with Prof. V.

How to know "certain indications of mixed blood" by reading the Bee Jouknal or Mr. Langstroth, is not quite clear to me. By Avhat aiUhoritj' arc they constituted judges? Where did they become so? I do not wish to deny them any qualification which their long experience has given ; but, before I am willing to take any opinion of their's as law, as knowledr/e, I must understand very many points on wlxich it is based.

We talk about the purity of breeds of horses, of cattle, dogs, fowls, and bees. How many of these pretenders can give a rational idea of what it is? How many have ever thought of the ori- gin of breeds of any kind? We are told that there is a district in Italy surrounded by impass- able barriers— to bees— in which this variety is foaud. I would enquire, how they originated? Were they created at the beginning of all things? Or grown out of the black bee by peculiar sur- rounding influences continued for centuries; or the result of a cross of two or more varieties — perhaps the Egyptian and blacfe: ? Whatever the origin, we huve proved a modification in color of queens, if not bees, in the first genera- tion. Cross tiie Italians with our black bees, and we have a mixture — half the progeny black; the other, beautiful Italians. What would be more absurd than to judge of their purity by color? Take all the black ones from a colonj^ of hybrids, and exhibit only the bright ones, and what shall prevent these color judges from being deceived? Cattle arc called pure when you go back but lew generations without a cross. Can any breed be pure but by in-and-in breeding, from the last cross? Could we take the hybrid progeny of our bees, and breed from the same strain — selecting the two opposite colors— for a few thousand generations without a mi.xture, would we not have a new breed distinct and fully established, and would not every branch be e(iually pure, though variable in color, whether brown, j^ellow, or even black? And under similar influences each mother might transmit an exact copy of herself for many generations. Now if there is a place where our Italian bets have been perpetu- ated for a period further back than history reaches, is it not ceitain that whoever obtains stock from that district, or direct descendants from them, will have the utmost purity, let tlie color be what it may? By all this, 1 am not en- deavoring to show that ouf bcind on the \vorkers is a test aU-siifficient, but on the contrary that | p.0 one text is sufficient — not even three distinct rings. 1 claim to have as pure, as high colored, '

bees as were ever imported, and when I describe them, endeavor to do it as it is. When I use the word distinct, I mean distinct. I have some bees — that are probably ft cross of two importa- tions— that when they fust fly, show not only three yellow rings, Init a series of rings, tlie whole length of the abdomen, of a color not dis- tinctly yellow, but sufliciently near for some per- sons, who use glasses a little green, to describe as all yellow. I have others that on all ordi- nary occasions, show three distinct ring.s, but some of them, when ihcy first leave the cell, whea they have been stung, or the abdomen is con- tracted by cold, or when very old, the three rings are so nearly blended, that I cannot call each distinct in sight, although I know they are really separate. It seems to be forgotten, that to show three yellow rings distinctly, they must alternate these with, and show rings of another color, just as distinctly.

Relative to disposition, I think I should find more to agree with me when they come to have the same experience. I transfer a great many from wood to straw hives — both black and Ital- ian— in the fall, and back again in the spring. I also ship a great many by railroad, that require extra packing, and handling of combs to secure safety, at the most irritable season. The very bees that I find quiet in the working season, are often cross now — it is the rule instead of the ex- ception. Were my experience limited to fifteen or twenty hives in the working season only, it might be diSerently reported.

Did it ever occur to Prof. V. and Mr. W. that when they show clearly, that I have no pure Italians, that they make Mr. Langstroth as well as many others, rascals ! I have bought queens of Mr. L. several different times, tested queens, paid him his full price. I received them, and to prevent any mistake afterwards, clipped one wing. He was not to send them to be tested by me — to see what they they were — but such as he already knew to be pure. He visited me, saw the progeny, at least of one, and pronounced it beantiful. I have described candidly, and now am I to be persuaded by such men, that Mr. L. is not to be depended upon — sending out spurious articles for genuine. It is too much like swind- ling, for me to t)elieve.

i would say, in conclusion, that if Prof. V. would carefully read over a portion of the arti- cle on page 10, and imagine that I had. written it, as applied to himself, he would have in sub- stance what I would say here, should I prolong this further. M. Quikby.

St. Joiinsville, N. Y.

[For the .\inciicau Bee Journal.]

Bees and Beekeeping in Virginia.

Mr. Editor : — Enclosed you Avill find two dollars for the "American Bee Journal," with which I am much pleased; and it would have aflbrded me additional pleasure if I could, with this communication, forward you a long or even a short list of subscribers for the Journal, as every owner of bees should subscribe for and read it.

Beekcepingj however, is at a very low ebb in

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TOE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

this sectiou of Virginia. But few persons use anytliing bettor tlian tlic old box liivc, without even boxes for surphis lioney. Tliey brimstone their surplus stocks in the fall, and get out a mixture of hone}', bee br(!ad, and young bees, not suitable to send to market or pleasant to usj at home. I am the only person, to my knowl- edge, in this scctioif, who is using the movable frames; and as to the Italian bees, I suppose not one beekeeper in twenty, in this part of the State, ever heard of them until I introduced them into my apiary last August. Here permit me to say that I purchased my three (3) queens from Mr. ^Y. W. Gary, of Coleraiu, Mass., be- ing advised to do so by Dr. E. Family, of New York — to whom my thanks are due for the ad- vice, and for the information given me by letter, as I am much pleased with my purchase. Mr. Cary's prices are very low, as compared with those of other breeders, being ten dollars for three queens, shipped in the best manner possi- ble—very few of the workers sent with them being dead on their arrival.

Mr. Gary, I think, must have the genuine ar- tide, from the markings of the queens and of the workers accompanying them, and the workers reared in the hives to which the queens were Introduced— all having the three yellow bands. A fourth ring I should consider super flaoxis.

Mr. E. Gallup, in his communication to the Iowa Homestead^ which you published in the last number of the Journal, gives the true tlicorj^ In regard to luck in beekeeping and lucky swarms, namely — straight combs, and all or nearly all of them brood combs, I transferred Buch a lucky swarm to a movable frame hive this summer, and found nearly all the combs straight, and not more than six inches square of drone comb, and that in one corner where it had evidently not often been used for breeding pur- poses. This swarm was originally in a hive or palace, as it was called, being built with an out- side casing enclosing three drawers; one below, two feet long by fourteen inches wide and twelve inches deep, as a home; and two above, each one foot square and fourteen inches wide, for surplvs honey. It was put in this hive in May, 1847, and never failed to make from fifty to sixty pounds of surplus honey each season, and two years made 120 pounds each. This hive seldom swarmed; but when it did, the swarms were fine and large. When transferred, I could see no difference in the size of the bees as compared with other and younger stocks, although they had been reared in combs twenty years old; and in some of the cells I could separate and count the different layers of cocoons spun by the larvae, to the number of fifteen or twenty. So much for the hobby of some venders of patent hives, for removing the combs every year, to prevent the raising of dwarfs. This hive had an en- trance twenty-four inches long, which was al- ways left open; but the colony being a strong one, defied the moth miller and all other encr mies. My brother has a colony which has been in the same hive (a very large one) for thirty years, from which he gets annually from forty to fifty pounds of surplus honey.

This has been an unfavorable fall for bees in this section. Late swarms svWl hardly get

through the winter if left upon their stands, which is the mode practiced here. No one, to myknowledge, has tried burying, or wintering in cellars. I have, after doubling my weak stocks and supplying them with honey, and some with molasses poured into their combs, removed them to my cellar. (By the way, does any of the readers of the Journal know whether bees would winter entirely on molasses? A neighbor saved a colony last spring, by feeding molasses poured over crumbs of corn-bread, and set on the bottom of a common box hive.) I wish to know what the temperature of the cellar should be, and whether I have given them ventilation enough. I have removed the honey boards and the top that covers the boxes, and put on instead a cover with only two l|-inch holes through it, and covered them with wire cloth, and also the entrance which is six inches long by half an inch wide. How am I to know when they have ventilation enough? The tem- perature of the cellar ranges from 34"^ to 40°. AVill the bees require water during the av inter, when thus housed up? An answer through the Febuiary number of the Journal, or by letter, from some practical beekeeper, will be thank- fally received and duly appreciated, as my valu- able Italians are also in the cellar.

Will Mr. Bickford, of Seneca Falls, N. Y., let us hear from him, through the Journal, as to how he is getting along with his machine for manufacturing perfect honeycomb? We shall all want the combs next season, if not the ma- chine to make them. I have just received, from Mr. W. Dikeman, a sample of starting comb, as he terms it, being a thin sheet of wax with the shape and size of worker cells impressed on each side. I think it will be of considerable service, to attach to the frames and top of boxes, to se- cure straight combs; but nothing to compare with Mr. Bickford's combs, which he proposes to turn out with full depth of cells and perfect in shape. J. R. Gardner.

Giiristiansburg, Va.

Some of the bee-raisers in Galifornia liave hit upon a novel expedient to increase the product of their hives. They place the hives on a broad- bedded wagon with springs, and allow the bees to range at will on the low lands along the bay of Suisun, San Puebla or San Francisco, during the latter part of the rainy season, when the weather is pleasant, and during the early spring. As the season advances, and the fiowers become more abundant on the uplands, they drive higher and higher up the mountains, the bees always returning at night to the spot where they left the hives in the morning. In time, the valleys and foot-hills beconie parched and bare, but the moun- tain heights still retain their verdant covering, and the bee proprietor ascends until the jumping. olf place is reached, or the clouds in the heavens warn him of the approach of the rainy season, when he commences to descend. This system enables him to take thrice the usual amount of honey from the bees eyery season. It is the favorite one in Contra Costa County, around Mount Diable.

|^°Send us names of bee-keepers wilh their post office address^

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

FEBRXJAR-Y, 1868.

No. 8

[Eroo the Bieaeuzeitung.]

Foulbrood.

In anticipation of a second edition of his book on "Bees and Bee Culture," the Baron of Berlepsch has published the following article on Foulbrood, with the request that those who have been troubled with this disease iu their own apiaries, would communicate to him the result of their observations. It is certainly desirable, that, for the elucidation of a topic of such importance as this mysteri- ous malady — of the cause, source, or cure of which we almost literally know nothing — those under whose observation it has come should contribute any facts, hints, or sugges- tions which may have occurred to them.

Foulbrood is the dying, putrefying and final drying up in the cells of the uncapped brood, but more generally of the already capped brood. This brood disease varies considerably in its manifestations, but usually assumes a contagi- ous or a non-contagious form.

§1- 1. NoN- Contagious Foulbrood.

This may proceed from various causes. Thus some of the brood perishes when from driving out a swarm or by transposition of its hive, a colony has been so weakened that all the brood can no longer be properly nourished or covered. It may also occur in the spring if, after eggs laid by the queen in the lower parts of the combs have been hatched, a sudden change of weather constrains the bees to withdraw, and the larvffi there become chilled. Destruction of brood from this cause was observed as early as in the days of Columella.

The food on which the larvae are fed may likewise at times, be of a deleterious quality and cause death. Thus Spitzner relates: "In the spring of 1781, I had placed thirty colonies in a forest where whortleberry bushes were in profuse bloom. When these colonies were brought home, I observed that about six inches of the lower portions of the combs were perfectly black and all the larva3 in the cells dead. The bees, however, speedil}' removed the perished

larvae, and eight days afterwards I found the black cells replenished with brood which regu- larly matured."

HoflFman-Brand says: "In the year 1851, the fir trees here were greatly devastated by a species of caterpillar in vast numbers. After these had died, forester Wunsche,atTiefenfurth, observed that those fir trees were frequented by the bees, and soon after foulbrood made its ap- pearance iu his hives. The cells of one comb containing foulbrood were altogether black. Similar facts were communicated to me by Mr. Sommer, of Neuhammer. But in either case no further evils ensued."

Sometimes the bees will remove the deceased brood from the cells before it becomes putrid; on other occasions they let it remain till it is perfectly dried up.

This non-contagious foulbrood is usually of no consequence, being restricted to the brood it originally afffects. Whether under peculiar circumstances it may not%ometimes assume the contagious character, or whether contagious foulbrood may not occasionally be developed from it, will be considered in another section.

§3. ■ 3. Contagious Foulbrood.

In some districts of country this form of foul- brood does not appear ever to occur. Spitzner in Upper Lusatia, Busch of Arnstadt, Kaden at Mayence, and Kleine in Hanover, state that they have never seen this disease in their apia- ries, or in their respective neighborhoods. In Thuringia it was entirely unknown till 1858, and my old instructor in bee culture, Jacob Shulze, had not met with it in his own colonies or in any other, during an extensive practice of more than fifty years.

This, the most dangerous of all the diseases to which bees are subject, presents itself in va- rious aspects, being Fometimes more and some- times less destructive, at times running its course rapidly, at others lingering through a protracted term. At times it is of so manage- able a character, as to be easily removed; and not uufrequently it spontaneously disappears. It is impossible to specify these various grades minutely, though thi:ee of them ipay readily bo distinguished.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

a. First Grade.

At the commencement of the disease we find in one or more combs from ten to twenty sealed cells, more or less, with collapsed covers or caps. If closely examined these caps will be found perforated with a small round hole. When the cap is removed we find the full-grown larva stretched out at length, with its head to- wards the septum of the comb, and its body discolored of a brownish hue. The larva usual- ly dies before the head enlarges, evidently soon after the cell is capped and before assuming the pupa state. Uncapped putrid larvae are seldom seen, and putrid p«^5« (form approximating the winged state of the insect) still more seldom. "When crushed we find the contents to consist of a tough slimy mass. Soon the specific form of the larva becomes no longer recognizable, decomposing into a clammy glutinous matter, drying up in the course of ten or twelve days into a dark brown nearly black crust or scale on the lower side of the cell. This scale tJie bees are unable to remove, but while still suffi- ciently numerous to work with some spirit, they will demolish the entire cell and rebuild it with new material. But after the disease has made much progress they will omit all efforts to re- move the off'ensive matter and cease building altogether, as they are not prone to build comb, except wliile strong and pasturage abounds. When the disease has become very virulent and predominant, they cease flying almost entirely and content themselves with efforts to expel the vitiated air from the hive. They are apt also to swarm out and desert their hive in spring or fall, if a fine tempting day occur.

If small brownish or black scales or granules be fuund on the bottom board, which produce a slimy fetid mass when rubbed between the fingers, the existence of foulbrood in the hive may be regarded as certain. When once start- ed, it usually spreads rapidly, and frequently from one-half to three-fourths of the brood is aff'ected and perishes. At this stage of the dis- ease, its existence is proclaimed by the offensive smell, resembling that of putrid meat, diffused from the entrance of the hive, instead of the agreeable odor usually perceptible there — the bees fanning the while with unwonted vigor.

It is a singular fact that all the brood does not perish. Even in hives in which foulbrood exists in its most malignant and noisome state, a portion of the brood, however small, will al- ways be found in a healthy state and attaining a perfect development. This, considering the great contagiousness of tiie disease, is in truth a great mystery. It will, however, not long be confined to the hive in which it originated, but gradually spread to other hives, so that in the course of a year or two, all the stocks in the same apiary or neighborhood, will be, more or less, infected. Colonies infected with this kind of foulbrood in its malignant form, never sur- vive long. The malady progresses rapidly, and not only does the brood first affected die, but the very brood cells are converted into nurse- ries of disease, so that in a short time the queen can find none into which to lay eggs. Thus the colony becomes rapidly depopulated and

commonly perishes in the fixst year, olt certainly in the second.

b. Second Grade.

This grade differs from the first only in this, that, first, the malady does not spread so rapid- ly; iecondly^ that it rarely becomes so intense; and thirdly, that it usually disappears sponta- neously. I have frequently had opportunities to observe this myself. Thus, for instance, in the spring of 1859, many stocks belonging to Mr. Umbreit, of Wolfis, in the Duchy of Gotha, were strongly infected with foulbrood. Yet in 1862, the disease had entirely disappeared again, though no means had be^n used for its removal or cure. Mr. Klein, of Tambuchshof, has ex- perienced a similar case, as reported in the Bie- ncnzeitung for 1864. The disease when occur- ring in this grade, is always curable if treated with ordinary care and attention; and is, in many cases, even easily removed, as I had re- peatedly occasion to observe. In 1860, one colony in Mr. Kalb's apiary at Gotha, was in- fected, and in the summer of 1865, three more became diseased, and in each of these four cases, a cure was effected by simply removing the combs containing the diseased brood. Proba- bly the disease would have disappeared spon- taneously. But such expectation should not induce the bee-keeper to be careless or inatten- tive, for not seldom, instead of disappearing, this grade of the disease will (generally in the second year) run into confirmed malignant and contagious foulbrood, such as might appro- priately be termed brood joestilence, which is ut- terly incurable as far as we now know.

c. Third Grade.

Dzierzon says: "Where this form of foulbrood exists the greater portion of the uncapped larvae perishes. That portion which is sufficiently advanced to be capped or sealed over, usually remains healthy and becomes perfectly de- veloped. A capped and yet putrid brood cell is here a rarity. The matter into which the dead larva decomposes is more paste -like and less tough, than that resulting from the malig- nant form. It dries up in a scale at the base of the cell, which is easily detached, and so long as the colony is still strong, it will be removed in the shape of dark-brown scales, dropped on the bottom board and afterwards carried out of the hive. When such dark-brown scales are found on the bottom board they may be re- garded as proof positive that foulbrood, even though it be yet in its milder form, exists in the hive. Colonies thus infected, not unfrequently sustain themselves during two seasons, because only a portion of the brood dies, and that being in open cells is easily removed by the workers. The cells are then again supplied with eggs by the queen, a portion of the larvse from which will remain healthy and mature perfectly, thus keeping up the strength of the colony tolerably well for a protracted term. At times, too, the disease will disappear again. Colonies which in the summer diffused a strong putrid smell, have been found entirely pure and healthy in tm- iMn-m:''— Rational Bee Culture^ 1861, page 271.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

143:

the colonies there were totally destroyecl, and bee culture ruiucil for a time.

§4. Means of Puevention.

First. Be cautious in pnrciiasiag honey for feeding, and use none for that purpose unless you are certain tiiat it was procured from healthy colonies. Never feed your bees with West India or Cuba honey, as it is a well ascertained fact tiiat foulbrood has been caused by the use of such lioney.

Secondlii. Be equally cautious in purchasing bees. Introduce none in your apiary that are not free from this disease. The existence of foulbrood in a colony can easily be ascertained by the fetid odor diffused in the hive.

This is about all that the bee keeper can do in the way of prevention. He cannot prevent his bees from carrying in impure or infectious ho- ney, for they will gather it from any source to which they have access. Mr. Stoehr's bees re- sorted to a neighboring eonicctionery for honey which was exposed there in an open cask. Short- ly thereafter foulbrood made its appearance in his apiary, and finallv ruined all his colonies. "§5.

I have had no opportunity to see this form o^ foulbrood.

§8. Manner ok Infection.

The disease may be communicated —

Firsts by feeding bees with honey taken from fou'.broody hives.

Hero ml I If, by inserting combs taken from such liiv.;s, esijecially those containing honey and pollen.

Thifdli/, probably also by the miasma of the surrounding atmosphere.

FmrtJdij, by bees from luialthy stocks robbing or attempting to rob the foulbroody hive of its stores. This is particularly apt to be the case if the robbing bees iiave brood to nurse at home.

Fif/Mi/, by the b(>e keeper himself if after open- ing and examining a diseased stock, he proceeds to open and ojierate on a healthy one witiiout previou.sly washing his hands.

SLvthli/, by uniting the bees of a diseased stock with those of a healtliy one, when there is young brood in tlie hive of the latter, though the union can be safely effected where there is no brood. Even honey from foulbroody stocks fed to colo- nies which have no brood seldom does harm, tliougliit would otherwise certainly introduce the disease. It is usually thought that a queen from a foulbroody stock, introduced alone in a healthy colony, will not communicate the dis- ease. Spitzner, however, says that he infected a healthy colony by introducing in it such a queen. The same occurred to Dr. Asmusz in two cases; to Mr. Arnold in one; and in my own apiary in 18(57, a colony certainly healthy at the time, became diseased shortly after I introduced in it an unattended queen taken from a foul- broody stock. There does not seem to be any good reason conceivable why a queen should not thus communicate the disease, when it is well ascer- tained that it is frequently so communicated by workers.

SeverUhli/, by hiving a swarm in or transferring a colony to a hive previously occupied by foul- broody stock. Scalding, scouring, and other

modes of purification, do not always effectually j. miasma, by administering a few drugs? disinfect such a hive, in which the disease may break out again even after the lapse of years.

Eif}7i(hly, by locating a colony on the place or stand Avhich was before occupied by a diseased stock. Instances are known where foulbrood occurred under such circumstances, though the stand had been left unoccupied more than a year. Finallj', Dzierzon informed me verbally that the disease may be communicated and dissemi- nated even by the flowers and blossoms fre- quented by the bees from foulbroody stocks, as those from healthy colonies, visiting the same flowers, may carry the infection home. He stated that he knew of instances where foulbrood was communicated to distant apiaries without a trans- fer thither of bees or colonies. Weltzer says he has made similar observations. So likewise Hoff- man-Brand. Very probable, for at the Apiarian Convention at Dresden, a member of a bee keep- ers' club related one evening that some thirty years ago foulbrood became so thoroughly and rapidly distributed from place to place through- out Saxony, that in a few years nine-tenths of

Treatment op Foulbroody Stocks. 1. As at present we do not yet know how foulbrood originates — that is, we are ignorant of the cause or causes which produce it, but merely know the fact that it kills the larva?, we can only hope to arrest and cure it by removing the queen and 2}'>'^i}<^ntinff the production of brood — thus literally starving out the disease by withholding the stuff it feeds on. One who knows something of the nature of the malady, can only smile when he finds various prescriptions and medicaments to be administered to the bees, recommended as infallible cures. Healthy bees introduced into an infected hive soon become diseased; and can we ex])ect that bees already suffering from foul- brood can be restored to health while remaining in a hive imbued with the virus and immersed in an atmosphere surcharged with the infectious

If such remedies ever seemed to be of service, it must have been in cases where the disease would have spontaneously disappeared, thus causing to be ascribed to some quack concoction, what was really due to the vivific energies of nature. A colony sufi'eriug from foulbrood of the first or malignant grade is absolutely incurable. All that can be done is to remove and melt up the combs and use the bees for starting an artificial colony, or to strengthen a weak one, after hav- ing kept them confined in a well ventilated hive on a low diet for forty-eight hours. For though the queen be removed from such a colony, and the bees cleanse the cells of all the cffensive mat- ter, the disease Avill certainly reappear, and usually Avith aggravated virulence, whenever tiie queen is reintroduced and brooding resumed. The honey, the pollen, the combs, nay the hive itself, retain the infectious matter. Nothing short of entire renovation will avail aught.

I must, therefore, treat with disfavor all at- tempts to cure a colony afflicted with foulbrood of the first grade; at least by no process what-

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TRE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

ever was it curable in Thuringia, when it had once broken out. Even the expelled bees, long- kept on "starvation diet," and then placed in a new clean hive, soon became as badly diseased as before. In the summers of 1865 and 18G6, being requested'to aid bee-keeping friends, Tmade four attempts to save their bees, experimenting with due circumspection and care, yet without any suc- cessful results whatever. And my unhesitating advice now is to subject every colony so diseased to the brimstone process when all the bees have returned at eve, and thus arrest the spread of the evil, which may otherwise soon extend to every colony in the apiary. In 1864, I communicated to the Bienemeitung an account-of the utter ruin ' of an apiary of seventy-seven splendid colonies, caused by the introduction of foulbrood. Dzier- zon too seems to have lost all regard for cura- tive processes, for in Ins latest work, page 276, he says: "The better course is to make short work of it; turn the contents of the hives into money as best we may, and therewith purchase healthy stocks."

2. In like manner, I would advise resorting to the brimstone pit whenever putrid cells are observed in a hive, for we cannot say wliether this be not the beginning of a rapidly spreading, devastating, and incurable disease. "But if when first discovered a considerable number of hives are already infected, though none extensively damaged, it will be proper 'to watch matters pa- tiently awhile, for in such case we may regard it as most likely to be curable foulbrood or of the second grade.

3. Foulbrood of the second grade can be more easily arrested and removed, "though not with- out considerable damage. If the queen be re- moved the workers will have cleansed the cells of all infectious matter long before the young queen begins to lay. The cure will be the more effectual if the combs be removed as soon tisthe brood has emerged from the cells, and a new hive finally given to the colony. As queen cells are among the first to become putrid, all that have been built in the queenless hive should be destroyed in about a week and a sealei^ one in- serted from a healthy stock.

4. Examine all the hives thoroughly in au- tumn, at latest in October, when all the brood has matured, andremo\eany comb that con- tained or still contains foulbrood in any of the cells.

5. Foulbrood of the second grade not unfre- quently disappears spoutaneousTy. But I would advise no one to rely on that. Rather proceed as suggested under the two preceding heads. I have known two instances where the bee keepers remained unconcerned, doing nothing; and in the following summer nearly all their colonies were ruined by foulbrood in its most malignant form. *

6._ The hives should be well scalded and then fumigated Avith brimstone. It is also advisable to burn up any propolis they may contain, by means of a blazing wisp of straw, before scald- ing the hives. After scalding and before fumi- gating them, they should be washed with a strong solution of chloride of lime. If the disease was

the foulbrood was of the malignant type, it will be safest to set them aside for two or three years. The stands on which foulbroody hives have stood should also be washed with the solution of chlo- ride of lime, and had better be left unoccupied at least one year.

7. As I have no knowledge whatever of the third grade of foulbrood, I can only advise treat- ing it like that of the second grade, where it is supposed to exist.

8. It has been suggested that colonies infected with foulbrood should not be forthwith con- demned to the brimstone pit, but be removed to a distance from the apiary for further observa- tion and treatment. I should not reconmiend this unless some isolated spot were available, within a radius of three or four miles of which no other bees were kept. For it would be moral- ly wrong, though perhaps not legal felony, thus to carry death and destruction within the range of your neighbor's bees.

[Conclusion in next number.]

[For the American Bee Journal.]

The Varronian Theory of Procreation in Bees.

Mr. Editor: — Having in my last communi- cation placed the queen into the desirable condi- tion to lay drone and worker eggs at will, I shall in this endeavor to explain to what use the good people of the hive put some of the worker eggs, and leave the reader to judge whether or not, by this theory, he is enabled to explain all the dif- ferent degrees of abnormality to which more or less of the members of any swarm of bees may, at times, be subjected.

Abnormalities in the animal kingdom origi- nate in a forced compliance with the normal de- cree of i:)rovidence.

Api3ro]3riate food maladministered and inap- projiriate food well administered to the young of any animal constitutes a forced comijliance with the normal decree of providence.

In the hive all individualit}?^ not reared direct- ly from the egg, ub initio as such, implies forced or unnatural compliance.

Fertile queens reared out of season, drone-lay- ing queens, and fertile workers, are abnormali- ties.

Albumen, according to modern science, is the acknowledged universal starting point of all animal life. Vegetable albumen and animal al- bumen are chemically considered one and the same thing, atom for atom, subserving one and the same end, to wit: the building up of the ani- mal frame. In the egg albumen exists in its l)urest and most concentrated form, and in com- bination with fibrine which is convertible into albumen, constitutes about nine-t.nths of the substance found in normal- royal cells, where it contains about one-third of nitrogen, and this is the appropriate food of the queen after her ex- closure from the egg. This semi-fluid or creamy substance is neither simple salivary solution,

coagulum, or jelly, for these substances dry up into an opaque gummy mass when they come

foulbrood of the second grade onl}^, hives thus I in contact with the air, while this royal food does

treated maybe imme'diately used again; but if I not.

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It is, therefore, evident that the (rreater por- tion of tins substiincL' is an animal secretion and being mixed with guMric juice and pepsin is not only capable of withstanding dcssicalion, but during its exposition in tlie open cell for several days is capable also of progressing in fermenta- tion, till when the cell is sealing it has ^ittnincMl Its utmost disintegration of particles and liii.s thus become a substance of imnuHliatc assimila- tion, and therefore is nothing less than albun^no- libriue peptone.

That this is the plastic material found in nor- mal royal cells, I infer from the tacts- 1st. Cer- tain fatty matter is discoveral)le in it which, al- though certainly not digested in the stomach of the worker, subserves an undetinable purpose in the composition of this royal peptone; and that, 3d A minute quantity of sugar is discoverable in it which transforming from starch or pollon, and having as yet not liad time to comi^letely change into lactic acid, imparts, no doubt, to this royivl food its pungent flavor.

From the presence of the above mentioned fatty matter found in this royal peptone, I more- over infer that worker eggs pla.y an important role in it, for it is well known that the yolk of egg contains not only oil in considerable cpian- tity, but also spermatozoids. I believe, there- lore, that when the egg from which a queeu is to be produced is placed into the royal cell, the workers dose the incipient queen expectant ab initio^ with worker eggs, prepared by them by simple insalivatiou, and thus not only furnish it with its appropriate pabulum, but also impreg- nate this egg, or larva upon its immediate exclo- sure from this egg, with the spermatozoids pre- sent in these worker eggs.

The queen-producing materials in the royal cell are in the beginning tasteless, and so is the white of an egg. A short period afterward these materials acquire a slightly perceptil)le acsscency w^hich increases with the corresponding develop- ment of the queen; and this decidedly agrees with the view above entertained that, in the in- ceptive formation of the queeu, worker eggs and spermatozoids constitute its impregnating pabu- lum, whilst at a later period albumino-filjriue peptone, or assimilable tissue forming paste, is used. And here I stand face to face with Dzier- zon, without however denying parthenogenesis, as I explain it:

"That when the eggs have once been laid, as Dzierzon asserts, the sex of the bee to be hatched from it is alreadj^ unalterably fixed therein, and that neither cell nor food can subsequently exert any influence on it in this respect," is in fact no fact at all, and I think it is much easier to disprove this proposition than he imagined when he wrote his refutation to Dr. Landois' untena- ble theory. How docs it happen, sir, that there has never yet been raised a perfect queen from eggs singly introduced into a colony or nucleus, with the especial intention of rearing a queen therefrom, Avhen no worker eggs, although all otiier requisites, were present in such colony or nucleus? I mav admit that a crippled queen might be produced from the egg so introduced, but deny in ioio that she will ever lay any eggs at all. As positively do I denj- that there was ever a drone egg laying queen that was not di»

I rectly reared from the egg, ab initio as such, i. e., ■ a (lueen that failed to mate with the drone, pos- sessing the lower potency of fertility, as Dzier- I zon would express tlic idea. And how does j Mr. Dzierzon account for facts like theseV i Is some one ready here to tell me I take sides ; with Dr. Landois, and believe Aviiii him that sexual development depends solely and exclu- sively on nutriment? 1 repl}% no, sir. not in the h'ast, for I am as well aware of the fact tliat there is no ditferencein the food administered to ! drones and workers, as I am confident tiiere is [ between tlie food of these and the royal peptone j with its aliquot jjortion of worker eggs contain- j ing spermatozoids.

I Nor do T believe it is committing the unpar- I donable sin to dissent Irom an unproved asser- tions of Rev. Dzierzon, Rev. Kleinc;, Baron von J Berlepsch, or any other honest, scientific, and I practical apiarian observer, European or Amer- ican.

Now, Mr. Editor, it is either true that the sex of the bee is already unalterably determined when laid, or it is not. If true, the allegation of Dr. Donhoff having reared in the summer of 1855 a worker larva from a drone egg artificially impregnated falls to the ground unheeded. On the contrary if it be not true that the sex of tlie bee is thus unalterably deternuned when laid, then it follows that Dr. I)onhoff"s allegation amounts to a truth, and Dzierzon's assertion amounts to nothing more than an unguarded statement, which needs further proof before it is entitled to credit.

If Dr. Donhoff by artificial impregnation has succeeded in rearing a worker larva from a drone egg, then my allegation that the ' workers by means of royal peptone with its aliquot portion ofw^orker eggs containing spermatozoids, can effect additional impregnation upon the impreg- nated egg in the royal cell, also becomes a self- evident truth, and my theory stands thus:

1 St. Drones are the offspring of a queen reared from the egg as such, and possessing the lower potency of fertility by having been impregnated in lier cell by worker eggs containing sperma- tozoids.

2d. Workers are the offspring of a queen which in addition to the lower potency of fertility, met the drone and thus became endowed with the higher potency of fertility also.

3d. Queens are the offspring of queens posses- sing both the lower and Higher potency of fer- tility, but being fed by the %vorkers and impreg- nated as above explained, become queens instead of workers, the latter being fed for five or six days upon worker food and thenceforward upon honey and pollen, whilst queens are fed upon roj^al peptone.

That the bees in the instance of rearing their queens, at least understand their business as well as their keeper; tiiat thc_y remove eggs from worker cells; and that Rev. Dzierzon has never seen fit to disprove these fiicts, cannot be con- scientiously denied by an}' apiarian who is not prejudiced in favor of iiarthenogcnesis as hitherto explained; nor will I deny, on my part, that He wl'.o could unlock Uio jaws of Balaam's ass of old, and cause him to talk Hebrew, could con- stitute tho q^een tuat she might lay ynimpreg-

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nated eggs producing living drones by miracle, even now, if He would.

That the drone is a living creature — that all life is derived from the giver of all life, and that all living things begin to die as soon as they com- mence to live, are truths consistent with religion, pliilosophv, reason, and common sense; and he who would consistently fulfil his destiny will not blindly cling to one of these God-given bles- sings to the exclusion of all the rest — will not doggedly and dogmatically insist that nature has made one exceptional law for the bee hive, another exceptional law for the aut hill, and another for the butterfly, simply because he can- not penetrate the veil of infinity by means of the microscope. Is therefore a mathematical pro- blem unsolvable because I cannot solve itV I must, for rea -ons like these, be excused for be- lieving that there can be no finite animal life without finite animal impregnation, either direct or indirect, and that my faith in the beautiful and harmonious concatenation of nature is more powerful than the magnifying lens.

As the course of transformation by which al- bumen is converted into the various bodily tis- su-es, has not yet been traced with anything like certainty, we need not wonder that we cannot trace with scrupulous exactitude the course of genetic perpetuation of life in the queen's eggs anterior to their being individually endued with a higher potency of fertility by means of the theca seminalis, and hence we must rest satis- fied for the present with the logical deduction that if man can artificially impregnate an unira- pregnated egg to produce a worker, the workers like^vise can impregnate the egg in the royal cell to eflect the genetic perpetuation of life in the queen's eggs anterior to their passing the dis- charge pipe of the spermatheca.

Yes, yes, I understand you, says some doubt- ing Thomas, and if you can discover to me liv- ing spermatozoids in the royal cell at any time, I must confess the consistency of your theory. Well, sir, as I have never seen any of these things there myself, unless it be that little wet speck upon which the royal egg is placed, I ought perhaps to modify my assertion by saying that I could see no living spermatozoids in the cell either, when Dr. Donhoft' raised his worker larva from the drone egg. and that I could never succeed to investigate with the microscope the ligula of each individual bee as it tended the royal nursling in its' cradle. Two bushels of gypsum to an acre of well set clover lay will increase its yield three and fourfold, if applied at the right time, and yet the agricultural chemist would not presume to find an additional trace of sulphuric acid in this soil at analysis.

Why, my dear si-r, I do not travel this new road alone. Here I meet the learned Huber, Avho could conceive that workers raised in proximity to royal cells may have received some royal jelly and thus become fertilized; there the penetrating Uzierzon could assent to this reasonal)le view, and further on the liberal Berlepsch could en- dorse the opinion of both. Still, four travellers may follow the same road and yet at its terminus, each may tell you a different story. I differ in my story only in this with them, that I attribute the fertilUv of fertile workers to their pabulum

of workei: eggs and spermatozoids ab initio, whilst they attribute it to royal jelly. They commit the egregious error of attributing to the alimentary functions of the bee, that which, ac- cording to reason, philosophy, and anatomical research elsewhere is attributable only to the organs of procreation, whether perfectly or im- perfectly developed.

Drone egg-laying workers, according to my theory, originate Avhen the bees, on suddenly being deprived of their queen, are prompted to commence numerous queen cells. The eggs in worker's cells chosen to be transformed into queens, are dosed simultaneously with the in- cipient transformetion of the cells with worker eggs, as above explained. A majority of these intended royal eggs and cells are, on further con- sideration, abandoned by the bees, but the eggs so dosed will ultimately hatch into drone-laying workers.

This explains the fact that in colonies that have no queens, but have worker eggs, unsealed larvte, or larvae in royal cells, no drone eggs are laid. It also explains that other indisputable fact that drone eggs are never found in queenless colonies before the lapse of three weeks after the loss or removal of the quee:i.

If any person pretends to lia.ve evidence on hand to disprove these two facts, let him recon- sider it before publicly committing himself; for all such evidence is delusive — in short, it is not true.

On page 48, volume 3, American Bee Jour- nal, Dzierzon substantially says: "I am fully persuaded that when the egg is once laid no sub- sequent artificial impregnation can efll^ct a change, because it has then already lost all ca> pacity for impregnation, as the micropjde be comes immediately closed and the entrance oC spermatozofe is forever barred." Indeed! Why, my dear sir, lacteals are always created without any micropyles or small holes where they come in contact with the intestinal cavity — the lacteal extremities are wet — wet repels oil, ergo, the entrance of oil through the wet membr.-mes of the lacteals is "forever barred," and youf asser- tion as above quoted must be considered final. Now this reasoning, it will be admitted, is just as logical as Dzierzqn's, and moreover it is like it not w^orth anything, for oil does enter the lac- teal extremities; but how it enters there, despite of seeming impossibilities, is none of my business to explain in this connection. The microscope says it is there, whether Mr. Dzierzon says so or not.

So much as to Rev. Dzierzou's assertion. And if my explanation of parthenogenesis cannot stand, I shall have at least the satisfaction of knowing myself not alone in the wrong. W e'll go" down together.

But lo! here comes my friend Thomas, to in- form me that I believe in absorption and circu- lation too. Well, sir, as you like it. Call it ab- sorption or impregnation, only please excuse me for believing in absorption that bears Vv^ith it the semblance at least of probability; for by my theory I can consistent^' account for th(> impurity of Italian queens \Viien reared artificially— can account for crippled queens artificially reared— can account for the multiform appearance of

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Italian drones, and consequent various sorts of pure Itivlian rin;i;.stroakc'd Avorlcers. But as here we enter upon i()rl)iil(len f;:roun(l, I will suspend further remarks uiuler this head till JMr. Grimm has sold his purely impregnated, pure Italian, colored queens, lest he accuse me again of hav- ing d(!rived all my knowledge about this matter fnnn half a dozen well marked pure queens, and about half a dozen more of their daughters. Suc- cess to you, brother Grimm, but please don't ask me to exchange one of my Langstroth queens for a pure Italian just imported. F. Vauro.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

A New Theory.

How docs a queen bee lay drone eggs in drone cells, and worker egg6 in worker cells?

Dzicrzon saj'S the queen possesses the ability to lay male or female eggs at pleasiu'c, as the particular cell she is at any time supplying may require.

Mr. Wagner's theory is that the width of the cell determines the kind of egg deposited, the drone cell allowing the egg to pass out unim- pregnated, Avhercas the narrower worker cell c.iuses a compression of the queen's abdomen and a discharge of the seminal fluid from the spermatheca, sufficient to impregnate the egg and produce a worker bee. When it was ob- jected to this theory that the queen could lay worker eggs in cells not more than an eighth of an inch in depth, and which, therefore, could not compress the queen's abdomen, Mr. Quinby suggested in support of this theory that, ])erhaps, atllie moment of laying, the contents of the ab- domen were crowded down to, such a degree as to touch the sides of a worker cell, even not more than an eighth of an inch in depth.

Prof. Varro in the December number of the Bee Jocrnal, advances a new theory, which may be called in brief the theory of voluntary contractility. This theory gives the mother bee power to ]")roduce male or female offspring at will, merely by an effort of contraction, or the omission of such an effort. It may be the true theorj% but it does not seem to me to differ much from Dzierzon's; it rather expands or explains his. If this theory be true the mother bee has a power over her offspring not possessed by any other individual in the animal kingdom, from the lowest species up to man himself. Such a theory seems to imply a train of thought in the queen's mind at the laying of every egg somewhat as follows: The queen coming to a worker cell says to herself, "here is a worker cell; in this I will have a daughter," and forthwith giving a little sqeeze in some direction, the thing is done. Passing to a drone c?ll, she says to herself, "lo, here is a drone cell, in this I will have a son," and depositing an egg without the little squeeze, her will is accomplished. In busy times when laying two or three thousand eggs per day, she would be obliged to omit most of the above, and content herself with the main idea, which could | not in a single instance be omitted without lia- bility to mistake, viz : "son," "daughter," | "daughter," "son," and so on to the end of the . busy season, as she came upon one or the other i kind of cell.

It is generally conceded that the Dzierzon

theory of rei)roduetion in bees is true in this, viz: that drone eggs are laid unimpregnated, and that eggs producing workers and (iueena are impregnated at tlic time of laying from the seminal fluid contained in a sac, situated near the extremity of the abdomen and connected with the oviduct by a long and narrow channel or duct. This sac is readily found by the naked eye in any dissected queen. Its contents if taken from a fertile queen and crushed upon the thumb-nail with a knife blade, appears milky white; if submitted to microscopic examination and compared with the seminal fluid taken di- rectly from a drone, it appears identical with that. Seminal fllaments or spermatozoa, pre- cisely like those found in a fertile queen's semi- nal sac, and in a drone's semen, have been dis- covered by the microscope in worker eggs, and their absence in drone eggs has been as clearly proved by the same means. The question now i?, why are they, or how are they present in one and not in tiie other? or how can a queen im- pregnate every worker ogg and avoid impreg- nating every drone egg without making a single mistake? Can it be e'xplained without assigning to a queen bee a power of judgment, inemory, will, and general intelligence far above thatpos- sessed by the whole remaining catalogue of ani- male beings? To be sure, it will make but little difference to practical bee-keepers whether this question is ever settled. Still, it is rather inter- esting, and indeed, if my new theory is correct, it may lead to an easy method of lessening the amount of drones produced in any hive. The new theory, in brief, is this: "the depth of the cell determines the kind of egg." An ordinary fertile queen can lay impregnated eggs in any cell, from the depth of an eighth of an inch to the full depth of a worker brood cell. Any per- son who has seen a queen in the act of laying (and any one may do this in the height of the breeding season, by taking out the comb on which the queen is and holding it for a few min- utes,) must have noticed that her abdomen near- ly disappears, even in a worker cell, and that her position seems to be very awkward and diffi- cult to maintain while in the cell. 1 have never seen a queen laying in a drone cell, but from its greater depth, it must of course be still more difficult for the queen lo reaph the bottom of it to deposit an egg. Now, perhaps, this very dif- ficulty of reaching the bottom of so deep a cell, may cause such an elongation of the abdomen of the queen as so close involuntarilj- the mouth of the duct to the seminal sac, and hence prevent the egg from being impregnated. I have never known a queen to lay in drone comb of less than the full depth. I do not know of any facts that this theory does not exjilain. It is simple and does away with the necessity of attributing such unusual pliysical and mental powers to the queen bee. Does it not explain the result of the laying of I\[r. Quinby's very small queen mentioned on page 115, Bi-E Jot-'rxal for December? She could reach the bottom of the shallow or unfin- ished worker cells with fertilized eggs, but the effort to reach the bottom of the full-sized cells was too great, the duct was closed, the egg was

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deposited unimpregnated, and the result was a drone in a worker cell.

The practical advantage to be gained, suppos- ing this theory t.i be true, is this. We conld pre- vent drones from being produced by cutting down the drone cells to a shallower depth. Still the bees might rebuild them to the full depth in a short time and frustrate the plan.

In conclusion, I think it sufficient to say that instinct impels a queen bee to lay eggs, and tc lay them in the cells of honey comb, and most of them in worker cells, and I assume that she is so organized that her eggs are impregnated by the very act of laying, whenever she lays in cells of any depth up to the full depth of a worker cell, without any exercise of will or volition on her part. Also that she is so organized that when she attempts to lay in any deeper cell, the egg is necessarily and inevitably unimpregnated.

R. BlCKPOKD.

Seneca Falls, N. Y., Dec. 24, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Side-Opening Hives.

The correspondents of the December number of the Journal seem to be very prolific in fault- finding with side-opening hives; and as it seems to be principally directed at the American hive, let us examine the matter on that basis. One has tried it on his long low hives, and does not see much difference; yet he finds cases in which it is an advantage to have his hives side-open- ing. If he will try the American hive in its proper form, I think he will find other and ma- terial advantages. Another finds the fixed frames glued together, and causes a jarring in prying them apart. A very slight movement of the frame disengages it entirely, which is easily ef- fected by crowding the blade of a knife between two frames without any jarring whatever; while in the Langstroth hive the frames are glued to the rabbet, and in disengaging the first frame or two they have to be moved sidewaj's, one frame toward another, crowding and irritating the l)ees. Again he finds it difficult to put the frames in on account of crushing the bees. A very little smoke would obviate that difliculty. The irreg- ularity in the comjjs usually occurs at the top of the frames in the store combs, and causes no trouble when placed back in their former posi- tion; but if placed in another hive, or their posi- tion changed, they should be trimmed with a hot knife. Even in the Langstroth hive it takes but little irregularity to require the leaving out of a frame; and then the disposition of the bees to occupy all the space will increase the irregulari- ties. There are but few cases in which tliere is a necessity for looking at a particular comb. The accidental breaking of a comb may be one; and in that case the advantage of a side-opening hive is obvious. In looking for a queen in the Lang- stroth hive, it is the better plan to commence taking .out the iramcs at the side of the liive, giving a chance to separate the frames where the bees are principally clustered, rather than lifting one frame from between two others where the bees are clustered thicUy, disturbing them more

and being more likely to alarm the queen and render the search for her more difficult.

But your correspondent, D. M. W., seems to have the most trouble, and I think frequently referring him to the writings of his friend Lang- stroth, may coax him into good humor. In tho first place, he thinks no one could claim a pa- tent for movable frames. An improvement in the form or method of using them might possi- bly be patented, as three of the six claims of Mr. Langstroth' s reissue are for that and nothing else. Secondly, he thinks no one would claim a patent on the upright form of hive. Mr. Lang- stroth in his work on pages 339 and 330, says: "A tall hive in proportion to its other dimen- sions has some obvious advantages," yet "it would be impossible to use frames in it to any advantage;" and in a note, says "the deeper the frames the more difficult it is to make them hang true on the rabbets, and the greater the difficulty of handling them without crushing the bees or breaking the combs." If any one has attained the desideratum, evidently but ineffectually sought for by Mr. Langstroth, viz: the tall form of hive in wliich frames could be used, he should be lenientlj' dealt with by Mr. L.'s friends and allowed his own time to answer their queries.

lliirdly, In coming to the conclusion that no one could obtain a patent for side-opening hives, I think he has fallen into an error, perhnps from reading an editorial in the October number of the Bee Journal, in reference to the time when Mr. Langstroth made them, which he might have avoided if he had read carefull,y the circu- lar, in which he says Mr. L. gives the claims of his patent, as it is there distinctly stated that it was in 1854 that he made them and his hive was patented in 1853. In 1854, Mr. Langstroth tried but failed to adapt to his patented hive the side- opening form, which the German apiarians have used for thirty years, and which is now used by a greater number of them; though Prof. Varro says "movable sides have been coherently rea- soned out of use long, long ago." Yet the hive used by the Germans seems to be of the worst pos- sible form, being long and low, and opening at the front or rear, requiring the frames to be placed across the hive. And this was tlie form in which Mr. Langstroth made them, (as appears from a note at the foot of page 187 of his work), and opened at both ends, thus requiring a sta- tionary honey -board or some other contrivance for keeping the sides in place, which would ren- der it a very clumsj^ apology for a side-opening hive. Certainl)' the inventor of the American hive is entitled to the thanks of bee-keepers for having by a side-opening hive adapted the mo- vable frame to the tall form of hive, notwith- standing the ineffectual attempt of Mr. Lang- stroth to adopt the side-opening principle to his long low hive may have rendered side-opening hives unpatentable.

Fourthly, The using of two boxes for surplus honey, he thinks, is an idea of Mr. Quinby's. If so. it is not the only good idea jmblishcd hy him for the benefit of the public, v\'ithout asking a patent.

Fifthly, I do not discover anything in the work alluded to claiming the American hive to be vreather-proof, except its being well clamped

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to piovcnt M'arping. The •weiithcr-proof part was the claim of a correspoiidcut of the Bee

JOUHNAI,.

Sixthly, D. ]\I. "W. finds something: that may be patt'iitt'd. I'nt liow is lie to know? As lie gets no information from the jiatcntce. lie had better refer to the Patent Ofiice Report for 18G;5.

Seventh!}', Entrance rei;;nlator complicated and not Avorth much. This idea must have been derived from the engravinii;s of it, as it is no more complicated than the blocks, and is at least as useful. J. II. Smith.

Fkemont Centre, III., Dec. 14, 1867.

P. S. — Is false reasoning or a misstatement of facts by a person interested in a patent, any worse than by one not so interested?

J. n. S.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Deep langstroth Hives for Wintering Bees in the Open Air.

Mr. Editor: — In the December number of the Bee Journal, Mr. L. C. Francis asks, "What is the best height for the movable comb hive when the bees are wintered in doors?" At some other time, I hope to reply to this question; but will now offer some suggestions 'which maj'' serve to determine more satisfactorily the height of frame best adapted to wintering bees-in the open air.

The interior dimensions of the Langstroth hive, as used in our apiary, are eighteen and one- eighth inches from front to rear, fourteen and one eighth Trom side to side, and ten inches deep. In a previous number, you have referred to the mistake made by many, in supposing that the Langstroth hive is nccesf>arily a shallow hive. Thos? who think that a deep hive would be bet- ter for wintering bees in the open air, may easilj^ make such a hive on the Langstroth principle, and yet secure abundance of room for the storage of surplus honey; more even than is given in the ordinary construction of this hive.

Let the inside dimensions be twelve inclics from front to rear, fourteen and one-eightli from side to side, and fifteen inclics deep: we now liave the same cubic contents as before. Extend the sides so as to make a back portico of the same size with the front one, make the roof of both front and back porticoes on the same level with the honey -board, so that they form an ex- tension of the same.

The back portico needs no bottom, and when the ventilator is oi)cn will be a cool, sheltered j)lace for bees to cluster in very hot weather. Let tlie cover of the surplus honey boxes extend over both i)orticoes; if made about eleven inches deep, two tiers of boxes may be used on the plan first suggested by Mr. Quinbj'. You now have storage room for over one hundred pounds of surplus honey, and by removing boxes as soon as filled, for as much more as may be needed by the strongest stocks in the best sea- sons and locations. We shall try a few such hives in our apiary the coming season, and in order to test sooner their relative value for se- curing furplua honey, wc shall cutout the .comb

from some of our hives of the present pattern, and fit them into the deeper frames, which by turning them sideways, can be done with very little trouble or waste.

If a number of practical apiarians using our hive will make a few of these deeper hives, re- liable reports may be given at the close of the next season, as to their conii)arative yield of surplus honey; and by another winter, their re- lative value tor wintering bees in the open air may be tested. L. L. Langstroth.

Oxford, Butler Co., O., December, 1807.

[For the American Bee Journal. ]

Various Matters.

Mr. Editor:-— I see many practical hints in the Bke Journal for the management of bees, and I hope to sec many more.

One of the most important points is the surest way of getting straight combs in the movable frames. Mr. Tomliusou, in the August number, has liit upon tha right plan. I think it will not fail, unless the season is unfavorable for gath- ering honey, or the swarm is too small to fill the hive. It takes but little trimming to ac- complisli all that is desired. If there are any crooked combs I make them all as straight as possible in the spring, when there is little or no honey in them.

I do not allow my artificial swarms to build any combs in the frames until thej' have a fer- tile queen, as they are apt to build too much drone comb. I make the new swarms as strong as po^isihle, and expect them to store a large amount of honey in the boxes. In making these new swarms, I fill the hive M'iththe best'scaled brood I can spare from my strongest swarms, and usually take but one or two frames trom each hive. I then put the new hive on the stand where an old one stood, moving the old one to the right or left a little more than the width of the hive. If too many bees leave the old hive, change places with the hives, or put the old swarm nearer the old stand and the new one as much away. I think it better to make the new swarms in the early part of the da}-, and only on such days as the bees work well, avoiding all cold and wet weather. I keep all swarms as strong as possible, and onl}' make new- swarms to guard against natural sw-arm- ing. I do not see my bees at all on week days from 8 o'clock A. M. to o P. M.

It takes but little time to manage my bees in this way, and I am convinced that I get more houfy than I should do if I allowed natural swarming. This year I shall try to give all my new swarms a sealed queen cell, or a j'ouu'g queen, when I nuike them. 1 have not yet had a swarm w ith a young queen make any prepa- ration for swarming.

Bees should have room in proportion to the strength of the sw^arm. A smad swarm in a large hive will not increase as fast as they will in a hive that 1 hey can warm and fill. For this reason, when I take more than three frames from a hive at a time, I put in a division board so as to confine their labors to a smaller space, and give more room as soon as I think they re-

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quire it. I try to have straight comhs on each side of all combs being built. This will insure straight combs in almost all cases. I use any kind of old cotton cloth to smoke my bees with, and like it best made into a rope or bundle, a foot or more long, and bound every two inches with fine wire to check the burning at those points.

When I wish to handle the bees to make new swarms, put on or take otf the boxes, I light one end of this cotton rope and place the smok- ing end under the hive for a few moments, then take it out and proceed to business. If the bees get in my way on the combs, blow a little smoke on them and drive them where you wish.

L. C. WniTiKG.

East Saginaw, Mich.

[For tlic American Bee Journal ]

Surplus Honey.

James McMullen in December number gives some experiments in obtaining spare honey in frames of various heights, which, as a link in a long chain of facts, obtained accidentally and by experiment in various parts of the country, is of the greatest importance.

For, disguise the fact as one may, the main point in practical bee-keeping is now, and must ever be, how to obtain the most money.

While it is true that a few breeders of Italian bees, or may be Egyptian, find a fair sale at re- munerative rates, the great mass of bee-keepers must rely on surplus honey as their main source of profit. This fact is one, not for the few, but the many to answer. The whole community is interested, not so much in the curious mechani- cal instincts and newly-discovered exceptions to them, as in the supply of a fine and abundant article of honey in convenient form and at rea- sonable rates. A great strife has existed among makers of hives, and those who do not wish to buy them, and among breeders of Italian and other queens, and those who do not care to pay fancy prices for fancy stock, which it is not cer- tain they can propagate.

While this "war of races" and clash of hives may not be without its use, it will be acknow- ledged that the main hope of the pract^ical bee- keeper is, in a practical application of the know- ledge gained by those keeping bees for surplus honey.

It seems strange, when it is well understood that nearly all the honey stored in a bee hive is stored within an inch or two of the brood, that the fact has not arrested the attention of every observing bee-keeper. It is well known that however tall the hive, if it does not contain lioney, the brood is invariably started near the top, and if honey occupies the top the brood is deposited as near to the honey above it as pos- sible. If then the honey is gradually used out leaving more room above the brood first started, it is promptly occupied by the cpieen, in prefer- ence to passing down the combs. It may be set down as one of tlie few rules to which there are no exceptions, that a queen never accepts a lower place on the combs in which to deposit

her eggs, until compelled to by the storing of honey above. From this fact it will be seen that the workers, to all intents and purposes, not only dictate where the brood shall be de- posited, but also where the honey shall be stored.

In obedience to this instinct, if tall cavities are formed above the brood, or wide ones around it for the reception of surplus honey, the combs radiating from a common centre will be projected into them, or they will be neglected altogether, rather than start their combs from the top or most remote part.

From these facts, which no one familiar M'ith the management of bees will deny, it will be plain to every observer that in order to obtain the prompt acceptance of surplus cavities and the greatest amount of surplus honey, broad, shalloAv cavities, or better, a series of small, shallow boxes, containing in the aggregate not less than fifty pounds, should be provided in close proximity to the brood. The promptness with which bees accept spare boxes when put on immediately after hiving, and while the' queen is depositing eggs just below them, is a lair illustration of this fact.

The crowning spare honey excellencies of the Langstroth hive, are due more to its broad, shallow form, than to its movable frames. The triangular hive used by me is another and per- haps the best illustration of this principle.

T. F. Bingham.

Allegan, Mich , Dec. 23, 1867.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

How to Cut a Bee Trfee.

Novice wants to know how to cut a bee tree and not disturb the bees. Here is my plan, and I have cut cpiite a number, always with success. In the first place, I determine which way the tree leans, or which way the heaviest part of the top is. I then set up my ladder on the opposite side of the tree, and if one ladder will not reach to where the bees are, I tie two or three together till of suflScient length. Of course I have one ladder of my own, and borrow of my neighbors to make out the balance. I take along with me an auger, a hammer, an axe, some short boards for stageing, some nails, and rope enough for all purposes. Secure the ladder at the top to the tree with a 'rope or chain, then build a good stageing, and make it secure on the upper side of the tree, and high enough to stand on and work above the hollow where the bees are. Now take the auger and bore into the tree to asaer- tain how far up the hollow extends, as you only want the part the bees and honey are in. Have some cotton rags in your poaket to stop up the hole if you chance to bore into where the bees are. The entrance where the bees pass out and in also requires stopping in the same manner. After finding where the toj) of the hollow is, you want a good coarse sharp handsaw, with which saw in on the under side of the tree four or five inches. Then saw the balance of the tree off on the upper side. After sawing in a little more than the width of the saw, drive into the saw-cut

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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somo good hard ■wedge to keep the saw from pinching; also to make the top fall in the direc- tion 3'on wish. It is hetter to cut anotlier saw- cut on the under side, slanting it down into the first cut to take out a piece. It Avill fall properly if cut entirely clear of the stub. A dry day when there is no wind should be selected for this work. Now the top is olF, the next thing is to find where to saw of! the hive just below the combs. This you can ascertain by using the auger again. Ke.\t you want a good long rope, strong enough for the use intended. Tic this around the hive and bore a hole through a small tree near the ground to fasten your rope to. If a small auger is used, put a pin or peg through the hole, or if a two iuch auger, put the rope through the hole. Now saw of? your hive and set it on the stagciug, cut a couple of notches in the stub for the rope to render in. Place the rope in those notches over the top of the stub. As soon as j'ou saw off the hive, tie a cloth over the bottom to keep the bees in. Tighten the rope at the bottom, see that all is right, knock •down your stagciug, drive your sled or wagon under, with plenty of straw in it, then ease ;iway on the rope and down come your bee ', "right side up with care."

The whole performance need not occupy two men more than two hours after j'ou get to the tree. Of course this operation can be varied ac- cording to circumstances. Should the tree be extraordinarily large, cut it down on a warm day in April, when the comb is nearly empty, and transfer at once. That is, chop down the whole tree. Elisha Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

P. S. — If those bees were mine, I should take them down at once — that is, if the tree is not too lai'ge.

[For the American Bee Jouraal.]

Hermaphrodite Bees.

Seyeral years ago I had a queen that produced about one-tenth hermaphrodite bees among her progeny. This fact was noticed early in the spring. The queen was an Italian, introduced late the previous fall. These hermaphrodites were thrown out continually by the workers, as fast as hatched, and were of all imaginable mix- tures between workers and drones. Some had the head and thorax of a drone, and the abdo- men of a perfect worker, while others seemed bj' external appearances to be perfect workers, but on examination were found to possess the male organs of generation. Others, vice versa, would appear like perfect drones, only possessing the pollen cavity of the worker, while others again would almost appear like one-half drone and one-half worker, blended together length- wise. This queen was as prolific as others, as the colony was steadily on the increase during the spring, till another queen was substituted for her sometime in May. How such brood, posse§^sing these mixed characteristics is pro- duced, is a mystery to me; at least I will let others decide. R. B. Oldt.

New Berlin, Pa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Alsike Clover and Other Crops for Be<

Pasturage.

In the spring of 186G, we had sowed near oui apiary, in the town of Watorvliet, Albany coun- ty. New York, a field of a1)out two acres of oats, and seeded the same with Alsike clover, at tha rate of about four pounds of seed to the acre, (which, when it germinated, we found some what mixed with red clover). This season, 18G7, this clover was in bloom about six weeks, and bees, both Italian and black, worked on it daily during that time; suffice to say, the field was literally "a sea of fiowers," and bees ap- peared as fond of it as of Mignionette.

We had only a few swarms of bees, having lost an apiary of about sixty colonies, by "foul brood." But, suffice to say, that from five colo- nies of Italian bees, we took 600 pounds of box honey, and from one Italian swarm, we took one swarm of bees, and irom these two 320 pounds of super houe}% which sold at forty cents per [jouud — the bees having plenty of honej' in the hives to winter. We value the Italian swarm at $15, and the honey brought $128 — thus the total profit on this swarm for 1867, was $143. Wc hope this may have been excelled in the State oi New York, but we think Alsike clover had much to do in producing the foregoing result, as we had one other small field — in all say three acres.

We think so much of it we have imported some more seed from Europe, and hope to sow more and have some to spare to those who may need. From what we have witnessed with Alsike clover the two past seasons, we should think that two acres of Alsike clover would, in a good season, furnish honey suQlcient for one hundred and fiitj' or two hundred colonies of bees. And as this croji is excellent forage for cattle, as the stalk is always green when most of the seed is fully ripe, it makes a good quality of liaj when ripe enough to save the seed, which is not the case with red clover generally. Moreover, the seed threshes very easily and can be liberally secured by a common flail or threshing machine. We give it as our opinion, that if every far- mer would put one-half of the land now seeded to grass seed into Alsike clover seed, bees might be very profitablj' multiplied in our country an hundred fold, and each hive furnish manj^ times its present profit, and quite as manj' cattle sus- tained by the arrangement as at the present time. We fondly look forward to a day, only a few years in the future, when crops will be sown largel}^ with a view to profit from bees as from other stocks; and that, when that time arrives and apiarian science is widely extended, so as to empty combs of their honey and pre- serve the combs, that a single swarm of bees will be found to give from 300 to 700 pounc's ol surplus honey in a single season! Why not? Let us make a calculation. It is agreed that it requires about one pound of comb to contain twenty-five pounds of honey, and to make one pound of comb, about from fifteen to twenty pounds of honey arc requisite.

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THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Now, if single swarms can be found that are well supplied with white and Alsike clover that will deposit in boxes, (making all the comb of course,) three hundred and twenty pounds of super honey; if we suj^pose one pound of comb j-eqnisite to contain twenty -five pounds of honey, then we must have about thirteen pounds of comb to contain three hundred and twenty pounds of honey, and each pound of comb using from fifteen to twenty pounds of honey to make it, would, at the lowest calculation, give us one hundred and ninety-five pounds more of honey. Bo, that, if our bees could also be furnished with a full supply of empty clean comb, as well as Alsike clovei", (which can be done, we are in- formed, by emptying our I'rames of comb with a machine,) we shoulcl obtain, according to above rates, five hundred and fifteen pounds of surplus honey per swarm!

Now, if we maj' additionally suppose the bees supplied in spring with honey-producing crops, such as seed turnips, mustard, rape, ttc, and in the fall with buckwheat, sweet, or Mellilot clo- ver, borage, «&c., this product might be easily in- creased one-half, which would give us, say seven hundred pounds of surplus, in a single season as the product of one swarm of bees.

We know this looks as speculative as it did forty-five years since, to talk of travelling on a road thirty -five to forty miles per hour, and draw hundreds of tons with one steam horse — which your correspondent remembers well was hooted as the vagaries of a fanatical brain — but now al- most every child is familiar with the fact of its being done daily.

Let our far*ning apiarians raise crops for our bees, as well as our beeves, and it will pay us a better per cent on the capital invested ! For to carry our speculative calculations a little further, suppose we sell seven hundred pounds of honey (the anticipated product of a single colony in the good time coming) at twenty cents per pound, we have a profit of $140 per colony! Enough to buy two good beeves, and which will not cost a tithe as much to produce.

Giles B. Aveky.

Albany, N. Y.

[For the American Bee .lournal.]

Answers to the following questions are de- sired:

1st. Will white clover, as a honej^-producing plaut, grow as far south as FloridaV If not, what is the Southern limit at which it will grow?

2d. Will borage do as well there as North, when cultivate'^ for beesV

od. Does buckwheat yield honey South?

4th. Is tlie yield of honey greater in the South per swarm, than in the North on an average of seasons?

5th. How many months in the year do bees fly out to gather honey in the latitude of Florida, and gather as much per day as they consume?

6th. Could a sliilful apiarian, using frame hives, get a larger yield of honey South than North — swarms being of same size and seasons the same? J. M. Price.

BxjFi^ai.o GiiOVE, Iowa.

[For the American Bee JournaL]

Success in Keeping Bees.

Several parties have written to me aboiit Silas Way's success prior to the present year, in the keeping of bees. (See Bee Journal, Vol. 3, page 99). Mj first acquaintance with Mr. Way was in the summer of 1801, since which t me i have freciuently visited him and his apiar3\ At that time he had about sixty hives of bees, and I do not think he has had less than that num- ber at any time since. He has kept about one hundred colonies for the past two seasons, and now has nearly two hundred. The number has lately been reduced by sales. But in case he cannot sell at proper figures, the lullest combs of honey are taken away and sold in glass jars. The central combs, those having but little honey, are put away for next year's use. The bees are of course destroyed.

I do not know precisely what the profits of Mr. Waj'^'s apiary have been fn m j^ear to year since 1861. but have good reason to believe that the average has been not less than ten dollars per hive for those wintered over. He always winters his bees in the cellar of his house, and seldom loses any. This is boarded up around the ends and tides, and is also provided with a fioor. It is perfectly dry and dark, and easily ventilated. It is about sixteen feet square. He proposed to put all his bees into it this winter, and probably did so about the last of Novem- ber.

Very few bee-keepers, even with frame hives, have had such an average success for so long a time as Mr. Way. Some three years ago he adopted the frame hives, but lias given them no more attention than he would the box-hives, lie has, however, concluded that it will pay to give them more attention heiealter. He seems .satisfied that bees will store a hundred pounds ' as a surplus, to the family, if given proper atten- tion. JVI. M. Balkkidce. St. Charles, III.

!■■

[Fur the Americax BeeJourual..]

Diseases of Bees.

An article with the above heading appeared in the Bee Journal, Vol. 3, page 154, in which the writer complains of a disease as he terms it, which affected his bees. This is common, though not commonly known. I am happy to inform the writer that the trouble with his bees was not a di-sease, but caused by the bees work- ing at the blossom of the silk-weed, (Asclepias cornuti). Both sepals and petals of this flower are turned backward towards the stem, forming by five acute angles as notches, a good trap to catch and hold a bee. The flower being thick and firm, holds the bee fast, and struggling only draws the insect deeper in the cavity. The trou- ble then is the pollen of the silk-weed, Avhich at- tached itself to the foot of the bee. A minute description of this will be found by referring to the "Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained," by M. Quinby, last edition, page 83,

New Berlin, Pa. R. B. Oldt.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

153

[For tho American Bee Journal.]

Surplus Honey Receptacles.

Mr. James McMuUiu, in an article entitled "Buihliug Combs and Storing Iloney," page 114, Vol. 3, Bek Journal, suys: "The best niode of securing suri)]us lioncy isliould engross the attention of the bee-keeping public." I agree with him full}', and wish more bee-keep- ers would give their experience and their views on this subject. I am more and more convinced tliat bees will woi'k in proportion to the room given them by their keepers. That is, the larger the sx>a<:ti given them at the prcyper worlcing season, the luoi'ccoDib, honeu, and brood tlicy tcill produce. Of course this can be true onlj' up (o a certain limit; but I think the limit is not reached by a majority of bee-keepers. Especially is it not rtaciicd in receptacles for surplus honey, mainly because the shape of the hive Avill not admit of it; all hives that I have ever seen, except the broad and shallow form preferred by Mr. Laug- stroth, being too small upon the top to furnisii suliicient room for honey boxes. It does not avail to say that when one set of boxes is filled 3^ou can replace them witii another, for, in most seasons, by the time one set of boxes is tilled, whatever their size, the honey harvest is past. The true way is to have room for the lull capa- city of the swarm from the moment they begin l;o store surplus honey. Then all the bees in the hive t'lat are fitted to labor have room to work, and they will work.

I make my hives even broader than Mr. Lang- strotli recommends, namely: eighteen inches square, which, vrith the sides one inch thick, and tiie ends one and a quarter inches thick, requires a. honey-board twenty by twenty and a half inches. This entire surface — not a quarter of an inck is lost any where — I cover with eight boxes, holding, when full, six pounds each. On the top of these, I place eight more of the same size, making sixieen boxes — with glass sides and ends, ten ami a quarter inches long, five inches v»'ide, and four and a half inches high, put on one hive all at once at the beginning of the honey liar vest — say when the white clover comes into blos- som— provided the early part of tiie season has been propitious; if otherwise, a little later. It is a great disadvantage to put on surplus honey boxes too early, as much of the heat of the liive i-equired for maturing brood, is thereby lost. Every surplus honey box should be supplied with as much clean white comb, lirmly stuck on, as can be spared. A small piece is better than none; cxcw a few cells will sometimes induce bees to commence work in a box, when an empty one would be entirely neglected. The use of good clean comb in surplus honey boxes cannot be over-estimated. Did Mr. 3fcMulliu use such pieces in those kcney boxes which his bees failed io fill? If he did, his experience is different from mine. I have never failed to have bees work in boxes containing comb, even with the honey- board separating them from the main hive. I have seen my bees at work in skxteen such boxes on one hive at one time. I believe they would have worked in more as readilj-, but i thought sixteen would do. I think, however, I shall

I adopt Mr. Alley's plan for boxes— just half the

I size and width of those I now use, viz: two and

a half inches with glass sides only. This will

j give one good thick comb in each box, weighing

I box and all, about three pounds. I believe it

• will sell better in this ((uantity and in this form

than in any other. This size would give room

; on the top of my iuves for thirty-two boxes, and

1 think any go(;d strong colony would in a good

i honey season, till them sii in the same time that

■ they would till two or three boxes holding ten or

' a dozen jiouuds each.

[ In using frames of full size for surplus honey last summer, I had the same experience that Mr. McMullin relates. The bees built from the bot- tom ui)wards. I have since been told by an ex- perienced bee-keeper that the bees would hq,vo begun at the tops of the frames, if I had given them one full sheet of comb to climb up on. I have no doubt this is correct, and shall try it next summer. I do not care to have much surplus honey in this tbrm, as it is not so saleable. Bees seem to dislike to store honey so far from home as nine or ten inches from the top of their hive. I once made a large cap for a box hive, the whole size of the hive ten inches high with glass sides, imtting a post in the centre for the bees to climb up on. I watched them attentively many days. They came up at last, increasing in numbers eveiy day, gradually covering the bottom of the box, a few exploring the top. One day they were clustered an inch or two up the post, spread- ing out gracefully from all sides of the post to the bottom of the box. The next day they were up a little higher, and so on up to six or seven inches, my expectations rising -with the bees. But there they stopped climbing, and altera few days more, swarmed without depositing a parti- cle of honey. I concluded it was a poor honey season, and had not then learned to use old comb as an inducement for bees to begin.

Home of the ideas above have been advanced before, but they seem to be important enough to bear repetition. R. Bickfokd.

Sexeca F^vIlLS, N. Y., January, 1SG8.

[For tlie American Bee Journal ]

Wintering Bees.

Mk. Editor- — Soon after I commenced keep- ing bees, I used the Weeks or Vermont hive. When I used a patent hive those days I followed the directions. I was to have the bottom lioard suspended at least one inch below the bottom for wintering; I soon found that that plan did not work satisfactorily. 1 had a neighbor who used the common box fuvc; he had a two inch hole in the top which he left open all winter; the hives setting on the top of hemlock stumps without any protection, summer or winter, except some- thing to keep tiie rain out and snow from beat- ing into the top ot the hive. He pla.stered up tight all around the bottom of the hive for win- ter. Ilis bees wintered well, and would every sea.son swarm from two to three weeks earlier than mine; scarcely anj' of them would come out on the snow until the weather Avas warm enough for them to get back into the hive.

yiuce then I have observed that whenever ]

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THE AMEEIOAN BEE JOURNAL.

have found a swarm in the woods where the hollow was below the entrance, the comb was always briglit and clean, and the bees were al- ways in the best condition; no dead bees in the bottom of the log; and on the contrary when I have j'ound a tree where the entrance was below the hollow, there was always more or less mouldy comb, dead bees, &c.

Again, if you see a box hive with a crack in it from top to bottom large enough to put youv lingers in, the bees are fill right in nine cases out often. The conclusion that I have come to is this, that with upward ventilation without any current of air from the bottom of the hive, your bees will winter well without any cobs.

Your cobs might be used on the top of the chimney, to keep the moisture Irom the tire from escaping into the air, with just as much sense, but some patent right man or company has re- commended corn cobs, fine hay, chopped straw, &c. So people must pay five or ten dollars for the right to be humbugged, and the more com- plication and the more humbug there is about a hive, the better the thing sells among the inex- perienced; and as a general rule the agent is as ignorant as those he sells to. A glass or pane of glass fixed over the ventilator to condense the moisture arising from the bees, is of the same stripe as the corn cobs. What I would recom- mend is this, that your corn cob advocate have a bundle of corn cobs fixed over his mouth and nose, to condense the breath instead of letting it escape into the air. There would be just as much sense in it, in my estimation. The old theory that you must have a wutch pot hanging in the chimney, ought to be exploded, along with the idea that there is a great mystery about bee- keeping.

Enough on this head at present.

Osage, Iowa. Elisha Gallup.

[For tke American Bee Journal.]

Numerical Force of Stocks.

Pleasant Hill, Ivy. Mr. Editor: — I have chanced to meet with a portion of a discussion that has been so ably con- ducted in the Country Gentleman, between our two very worthy friends respecting the compara- tive value of swarming and non-swarming hives. Both are honorable and experienced apiarians, and have presented the claims of their favorite plans with tact and ability. But there is one point which to me is an important one, that so far as I have observed, has been entirely over- looked, and that is the relative value of the res- pective numerical force of the different forms of hives; though as I have not been favored with a perusal of the entire discussion it it may have undergone investigation and not reached my eye; if not, I would be pleased to see it discussed in the Journal. If a section or plantation will only produce forage enough for fifty stocks in ordinary swarming hives, containing two thou- sand cubic inches, the same number of non- swarmers would probably contain treble the nu- m(?rical force, overstock the place and not be able to obtain more than their own support, leaving

no sur^Dlus for their owner. Now the question arises whether the proper numerical force would prove most remunerative with the least expense of fixtures and attention in fifteen or eighteen of these, or of fifty of those. And, also, which form would produce the best results at the least ex- pense, with an equal numerical force and un- limited resources. If experiments have satisfac- torily demonstrated the superiority of either plan in a numerical jDoint of view, I for one would take it as a special favor to see the results stated in your valuable journal. If bees were in de- mand in the market and including the renewal of the ciueens in the swarmers, they would doubt- less prove the most proIital)le. Yet the non- swarmers might be supplied with prolific queens by rearing them on the nucleus plan.

B. B. D.

[For the Americau Bee Joarnal.]

A, Singular Occurrence and a Query.

In the autumn of 1860, on visiting a small apiary which I had established several miles from home, I found one large hive containing about a pint of bees, and from seventy to eighty pounds of honey and pollen. It was a young swarm, and the only remarkable thing was the hive con- tained beautiful white comb nearly all worker size, but there had ')iot been a worker or drone reared in the hive. I have never known a simi- lar case in twenty years' experience. I there- fore wish to record it as something out of the usual course of bee-economy.

I desire, also, to inquire in what condition was the queen of said swarm during the amassing of such abundant stores. The friend having charge of them eould not tell whether they were ac- companied by a fertile or virgin queen, or whether two or more swarms had not united. That they had had a queen was evident from the kind of comb constructed; but she was not found when the disconsolate remnant of a once power- ful swarm was dislodged from the hive. The combs were removed and fitted into frames and given to other swarms and stocks, and were not considered the less valuable for having a large amount of pollen. AV. J. Davis.

YouNGSViLLE, Pa., January, 1868.

For the American Bee Journal.

Italian Bees and Red Clover Honey.

Three hundred pounds of honey stored in boxes by strong stocks of Italian bees, as there were at work at different times a bee to every four feet of surface, and no other fiowers in bloom at the time to yield a surplus for storing.

There must have been large quantities stored in the hives during the yield, as the honey was noticed by several bee-keepers in handling the frames of their hives. The honey had the taste of raisins. Its color was nearly white or slight- ly shaded with pink. The season the driest of the last twenty. White clover dried up in time to allow basswood or linden honey to be stored in boxes by itself. The number of stocks at work within the radius of one mile was four hundred and fifty. J. M. MARVIN.

St. Charles, III.

THE AMERICAN r>]<:E JOURNAL.

155

[For tho American Bee Journal.]

West GEonoiA, Vt. Mr. Rditor: — I liavo cortninly obtaiued more valuable iut'ormatiou from a few numbers of the Bee Jouuxal thau from twenty-five years' ex- perience with bees, bee-rooms, dividing-hives, and such nonsense. Now, I jiropo.se to avail myself of tlie generously protFered experience of scientific men, who have better ability and op- jiortunity than have fallen to my lot. 1 liave built a bee-house of cedar i)lank in a hill side: it is eight by twelve feet, and eight feet inside at tlie upper or highest point. The roof descends to the north and is just above the turf, and is lined with boards and tilled with six inches of saAv- dnst. "While the cold has been Irom 10 to 38 de- grees below zero for ten successive days in the open air, it has not frozen in the bee-lio'use.

JMy "Langstroth" frames are about eight inches deep. Is it necessary to cut winter passages through the combs, or is it warm enough thereto enable them to reacli all the honeyV

The new cedar walls and posts render the air very otf'ensiv-e to me Avhen in the room, and the honey must partake of the flavor, for hen's eggs packed in cedar sawdust were spoiled in two days. Is this odor or t:.ste disagreeable or un- healthy to the bees? Arc wild bees sometimes found in cedar trees? The house will contain thirty swarms. It now has nine, llow large should the ventilators be, and how constructed? Last spring my bees were nearly destitute of honey. I transferred them into the Langstroth hive. I did not know then how to cut down the comb to advantage, and did not get in all my frames; thinking the honey-board a disadvan- tage, I left it out and used frames above and below, which enabled me to feed forced, late, or light colonies with surplus honey conveniently and safely. There was, however, one difficulty. The bees continued their combs upward from the lower frames, instead of down from the guide combs above. The objections to the honey- board are its thickness, which makes more climb- ing for the bees, and its tendency to reduce the communication, and therefore the temperature in the drawers is too low for the bees to work their wax to advantage, if at all.

Now, with a vicAV of obviating this objection, I propose to use honey-boards made of slats three-sixteenths of an inch thick and one and a half inches wide, witli each end inserted in pieces of wood, like the sides of tlic slat frames; tlie slats to be half an inch apart, for the free admis- sion of the bees and warm air from below. The openings are crosswise as iisual.

For convenience, I design to use common frames adapted to the lower part of the hives, until I have increased my colonies sufhciently; then, if the}- prosper, dispense with the frames and use drawers (for market) with slat bottoms to correspond with the honey-board, unless frames arc saleable or portable in some form. Now what departure from the above course would your experience advise?

I have in my care a large and productive col- ony that had not killed all their drones, up to the lasl fair day in November. Is this a positive evidence that they arc queeulcss? They are in- a log hive and cannot be examined.

These questions may have all been answered in the Jouhnal; if so, I am ignorant, and so I presume are many otliers. ' A. Novice.

[For the Aiiinican IJee Journal.]

Experience in Wintering Bees in the Open Air.

Editou Bee Jouunai.:— Wintering bees is one of tlie greatest perplexities the apiarian has to contend with. 1 prefer to liave my bees re- main on their summer stands, enclosed with a tight board fence about live feet high, with the hive setting near the ground. I use frame hives, and have no trouble to winter bees in them successfully, by removing ihe hoacy-board just before winter sets in, and taking out one or more frames, setting these away in an empty hive until the cold weather is over and then re- placing them. The frames in tlie hive are now moved further apart, which gives tlie bees a good chance to protect tliemselves from the cold. To confine the heat and absorl) the mois- ture, straw cut to a suitable length is placed on the top of the frames. Some of your readers might perhaps say that bees would get out of honey in cold weather, if clustered between three or four ranges of comb. This might be the casein hives that are very wide. Such hives are not tit to winter bees in., as they can- not go through the combs in cold weather to get at their honey, even if winter passages are used. I have had liees in broad frame hives with winter passages in the combs, each frame had also a cross piece through the centre, which gave more room still for the bees to pass through. Yet they died with honey in their hives. Still, these passages should not be neglected.

My hives are narrow which makes the frames of medium depth and long, so the bees can pass up from front to rear in the coldest weather; thus giving them access to at least twenty pounds of honey. Tliese frames are not quite so convenient to handle as shallow frames; but I have no trouble in doing it. A board placed loosely in the side of all frame hives, which can be drawn out, thus leaving a vacant space, will much facilitate the removal of the frames. Fre- quent handling the frames and disturbing the bees as much as some do, is wrong, and will always prove more or less injurious.

East Springfield, Pa. C. Gere.

[Few the American Bee Journal.]

Terke Haute, Ind., Dec.-30, 18G7.

Mr. Editor: — AVill you or some of your cor- respondents who know, or think they know, be so good as to state what is the best thickness for lumber of which to make bee hives, when they are to stand out of doors all tho time, say in lat- itude about 40 degress?

Also, please state whether it would be advisa- ble to cut out the drone comb or a portion of it to prevent tlie raising of too muny drones. If cut out, would the bees be most likely to fill the space with drone or worker comb?

A. Dun LAP.

15(5

TiiJHJ AMEKiCJAIN BKii JOUKNAL.

Correspondence of the Bee Journal.

New Cumberlakd, (West Va. ) I have eighty-seven stands of bees, two of them Italian. I intend to give the most of them Italian qnecns next summer.

I have a good location for bees, plenty of forest and locust trees, with lots of white clover; and have had good success heretofore by good man- agement. I hope your Journal may en able me to add a few pounds more to the product of each hive, which will make a nice thing for me. Yours respectfully,

Alfred Chapman.

Manchester, (N. H.,) Dec. 24, 1867. I received the specimen numbers of the Ameri- can Bee Journal, and like them very much. Inclosed please find two dollars (|2) for one years' subscription.

Irving M. Corning.

CoLEBROOK, (N. H.,) Dec. 20, 1867.

I enclose one dollar, ($1). Please continue sending the Bee Journal. I cannot do with- out it, so long as it is so interesting and Novice writes liis experience in bee-keeping.

Could we not have an article on bee-hunting this winter, while business is dull? There are a great many wild bees in the wood^ that might be looked up, if we only knew how.

William C. Merrill.

Lattner's, Dubuque Co., (Iowa ) Inclosed you will find two dollars for the Bee Journal. I find it just the thing every man ought to have who keeps a colony of bees. To its columns I mainly attribute my success with bees this season. I find the Italians far superior to the black bees, and as I wish to Italianize all my colonies next season, give us all the hints you can in that direction. I will give you a little of my experience.

I received a queen from Mr. Langstroth late m the season, I think the latter part of August. The queen I put in a queenless colony, which had no brood of any kind. I left her one day in the queen cage. The next day I let her run out, and she was well received. 'I'hree days afterwards I found eggs in the cells of the mid- dle comb. I then changed stocks with a very

Lynn, (Mass ,) Dec. 31, 1867.

I am a beginner in the bee business and wish to get practical and scientific knowledge to as- sist me in the management of my bees, without which I should doubtless fail to realize success.

I have read the works of Langsti-oth, Quinby, and others, which I like very much, and would not be without them for any consideration. Still j I consider no bee-keeper fully armed and equip- | ped for apiarian science, without the aid of your valuable Journal. A periodical of this kind is just what is needed to encourage and promote so useful and interesting a brunch of rural econo- my as bee culture; and I trust it will be sustained and continued so long as apiarians make money and bees make honey.

P. R. Russell.

strong colony, and every evening gave them about two tablespoonsful of honey in the upper box or super. When I noticed the black bees commenced killing their drones, I examined my Italians again, which was about the first week in September. All the combs, except the two outside ones, were supplied with eggs and brood, and I observed that all the drone cells were full of brood. I then took out my queen and put her in a weak colony, which I had previously made cjueenless. In about nine days afterwards I examined the colony again, and found not less than ten queen cells capped over. I cut all out but two, and put them into other swarms which I had also made queenless. All, save three, destroyed the cell I introduced and built no others. It was well I had saved the old queens. M^ young queens hatched, and now I could not find a black drone remaining, and not more than a few hundred Italians which were all in one hive. In about eight daj's I noticed that war was made on them; and when I examined the hive I found fresh eggs laid in the two middle combs. Of my other young queens only one has laid eggs up to this time. Wonder, will they commence laying next spring?

I think of pushing the Italians early in the spring, and raising queens as early as they com- mence laying drone eggs and pure Italians can be raised. I shall give it a trial. I do not like the half breeds. They are too cross for me, and I believe will rob others sooner than gather honey from flowers. I found two of my hives attacked exclusively by that kind.

Paul Lattner.

Gardiner, (Me.,) Dec. 14, 1867.

The past season has been a very good one for honey, though producing few swarms. I have taken 596 pounds of honey from seven hives of black bees. My practice has been to feed spar- ingly in the spring to promote brooding. I use Kidder's double hive. I have transferred black bees and introduced the Italian queen at the time of transfer, with perfect success.

Yours truly, George W. Blanchard.

Sardinia, Ohio, Jan. 15, 1868. Enclosed I send you two dollars for the ''Bee Journal," one year, commencing if you like with No. 1, Vol. 3. I received a sample num- ber last autumn, and like the paper very well. The enterprise should by all means be sustained.

C. B. MooRE.

Ottawa, III., Dec. 28, 1867. Please send me your Bee Journal for one year. I enclose the price, $2. I like the paper very much.

Baldwin City, Kansas, Jan. 17, 1868. I have received a copy of the American Bee Journal and am well pleased with it. I en- close one dollar. Send me the paper.

Strawberries, when in blossom, arc visited by bees rather for pollen than for honey, of which latter they produce comparatively little. Tho pellets of pollen are brownish or ciuuamou- colored.

Tllb: AMERICAN BKK JOtJJlNAL.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY, 18G8.

SI^^TiiE Ameiucan Bee JouKNAii is now pubiishcd monthly, in tlic City of Washington, (D. C.,) lit $3 per annum. All communications should bo addressed to the Editor, at that place.

E^°Though we have given up nearly all our space in this number to our correspondents, we have still a large supply of communications on hand unused, v,iiich shall have early attention. There is manifestly a rapidly growing interest in bee culture being developed in almost all sec- tions of the country. We trust it may conduce to a corresponding increase of our subscription list, so that the Bee Journal may be adequately and permauentlj' sustained. Yie should have not only correspondents, but subscribers also, in every town or township in the Union.

tWWe greatly regret to state that a return of the disease with which he has been for many years sorely afllictcd, will prevent Mr. Lang- stroth, for the present, from furnishing our read- ers with the account of his experiments in win- tering bees in the ope a air, which his article on that subject, given the last number of the Bee Journal, led us to expect. »

NEW PUBLICATIONS.- We have received from the author, D. L. Adair, of Hawesville, (Ky.), a copy of his "-New Syatera of Bee-keeping^ adapted to the TiahiU and cliaractcrisiics of the Honey Bce^ loith descriptions of and directions for managing bees in the Section Hive.'''' From the cursory examination we have been able to give it, it appears to contain, under distinct heads, much information serviceable to beginners in practical beeculture; but we have not had leisure to examine the "new system," or acquaint ourselves with the peculiarities of the "section liive." Mr. Adair is known to our read(!r3 as a contributor to the Bee Jour- JTAL. See advertisement.

A copy of the '■'Illustrated Annual Registr of Rural Affairs for 1868," has been sent to us by the publishers. Luther Tucker & Son, of the •'Country GentlemaV;^'' Albany, N. Y. It con- tains a large number and great variety of amply illustrated articles, interesting and useful to Farmers, Fruit Growers, Gardeners, and House- keepers in general. This annual has now been published fourteen years. A complete set would be a valuable addition to any farmer's library.

We have, also, received from the Prairie Far- mer Company, Chicago, 111., a copy of the '■'■Prairie Fanner Annual for 1808," being the first of an intended Western series of this class of publications. It is well printed, handsomelv illustrated, and presents some new features — such as the Agricultural and Horticultural Di- rectory— which enhance its value.

[For tho AmnriCHn Bee Journal.]

Patent Hives.

Mr. Editor: — T suppose that as I am not sel- ling queens, or in the patent hive business, I have a right to say what I clioose about patent hives, ice. To begin, v/e have the Lee hive, the Langstroth, the American, the Kidder, tlie Flan- ders, d'c., A:c. Each agent says that his is the best. The Lee agent is selling rights at live dol- lars, with every part of the patent left out. But people must be humbugged; so I suppose he thinks he must do his share. The Langstroth agent has not been in the business for quite a while Why Mr. Langstroth does not furnish his agents witli some other form of hive, besides the broad shallow things that I have seen, is more than I can understand. He certainly ought to know by this time that they are good for nothing in the hands of most becskecpers. I have examine.d any quantity of those hives, and I never yal found a single colony with the combs ])uilt right; and moths by the thousand in them. The American or King hive has i'fs slanting bot- tom board, which is out of date j-ears ago; the nucleus swarming apparatus, which takes tliree or four days to perform what any person ought to perform in tifteen minutes; and then the fram-es fixed permanently at equal distances — a verj^ bad feature in any hive, thrown aside by practical bee-keepers years ago; and then a cross liar in the centre of each frame, oceup\'iug spaca that ought to be occupied by brood in the breed- ing season. The Kidder hive, too expensive al- together, with fixtures about it tliat are of no earthly use whatever. The Flanders hive is of the same stripe.

I give Mr. Langstroth the credit of introducing the movable comb hive, and he ought to be paid for it.

What I Avant to tell new beginners is this— you want a cheap, simple, movable comb hive. (If anj- one is entitled to pay for using the frames, it is Mr. Langslroth.) One and a half inches from centre to centre of the frames, is the right distance for the Italians. Black bees will allow the frames a little closer. Let all the other hive men whistle. Don't give tlicm your monc}'- for nothing. This advice will cost you nothing. Of course those who have got bit will hate to own it; bul that neither makes it true or false.

The reason whj' I %>"rite articles on the bee i question is because.' my particular knowledge on said ciuestion ouglil to l)e Avorth something to [ the inexperienced towards helping them along; I and T presume the editor is so posted that any ; article that is not of some use he w.ll not insert \ in the Journal. I certainly shall not be of- ! fended if any of my articles are rejected.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Ry the way, we have liad a Bee Keepers' Con- vention in this State, and their discussion was about corn cobs. At a future time, I may have somethiug to say on that corn cob question.

Osage, (Iowa). Slisha Gallup.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Two Fertile Queens in one Hive.

In attemptin<; to introduce the first I^alian queen in my possession, I accidentally deprived her of or»e of her smaller wings. This was pulled out of its root in the effort to save her from enraged bees. At the time the loss of the queen was feared, but beyond expectation, she was afterwards well received and became very prolific. But during lier life, which was about two years, the bees would continually construct queen cells, apparently to supersede her. By the way, this was very important to me. I could obtain all the queen cells I wanted, and also have them nearly matured in a full stock, which to some breeders seems to be of so much importance. But to return: this queen was re- moved the second year to a distant apiary. Some time in the fall I wished to use her at home. Imagine my surprise when, on examining the colony she Avas in, I found it to consist of nearly one-lialf hybrids. Opening the hive, I found the same original queen, about which I could not be mistaken. But where the hybrids came from was, at the time, a mystery to me, for I never dreamed of two queens being in a hive. A closer examination, however, revealed another large but darker queen. These queens were then put in different hives where each continued to lav during the fall, but the old queen was massing next spring.

Kew Berlin, Pa. R. B. Oldt.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Voluntary Contractility of the Queen Bee at Oviposition.

Mr. Editor:— In Bee Journal No. G, Vol. 3, on page 115, there appears an article vmder the above caption by Prof. Varro, in which, if I read aright, he claims to have inserted the "wanting link" iuthcDzierzon theory, viz: that when the queen lays in a drone cell tlie sperma- theca is closed by voluntary contraction, and the egg is allowed to pass Avithout receiving any of the seminal fluid. He also clauns that by tlie insertion of this link, we can account for the ori- gin and multiform appearance of the fraffmental dash of impurity in Italian bees, without my theory of absorption and circulation.

Still further on in his article, he says: "Mr. Thomas, in my opinion, reasons very cogently. I congratulate him on what he has advanced, and if tlie stubborn facts above alluded to can be rocked to sleep, and tiie positiveness of his conclusions thus be converted into truths, I shall be ready to accept and acknowledge them of course."

Either through the ambiguity of the Professor's language or my stupidity, 1 am unable to clearly understand the facts alluded to, or see any con-

nection between them and the inserted link. I will, therefore, neither attempt to defend my own theory ;ior rock to sleep his "stubborn facts," until I better understand those facts. Will the Professor express, if possible, so that I can un- derstand it, how by the inserted link "we may account for the origin and multiform appearance of the fragmental dash of impurity in Italian bees?" Also, what he means bj'- the remark that "some black bees, there as well as here and else- where, do ma.ke at times their appearance sim- ultaneously with three banded, two banded, and one banded bees in one and the same hive."

I would, however, say that Prof Varro must be mistaken in supposing that the link was want- ing in the Dzierzon theory, until he wrote his article, for it had been inserted several years since by myself, if not by others; ajDpearing as early as 1865 in a small hand-book on bee cul- ture, written by myself, and called the ' 'Canadian Bee Keepers' Guide." It maybe found on page 18, and reads thus: "My own oiDinion is, that she (the queen) has the power and instinctively doses the mouth of the sac when laying in drone cells."

With regard to "impeccability of temper," the Professor says, "that inEurope his test consti- tute the rule and not the exception." Suppose we admit it, admit that pure Italian bees possess impeccability of thmper, what is gained by it as a test of ])urity?

NotJiing at "all. For I afiirm that no stock of Italian bees will possess impeccability of temper that does not show three distinct yellow bands. Such being the case the ]3urity of Italian bees is susceptible of ocular demonstration; hence no further test is required. Seeing the bands would be proof of their sinless disposition. But lam not prepared to admit that Italian bees are so in- disposed to sting as Prof. Varro would make it appear. However, as I desire to know the truth, I sliall be happy to accept the friendly ofi'er to call and see in person and examine the Profes- sor's jmre Italians the first ojoportunity that of- fers; but without the least expectation of bring- ing away anything more of a sinless "Italian fly" than its sting;' J. H. Thomas.

Brooklyn, Ontario, Canada.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Reply to "More Seeming Puzzles."

The instance related by Elisha Gallup in vol- ume 3, i»age 112, in which two queens were found in one hive during the winter, is as much the exception and not the rule as any case could be. First, it is a hollow log and not a hive.

Now there would be no difiiculty in account- ing for two queens in one "hollow log," provided the log was long enough; and it would not re- quire to be very long either, if the hollow was properly constructed, for not only two queens but even two colonies to remain in it for any length of time, in perfect harmony, with the fact tliat two queens are not allowed in one hive or colony. For it will be understood that even in a large box or hive, so constructed, that there are two apartments with an auger hole passage from

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

159

one to tlie other, two queens will live without quarreling.

In such a case, however, each apartment is a hive, and as really so as if they were separated six feet apart. Now, hollows in trees are so formed that two colonics may exist in very close proximity to one another, so much so as to ap- pear as one colony, when taken up by a careless observer. But I do not feel disposed to account for the two queens in the instance related by friend Gallup upon the ground of there being two colonics in his log, althougli he did not give the length. I would account for the two queens in this way. The old queen was becoming un- fertile, and the workers either from learning the fact or instinctively knowing it, set to work and developed another queen.

True to their nature, a portion of the ))ees guarded the old queen, who being unable to fly, still remained in the hive or log, and if the guard did not forsake her, would have done so until she died. The young and fertile queen, however, would be the real queen of the colony, the old and unfertile queen having been turned off to die, by all the workers save a few who, out of a natural respect for old age, kindly fed and nursed her for a brief time, till the life lamp expired. Who, however, on account of such an exception, is authorized to say that two queens are allowed in one colony? Nor does it appear strange when understood. J. H. Thomas.

Brooklyn, Ontario.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Italianizing Black Bees in Box Hives.

As my method of doing this is different from all those practiced by others, which I have be- come acquainted with, I take the liberty of com- municating it.

A week or so before swarming time, I drum out what is called a forced swarm, set it in place of the old stock, and remove the latter to a new place. I then inseit the cage containing the Italian queen between two brood combs, and liberate her on the evening of the third day.

I have introduced a great number of queens in box hives, in this way, without losing a single one.

The case is very different if a queen is to be in- troduced late in the season, when there is no honey to be gathered. Then it is necessary to wait from twelve to twenty-four hours, after re- moving the black queen, before the Italian can be put in caged; and she should not be liberated in less than a week.

Bees will sometimes receive a stranger queen, uncaged, twenty-four hours after losing their queen; and sometimes they will not receive her in less than a week. During a good yield of honey it is not at all difficult to introduce (jueens. They may then be inserted, caged, tiie moment the other queen is removed, and liberated in forty-eight or seventy-two hours, botli in box hives and movable frame hives, and scarcely ever will a queen be killed. But experience has taught me that this cannot be done in October.

Jefferson, (Wis.) A. Grimm.

[For the Americaa Bee Journal.]

The Italian Bees and Red Clover.

Mr. Editor: — I have been a reader of the Bee Journal only for the last six months, but have become quite int'srested in its contents, and propose, with your permission, to add my mite.

One year ago last July, I procured from Mr. Langstrodi an Italian ([ueen, and started last spring with eight stocks, all in the Langstroth hive. Seven of these were hybrids, and the other contained the Langstroth queen. These bees have done better for me, thus far, than the black bees ever did. I have now sixteen good colonies, and took during the summer over three liundred (oOO) pounds of cap honey, besides nearly one hundred pounds in racks. Most of the latter I may have to return in early spring. I will mention in particular one of my stocks. I divided it on the 1st of June, gave to each half a rack or two of emptj^ comb, and in a few days to the queenless half a mature queen. Tliese two hives yielded just one hundred pounds of box honey, and are both in good case for winter.

I have to-day received the January number of the Bee Journal, and will deviate somewhat from the course marked out in my own mind when I began to pen this article, in order to be a witness to '-Victim" and others in regard to the ability of these bees to work on red clover. I flatter myself that, in some respects, my evi- dence will go further with these brethren than even that of Mr. Langstroth. I have been a minister of the gospel for the last twenty years, and the settled pastor of the congregation in which I now live for the last nineteen years. My people being mostly farmers, and my imper- fect health requiring me to live much in jthe open air, I have given considerable attention to gar- dening, fruit culture, and bee keeping — all for my own comfort and that of my family.

I reared four young Italian queens this sum- mer for neighbors, at their especial request, and have no idea, while I have ability to preach, of going into the bee business. Both the red and the white clover abound in this region. lean- not now remember of having ever seen more than two or three black bees alight on the for- mer. Of course I will be understood as having only the experience of one summer. But during the first bloom of red clover, and when white clover was also in bloom, I have very frequently taken my friends out to my clover lot to see for themselves; and on equal spaces of ground could almost at any time count as many bees on the red as on the white clover. This was surprising to me, because Mr. Langstroth only claims for them that they will work freely on the second crop. Here, I coufes.s, thej- did not full}'' come up to my expectations. From the great abund- ance of red clover in this region, and the large fields convenient to my bees being kept \xp for seed, I expected that tiie bees would fill their honey boxes from it. But, though busy all the time on it and other fall flowers, I could not in- duce them to store honey above. Satisfied that they could spare some from below, quite late in the seas-on, and as it proved too late for profit, I opened a number of hives and took one rack of

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOCJENAL.

sealed honey from each, inserting an empty rack in the centre. I find, on opening these hives, tliat the bees have filled these racks with comb, only in part, in nearly every case — leaving an empty space in the centre of the hive, \rhich might in very cold weather endanger the life of the colony. Had it been done early in the sea- son, I think I would have succeeded better. I am satisfied, however, that in a region of coun- try like this, where there is no buckwheat, the ability of the Italian bee to get honey from the red clover will prove a great advantage.

During the latter part of the summer and fall until frost, the Italian bees had something to do, and the result is almost, in every case, well stored combs. The first time I ever knew them to engage in robbing was after the frost had killed the flowers. Their reputation since then, in the opinion of some of my neighbors, is not the best in thi? respect. James G. Rankin.

Barington, Wash. Co., Pa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Good Success with Italian Bees.

J. D. Clapp, Esq., President of the National Bank of Fort Atkinson, (Wis.,) had a Italian queen introduced in one of his three colonies of black bees, on the 3d of August, 1865. In about six weeks almost all the black • bees had disap- peared. He wintered his three colonies in a cellar, but lost the two black ones. He had a swarm in the first week in June, 1866, and ten days later a second swarm. The two swarms and the old stock filled their hives and stored fifty pounds of surplus hOney in boxes. All three remained pure and wintered well. One of them swarmed on the 28th of May, 1867, another the first week in June, and the third about a week later. One of them gave a second swarm. The swarm of May 28th filled its hive, and then two twenty pound boxes with surplus honey; then gave a maiden swarm that filled its hive and stored ten pounds in a surplus box; while the stock from which it came, filled another twenty pound box with honey. Mr. Clapp ob- tained in all a little over three hundred pounds of box honey from the three old stocks and five swarms. Three stocks proved to be hybrids; but five are as pure yet as the original one. Mr. Clapp told me that this was the best success he had in twenty-three years bee-keeping; and that his neighbors did not get near as much surplus lioney as he did. As Mr. Clapp is a reader of the Bee Journal, I wish him to correct this statement if I have in any respect reported in- correctly. A. Grimm.

Jefferson, (Wis.)

[For tlie American Bee Journal.]

Italian Bees and Red Clover.

I have had Italian bees for about five years. I lived in Illinois two years, and had three acres of red clover adjoining my bee stand. I have now been living in Indiana nearly three years, and have about twelve acres of red clover. Not one single Italian bee, out of forty stands, could

I ever find on the second blossom of red clover, and I have watched closely. Nor did ever know any honey come in at the time when the second crop of clover was in bloom. I have had dry and wet seasons, so that I am well convinced they do not work on it. I have always found black and Italian bees on the first blossom, but only a few. This comes at the same time when white clove blossoms. If red clover were sown in the spring and tbe first blossom would come in August, perhaps they might work on it, and thus explain why bees were seen on August clover.

I had bees creeping in my ear last year under my veil. I would, therefore, advise putting cot- ton in before commencing operations.

T. HuLMAN, Jr.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Can Italian Bees be Raised and Kept Pure in a Location Where Black Bees are Abundant?

On the 3d of October last, it was three years since I received my first pure Italian queens from the Rev. L. L. Langstroth. At that time there were here, in a circuit of four miles, about three hundred colonies of black bees — my own included. At present, there are on the same area, forty-eight black colonies, sixty-two hy- brids, and four hundred and seven pure Italian stocks, including my own in my home apiary. All the queens for these colonies, and two hun- dred kept in my northern apiary, besides a large number of extra queens sold, (I cannot state the precise number), were bred from the original queen, and two others procured in Sep- tember two years ago. The progeny of the queens raised by me and now in my apiaries, is of a brighter color than the progeny of the ori- ginally purchased queens; and I think this proves that the Italian bee does not run out in this coun- try, if prevented from hybridizing. I have raised queens in the seventh generation, and the last generation is more beautiful than the original stock was. Does not this show that the Italian bees can be raised and kept pure in any location outside of an island twelve miles from shore, or on a mountain where black bees do not fly?_ I write these lines as an answer to Mr. Hoxie's letter on pages 79 and 80 of the present volume of the Bee Journal. A. Grimm.

Jefferson, (Wis.)

Maple Trees.

The various species of maples are of great im- portance in bee culture, yielding pollen and honey abundantly. The Norway maple (Acer plata- noides) which has been extensively introduced within the last twenty years, as an ornamental shade tree, should be specially cherished by bee- keepers, as coming into bloom early in April, and in southerlv situations even in March. Its foliage is remarkably fine and abundant, and it retains its verdure longer than most other .spe- cies. It is likewise less subject to the ravages of insects, as its milky juice is said to be distasteful to them.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

MAKCH, 1S<5>!4.

No. 9.

(From the Bien«nzeitung.]

Foulbrood.

[CONCLUDKD PROM LAST NCMBKR.] §«•

How DOES FOCLBROOD ORIGINATE?

Tins question is still involved in the utmost obscurity, and the opinions of l)ee-keepers differ greatly. My own conviction is that it arises from causes as various as the phenome na it presents and the character it assumes. I can hence do little more how than restate briefly the views enter- tained of it by prominent writers on bee culture.

First View. — It is believed by some that a minute black fly, the Phora incrasmta, enters the hive and deposites its eggs in the brood, se- lecting us the nidus only the uncapped but most advanced larva>, and depositing in eacli only a single ^^g. The phora larva hatched from this f^gis, iiarasiticall}' consumes the viscera of the bee-larva which it inhabits, just as the larva of the ichneumon fly lives on or in the common cab- bage caterpillar. Maturing in the couse of five days, it then leaves the carcase of the bee-larva by an opening visible by the naked eye, and per- forating the cap of the cell, fulls to the bottom of the hive, and either spins its cocoon among the droppings found tlu're, or passes out to undergo its further metamoi'iihoses in tlie earth. So long as phora larva inhabits the bee-larva, the latter, according to Dr. DonhotF, remains alive, but finally dies in consequence of tlie abstraction of its internal fattj' substance by its parasitic foe. Decomposition thus virtuallj' begins already while the larva is still living, though running into jnitresceuce only after death.

Dr. Asmusz alleges tliat he found manj' phora larvre in the larvae of bees, and says that to see them it is only necessary to decapitate a bee- larva in which the first symptoms of foulbrood are exhibited and carefullj' press out the juices of the body. By repeating this process several times, the operator can iiardi}' fail to detect one or more phora larv*. Or if the body of a bee-larva be held l)efore the light of a candle in a dark- ened chamber, the motions of the contained para- sitic larva will be plainly perceptible. But, ac-

cording to Dr. Asmusz, phora larvae are not found in all bee-larvaj, but only in comparatively the smaller number. Yet, by the miasm diff'used in the hive by the putrid larva?, others not thus parasitically infected, also become infected, die, and putrify. Thus, while a portion only of the brood perishes, and another portion ilevelopes in health, the case is analogous only to what oc- curs in other pestdential diseases, such as perip- neumonia, rinderpest, &c., whereof of animals similarly exposed, some are infected, while others escape, owing perhaps to a peculiar habit of body at the time. The like is often observed when contagious diseases, such as pestilence, cholera, typhus, scavlctina, &c., to which the human sys- tem is subject, prevails: numbers are stricken down, while others remain unattacked, even in the most infected districts. This is the view of Dr. Asmusz, as presented in his treatise on the parasites of the honey bee-, and it must be ad- mitted that the phora, as figured on his plates, has a decidedl}- mephistopheliau appearance and expression.

Against this view it may be urged — Firat. That the phoni incrassata abounds everywhere, and is bred in every hive contain- ing dead bees. Yet there are numerous districts totally exempt from foulbrood. This, as Mr. Kleine remarks, could not be the case, if such were its origin — for the same cause should, in like circu)nsl:ances, produce the same effect, if nature designed that the phora should lay its eggs in the larva' of the honey bee.

Secondly. The phora incraasala does not lay its eggs in linnr/, but only in dead organisms.

TMrdli/, If, as Dr. Asmusz seems to have found by microscopic examinations, the phora hicrassatiidoc^, in exceptional cases, laj^ its eggs in bee larvtf, it would be in the highest degree singular that the result should be the putricf de- composition of such larva> — a resull never pro- duced in other analogous cases. And why do only larviT thus destroyed by the phora dilfuse a putvid miasm, such as is not diffused by decom- posing larvjc which have died from some other cause.

Fourthly, If Dr. Asmusz's views were correct- the pupte oi phora ineraisata would be as nume- rous in foidbroody hives as in other hives cou-

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taining dead bees in which the phora had laid its eggs. This, however, is not so.

"Fifthly, Parasites do indeed prove destructive to insects designed by nature to be their prey,. but must never be assumed to become the cause of the destruction of the entire race — which would, in effect, be warring against their own hith and kin.

jSi.ciMi/, I have examined nearly a hundred bee larvfe, "by holding them before the light of a candle in a darkened chamber," but could never detect the motions of a single phora larva.

Seventhly, Prof. Leuckart examined micros- copically a great number of foulbroody bee larvas in the summer of 1860. Some were dead and some still living. lie found neither phora larvae nor any other animal parasite in any of them.

Notwithstanding all this, it is my impression that foulbrood of the first and second grade or form, is at least occasionally, and probably more frequently than Ave suppose, caused Ijy some parasitic insect, even though it be not the phora incrassafa.

In the first place Dr. Asmusz has ascertained the presence of animal parasites in still living bee larvae Irom foulbroody hives; and as against clearly ascertained /<■<;(■<.'*, I hold mere scientific inferential and negative proof as of small ac- count.

Secondly, The minute holes observed in the caps of foulbroody cells, indicate that some liv- ing creature eitlicr theie entered or came out of those cells. But of the lact that it comes out thence, I think I have conclusive evidence. In tlie summer of IfrOl, Mr. Henry Kcil, a bee- keeper in Dottelstadt, near Gotha, brought to me a foull)roody comb irom one of his hives. I examined it minutely, and observed small holes in tbe caps of seveu of the cells. I then placed the comb under a gla;s cover, and on examining it again nine dnys alter, ibund that the number of holes had increased to twenly-four. The ad- ditional seventeen, it is apparent, could only nave been perforated from wi/7«'» and outwards. Nor could they have been produced, as Scholtiz svippo;,ed, by tlic bees, "in order to ascertain the contents of the cells after having in vain awaited the development of the larvce.''

Thirdly, 'ibis view of the matter accounts l^lainly for the spontaneous occurrence of foul- Ijrood hi places where no obvious cause is known io exist. It is probable that the insect makes its appearance only temporarily and in limited areas, tliough occurring in greater or less numbers at dilRrent periods. This, too, Avould account for tlie fact that at times one or two hives are at- Uickcd in nn apiary where no vitiated or noxi- ous hone}^ Jms been fed — a ciicumstance other- wise inexplieuljle.

SiccoND ViKw. — Foulbrood may be caused by feeding the colonies with fermented or acidified honej'. Fermentive matter, even though not derived -wiiolly or in pajt iVom fouUu'oody stocks, v;ould cause fernu'ntation in the brood fed there- with and thus prodr.ce foulbrood. President iJuseb, however, states that he has often fed such honej'- without injury to his stocks. I have Jiiyscir, in ibrmer years, fed tons of Cuban honey to my bees- honey liaviug a uanrer.us, disagreea-

ble taste and smell — with no lad effect what- eA'cr. But this is inconclusive. That which was in ten cases harmless, may prove destructive in the eleventh. I think the positive evidence here shows that fermented or acidified honey can produce tbulhrood.

Mr. Kalteich states that "honey combs of the previous year emitted a fetid odor, their surface was damp, and the pollen mouldy. I gave these combs to three populous stocks, all of which lie- came foulbroody and perished; as did likewise a fourth, the bees of which Iiad appropriated some of this honey and several others also, into which I had introduced such combs before I knew they were contaminated."

Mr. Hermann says: "In two instances foul- brood was produced by feeding bees with honey kept in a vessel in which verdegris had been formed."

Mr. P. J. Mahan, a highly intelligent bee- keeper from Philadelphia, told me when here tliat he had formerly spent some time on the island of Cuba, and bad observed that it was a common practice in the apiaries there after suf- focating their bees, to press out the liquid from the commingled mass of honey, pollen, bniod, and dead bees, and run it into casks as the pro- duct of the bee. This nauseous mixture speedi- ly undergoes fermentation, especially if the combs were not previously heated and contained much j^oung brood, the rich juices of Avhicb read- ily terment. Foulbrood is sure to be produced when bees liave access to sich ibod; and ho kncAv of many instances in the United States where the disease originated from this cause. though it was almost uvlcnotcn in Cvha. The bee-keepers there are well aware of the noxious quality of such honey, and are careful that their bees shall not have access to it. So long as this commixture, called Cuban honey, has not under- gone fermentation, it may be safely fed to Iiees; and its pestilential quality depends entirely upon the fact whether the pressing took place when there was much unsealed brood in the cells. Usually the pressing was done A\hen the combs were free from brood, but occasionally the want of empty hives to accommodate the numerous swarms, constrained them to be less particular in that respect. Bee-keepers in the United States, taught by experience that Cuban honey was a dangerous kind of bee-feed, avoid it alto- gether, and would not accept it as a gilt, i'or thai, purpose. Thus far Mahan. Pohsli and other foreign honey of ecnnmerce, is of nearly tiic same character.

In corroboration of this view I (luotc also the observed fact that such honey does not directly, but only indirectly, produce foulbrood. It grnd- ually contaminates the air in the hive, developing a fetid odor, and thus causing disease, whicli ahvays breaks out six or eight Aveeks alter the noxious honey has been fed. This is also con- firmed by Dzierzon's experience, who m.ode all his stock foulbroody in 1848, liy feeding Cuban honey.

Third Vieav. — It is believed by some that if brood Avhich has died from any cause, is not remo- ved by the bees, it will become putrid and produce a contagious disease; that is non-contagious foulbroo'd mav under certain circumstances be

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come contagious. Tliis, I conceive, is onlj' too likely. In 1855, I discovered a liiglily fetid foulbroody liive in the apiary of Mr. Oscar Zic- gler, in Sthlousingen, wliicii was fortlnvitli con- demned to the brimstone pit. Jlr. Zieglcr bought this hive in a neigliboring village, and the bees were suirocatcd while it was being trans- ported to liis home. About eight days after a swarm was put in it, and tliereupon the non-con- tagious foulb.ood therein, inunediately assumed the contagious form.

FouuTH View. — The discse may be caused by no.\ious dew.s Avhicli sometimes occur while fruit trees are in blossom. This is a very old opinion, llotller said in IGGO, " In some years tlie blossoms of trees are literallj^ poisoned by dews and mists, so as to make bees sick." In a conversation witli Dzicrzou, in 1855, while he was on a visit to Seebach, he said he was inclined to accept lliis view. '"I thiuu," said he, "I have freriuentl}' observed this in my neighbor- lioou, while fruit trees were in blossom. Foul- brood may originate Ihus, though to these noxi- ous dews is attributed tlic disease more common- ly known as verivjo.^''

However, were such the case, would not all the stocks within a certain range or circuit, be sinmUaneously and similarly affected ? HofT- man-Brand states that in his foulbroody hives the pollen was slimy and apparently undergoing akmd of fermenlaiion ; which he ascribed to the noxious qualities of tlie dew.

Fifth Vikw. — The fungus called mvcor mel- lii'^ph^'iu^, which is ol'tcn found in the chyle stomacii of bee.s, it is alleged exertsa deleterious intluencc on the preparation of the jelly, so that the brood is not furnished with a properly di- gested pabulum, and li^nce becomes diseased, dies and putrilies. The fungus is supposed to be thus the indirect cause of the disease. But, this fungus is often found abundantly in colonies entirely liealthy ; and Dr. Asmusz never found it hi bees of foulbroody stocks.

In addition to all this, we find many other conjectures presented in bee-books and by cor- respondents oi the Bioicnz-eiiuiu/, none of which seem to have any solid basis. Jlr. Kritz suppo- sed that foulbrood nuiy be caused by some un- healthy effluvium emanating from the bee-keep- er himself. Dr. Aleleld thinks it may arise from a diseased condition of the sexual organs of the queen-bee. Scnditsch imagines it may result from the dust blown into the hives from the streets and highways. And even the position assumed by Director Fisher in an article on "the origin, nature, and cause of foulbrood," published in the Transactions of the Third Meet- ing of German Agriculturists in 18G5, is of no ac- count, being mauii'estly based on erroneous premises.

In fine. I believe, as I have already stated, that foulbrood, as it presents various phenome- na and assumes various forms or grades, so it may arise fiom various causes. At present, however, we poseess no tangible knowledge re- specting it. Bee-keepers sliould therefore be careful to ascertain and note the facts and cir- cumstances, whenever the disease comes under their observation. Nor should they be in haste to form or proclaim theories. Above all, they

should not neglect to submit foulbroody combs to the examination of some competent naturalist when practicable. I do not think it at all likely that inexp(!rienced bee-keepers, unversed in phy- siology and un]iracticed in the employmont of the microscope, will ever advance us mueli in this direction unless aided bj' nun professionally prepared to prosecute seienlific investigations, (o whom carefully observed laets would be in- valuable. Only alter ascertaining the true na- ture of the disease, may we hope perhaps to de- vise methods lor its prevention and cure.

A. Vo^- Beui-epscu.

[For tlio Ainericaa Bee .Toiirnal.]

Prodiicing Fertile Workers.

I have been a reader of the American Bee JouuKAL since the commencement of the second volume. As a whole, I am well pleased with it, and think it should be sustained by the bee- keepers throughout the United States. But there are sometimes positions taken, or theories advanced, to which I take exception. While there have been rapid advances made in apiarian science "in the latter days," is there not now much said and Avritten in relation to bees, which is theory and theoiy onlj' V AVe are very apt to "jump at conclusions." "We sometimes find, in September or October, hives in which there are no bees, the combs destroyed and filled with vile worms and coccoons. In the spring the hive was populous, and has sent out during the summer one or two good swarms. If we knew nothing of the natural histoiy of bees, we should at once attribute the loss of the colony to the ravages of the bee-moth, wiiereas, nine times in ten the destruction is really occasioned by the loss of the queen on her Avedding excursion. The conclusion arrived at here would be very natural, but erroneous.

Are we not equally incorrect in some of our theories in relation to the natural history of bees V If a queen is removed Irom a colony, they Avill rear another from any egg or young larva found in the hive in Avorker comb, chan- ging it from what Avould otherAvise have produ- ced an imi.erfect female or Avorker, to a perfect female or queen. If 1 understand l-'rof. Von Siebold eorieitlj' ("see American Bee Joukkai, for Deceml)er, 18G7), he claims that this change is ellected c'ther by the kind or the quantity of food consumed by the larva. Here is a position taken or a theory advanced ; and founded there- on, or derived from this theory, Avhethcr correct or incorrect, is another, namely, '-tliat by some confusion or disturbance in the regular distribu- tion ol the food, some of the royal jelly falls to the lot of one or several Avorker larv;e in the neighborhood of a queen cell into Avhieh royal food is carried, by Avhich their sexual organs are more or less developed.

Alter giving the first position here taken a passing notice, I will endeavor to shoAV how any one, Avho feels disposed to take the i-ecessary trouble', may satif}- himself as to the correctness of the second.

"While Ave admit that the kind or quantity of food, or both, received by the young larvse, viay

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have much to do with the developenient of the sexual organs, thereby changing the nascent in- sect from a worker to a queen, may not the position of the cell also have some influence in effecting this change ? The work of the bee is not in reality its own, but is that of an Allwise Creator, whose "wisdom is manifest in all his works," and who has given this interesting in- sect a natural instinct by which it is diiected in lis labor, and its work is perfect. When in a natural condition it makes few blunders, few mistakes, and performs but little if any needless labor. Yet if the change in the position of the cell is unnecessary to perfect a queen, there is a grand mistake made in the construction of every queen cell in the hive, as they are all changed from a horizontal to a nearly or quite perpendicular position. And if the partial de- velopemeut of the procreative organs of the worker is caused by its having, through some confusion in the distribution of food, received a portion of that intended for royalty, we at once discover that they have made another mistake, \)y mistaking a worker cell for a queen cell, and a worker larva lor an immature queen.

I think a few experiments made with this ob- ject in view, Avill do much towards disproving the fertile worker theory here advanced. In order to be certain that our fertile w^orkers were not reared in the vicinity of a queen's cradle, we will select a colony of native bees in a sash hive from which swarms have ceased issuing — say twenty days after the issue of the first swarm, and as early in the season as possible. We will now remove the native queen from this colony and introduce an Italian queen with one wing clipped, so that we can at any time id( ntify her. We will also remove the hive ten rods from any other, to prevent bees uniiing hfim neighboring colonies, from which swarms may issue later in the season. This should be done immediately after the issue of the first SAvaim, setting the young swarm on the old stand to catch the returning bees. The next spring, in May, or as soon as the hive becomes sufficiently populous to be able to spare a swarm, and before there are any queen cells constructed, we will take out the combs and look them over until we arc satisfied that there is not a black bee in the hive, and that they are all Italians. If, on making the examination, we find the queen with the clipped wing, we are quite sure that no queens have been raised, and of course no royal food used in the hive since the introduc- tion of the Italian queen. About the middle of a warm day, when the young bees are fiying, we Vi'ill remove the hive to ancAV stand several rods distant, and set on the old stand a movable comb hive in Avhich are a few small pieces of comb :ind, unless forage is abundant, some honey. And the sooner to reconcile to their new home tlie bees that will return to this hive, we will give them a small piece of worker comb con- taining young larva? : but before any of these larvte have matured, the piece of comb contain- ing them must be removed from the hive, or we may get our fertile worker from this brood. We ^\\\\ continue to form artificial colonies in this manner, as often as the parent stock becomes populous enough, until we have five or six of

them ; cacl. time looking over the comb to find the queen originally introduced, and to see that there are no queen cells constructed. In from three to six weeks after these queenless and broodless colonics are formed, we are almost certain to have in some of them, very likely in several, and perhaps in all of them, one or more fertile workers. Yet it will at once be seen that no one of these workers, when in a larva state, could even have tasted royal food, unless such food is used at other times than when queens are being reared, and this I believe no one pre- tends to be the case.

My first attempt at queen raising was made in the month of May, taking bees for this pur- pose from hives from which no swarms had is- sued since the preceding July. I commenced with nineteen small artificial colonies, and from various causes failed to rear a queen in any one of them, from the first Italian brood given them. In most of them I failed, in the first attempt, to get even a worker matured ; and in several of them I had fertile workers before there was an Italian bee to be seen. I have since had such workers under similar circumstances, when I was quite certain X\\cy never had been fed royal

jelly.

From the facts here given I am forced to the conclusion that, although the kind of food a lar- va receives may have an influence in the devel- openient of the generative organs of the future queen, we must look elsewhere lor the cause of tertility in a worker. I know that to question the assigned cause of a certain effect produced, as given by another, without being able to fur- nish a more satisfactory one, is not a very desi- rable position to take ; yet it is one which I am compelled to assume in the present instance.

J. H. TOWISLEY.

ToMPla^s, Michigan.

The old-fashioned box hive and the hollow log with brimstone, are humane compared with the results of the first improvement, viz: top boxes, causing the loss of more colonies than our forefathers "took up." In the old plan bees were "keptover," and had all their season's store — almost invariably enough for winter. The im- provement left it to the judgment of the owner how nmch to take, and he frequently took too much, and not only lost his swarm, but also all thej' consumed, which loss through the coun- try together is very great. Unless judgment is used in depriving bees of honey, brimstone fumes are more humane than honey boxes, in- asmuch as sudden death is piel'erable to linger- ing starvation. — E. Parndy^ Neic York.

I do not think it right to advocate a system of bee management which allows or encourages persons to be comfortable in their ignorance and laziness. We ought to make such as uncomfor- table as possible, so that they will find no rest until they are up with the present knowledge of whatever they engage in. The majority of bee- keepers require instruction, and they can only get it practically and fully through the use of the movable comb hive. — ^. Farmly, New York.

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[For the Amoi-icaa Bee Journal.]

Observations and Remarks on Bee Cul- tui'e during the Year 1867.

The active out door labors of bcc-kecpcrs hav- ing terminatt'd lor Ihv season witli the approach of winter, they may now in tlicir quiet homes review the occurrences ot the pah,t j'car, and dis- cuss the topics wliicli observation and experience have presented I'or consideration — various and u.)vel as these liave been.

Refreshing- vains in the early autumn of 18GG, whicii followed the long continued drought that prevailed during the latter part of the preceding summer, brought a variety of tall plants into bloom, and thus unexpectedl)' furnished the bees with somewhat abundant late pasturage. This I'd to renewed brooding in most of the hives, and caused a rajiid and extensive reduction of the winter stores which had been garncre<l for the support of the colonies. Perceiving this and dreading the consequences, I took seasonable steps to prevent losses by uniting colonies that ap- peared weak, and feeding others that seemed in- adequately supplied. Though the ensuing win- ter was very severe and the weather was unfa- vorable till late in the spring, I still had the gratification to find that most of my stocks es- caped with slight injurj'. This, however, was not the case w'ith those bee-keepers in this dis- trict who had prematurely removed and sold their surplus honey — on whose stands conse- quently many stocks perished. After my bees revived in the spring, I supplied them with flour placed in the neighborhood of the apiary, which was resorted to by them and appropriated with eagerness, so long as supplies of pollen could not be procured from natural sources.

About this time I observed that robbing bee-; were assaulting one of my weaker colonies Ever anxious to avert and prevent robbing, I immediately examined this colony and found that it had a queen indeed, but was totallj' des- titute of brood. I then resorted to the use of musk, coal oil, contraction of the entrance, dis- guising the hive, &c., without any beneficial re- sult. Convinced thus that the assault had reach- ed a point beyond remedy, I re-examined the hive and found that the queen had disappearetl, and her place was usurped to some extent by a fertile worker. Resolved, however, to turn these robbers to good account and prevent them from proceeding to attack other colonies, I inserted inside of the entrance of the ruined stock a tun- nel-shaped card, having the interior openiui^ only large enough to permit a single bee to jia^s, and elevated about an inch above the bottom hoard. The robbers could thus enter, hut not readily find their way out again; and I gave free access to all that wished to explore the interior. At dusk I closed the entrance, and next morn- ing carried it and its contents to an apiary about a mile distant, where 1 gave the prisoners liberty to lly. Hoon discovering that they were in a strange neighborhood, they returned to their late prison, evidently constrained to regard it as their future home. I immediately inserted a small piece of brood comb containing eggs and larvrc from an Italian stock, and was enabled to take

from it in a few days, several queen cells to be used elsewhere. In the fall, I found that this colony had secured sutlicient supplies for the winter. J3ut I was still more highly gratified to find that 1 had thus effectually checked the rob- bing in my home apiary. Spring oix'ned late, but suddeidy, and with suchsui)eral)undant sup- plies, that all hands were kept busy in making the recpiisite preparations to enable the bees to apjiropriate the proffered boon.

At the close of April, I began to form nuclei and artificial colonics, and continued the work to near the end of May, in so far as the movable comb hives in readiness enabled me to operate. Ytt at the usual swarming season, the bees, en- couraged by plentiful pasturage, seemed seized with a perfect furor for secession, and the nmlti- plication of colonies became a source of great annoyance, though I had previously endeavored to guard against mucli natural swarming. From many of t'.ie smaller and later swarms, I removed their queens, thus constraining them to return to their parent stocks.

On this occasion, I made the observation that the Italian bees are prone to swarm earlier than the black, and that the swarms issue more promptly and with less ado, besides keeping to- gether more compactly while on the wing.

I might have increased my stock threefold, but a twofold increase is already more than I de- sire, as I regard an average increase of one-third annually quite as much as this district of coun- try will warrant; and even then I resort somc- wliat to "doubling up" in the fall.

With the exception of a few of the earliest strong swarms, I am better pleased this year with artificial colonies, more especially as tlie latter seem more disposed to conform in comb- building to the prescription of their owner.

Haste, even in bee-culture, as in most other matters, makes waste, and should be sedulously avoided by every bee-keeper.

While pasturage abounded I used the opportu- nity presented to acquaint myself with the dif- ference in the honey derived from various sour- ces, such as the blossoms of fruit trees, locusts, lindens, and white clover. Among all these, that from the lindens, the odor of which was distinctly perceptible in the apiary, seemed to me much the best. For this reason the planting of linden trees, (the earlier as well as the later blossoming varieties), should be encouraged by ^very bee-keeper, wherever ornamental or shade trees can be introduced.

From the beginning of Julj^ onward pasturage rapidly diminislied ; and the want of rain, with drouth, soon constrained the bees to resort to their winter stores for suppoit.

In the sudden change from abundance to scar- city, amid long-cojitinued severe drouth, may probably be found the source of the diflicultics which I experienced this year, in multiplying the Italian race, and more especially perhaps, of the interl'erencei on the part of fertile workers. Have other bee-keepers made similar observa- tions under like circumstances, in their apiaries?

Against apprehended attacks from robbing bees, I was ever on my guard, opening hives only early in the morning or late in the evening, when I had occasion to remove honey, insert to

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queen cells, or introduce Italian queens. And in this regard also I found a second apiarjr, a mile distant, — established for nmltiplyino- the race in its purity — particularly useful.

The. Italian bees obviously resist attacks from robbers much more resolutely than the com- mon kind. But I certainly cannot say that they will not themselves rob, for I liaA'e fre- quently seen them in the front rank of the as- sailants.

As there was considerably less brood in the hives this fall, than at the corresponding period in 1860, the union ot weak colonies to provide an adequate population for the winter, seemed evidently to be the proper course.

The yield of surplus honey was satisfactory. Notwithstanding the severe and protracted drouth which prevailed here, I could take twenty-five pounds on the average, from each of my older stocts. And here again I must say tliat the Italian colonies proved their superiority; for I was able to take from the older ones more than double the quantity just mentioned. "When removing hon^y, it is ever prudent to deal liber- ally with your bees, leaving them ample supplies for every emergency, as the best possible place to keep your surplus stores is in the hive itself.

In view ot thy fact that bee-pasturage differs very much in different sections of country, and that it is desirable to furnish supplies for the bees at all times during the working season, or from spring to fall, bee-keepers should on nil occasions encourage tlie introduction and culti- vation of honey-producing trees, plants, and forage crops.

Esporsette, or Sainfoin, is a very valuable species of clover, yielding honey in abundance, and supplying excellent fodder for horses and neat cattle. Repeated experiments, however, in- dicate that it will not thrive well in this region, though I shall persevere in my efforts to culti- vate it. Probably it may be better suited to a more notherly climate. It would be gratifying to see our hillsides covered with this clover for cattle and bees, as are those of some portions of German3^

I have also made some experiments with the culture of oil plants, snch as the poppy, summer and winter rape, &c., but, alas, these likewise do not appear to suit our climate. Mustard and thyme are more promising, where they could otherwise l)e cultivated with profit ; and it is" such crops only that are likely to be successfully and extensively introduced.

Within the last thirty years, the Melilotus leucantJm, white-flowered melilot, a siiecics of trefoil, has been highly recommended in Ger- many for cattle and bees. On trial, however, it proved to be worthless foroattle, and the cul- ture of it was consequently again abandoned. I found this trefoil in this country as a wild- growing plant, and known as Jioney clover. For the benefit of bee-keepers I have sown it in by- places and uncultivated spots, whore it sustains itself, as cattle refuse to eat it. This species of clover was again introduced in Germany a few years ago, under a third name — multicaulis clover ; but with no better results. The seed of honey clover was sent to France, from the United

States, by one of our enterprising seedsmen, and thence distributed under its new name.

_Mr. Baldridge, of St, Charles, Illinois, in com- pliance with my request, kindly sent me a sam- ple of Melilot clover ; and it seems to mo that the Melilotus leucantJia is about to make its re-appearance among us under a fourth name, and seeking acceptance. This I am disposed to concede in a country the vast area of which .'il- lows of ample spaces not necessarily devoted to cittle pasturage ; as I can corroliorate what Mr. Baldridge alleges in its praise. Still we must be prepared to make allowance for the effect of difference in climate ; yet if, as I now le;irn for the first time, that the cultivation of melilot com- bines other advantages besides contributing to bee-pasturage, it m:iy deserve special commenda- tion.

Let me add another fact from early observation in Germany. My father, who was a devoted friend of bees, had a large old Borsdorf apple tree near his apiary. Yearly, from eight to four- teen daj's before the blossoms of this tree open- ed, a drop of white sweetish liquid exuded from the buds, which was eagerly gathered by the bees, amid joyful humming. The benefit re- sulting therefrom was obvious, as nunierous swarms issued aliout the beginning of May, and the weight of the hives frequently exceeded 100 pounds. The recollection of this impelled me to endeavor to introduce the tree in this country; and imported grafts have been set on several large apple trees. If the blossom-buds before expanding prove to be similarly productive of nectar, as those of the tree in its native home, I shall take pleasure in distributing grafts among bee-keepers. Has any such exudation ever been noticed on the blossom-buds of apple-trees in this country ?

I once had the gratification to see my bees gathering honey plQntifully from the blossoms of a largo male honey -locust tree near mj'^ apiarj% at dusk in the evening and till late at night.

In Germany, the bee-keepers of our commune were in the habit of consulting and advising with each other as- to the particular crops each should grow, from year to year, for the benefit of bee-culture.

Let us persevere in our efforts for the improve- ment and extension of bee-culture , by interest- ing and instructing the rising generation therein — ^there is yet a vast field of observation and ex- periment unexplored to engage their attention.

By such continuous efforts even our hives have been gradually improved from the original gum to the movable comb, until the latter — par- ticularly that of the Rev. Mr. Langstroth — have been brought to a high degree of perfection. Though bees feel small concern for the fashion of their hives, requiring only a sheltered homa adapted to their wants, still it is an error to con- clude, as some bee-keepers do, that our favorites had better be altogether uninterferefl with. It can by no means be a matter of indifference to the intelligent bee-keeper of our diiy, what kind of hives he employs. He requires such as are suited to the habits and inatincts'of the bee, giving them adequate protection, yet permitting an easy in- spection of the contents, and enabling him to control, to direct, and encourage their labors so

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

167

fts to secure the utmost benefit Mievefrom — wliilo at the same time combinin,!;' simplicity, clicap- ncss, and dunibililj' in their eonstrnetion.

To be en!ibl<;d to form n jndgmont from per- sonal ol)serv:ilion and nllimatciy make a salis- faetory choice, as avcU as to atrord otliers an op- portunity to s^'e hives of various construction in practical use, 1 liavc hitherto adhered to the chief forms of hive employed in Germany and in this country. This has undoubtedly proved n source of trouble in my apiarJ^ I have in use four difFerent forms of Dzierzon hivc^s, tlioui^h all constructed on one fandamental principle. T have increased the number of my double or twin hives, since I have become practically ac- riuainted wilh the advantage they oiler. Every desirable operation can be readily performed ■with t'.iem, and thej'' can be enlarged or dimini- slunl. as the size of the colonj' therein may rc- ([uire. The condition of the bees and "th.^ir stores may at any time be ascertained; and stocks can be -wintered in them with entire safety, as I have sati-^factorily ascertained, on two years' trial, by llie preservation therein of several Aveak colonies with Italian queens. I found these in a very gratifying condition in the spiing, with very few dead bees. I have improved this form of hive, by the introduction of a mode of venti- lation, to counteract the excessive heat of our summers ; and thus, I conceive, have better adapted it to the requirements of tliis climate.

I have also stocked six of Langstroth's impro- ved hives with the earliest natural swarms ob- tained last spring ; which have done well. So far as I have observed, I regard these hives as best devised among the numerous forms presen- ted, and thus, in connection with cheapness, calculated to secure the approval of bee-keepers. As the lower part of these hives did not appear to me sufficiently thick so protect the bees from the effects of cold in our severe winters, I ha^e covered this part with a layer of straw and cornstalks, frona the bottom up to the projecting top — desiring to test fairly this mode of winter- ing.

I would remark in addition that I winter all my stocks, well protected, in the open air ; en- tertaining misgivings as to the result of buryir.g bees in this region of variable temperature^ wdiere heat not seldom suddenly penetrates in the ground. Burying bees, however, may be a very good mode of wintering in more northerlj- localities.

I haA'C the satisfaction to state that of the complaints formerly urged, that bees are injuri- ous to vineyards, by destroying the ripening grapes, we heard less last season, thougli tjic grapes were much sweeter than in previous vears. The hard winter of 18G6-67 destroyed " large numbers of wasps, which were the real cause of tlie damage sustained ; and an opjiortunity lias thus been had to exonerate the bees of tlie calumny.

Let us now 1 "»ok forward joyfully to the re- vived activity of our bees in the coming spring, ' and trust confidently that we shall realize in creased and compensating results from our com mon exertions for the advancement of bee culture

J. Mangold, Home, near Cincinnati, Dec. 10, 1867.

[For tho American Beo Journal.]

Curious Instances of Swarming.

Last June I put a very large swarm of bees in a nc■^v Farmer's hive, which had been prepared in tlic most a])pr()ved manner, to make it accep- table to the bics. Tliey entered it to the last bee, and appeared delighted with their new home. At dark it was removed fifty yards from the old hive. I examined them in'thc morning and saw them fiying about the hive, going in and out, Init not working. About one o'clock they all sallied out and settled on a tree, but in a few minutes left.

In a few days after, as my colored man was mowing a small lot of clover, a swarm of bees passed along, heard the rattling of an old mow- ing machine, and concluded to stop on a busli in the clover lot. lie went to the house and got the same hive, which they entered, and at once went to work with a will.

In about eight days after, I had a large swariK settle on a small apple tree. I placed it with the stray swarm, and they have worked harmo- niouslj^ ever since. I have known several in- stances where swarms of bees have settled on fence stakes. One last spring remained on a stake two daj's. A swarm was once known to cluster on a large clod in a plowed field. Last June a swarm of Italian bees clustered on the iron window shutters at the back of a dry goods store on Main street, St. Louis. After remain- ing there for some time, and attracting a great crowd, the porter of the store put them in a nail keg.

A bee-keeper of forty years standing informs me that he once, in Kentucky, saw a swarm enter a hollow tree and remain in it a few min- utes, then come out and enter another, and there remain. But the strangest story he relates of the fickle capers of bees'happened Avhile he was travelling through St. Charles county, Missouri. A German was plowing corn, a swarm of bees followed after him, and stung his horse. The fellow, almost frightened to death, took his horse out and abandoned his plow, and the bees clus- tered on the handles. My venerable friend, the bee-keeper, sent the German to his home for a box, put the bees into it, and pursued his jour- ney.

instances of such waj'vwardness are calculated to shake the belief that scouts are sent off be- fore swarming to select a home. It may be so, but it does not accord with their general in- stincts. J. 8.

Flokissant Valley, Mo.

Answer to a Question.

On page 133 of the current volume of tho Bee Journal, Apis says—" It has been said that bees will not build combs on a painted surface." My experience is that they Avill. I have used painted frames when I wished to ex- hibit the combs built therein. Bees will build on a painted surface, on a smooth surface, on a rough surface, on tin, iron, brass, zinc, or any other metal. In fact, they will attach their €ombs to almost anything.

BuooKLiN, Ontario. J. H. Thomab.

168

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

What every Bee-keeper ought to know:

That the life of a worker l)ec, during the ■working season, ia only from six to eight weeks; and that a large majority of them never live to see seven weeks:

That a worker is from five to six days old be- fore it comes out of the hive for the first time, to take an airing, and that it is from fourteen to sixteen days old, before it begins to gather pol- len or honey:

That all swarms building combs when they have not a fertile queen, build only drone or store comb; and that all the combs in the lower part or breeding apartment of the hive, sliould be worker comb, except a very small quantity of drone comb — four inches square being amply sufficient:

That the more prolific the queen the more young bees you have, and the more surplus honey they will store up, other things being equal:

That you never ought to cut mouldy comb out of a hive, for you should never let it get mouldy; and that you ought never to double swanns in the fall, for you ought to attend to that, and make them strong during the summer, by taking brood from your strong stocks and giving it to the weak:

That a drone-laying queen should be taken away, and one producing w^orkers put in her place, or the colony must soon perish:

That, as a rule, as soon as an Italian queen shows signs of old age or feebleness, the bees themselves will supersede her-

That all stocks should be kept strong in order to be successful.

That every hive should contain about 2000 cubic inches in the breeding apartment.

That it is useless to put a small swarm into a hive of that size, without a division board, or some contrivance to adapt or bring it down to suit the size of the swarm, and to enlarge it as the population increases: (Give me one pint of bees, a fertile queen, and a frame filled with ma- turing brood, on the 20th of June, and I will, in an ordinary season, make a tip top swarm in the hive I use, without assistance from other swarms) :

That beginners should be very cautious about increasing their stocks rapidly, until they thor- oughly understand the business:

that the hive itself is all the bee-house you want in the summer season:

That a good dry cellar is as good a place to winter bees in as you want:

That a forced or artificial queen started from the egg or larva, in a small nucleus, is not as prolific as one started in a strong swarm: (You can remove the cell to a nucleus after it is sealed up):

Tliat extra queens should be kept on hand, ready ibr any emergency; because, if you dis- cover that a swarm has lost its queen, and j'ou supply it with eggs to raise one, unless you keep strengthening it witli brood from other swarms, eight weeks Avill elapse before the workers raised fr^^m your young queen will be ready to go to wurk — and eight weeks is the lifetime of a work- er bt'c, in the working season. If you do\ibt

that eight weeks is the !.ifetime of a worker at such season, take away a black queen from a black swaimand introduce an Italian queen. In three weeks your last black bee will have been hatched, and in eight weeks from that time your swarm will consist of Italians exclusively, pro- vided the exchange is made on or about the 20th of June. (See then, what you are to think of a patent hive with ever so many contrivances for taking away honey, but no place to raise bees to gather that honey):

That it is bad policy to divide a swarm in such a way that one part has to raise a queen after the division is made; for if they build comb, it is drone comb; and if they do not build comb, as fast as the bi'ood in the old comb hatches, the cells will be filled with honey; so thart when your young queen is ready to lay, there is no place where she can deposit her eggs. The conse- quence is your swarm will be strong in stores but weak in numbers in the fall, unless you ex- change combs with some other swarm:

That you ought to give your bees flour (some say rye-flour is best, but I always use wheat flour), in the spring, before they can gather pol- len, to promote early breeding. Set it in the sun, out of the wind, near your bees. A square board with strips nailed around the edges, is as good as anything to put it on. Ten swarms will use from three to four quarts per day:

That bees do not feed this flour or pollen di- rectly to their young; but it is elaborated in the stomach of the bee, on the same principle that a pigeon eats corn, wheat, «&c. and elaborates it into chyme or milk to feed its young on, before it is six days old:

That you must feed bees just at night, if you feed honey or any other sweet to promote breed- ing, and thus prevent robbing. Or if you ex- change combs in the spring, to equalize their stores, it should be done just at night:

That if you allow natural swarming, bees may swarm so low as to ruin the old stock if not at- tended to. It frequently happens that where a stock sends out three or four swarms in succes- sion, the last queen goes with the last swarm and leaves the old stock destitute:

That it is not necessary when a swarm comes out, to allow them all to cluster before hiving, as soon as a part of your swarm has lit, hive them, and the remainder will go right into the hive:

That a newly painted hive, if it has been paint- ed long enough so as to be dry, is as good for use as one that has been painted six months:

That because you may be fond of whiskey, it is not necessary to sprinkle the inside of the hive with whiskey, in order to have the bees stay. I once knew a man to do so; and, strange to say, they actually did stay:

That if you put one drop of Prof. F's Bee Charm on your right ear, it will prevent the bees from stinging your left heel— provided you keep on your boots, and do not let the bees get inside of them. E. Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

A warm, calm, and showery spring causeth many and early swarms. But sudden storms do hinder them.— Butleu.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

1G9

[For tlie Aiiieiicau Boo Journal.]

Wat.r for Bees.

Water is n prime ucccssily lor bees, as well as for other aniuuil syslenif;— tou.slilutiny- the ma- jor part of tlu'ir weiyhl and substauce, the me- dium of nutrition, secretion and excretion, 'i'he .liris the medium of distribution, holdiug im- mense quantities susj)entled. All creatures im- bil)e water by the breath and absorbents, the (lill'ercnt proportions in the airmakini;' thediffcr- eiiec between the lean and dingy Arab and tlie phnnp and fair-slvinned Englishman.

Coudenseil vapor is necessary for the bees in winter, for the air is then drier; and when they breathe less they must drink more. TJiis is ob- tained by eating more honey and breathing more •air, generating more heat and water. Upward \ entilation is always and entirely wrong, because it lets oil' the heat— thus compelling the bees to eal and breathe more, generating more water, while the cold cheeks perspiration, f;eces accu- mulate, and dysentery is the result. Two small swarms together consume no more than one, and generate no more water because they are warmer. But, put them in a narrow circular cavity, with solid walls, surrounded with bark and lined with dead wood, and they will gener- ate no more water than they need.

The bee has existed since the dawn of creation, und under the protection of an unerring instinct has outlived those changes and convulsions that have destroyed other races, and extended its range from the equator to the frozen regions. But man, comparatively a creature of yesterdaj^, comes upon the scene, and though he has the same reason to believe that the bee and the liol- low tree were made for and adai)ted to each other as the bird and the air, or the tisii and the water, he tells us that the bee has been suffering and languishing before the advent of man, tor want of upward ventilation in winter, and a little water on a sponge occasionally; and if they had had the upward ventilation they would not have suffered in the spring. Thus, though he knows nothing of matter except its phenomena, he de- cides in the bloom of his self-conceit, the anti- quated plans of the Deity to be a failure, which ought to be set aside in tliis enlightened age.

\Vc know that instinct varies with climate, anticipating and providing for irregularities-iu the seasons; and it would seem that the Deily should have discovered these triumphs of human wisdom, and cease to impress on the passing generations of the bee that mul sh obstinai y which causes them lo ny away from the glorious inventions of man to " a miserable home in the woods."

I dilfer from apiarian writers of ripe experience, eminent for natural and acquired abilities, to which I make no pretensions But upward ven- tilation is inconsistent in theory, expensive and dangerous in practice, condemned liy instinct, at war with facts, and a bald denial of thf wis- dom and goodness of Deity. F. II. Mikeu. Lemont, (III.)

After a moist spring, when swarms are most plentiful, is robbing most rife; otherwise there is less danger: — Butler.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

The Egyptian Bee.

Editor Bee Journal : — Many of our cor- respondents are calling our attention to the clause in our c.reular lor la07, in which, speak- oi A2m Fasciaia, commonly termed the Egyi)l- ian bee, we say — "We can speak warmly of their great beauty and will give the public our judgement of their relative value, when wc have subjected their claims lo a thorough test in our climate." It seems to be expected that this report can ?i(?«j be made. Owiug to a pe- culiar combination of circumstances such is net the case.

We received in November, 18GG, two dittinct importations of these bees. Their coming had been delayed until we had given up all expec- tation of their arrival that season ; and we had consequently no colonies prepared for the re- ception of the queens. They arrived late iu November, and it was several days later when they reached our apiary. The weather was un- usuallyunfavorable, even for December ; ciud some of the queens perished from exhaustion long lieibre they could be introduced. Others were not to be found when the stocks to which they were introduced, were subsequently exam- ined. As our order for another supply of queens raised in 1866, and thoroughly tested, had already gone forward to the Berlin Society of Acciimalization— the queens to be shipped iu April, 18G7 — we still h.oped to be able to breed and test this variety last season, though we returned all monies received by us on order lor Egyptian queens. But we found it impossi- ble, although having a personal agent in Europe, lo expedite matters in the least. Herr Yogel, who breeds these bees for the Society, Avas ab- sent in Egypt during part of the season, and we did )iot succeed in getting our importation of 1!:^67 in time to breed from them to any extent last fad. We are therefore able to say little more about Apis Fdsciata, from per.-oual knowl- edge, than we conld have done a year ago. Those apiarians who are expecting a report Irom 7(8, in regard to the merits or demerits of 1 this variety in any or all points, must conse- { quently await the results of another season's ] operations. 1 L. L. LAKGSTROTn & Son.

Oxford, Butler Co., Ohio, Jan. 1, 1808.

Bees may have too much honey to winter well. Mr. Gary says bees will not wimer well in solid honey. 1 here must be a fair number of open cells tor them to cluster in and keep their heat, by being in a compact mass. When the cells are all capped they must necessarily occupy more than double the space, and cannot with- stand extreme cold weather. Mr. Gary also ob- serves that bees do better in a dair)- region than where large numl)ers of sheep are kept. Sheep eat very close and consume clover heads and Howers that cattle would leave; iiius me bee is deprived of food. There is a marked ditference he says, in some parts of the country, where the farmers have changed from cattle to sheep hus- bandry.— E. Parmly, New York.

170

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL.

[For the Aniericau Bee Journal.]

The Italian Bees at Home.

Reading tlie first volume of the "American Bee Jouknal," I found on page 213 a commu- nication to the BienenzeiUmg, liom F. A. Dcus, wiio, in company with tliree other members of the Apiarian Convention lield at Mayence in 18GG, made a tour llirough part of France, Switzerland, and Italy, after the adjournment oftlie Convention. Mr. Dens notes particular- ly the various places, on their route, where Italian bees occur, and describes their appear- ance. Tlie close of the communication reads as follows : —

"At Lago Mat'giore and Lago di Como, we found Italian bees exclusively, and of the most pertect type, like those of Genoa. These dis iricts, indeed, appear to be their cluef/;a6itoi."

Does not this report agree with Prof. Moua's certiticate and my account of the native pure Ilulian bees V It is here likewise, in this region of country, that the Italian bee was fc-und ex- clusively. ISut I fear that this report will be re- garded as of no account, in opposition to Prof. Varro's ipse dixit.

On page 2'- of Datlie's pamphlet. Dr. Ziwan- sky is quoted as saying — "We may the more confidently decide in lavor of this source (of procuring Italian queens), inasmuch as no black bees whatever are louud in the entire Canton, (Tessin), and we may therefore feel as- sured that we shall obtain thence no other than bees of the genuine and pure-blooded race."

But Prof. Varro is acquainted, trom his youth, with a man who has eeeu Italian bees in Italy too ; and because he had seen Italian bees in their native clime before Mr. Uhle or I saw Italy, there must be black bees found in that region of country.

Adam Guimm.

JEFFERSON, (WisO

Interference of Common Drones.

I keep Irom forty to fifty stocks, all black bees. Why are no all their progeny hybrids ? That is, the progeny ol those iwo ([ueeus.

I wish you would tell nn how to leed bees in the Laugstroth hives. i I wish all persons writing in papers would put their name and location to tjjeir articles. : The reason lor wishing this is, I saw in a paper ; a very good article on bees, wherein the writer I says he has good success in feeding bees with ■ an invention of his own — with no name but ! correspondent of N. Y. Rural.

J. W. Hunter.

PiQUA.

[For the American Bee Journal.)

The Bee Journal. — Foulbrood.

In the February number of the Bee Journal, (page 160,) the question is asked — "(]!au Ital- ian bees be raised and kept pure in a location where black bees are abundant V"

I will tell you what 1 know about the matter.

In the summer of 1866, two of my stocks were partly hybridized — about ten or twelve per cent, having one bright yellow ring.

The queens in these two hives produce hy- brids in about the same proportion, not having Bwarmed lasl summer.

Now, I have no Italian bees, uor was there at that time an Italian stock within a circle of five miles from me. Mr. Clark, living five miles southeast of me, had in 1865 an Italian queen leave and go to the woods with a swarm, going in a due west direction. If they contin- ued in that direction for a distance of four miles, they would strike a point four-and-a-half miles south of me. Perhaps one half of this distance is woods ; the other half cleared land. Now that was the only chance for my queens to be fertilized by Italian drones.

The February number of the Bee Journal is received, and I must say that it is to me the most interesting number that has appeared. I am pleased to see each number steauilj' impro- ving in interesting jjrcic^ictt^ information for bee- keepers. If your readers do not get the worth of their monej', it must be their own fault.

The first article in the present number, which treats in detail on the character and treatment oi foulbrood is alone worth the cost of a com- pliiie volume. To many readers, if they will study it well, the information is richly worth §ilO, and may be worth $100. I have had sev- eral years experience with malignant foulbrood, but have had none since 1 came West. My apiary in Western New York, where 1 lived prior to 1861, was nearly ruined ; and 1 know of several aparies in that section, that were en- tirely destroyed. It requires the utmost vigi- lance to keep it in abeyance, and to make bee- keeping protitable where this disease is fairly established. I have had &o much experience with foulbrood that I am satisfied ; and will have no more of it, so long as there is a section in the United Stales to be found where it is un- known. 1 hope it will not be introduced in the West ; but am fearful it is already in some of the apiaries in Iowa. The shipping of Italian bees from apiaries where the disease is estab- lished, throughout the length and breadth of oui' land, will be the means of introducing it into many parts of the country', if any thing will. M. M. Baldridge.

St. Charles, III.

Tue large Rhododendron, Mountain Laural, or Rosebay, yields honey abuudantl}'', but of a deleterious and poisonous qualitj', though not injurious to the bees themselves. During the period in which it is in bloom, in June, bees should not be allowed to store honey in supers, where this plant abounds ; and combs contain- ing such honey should be retained in the hive for winter supplies. This can be easily accom- plished, where movable comb hives are used. Honey derived from the Kalmias, (common and dwarf laurel) should be treated in the same muuuer.

THE A^r^:RICAN v^kk journal.

i7i

[For the Americau Beo Jourual.]

How I became an Apieulturist !

I -was born in France. My llitlier, a couutiy piiysician, sent me when six years old to my graudlatlier, a locksmitii, intliccity of Langres, tor my education. Tliere, during nine months in each year, wiulc pursuing my studies, I was betw(('n school hours in daily intercourse with the worl^men and learned to handle their tools. And during my vacations— two weeks at East(;r, and eight in September and October, I enjoyed country life. The handling of mechanics' tools W..S nflerwaids of great service to me, enabling nie to nuinufaeture the various hives which I found described in bee-books, and in treatises on grape and tree culture. IMucli attention was given to those subjects, and my father's garden was well stocked Avith Irellisses and espalicrji.

Yef, in all the country nothing was so attract- ive and pleasing to me as the sight of a neigh- boring hive of bees; so that I sometimes spent hours iuwatching their labors. Of course it Avas impossible for me to examine the interior of their home, but the matter only became the more at- tractive the more mysterious it seemed.

Knowing my predilection for bees, the old pastor of the parish sent for me one fair day in April, under the pretext that he wantcid me to assist him in pruning hin hives; hut really to af- ford me the cnjoyxiient of seeing the internal ar- rangement of the hive, and to treat me after- wards to a good slice of bread, thickly spread with new honey fresh from the combs !

J.IuiHed up, according to the fashion of that day among bee-keepers, in a coarse linen blouse provided with a visor of heavy and coarse mesh- ed vv'ire cloth, sweltering under the unaccustom- ed and inconvenient costume, we had already pruned several hives, when the pastor's servant introduced in the garden a man asking for her master. He proved to be a young butcher, who was to be married next day in a neighboring village, and called to obtain from the parish pastor the nuptial consecration and the confes- sion billet which he was required to exhibit. "Well," replied the pastor, as soon as he had unmasked himself, "I will give you the billet; but do not approach so near the bees, or you may gel slung." "Don't care," rejoined the butcher, " as I kill oxen, I need not fear flics." Accord- ingly as soon as a hive was inverted, he would bend forward with his head over it. The old pastor, skilled for years in bee management, had so cautiously .landled the bees that all the hives, save one, were i>runed without accident. The last hive was now inverted and the butcher as usual examining its interior, when cither by waj'' of a joke, or because he was wearied of being thus annoyed in his woik, or pe '.haps vexed that a sheep of his flock should treat him with so little reverence — or possibly incited by all these mo- tives together, the old pastor struck the hive lightly, as though inadvertantly, with his prun- ing knife. Instantly I saw the butcher draw- ing mutely from his forehead a stinging bee ; then another from his choek, and a third from his chin. At last, vanciuished by the bees, he fairly ran away, shouting — '■'■Ahyles maslives ! {Ah the dogs ! ) they are worse than oxen .'"

We were told that, next day, when, arrayed in his wedding suit, he called on hisltride to lead her to the church, she at first refused to recog- nize him, so much was he disfigured— his very voice, modified by his swollen lips, was totally changed. Returning to the city some days after this, I narrated the butciier's experience to my schoolfellows. Thenceforward, for months, " worne than oxen!''' was the rallying cry of my l>layinates, just as " Ohe, Lambert!'' is that of the cheerful lads of Paris.

On my return to the country, the following Sept<'iubcr, a pretty swarm in a bright straw liiv(^ was, to my great joy, installed in the lower part of my father's garden. It was a fine after- swarm, presented to me by the old pastor. As that year had been very favorable for bees, one half of the hive was alread}' filled with combs. Searching immediately in the old library, pur- chased of his predecessor, I found several books on bees. Some of them reproduced all the erors T credited since the days of Pliny and Columel- la; but happily there were also, pearls among rubbish, Huber's immortal works, and a manual on bees presented to my father by his compa- triot M. Lombard. Educated in Langrcs' lib- eral school, I was little prepared to take on trust all the whims and predjudices about bees, con- tained in the books. Hence I resolved to repeat fairly a part of Huber's experiences. But fearing to displease my benefactor, the old pastor, who believed that a disturbed swarm was sure to perish, I contented myself with watching daily the busy flight of the industrious bees, happy with their happiness, and dreading to find them dead whenever the cold iireventcd them from flying out. Very reluctantly did I part with mj"- swarm on the first of November, to return to school, bringing with me my bee-books, and leaving my hive well protected by an ample straw cover, and well supplied with bees and honey.

During the following winter, I purchased with my pin-money, some hoards and with the aid of an old carpenter, a friend of my grand- father, I constructed two Huber leaf hives. These I took with me the next spring to my father, urging him to put in them my one or perhaps two expected swarms. But I had not taken the old pastor into account. He was sure the bees would never thrive in such wooden hives. ]\Iy father, following his advice placed the only swarm I got that year in a common straw hive. But, alas I that was not the worst of it. My father sent his carriage for me in Au- gust, informing me that a waterspout had the day before thrown down five large stone houses in our village, and half-drowned my good friends, as he was accustomed to call my bees. Indeed on my arrival my heart was distressed at seeing the lower villagers engaged, among scattered ruins, in washing their clothes and furniture, soiled b}^ immersion in the j'cllowish water.

As for my swarms, they were both half dead under a pear tree crushed down by an overthrown wall against which it had been trained. Neither Huber nor Lombard had foreseen such a case, and I could not learn how to save them. They perished in the ensuing winter.

Such was my first step in bee-culture. If you

172

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

and your readers are not wearied with the nar- rative, I wiJl give an account of my second at- tempt ki your next number.

CnAiiLEs Dadant. Hamilton, III. Jan. 1868.

[For tlie American Bee Jouraal ]

Evaporating TTectar.

Rome bee-keepers hold that bees gather hrmey from tlowers and deposit in the cells immediate- ly, and if the hive is patented on purpose for evaporating honey, or the watery parts of it, it evaporates of itself, and when thick enough Uie bees seal it up, &c., &c. Quer}', how did the bees get along belbre these excellent contrivan- ces were patented for them ? Well, that is just what I am going to tell yon, for I never taiiglit my be^^s any of those patent tricks.

When bees gather iioney, maple sap, or any other watery sweet, more than their honey sacks can contain, tliey deposit it in the cells until evening, and then they hung in festoons or clus- ters in the hive, each one in his place — that is, one below the other, each one's trunk or probos- cis clear when extended, so as not to tou«h another bee or anything else. Then by their great roaring, luunming, or whatever you have a mind to call it, they ci'eate a great degree of animal heat; their sac is tilled with this liquid, which is then blown owt to the end of the trunk, stirred over, and drawn in again to warm up. This process is repeated until the liquid is suih- cicntly evaporated to be deposited in the cells and se[ded up. Take a shojt straw in your mouth and blow a drop of water gently through it out to the end, and vlien draw it in again, and you have an idea of the process, all except the stir- ring up. The bees do that part better than you can, because they have tools made on purpose for that business. "Well, Gallup, that can't be," says an objector, for I have kept bees, my father has kept bees, and my grandfather kept bees, and avc never saw any such thing." Your argument is a good one, for it is the very argu- ment used by an old grayheaded man not long ago to me at an agricultural lair, to prove that there is no such thing as a queen bee ! (JMany a night have I lain beside an observation hive till 12 o'clock, watching the little fellows in their labors). This process goes on through the day also; but there arc so many bees then out in the fields gathering, that it does not go on near so rapid. A swarm tliat is gathering honey very slowly Avill not show any of this process. You Avill be most likely to sec it going on when the bass-wood is in full bloom. Enough on this sub- ject at present.

Do you know that the Italians eat candied or granulated sugar, which the black bees refuse ? That is another good quality. They will even go into your sugar box, and eat dry sugar, if you let them.

I am anxious to know whether Mr. Grimm ar- rived with that hundred queens all right. Let us hear from you, friend Grimm, through the Bee Jouknal. Elistia Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

[For the Amoricaa Bee Journal.]

Another Singular Case.

Mr. Editok :— On the lOlh of May, 1867, I deprived an Italian colouy of its queen, and on the SOlh of that month I examined it and found it had constructed twent}^ or more queen cells. Some of these I carefully cut out and inserted in common colonies, having previously ab- stracted and destroyed their queens. In exam- ining one of these colonies a few days after- wards, I found that its young queen luid emer- ged from the cell in a natural way ; the cap of tiie cell having been displaced and its edge uni- formly smooth and horizontal. I now regard- ed this colony as being in possession of a young Italian queen ; yet I was somewhat astonished to find a queen cell of their own construction capped over, within a couple of inches of the cell which 1 had inserted. As this cell Avas, however, situated near the edge of the comb at the bottom of the hive, where the young queen was not likely to frequent, 1 supposed it had been overlooked by her in her search for ro3'ai cells, and as I could not see any oilier in liie hive (common box hive), I concluded to de- stroy it and await further develcpements. Some ten daj's afterwards, I examined this hive again, to see if all was well, when to my sur- prise, I could see no biood or sign of any. I therefore supposed that the young queen had got lost on her a}rial excursion, and 1 forthwith introduced into the hive a young, unfertile, bright yellow Italian queen, rather below me- dium size, and somewhat feeble in its deport- ment. I then awaited the elapse of ten days or two weeks, when upon examination, I found considerable brood in the comb ; and after the lapse of still greater length of time, I had the pleasure of beholding both in and out of the hive, as bright and pretty Italian bees as I ever saw, all three-banded, without an excep- tion. About the 15th of August, I proceeded to transfer this queen to auotlier hive, which I wished to Italianize, when lo ! not a larva or brood in any stage of developement was to be seen in the cells. I however removed the queen, but had lo w- ait ten days before I could get anoth- er ready for introduction. Then once more to my astonishment, I found in this same hive, any amount of brood capped over. But the strangest thing of all was, that after wailing till some of the brood would hatch, that I might test their puiity by their color, I discovered that they were black bees, without a trace or sign of Ital- ian blood in them. I then went to Avork and drove out a black queen, without a shadow of doubt as to her purity. This hive stood three feet from any other hive, on a separate board, by itself. Now, Mr. Editor, two questions present themselves here, which 1 would like you or some of your correspondents to answer. The first is, where did this black queen origi- nate, and how came she there ? The second, Why did the young Italian queen cease to liy so soon ? John L. McLean.

Richmond, Jepfehson Co , Ohio.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUKNAL.

173

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Oats for Bee-Peed!

Yes, oai9 I'or bee -feed ! Why not? Docs any one doubt that oafs contain the proper nu- tritive element for bringing fortli and sustain- ing animal life? Of course not. But are bees to eat them V Well, kind reader, as the process is a lei'tle ditfcrent from the manner in which Avc feed them to our liorses, if yon will be pa- tient, we will try and tell you how we first got in the Avay of feeding our bees on oats.

In our earlier researches we were quite cap- tivated with the idea of feeding our bees on rye meal ; and of course our first transferred swarm had to have rye meal along with the other favors we iieapedupon them. Mr. Lang- stroth, in his book, recommended it, and as we did not wish them to be destitute of any of the necesi^aries of life, we bought fioe rye tlour from a feed store, the nearest thing we could get to rye meal, and poured a lot down on the front portico of the hive, exi)ecting to see them rush out and devour it like a lot of tamished pigs. But they did not ! And as they seemed determined not to touch it, we put it in the entrance, so that every bee, whether he would or not, must have some of the very essential rye flour. After liaving thus ease>i our conscience I)y thinking that we had certainly done everything proper, we left them until evening. When we first came home, ns usual we had to look at our bees, and were surprised to find a considerable number '* lying around loose" in front of the entrance, looking wofully while iind dispirited. On .opening the hive (which we usually did ever}' morning, night and noon), we .were met b}'' about as sorrowful a looking set of floury miller-like sentinels as can be imagined.

Talk about throwing dust in one's eyes ! Our bees looked as if they had all the dust they would need for a life-time ; so we brushed the rest of the stuff away, and took a further look at our bee books.

We finally learned that we must wait until spring to have our bees reap the grand results of the meal feed ; so our meal was carefully put away. Spring came at last, as it lias a liabit of doing usually, we believe ; and we resum- ed our experiments.

We put the tlour on the hives, in tlie liives, awa'i from the hives, mixed with honey, yolks of eggs, and every way we could think of; but they would have none of it at aH. We put it in a linen bag over the frames to keep them busy on rainy days, as the first volume of the Bee JouiiNAL recommended ; but not a meal would they touch, and we were obliged reluctantly to let them have their own way.

The second season so much was said of the advantage? of rye meal by all, Quinby, Bee Journal, and rest, that we felt as if our bees must be learned to use it too. And hearing some one remark that a scientific old fanner used to grind oats for his bees, we decided that we would try oats ; and accordingly astonished the miller by ordering a bushel of oats and the same quantity of rye to be ground up fine, but left unbolted, to feed bees ! Our grist was sent

home, and with some misgivings we put a broad board on the top of a barrel a rod or two from our apiary, sprinkled on the meal, and told our friends that from a recent discovery in chemistry it had been shown that the above mixture possessed essentially the same proper- ties and elements of the pollen gathered by the bees liom flowers, and that tiiey— the bees — would iippropriate it accordingly.

Now, Mr. Editor, don't you think it was con- .soling to our feelings, when upon coming home at noon, we found hosts of I)ees liovering over, dabbling their feet into, and rolling up balls of this artilicial pollen, as hai)py apparently as if they were in a clover field in June V Didn't we cry " Eureka !"

From that time until natural pollen could be got, we fed them about three ])ecks, and our apiary then only comprised al)OUt a dozen luves. The swarms that were busiest, and amassed the most, were by far our most productive stocks, and one that particularly excelled all the rest, was the stock and swarm that produ- ced the 117 pounds of box honey mentioned last fall — the swarm collecting thirty pounds in two days.

We are making preparations now to have plenty of the oats and rye ready, just as soon as the bees begin to fly. Hurrah, for the tons of honey we are going to have this year. "You know, Mr. Editor, that Giantess is going to help after we get her home. By the way, will j'-ou please to thank Mr. Gallup lor his kind arti- cle on page 150. The tree is so large, we shall have to run the risk of cutting it in April, as he suggests. After cutting down a tree of .such height and transferring, will all the bees find the hive, especially if the queen happens to be killed ?

We were going to sign ourselves Novice, as usual ; but as every one knows that, we will omit it, and say.

Novice, with all his old enthusiasm, and i)iipaiience for the arrival of sprinfj.

P. S. — A friend who is jealous of our great discovery, says that's a "big yarn" about the bees eating three pecks of meal, lie says the neighbor's chickens flew up and ate it, and the wind blew it away. You don't believe him, do you, Mr. Editor ?

By no means, for the Baron of Berlepseh assures us that in the spring of 1857, the 103 colonies then constituting his apiary, carried in 354 pounds of Avheat flour. His colonies were poor in stores, and he supposed that between 300 and 400 pounds of candy would be required to sustain them till they could gather honey. But after furnishing them with flour, they drew so sparingly on their stores that only eleven pounds of candy were needed. — Ed.

In their labor and order, at home and abroad, bees are so admirable, that they maj' be a pat- tern unto men, both of the one and the otlier. For unless they be hindered by weather, weak- ness, or want of matter to work on. their labor never ceaseth. — Butlek.

174

THE AMI^llCAN BEE JOUHNAL.

[For the American Ijco Journal.]

Experience in Italianizing.

By Anotheh Novice. — No. 1.

JiIk. Editok : By request of a bee frieucl I jiropose (if it will not crowd out more valuable nuitlcr from the Jouhkal), to write part of my experience in Italianizing. After having gone through a series of dear-bought experiments, and being now able to manage bees juccessfully and with ease, I pretend to be nothing more than a novice still.

I think it the duty of all those engaged in the business, to communicate to the Journal, the results of the most interesting and scientific part of their experience. By so doing they may facilitate advance in a fascinating branch of rural economy, and thus make it easy for thou- sands of families otherwise favorably situated to manage bees with ease and success.

I begin with the finding of the queen. By the way, I can now find a queen with ease, in fi-om three to fifteen minutes, with but few ex- ceptions. But mj^ first attempt was long, ludi- crous, and somewhat singular. Yet, if my ex- perience was valuable to myself, it ought to be still more so to beginners ; and I hope it may be the means of saving thousands from a lilte misliaj).

In July, 18G6, I received notice from Mr. Quinby that the two queens, which I had order- ed for myself and a friend would be shipped on the 18th. Intending to introduce on the ten days' system, I went at once to remove the old queens, so as to be ready to introduce on the ar- rival of the queens.

On Saturday afternoon, I began my search for the queen. Having never hunted for one before, I felt it a very hard task, as the reader will soon see. I had previously carefully consulted Quin- by and Langstroth, so as to facilitate the under- taking. But a singular oecurrence took place, which I am 5'et miable to account for, and which was the cause of all the trouble ; and the loss, moreover, of the queen which cost $7.50, inclu- ding express «hurges. I searched carefully a frame at a time, spending almost ten minutes on a single frame ; then set them in an empt}' hive to keep out robbers, spreading a cloth over. I may state, in passing, that I used Quinby's Improvement of the Langstroth hive, with eight frames. I noticed a cluster of bees on the bot- tom board, about the size of & dollar. Suppo- feing it to contain the queen, I lifted it out on my hand, disengaged the bees, and found a real qiven ; but she was just alive, and died in a fcAV minutes. Her abdomen had shrunk up, so as to makv. me doubt whether she was a queen ; though otherwise, she was just the size and shape v")f a queen. I had seen and handled a great many before. The bees clinging to her aslcanied her to the shop, confirmed nic in the opinion that I had the queen. Being satis- fied, I then gave up all further search.

The following Moudaj^ I went to help my friend remove liis queen, and found her after a long search of near 2^ hours. Upon comparing

her with my dead ([ueen, v.^e concluded that niine was not a queen — hc-r abdomen being a good deal .".liorter I engaged him to come next morning and help me to hvmt my queen. He came, bringing his dead queen Avith him, she having died tlie night previous from exposui'e. Upon comparing her with mine, they were ex- actly the same size, the abdomen of his having drawn up in death precisely like mine — further search was given up, being satisfied I had the queen.

The following Saturday the Italian qecns ar- rived all riglit. In the afternoon, just eight days from the removal of the supposed queen, I went to look up and remove the queen cells, in order to introduce. But, to my surprise, not a queen cell could be found. I never felt more bothered what to do. Should I hunt for a queen when there was none ? Or was there i-eally a queen in tlie hive ? Did thej' have two ? I spread a cloth over, to keep out robbei-s, till I consulted my bee-books. Every book was against me, and in fiivor of a queen being pres- ent. So I went to work and searched near four hours in vain. Half the bees went under the bottom board, during the search. I left them to come out and enter the hive at will, not dream- ing.the qufcn was with them. Next morning, finding them still there, I tried to dislodge them with a brush ; but they obstinately refused to enter the hive. I left them and went to meeting, supposing they would all be in the hive on my return. Returning about sunset, I found them still there. Now was my time to have secured the queen with the utmost ease ; but I had that to learn by dear-bought experience. Knowing no better, I set the hive on a new bottom board; removed the old one with the bees under it ; set the new one on its place; and then poured the bees down at the entrance, which they all entered immediately.

This case so bothered me that I sent for a friend five miles olf, who had some little expe- rience in introducing queens, to come and help me. On my way from the polls next morning, I met another who had a little experience. He was riding my way and stopped ; but was too sick to do more than to examine a frame, and see they had a queen. He said there was every sign of the presence of a queen. After he left I commenced the tlurd search, but had not gone far before I found a good many queen cells the size of an acorn shell started. I then stopped, supposing they had just started these cells, and that as I was to introduce my friend's queen the next day, I could learn more about it by see- ing how it was done in his hive. There I found eleven queen cells mostly sealed over, which I removed, and then introduced the queen success- fully. Next day I went to see how my bees got along with their cells. Instead of being larger, as I expected to find them, they had not im- ]iroved a whit ; on the coutrarj^, some of them were being cut down. It then struck me that these cells were stiirted during the twenty-four hours the queen was under the bottom board. Being now convinced that they had a queen, or, I might say another queen, 1 determined to find her tliat day if she was ever to be found. After hunting in vr.iu until the sun got hot, I

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

175

divided I hem into three parts, to rest till towards evening;,-, taking the precaution to keep out roh- bors. Wont to the renewed task about half past throe in the al\ernoou, and the queen was found just as it was still light enough to distinguisii a big 1)00 from a small one, and in ticelve days i'roiu the time I commenced I

If the reader will pardon this lengthy detailed account of the search for and finding of a queen, I will tell something better in my next.

P. S. — The above colony had not swarmed that season. How do you account for the pres- ence of two queens, or was I inistakeu V

LowELi., Ky. a.

E;^Wc think you were not mistaken. There were doubtless two queens present in the hive — which may be accounted for, by supposing that the bees had reared a j'oung queen, and were actually engaged in superseding the old one, when you began your preliminary opera- tion for Italianizing. The expiring queen found enveloped in a cluster of workers, explains the seeming anomaly.

[For the American Bee Jotirnal.]

Bees in Hollow Trees.

Mr. Editor: — I saw in a late number of the Journal an inquiry to which an answer is de- sired. I am no correspondent of any paper, nor a practised writ' r, but a plain matter of fact man, and may be able to give some infor- mation with regard to bees located in the top of a tree, and offer some suggestions how to get them down, as I have had considerable expe- rience in such matters. Hence I propose to tell how I would get Giantess down, and our friend can judge whether it will jiuy or not.

For some time I have been very successful in Imnticg and finding bees, and then taking them down in the log. I always considered it hard and barbarous to fall the tree, and thus destroy the bees and lose most of the honey. Now for the first one. I found a swarm in the spring of the year, and was anxious to save them. They were in a hemlock tree, about eighty feet from the ground. I managed to get a rope over a limb about forty feet from the ground, then climbed the rope, and went up to examine the location of the bees. When I go up a tree I always carry a line in my pocket. Willi this I draw up an auger and then bore in, to ascer- tain where the honey and the bees are located. I llion slop them in, and then draw up mj^ saw. If the top stands perpendicular, I ascend to it and cut off the limbs on one side of the tree — thus throwing the heft of the tree fop on the opposite side. Then feeling sure which way it will fall, I saw above bees and honey and let the top fall. I noAV draw up a line of sufficient strength to sustain a pole about ten feet long and three or four inches in diameter; having prepared the pole before I ascend or having an assistant to do it, as follows: Bore a ho!e near the larger end of the polo, another about three feet higher up, and a third near the top or smaller end. 1 now draw m\) this I'ole and place xt wliere I need it, the top end about as high as

the log containing the bees. Now take a strong rope about thirty feet long, pass it through the lower holes and around the tree. Be thorough in this ujattcr, tying the pole to the tree, and making it secure. Now take another rope, about twice the length from the bees to the ground, pass it through the upper hole in the polo and around the log containing the bees, having the other end of this rope extending to and on the ground. Have the rope kept taught. Two men below v ill hold it, but it may be well to take a turn around a log or tree, thuj making it more safe and easiei- to hold. Then go below whore the bees are located, and saw off the log containing them. Give the saw a direction in- clining obliquely down, and as the log is cut off it will slip from the stub and be suspended be- tween heaven Und earth. Now, ease away be- low, and your giantess commences to tiesceud to the ground.

It may be well to smoke the bees before you begin to disturb them. After they are down, fasten them in with cloths or tack on boards; and on a spring wagon carry them to their new location.

I have taken down twenty swarms from the woods. One from a tree 110 feet six inches high by actual measure. If the tree is clear of limbs seventy or eighty feet up just as well. Per- haps you wouid like to know how I get up, when I cannot ascend with my climbers. There it is. Just take a pound weight, (I prefer lead cast in an egg shell set in sand, placing a wire for a loop in the shell, and running in the melted lead, which gives you such an imple- ment as I use). Tie a small line in this loop, unwind and lay it an clean ground or free from bushes. Take a stout string or piece of eel skin about two feet long, and make it fast to the loop in the lead, and now with a little prac- tice— or perhaps considerable — you will be able to toss the lead ball where you wish it. This weight carries your small line, that will in turn draw up a clothes' line, and that a line suffi- ciently stout and strong to operate with. Now make a fast loof) in one end of the rope; put your leg through; take the other rope in j'our hands, passing the rope that suspends you with- in the folds of your arms. Let one or two men take hold of the rope and pull, and up you go. But there is danger, and as you fix and arrange mattojs, use discretion, and think I may not lake down any more; although if I had an Ital- ian giantess up there, she would soon find her- self Jocated in my apiary.

I have at this time about eighty stocks. They have done finely the past summer. Some log? are standing in my yard at this time. I may transfer them in the spring. By and by I may give my experience in hunting bees in Virginiti on the James. W. C. Newtok.

Fulton, N. Y.

Among all the creatures which our bountiful God hath made for the use and service of man, in respect of great profit with small cost, of their ubiquity or being found in all countries, and of their continual labor and comely order, the beei are most to be admired. — Butlkk.

176

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Bees in Cliffs.

Mr. Editor: Enclosed you will find a list o names of beo-keepei s. I Ccannol say that anj' of tliem will subsci'ibe for the Journal, but I am satisfied it is worth the money, and that it will richly repay any one interested in bee cul- tured.

In my neighborhood we liave nothing Imt the box hive and the common black bee. In the coming spring, I expect to get some frame hives, but am at a loss to know whose patent to get. I also want some Italian bees, but do not yet know whom to purchase from. I want the purest I can get with the least expense. I no- ticed in your January number that Mr. J. R. Gardner, of Christiansburg, (Va.,) states that he had purchased three Italian queens for ten dollars. They were cheap, indeed, if they are pure Italians.

I am fully satisfied in my own mind that bees, with proper attention, can be made very profit- able in this part of Kentucky. The black bee in its wild f-tate, is found in hollow trees, and sometimes in cliti's or bluffs along our water courses. There is a bluff' m Edmonson county, Kentucky, near the Mammoth Cave, in which I am credibl}' informed, bees have been work- ing for many years. The oldest citizens say they were there as far back as they can remem- ber. The clilfissaid to be two hundred feet high and perpendicular. Tlie bees work out at a hole in the rock about half way up the cliff. They are represented as being very numerous, and there are many speculations in regard to the quantity of honey stored there.

There is als ) a similar colony of bees in the bluff's of the Cumberland river in Cumberland county, Kentucky; but the cavity where they work out at, is said to be one hundred and fifty feet from the base and the top of the cliff. The bees arc said to be in vast numbers.

I would like to know of any one has ever as- certained the quautity of honey stored by bees similarly situated in bluffs. I suppose there are other instances of the kind. What would be the best plan to take the honey stored in a cliff? If any of the readers of the Bee Journal can give me a plan that will be satisfactory, without danger from the bees; I may at some future time have the pleasure of giving them an ac- count of a big bee hunt.

"Wishing you great success, I am, &c., &c. K. P. Allen.

Smith's Grove, Warren Co., Ky.

The hotter and dryer the summer is, the great- er and more frequent are the honey dews. Cold and wet weather is unkind for them. Much rain at any time, as coming from a higher region, washeth away that which is already elevated; so that there can lie no more, until another fit of hot and di y weather, and in the end it dissolveth them quite. — Butler.

A farmer near Northampton, Mass., recently took from a swarm of bees that had taken up their abode in the wall of his house, one hundred and twenty-five pounds of honey.

[For the Americau Bee Journal.]

Buckwheat on Poor Land.

Some thirty years ago when I lived in Cana- da, I had fat hogs, for I was a miller then, and you know that hog manure is very rich. I sowed a piece of ground with buckwheat for my bees, and on returning from the field, with some buckwheat in my sowing bag, I passed through the hog yard and it looked so nice and mellow that I strewed on the buckwheat, shut the hogs in the pen, harrowed in the buckwheat, and let it grow for the bees. The result was that scarcely a bee touched the field blossoms, l)ut the liog yard beat all for bees you ever saw. Well, I learned a lesson then — that is, if you want honey, the richer the land the more honey you will get.

Now when a person asks me liow mncli buck- wheat shall I sow for mj' i)ees? I ask him how much manure are you going to jmt on your land? Manure your white clover patcJi, cur- rants, gooseberries, raspberries, in fact every tree whose blossoms the bees are to work on. The richer the land the more honey the blos- soms will produce. It is useless to sow buck- wheat for bees on jjoor land. I saw a person last summer who had sowed the same i^iece of liind to buckwheat for eight years in succession without manure, and he said for the last three years his bees. have scarcely touched it. He concluded that they had got sick of buckwheat. But this year he plowed u]) his cow yard and sowed to buckwheat, and the way the bees worked on it beat all he ever saw. Ho took the hint from what I told him last summer. Is not this one great reason why so many ijcojile com- jilain that their bees do not do as well as they did when the country was new, before they had skinned the laud to death western fashion? This skinning process is as bad for bee-keepers as it is for farmers.

Osage, Iowa. Elisha Gallup.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

When you set out your bees in the spring, set them on the ground by all means. That is, some of my bottom boards have an inch thick cleat nailed on the underside, and some of them a cleat two inches thick. Those cleats, set di- rectly on the ground, have a strip of board or something fixed on the front side, so that when a loaded bee falls on the ground, he can crawl into the hive without any difficulty. Keep all grass and weeds away from the front of the hives, and do not set them in a row close together; but place them around your yard promiscuously, here and there. When set too close together, you are apt to lose many queens, by their making a mistake and entering the wrong hive when they return from the first flight. Before I knew better, I used to lose more or less in that way, every year. Two diff'ercntly colored hives, side by side, will answer well euougli.

Osage, Iowa. E. Gallup.

Dry weather makesplenty of Jioney, and moist weather of swarms. — Butler.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, MARCH, 18G8.

' The (Vmerican Bee Joiiknal is now publislicd monthly, in the City of Washington, (D. C.,) at S2 per annum. All comnmnications should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

Bees and Fruit- Blossoms.

A silly prejudice against bees is entertained by some fruit-growers, based on the notion that the crops of fruit are injuriously etlccted, both in (luality and quantitj', by the visits of bees during the blossoming period. A more unfound- ed notion, or one dciiving less support from ob- sei'vation and science, can scarcely be conceived. Yet it regularly looms up once or twice in a cen- tury, and ci'eates as mucli alarm aud consterna- tion among the wiseacres, us the appearance of a comet used to do In by-gone days.

Repeated instances of the resuscitation of this prejudice, are presented in the history of bee- culture in Germany, especially in the period be- tween 1530 and 1800. On some of these occa- sions it was so widely prevelant and so rabid in its demonstrations, as to constraiu the almost total abandonment of bee culture in districts where fruit-raising bore sway. To the aid of this came the substitution of cider and beer for the ancient mead or metheglin, as the popular beverage ; and amid such opposition and dis- couragement, bee-culture rapidly sunk to be of very subordinate interest, except in some favor- able localities.

In 1774. Count Anthony of Torrings-Seefeld, in Bavaria, President of the Academy of Science at Munich, striving to re-introduce bee-culture on his patiimonial estate, found in this gene- rally prevalent prejudice, the chief o1)stacle to success. To overcome it, he labored assiduouslj" to show that bees, far from being injurious, were directly beneficial in the; fruotilication of blos- soms— causing, the fruit to set, by conveying the fertilizing pollen from tree to tree and from llower to llower. He proved, moreover, by offi- cial ftimily records, that a century earlier, when bees were kept by every tenant on the estate, fruit was abundant; whereas then, when only seven kept bees, and none of these had more than three colonies, fruit was scarcer than ever among his tenaotry.

At tlie Apiarian General Convention, held at

Stuttgard, in Wirtembiu-g, in September, 1858, the subject of honey-yielding crops being under discussion, the ccdebratcd pomologist, Prof. Lucas, one of the directors of the Hohenhiem Institute, alluding to the prejudice, went on to say— "Of more importance, however, is an imjiro- ved management of our fruit trees. Here the interests of the horticulturist and the l)ee-kee]5er combine and run parallel. A judicious pruning of our fruit trees will cause them to blossom more freely and yield honey more plentifully. I would urge attention to this on those particu- larly who are both fruit-growers and bee-keepers. A careful and observant bee-keeper at Potsdam writes to me tliat his trees yield decidedly larr/er crops since he has established an apiary in his or- chard^ and the annual product is now more cer- tain and regular than before, though his trees had always received due attention."

Some j'cars ago a wealthy lady in Germany established a green-house at considerable cost, and stocked it with a great variety of choice native and exotic fruit trees — expecting in due time to have renumeratingcrops. Time passed, and aniuially there was a superabundance of blossoms, witli only very little fruit. Various plans were devised and adopted to bring the trees into bearing, but without success, till it was sug- gested that the blossoms needed fertilization, and that by means of bees the needed work could be effected. A hive of busy honey-gatherei-s was introduced next season ; the remedy was effect- ual— there was no longer any difficulty in pro- ducing crops there. The bees distributed the pollen, and the setting of the fruit followed nat- urally.

As a further illustration of this topic, we are pleased to be able to lay before our readers the following letter from Mr. Packard, one of the ed- itors of the American Naturalist, with which we have been obligingly favored by the gentleman to whom it was addressed. We trust it maj' contribute to prevent fruit-growers fi-oni doing themselves harm, as they assuredly will do if they allow their prejudices to give a wrong di- rection to their zeal :

Essex Institute,

Salem. MiVSS., Jan. V, 18G8. John J. Gould. Esq.

Dear Sru : — In answer to the question wli(?ther I)!M's are in any way injurious to fruit, or lessen the quality or quantity, I would reply tiiat all the evidence given by botanists and zool')gists wlio have specially studied this subject, shows that bees increase the quality and tend to improve the

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quantity of fruit. They aid in tlie fertilization of flowers, thus preventing the occurrence of sterile flowers, and by more thoroughly fertili- zing flowers already perfect, render the produc- tion of sound and well developed fruit more sure. jMany botauitts think if it were not for bees and other insects, many plants would not fruit at all.

This whole sul)ject of the great otBce which bees and other insect.s perform in the fertilization of plants, lias been fully discussed in the May, July, and October numbers of the American Natural- id, and by Prof. Asa Gray, in the American AgricuU^trist, beginning in May, 1806.

It is alleged that bees do injur j"- in some way by extracting the honey from flowers. What is the use in nature of honey ? The best observers will tell you it is secieted by the plant, for the very purpose of attracting bees to the flowen otlierwise it is of no use to the flower or fruit.

If all the bees were to be destroyed, I for one if a farmer, would prefer to go into some other business.

This projudic'j against bees seems to us to have no foundation. Known facts prove the contrary. Farmers know loo well the injury noxious insects do; it is more difllcult to esti- mate the good done by hosts of beneficial insects.

I believe that every intelligent bee-keeper and naturalist will assent to the truth of the above remarks. Yours very respectfully,

A. S. Packard, Jr.

Spring Feed for Bees.

For stimulative feeding in the spring, or where sveak colonies need aid, the Rev. Mr Sholz re- commends the following, in the Bienenzeitnng : '•Take two parts rye-meal, two parts crushed or pulverized loaf-sugar, and one part liquid honey; add a little warm vrater, and knead the whole to a stiir doughy mass. Spread this thinly on a piece of coarse linen or nuislin, and lay it on the frames of movable comb hives, directly over the place wh(;re the bees are clustered. Spread over this a piece of woolen blanket or flannel^ large enough to confine the bees to tbe hive b^'low, and lay the honey-board loosely thereon. — ]\I;ike an examination once or twice a week, and add further supplies when needed, till spring opens and the bees can provide for tliemselves. When coarse linen or muslin cannot be had, on Avhich to spread the mixture, take some finer fabric and draw out every third thread of warp and Avoof, so as to m;'.ke the food er.sily acees- sil'-le to the l)ecs. By this piocefs colonies can be furnished with rye-meal and other nutriment,

without exposing the bees to chilling winds, o? attracting unwelcome and officious visitors from neighboring apiaries. Colonies deficient in stores may thus be supplied at any time ; but pure stimulative feeding, to induce breeding, should not be resortcat to 1)clbre the middle of April. For this purpose diluted honey should alone be used, in moderate doses, administered every other evening, and continued only about three weeks, unless the spring is unusually backward."

In the Bienenzeitungl^o. 12, for 18G7, the Rev. Mr. Kohler announced that he had discovered a process to prevent Italian queens from having concourse with common drones, and securing their fertilization by Italian drones exclusively. Subsequently in No. 21, Mr. George Summer stated that the secret had been confidentially com- municated to him, and that he had tested it on six occasions with uniform and complete success. And now in the Bienenzeitung No. 24, for De- cember 20, 18G7, which has just been received, the Baron of Berlepsch says that the process has likewise been communicated to him and Prof. Leuckart, and that it can be employed with ease and is perfectly reliable — not only securing purity of jDrogeny in everj'' case, but rendering improvement attainable, since both the queens and the drones to be bred from, can be selected.

As Mr. Kohler is poor, with a large family to provide for, he has been advised not to give publicity to the process until assured of adequate pecuniary compensation for a discov- ery so important and valuable. It is expected that this will be granted by eitlier the Prussinn or the Bavarian Government, or by the contri- butions of individual bce-kccpcrs in Germany. B^^We have taken measui-es to ascertain on what terms it can be made avai]al)le in this country, and will in due time make known the result.

Wc are pained to learn that Professor Varro, of "Washington, Pa., died about a month ago, after a brief illness. His last letter to us is without date, tl\ough postmarked Januarj' 14. It contains no intimation or indication of impair- ed health, and we v/ero hence entirely unpre- pared to hear of his decease.

IW We have still on hand a number of com- munications intended for this number, for which \ wc were unable to make room : — among them '' one from Messrs. Langstroth & Scni, lerprctiug

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

179

the '■'■Iloncy Emptying Machine.''^ As the Bee JoCKNAT. is stereotyped, the forms have to be made np sometime in advance of the publicalion day, and wc cannot make alterations or substi- tntions, liowever desirable, which would other- wise l)e practicable.

Wisconsin Bee-keepers' Association.

Editor Bee Journai,: —The Wisconsin Bec- kcopers' Association hold its third annual session in the rooms of the State Agricultural Society, in tl-.c Capitol, at Madison, on the 1-llh of Febru- ary, 1 1^08. Business of interest was transacted, and :'.nion_!Li; other things it wiis decided to hold an annuiil meeting on Wednesday of State Fair week— notice to be given in the daily programme and by bulletins on the ground.

Tlio following-named persons were elected of- ficers for the ensuing ycav, viz:

Jajies Bullard, of Evansville, President.

B. S IIox',E, of Cooksville, Secretary.

A..M. ILAt, of Stockbridge, Treasurer.

The following resolutions were offered, and unanimously adopted:

1. Resolved, that the movable frame is indis- pensable to complete success in bee-culture; and to the end that the colony may be more fully under the control of the apiarian, it is quite es- sential that the frames be adjusted without blocks, jrins, or hooks, as to their relative distance from each other.

2. llesolved, that in our opinion some suita- ble 'permanent house or protection lor bees in winter, is more economical than an outdoor ex- posure.

;?. Resolved, that artificial swarming is indis- pensable to success in practical bee-culture.

•1. Resolved, that close proximity of hives is injurious to the bee-keepers.

No further business being presented, the As- aociatiou adjourned, to meet as above indicated. B. S. HoxiE, Secretary.

Cooksville, Feb. 14, 1868.

[For the American Bee Journal.] Size of Hives.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Inquiries: Size of Hives.

My bees have been quite a source of profit this year; sixty-five hives paying over seven hundred dollars, besides labor and expenses. I attentive- ly read your Bee Journal, and think I learn much not laid down in books. \ I would like to ask the following questions.

In a section of country where there is little or no buckwheat honey to store in the fall, is it not belter to make thchive larger than 2000 cubic inches in the clear — say about 2400 in Lat. 43.?

in a hive only ten or twelve inches high, is it not best to give more room, than in one fourteen inches high in the clear V

I have more questions to propose; but enough for the present. D. C. B.

GOWANDA, N. Y.

Those hives that soonest rid their drones, are likely to be foiwardest next year. — Butlek.

Dear Journal: — Appreciating the liberality and freedom extended to your correspondents, I take the liberty to make some remarks in answer to the " Queries of Querist," in regard to size and form of hive.

While I frankly acknowledge that I have a Bee Hive to sell, I trust that does not materially affect my judgment. And, as only those who have experimented largely with a view to obtain- ing a hive adapted to the wants of the bee keeper, and not inconsistent with the in.stincts of the honey bee, can answer the queries of Querist, I trust that what I may say will not be passed by without consideration.

in the latitude of western New York, with only a short honey season, a hive containing less than two thousand inches would be unsafe, unless in the hands of experts, and, so far as my observa- tion extends, the same Avill hold true in most sections of tlu; northern States.

The form of the hive, and the protection afford- ed by it, the length of the honey season, and the manner of wintering, will enable this estimate to be modified in special cases, jjerhaps, to advan- tage. In the form of a hive certain points may be gained. If, for instance, it is desirable to have the bees cluster between all the conbs con- taining honey for their support in winter, it may be accomplished by using only seven large frames. If desirable to have all the honey in one place and above the bees in winter and not at both ends of the hive, triangular frames with one corner pointing up will accomplish the de- sired result. If straight combs with winter pas- sages in them are desirable, frames in the Ibrm of a letter A, the cross bar being triangular and the side pieces of the same form, will ensure them. If it is desirable to concentrate the heat generated by the bees where the honey for their winter use is stored, instead of diffusing it over broad upper surfaces, and in remote corners, a sharp top hive will accomplish this as Avell.

If it is desirable to place spare honey boxes on a hive after hiving into it a large swarm of bees and j^et not have brood deposited in them, a triangular hive, having the boxes arranged on the inclined sides will never fail.

If eight shallow, six pound supers are necessary to accommodate a vigorous slock of bees in the height of the honey season; and it is not desira- ble to spread out the hive beyond the number of combs between which the bees Avould cluster in winter, they may be arranged as above. If an old stock of bees will not accept spare boxes unless they are shallow and in close proximitj'^ to the brood, the upper inch ned sides of a triangular hive will admit them of that form and in tlie desired position.

If the breath or warm air found in bee hives does not condense or form dampness, except when brought in contact with a cold surface, a sharp top hive having dry chafi" packed closely on all sides except the bottom, will remain dry above the bees without upward ventilation.

These conclusions have been the result of years of patient study and successful experiment, and

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

while given without reasons have been thorongh-

oughly demonstrated.

The queries suggested by Querist, are of great importance, it we would make bee-culture both practical and profitable, and are deserving of as much consideration by the majority of the read- ers of tlie Journal, as the exact shade seen in the third "golden circle" of doubtful, or other- wise, Italian Bees. T. F. BinghA3I.

Allegan, Mich.

[For tke American Bee-Journal.]

Alsike Clover.

Mr. Editor. — Many bee-keepers have com- plained of being humbugged in buying seed of the above-mentioned plant, which proved to be nothing but common white clover, &c. In justice to Messrs. Thorburn & Co.'s advertise- ment, on last page of the Bee Journal for Feb- ruary, I would say that I procured seed from them two years ago, and that last season it bloomed beautifully, the blossoms being a va- riegated mixture of white and red, and so much an ornament that tliey were shown as a floral curiosity to our friends. Bees were incessant y at work on them at all times.

We have found Messrs. Thorburn & Co.'s seeds in general quite reliable.

Respectfully, your old friend,

Notice.

[For the Americau Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees in Cellars— Its Advan- tages and Disadvantages.

There are but few cellars well adapted to win- tering bees successfully. The cellar should be dry, dark, and well ventilated— the ventilators so arranged as to exclude all light, and the draft so arranged that it can be governed according to circunis:;tances. The temperature should be kept as near 8(j degrees as possible. The hives should be elevated some distance from the floor, with the entrance or fly hole open, and freely venti- lated at the top, so that nil dampness caused by the breath of the bees may escape; otherwise the combs will mould. Box hives in which upward ventilation is not practicable, should be inverted and left uncovered.

The advantage of wintering in the cellar is that one-half less honey is consumed than when wintered in an unprotected place. If properly cared for, no swarms are lost and but vew few bees die.

The disadvantage is that they will not breed as rapidly in the latter part of winter and early spring in the cellar, as out in the open air.

Too high a temperature Vi'ill cause restlessness, and if there is any light they will fly to it. If under these circumstances they are shut in the hive they rapidly become distended with licces, soil their hive, consume b.oucy inordinately, and contract disease. Wm. W. Cary.

CoLERAiN, Mass,

[For the American Bee Journal-]

Alsike Clover.

Mr. Editor: — I have noticed in the JouRNAii a number of plants recommended to be culti- vated for their honey-3'ielding qualities. Now I think the Alsike clover is just what we want, it being one of the best honey-yielding plants that we have, and the honey gathered from it is very thick and uncommonly ]:>]easant. The l)ces, both Italians and black, gather honey froui j it as readily as from our common Avhite clover.

It is also one ol the most profitable crops that farmers can possibly grow for seed or food, or for both. On page 96, November number of the Bee Journal, is an article on Alsike clover taken from the Canada Parmer. The small field of 3^ acres referred to in it, belongs to me. From it I secured twenty loads of hay, and from three-fourths of an acre adjoining it, I obtained four loads more — making twenty-four loads from four and a quarter acres. I saved the whole for seed, and have just thresl)ed it. It yielded me 33i bushels of beautiful seed, or about eight bushels to the acre. The seed sells here readily at eighteen dollars per bushel, or thirty cents per ])ouiid, making the snug little sum of six hundred and three dollars for the seed crop alone, or about one hundred and forty- one dollars per acre! And the haj% since it is threshed, I think as good as red clover hay. My horses and cattle eat ituj) readily and clean.

I tliink this clover Avill make a revolution in bee-keeping in this section, for my neighbors ai'c all intending to sow some in the spring. Nearly the half of my stock of seed is already engaged. Some design to sow it to cut for seed, and some to cut for hay. Others intend it for pasture. There Avill consequently be no lack of bee pasturage in this neighborhood; and I hope there may be no lack of bees to visit the fields, where the blossoms supply so valuable a luxury. II. M. Thomas.

Brooklin, Canada West.

[For the Americau Bea Journal.]

Questions.

No. 6. To what extent can one stock of bees be increased, artificially, in six mouths, Avilli care and feed sufficient ? And what quantity of sugar will it require for the same ? The figuirs are wanted to see that it will pay. Bee vol. S, No. 9, page 105.

No. 7. What portion of pure Italian queens, mating with black drones, will produce black workers; and, if any, what numbers of each queen will be bhiik V

No. 8. Do ])ure Italian bees sport in color like the blacks y

No. 9. Bees carry honey from the hives to moisten flour with, when fed in the spring, to make the pellets and make them adhere to the baskets. Do they have to moisten the pollen, or is it naturally sticky enough to suit them ?

Jay MoNRpE.

American Bee Journal

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNEK, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

AI»KIL, ISOS.

No. 10.

[From the Hanover Ceatral Blatt.

Practical Bee-Culture.

Can the brooding chamber of moveable comb hives be kept free from drone comb without rcguUxrly cutting it out ? And how are cottage hives to be managed in this respect ?

These are very important questions, which have been warmly discussed, and may lead to furtlicr debate. But when the purpose is to ascertain and determine useful processes, it is well not to shrink from ardent controversy; whicb, in the case of bee-keepers, may indeed be attended by a few stings, but draws no blood. I will, therefore, venture to defend a practical process, which I have found useful and import- ant.

It is well known that in some districts bees are much more inclined, than in others, to build drone comb and rear drone brood in spring and carlv summer. Why this is so, I shall not here inquire, contenting myself with noticing the fact, and observing, too, that the Italian bees are less inclined to do so than the common black bees, and are therefore to be preferred.

If in my locality the bees were allowed free scope in their propensity to build drone comb, the cells would be sooner or later supplied with eggs, and the result would be the production of such masses of drones that we could never calcu- late on securing any surplus honey. Drones are notoriously not producers, but consumers of honey. They gather none, but simply live on that gathered by the workers. Hence the more drones a colony contains the less honey may it be expected to produce; and drone comb situ- ated in a hive where it may serve as brood-comb, is decidedly disadvantageous and injurious.

But drone-comb is injurious onlj' in the bix>od- ing chamber. Where, on tl)e ctmtrary, honey is stored, drone comb is not dieadvajitagous, but rather beneficial, inasmnch as the larger sized drone cells will contain more honey, and their construction involves less labor and a smaller expenditure of material. In hives containing a separate storeroom for the deposit of honey, and from wliich the queen is excluded, bees may be allowed to build drone-comb freely, because there it will be useful rather thftn other-

wise. Drone-comb which happens to be built in the brooding chamber, should also be trans- ferred to the storeroom — thus removing it from where it would be injurious, and placing it where it will be beneficial.

Now, how is the object aimed at to be most easily accomplished ? We all concur in the conviction that it is of the utmost importance to keep the brooding chamber free from drone- comb. They arc two modes by which the de- sired result may be secured. The one, which may be called the old method, consists in per- sistently cutting out the drone-comb as regular- ly as it is budt, and so long as it is built. This is the method employed by those who keep bees in cottage hives, and is the proper method for such hives. The second or new method is avail- able only when movable comb hives are used, and is based on this fundamental principle, not to permit bees to build comb in the brooding chamber, so soon as they begin to build drone- tomb ; but to insert therein immediately frames containing empty worker-comb, and transfer- ing to the storeroom or surjjlus boxes any drone- comb which may have been built.

The questicui now recurs, which of these two methods is most advantageous in practical bee- culture ? Where cottage hives are used, the first method is the only one that can be em- ployed ; but those are evidently wrong who re- gard it as the most profitable also, because they are thus enabled to sell a proportionately larger quantity of wax. • It is undoubtedly true that he who has much wax to sell can realize a hand- some sum of money. Nevertheless, I cannot but regard the wax production and wax selling incidental to cottage bee-culture, as an unavoid- able evil, and by no means as an advantage.

This leads to another important inquiry : Can the old method, or the regular cutting out and removal of drone-comb, bo recommended as advantageous to those who employ movable comb hives ? Because of its importance, let us examine the mtittcr a little more closely, and in- vestigate in what relation comb building stands to the consumption of honey, and what are its effects on the progress of the colony as regards the production of brood and the accumulation of stores.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

Stock feeders make a distinction between the food rcqnired simply for the sustenance of the animal and that required for the production of fat. The former is only what is needed for the support of life; the latter is that additional quantity Avhich every animal doomed to labor or designed to be fattennrl must consume. The case is precisely similar in bee-culture. During the winter, the period of rest and repose, ex- tending, perhaps, from the beginning of No- vember to the close of February, bees consume comparatively little honey, because then nature designs the mere preservation of life. But so soon as activity is resumed in the hive, when brooding recommences, and in proportion as it increases, the consumption of honey is in- hanced. But consumption reaches its acme when, in addition to enlarged brooding, wax — which is the fat of these insects — has to be lib- erally supplied by them for comb building ; and bees thus engaged are the largest consumers of honey. Repeated experiments and investiga- tions have shown that, for the production of ^ one pound of wax, from ten to twenty pounds of honey are consumed. This result is indeed much modified in practice by the influence of various circumstances ; but the general fact that bees consume most honey when engaged in comb building is universally conceded.

The experience of every observant practical bee-keeper corroborates this statement. Place one swarm, in the spring, when the weather is favorable and pasturage moderately plenty, in a hive furnished with empty worker comb ; and another in an empty hive, and you will find a very decided diilerence in the progress tlaey make. Let the weather after awhile become un- propitious, and the latter colony may need Iceding to keep it from starving, while the for- mer lias quite a suflicieucy of stores — and this, though both have been equally industrious in outdoor labor, and carried in equal quantities of honey. The reason of the difference between them is simply this, the latter had to build combs, and was constrained to convert into wax nearly all the honey it had gathered. Where movable comb hives are used the difference can be rendered more palpable, by supplying one colony with frames filled with empty comb, and requiring another to build all the comb it needs.

The ditFerence is still greater and more obvious when pasturage is very abundant, because then usually the construction or enlargement of combs cannot be made to keep pace with the supplies gathered, and requiring storage room. I have known an instance where a colony regu- larly supplied with empty combs as fast as needed, had stored five times as much honey at the close of the season as another equally strong, which had to build its own comb ; and after making due allowance for the empty combs furnished, the yield was still fourfold greater. In my practice formerly I used sec- tional cylindrical straw hives. These hives en- abled me to remove the sections containing empty combs, and reserve them for use the en- suing season. If then, at the height of the gathering season, I removed the cover from one of my hives and supered one of these sections,

and gave to another colony an empty section, the difference in productiven'ess between the two wag speedily seen. Commonly those who use cottage hives, set an empty section or box under when the bees have tilled their hive, if forage is still plentiful. If they were able to supply their bees with empty combs at that time, the yield of honey Avould be three or four times as great in the same period,.

These investigations and facts show :

First. That bees require a great deal of honey when building combs ; and

Secondly. That colonies which are con- strained to build comb during the honey sea- son, will make much less progress in the pro- duction of brood and accumulation of honey, than those which are supplied with empty combs.

This is quite natural. A farmer who would have to build a barn during harvest to receive and shelter his grain, would need many more laborers to enable him to get through with his work, than one who has a barn ready built bc» fore harvest begins. But the system of cutting out drone- comb results in proportionately much greater injury, for here the bees do not con- struct their combs to serve as receptacles for brood or honey, but literally to be appropriated by the pruning knife of the bee-keeper. The honey used, the time spent, and the labor be- stowed, are all consequently a dead loss to the bees themselves. The work is a sort of Sisy- phian labor, never ending, still beginning.

It is hence evident that the regular removal of drone-comb in cottage hives is only to be re- garded as a necessary evil. It resembles the subduing of a weed which we cannot extirpate, but which we have to mow down frequently to prevent it from running to seed and producing still more extensive injury. But if, in using cottage hives, we were able to adopt the method employed where movable hives are used, that is, if as soon as the bees begin to build drone- comb, we could at once supply them with empty worker-comb, and thereby prevent the construction of worker-comb in the brooding chamber, we should secure the following ad- vantages :

First. The bee-keeper would be exempted from the arduous and disagreeable labor of daily removing drone-comb.

Secondly. The bees would not have the task imposed on them of replacing daily the drone- comb thus removed, but could, instead, save and store up the honey needed for the produc- tion of wax, and devote their time to more use- ful labor.

Tldrdly. The worker-combs thus inperted would in the usual course be supplied with worker-brood ; the colony would thus more speedily become populous, than where clrone- comb is daily pruned away and daily rebuilt; and the labor of the bees is thus turned in a more profitable direction.

But unfortunately the insertion of worker- comb is, in cottage hives, unfeasible, and there is consequently no alternative, where such hives are used, but to resort to the regular re- moval of drone-comb as fast as it is built, and in this way of two evils to choose the least.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

18:

The case, however, is totally different where movable comb hives are used. Where the combs can be cliangcd or moved from place to place, and the brooding chamber ,sei)iirated by a parlilion from the store-chamber, we luive it in our power to keep the brooding- cluimbor entirely free from drone-comb, without hav- ing recourse to the pruning knife. This position, assumed and muintained by me years ago, has been attacked and opposed by several eminent bee-keepers. Tliey admit the advan- tage accruing from keeping out drone-comb Avilhout the use of the knife, but deny that it is possil)le to do so under existing circumstances; and it will be my task to show that the thing can be done.

It might, perhaps, suflicc to say ihat ichat Jinx been d'lue, and is still done^ must be possible. In my apiary I have for some live years past kept the brooding chamber of my hives altogether free from from drone-comb, without ever using the knife. I have succeeded in accomjdishing this, not only Avith Italian bees, but with black bees also. Even this year, when in conse- quence of large sales of Italian bees, I was compelled to buy nearly a hundred SAvarms of black beep, I have still been successful in this matter. Hence, that which is practicable in the hands of one individual, must certainly be pos- sible, even though not every one can accomp- lish it.

Those who seek for information and instruc- tion, as well as those who controvert my posi- tion, will, doubtless, be ready now to propound the inquiry : " How are we to proceed in order to keep the brooding chamber free from drone- comb, without recourse to the pruning knife ?^' !My process is quite simple. So long as the bees build worker-comb I let them build. But so soon as they begin to build drone-comb, I do not permit them to build in the brooding cham- ber, but insert full sheets of empty worker- comb. If any drone-combs have in the mean- time been built, I remove them at once and use them in the honey chamber, between which and the brooding chamber I introduce a division board. Having then their brooding chamber fully supplied with worker-comb, the bees have no room there for the construction of drone- comb. In due time I give them adnnttauce to the honey chamber, where they may build drone-comb if they choose to do so, because it can do no injury there, but is on the contrary rather advantageous. Such, on the whole, is my mode of proceeding, w^hich certainly, it seems to me, is simple enough, and easily com- j)rehcuded.

It may, indeed, be objected : '* All this is very fine, but where do you obtain the recjuired full sheets of empty worker-comb, wdiich you need for filling out the brooding chamber ?" This is undoubtedly the puzzUng ciuestion, which many find it difiicult to solve ; and I therefore subjoin a brief elucidation of the man- ner in which I manage so as to provide a supply of worker-combs. In (he first place I never melt up any combs while they rciyain in a con- dition to be acceptable to the bees ; and in the full all the combs I have on hand are carefully

assorted, the worker corahs being selected from the drone-combs, and eacli of these again sepa- rated into classes so as to have full combs, half linisheil, and ([uarter (inisiied combs, in distinct lots. Tlius assorted and arranged, they are placed for the winter in two cliambers, in which I keep my apiarian implements and apparatus, and whicli are large enough besides to receive 3,000 full Iniilt frames. Some of the combs con- taining honey are reserved for spring, and others are emptied by n)eans of the centrifugal honey extractor. When the spring opens, and the bees begin to work, I avail myself of every opportunity to let them build worker-combs, or to complete the half finished or quarter finished combs on hand. Not much, however, can be accomplished in this way before the swarming season, and the bee-keepers must, therefore, strive to turn that season and the period of mak- ing artificial colonies to account. I never give a swarm full built combs, but only such as are partially built up, and I generally secure four full built worker-eoml)s from each. As soon as a swarm begins to build drone comb, I slop that work by removing the combs containing drone cells and inserting full worker-combs instead, and then filling out the brooding chamber with such.

A chief means of obtaining full built worker- combs is this, to remove from colonies that con- tain full combs, and are in a condition to build worker-coml), all the full combs which have no brood, and insert partially finished worker - combs instead. Every after-swarm, and every artificial colony containing a young queen, will he in such a condition, so soon as the young queen is fertilized and begins to lay. The bees will then build w'orker-combs exclusively, and advantage must accordinglj^ be taken of this their propensity at the time. All full built combs should at once be removed and reserved for fu- ture use, and frames with worker guide comb or unfinished worker-comb be subsfituted. By this means I not unfrcqucntly obtain more full built worker-combs in a brief period during and after the swarming season than I subseciucntly find it necessary to return. Before the inven- tion of the honey comb emptying machine, I used to razee the cells on each side of the comb, cutting them down close to their foundations, thereby securing the honey and some wax, and and reinserting the razeed combs in the hive where the cells were quickly rebuilt hy the bees. I also made considerable use of artificial comb foundations made of wax. Artificial combs, having cells of nearly full depth, I have found too costly, and of little use, as being rude imitations which the bees would reject or recon- struct. Dathe.

Some country yieldcth one fruit, and some another; some bearcth one kind of grain, and some another; some breedeth one kind of cattle, and some another; so there is no ground, of what nature soever it l)e, Avhether it be hot or coldj wet or dry, hill or dale, AvoodlandorehampaignCt meadow, pasture, or arable, in a word, whether it be battle or barren, which yieldeth not mattei^- for the bee to work upon. — Butler.

184

TllP] AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

[For the American Boe Jouruiil.]

The Vexed Questions.

Mr. Edttok. — * ■••' * * * The war of words to Avliich I refer is mostly waged over two subjects, to wit : bee Jiives and tlie purity of Italian tees — either of which is a topic worth}' of being discussed witli less exhi- tiou of temper, for tlicre arc none of us so verj'- wise in these matters as to do any more than " boast we know." Yet, in the face of tliis de- plorable fact, some of your correspondents talk as if they were the onlj^ qualified judges in either case of what constitutes the true standard of perfection, and proceed to set up tJieir te^ts and iioint^ of excellence as if by an infallible de- cree. We only wish that they were as Avise in these matters as they would have us think they are, for then we should have a starting point. Whereas now, with all the light these great luminaries in apiculture reflect, we are still look- ing and hoping for something more tangible to guide us.

'• Give me ii pkice to stand,'' said Archimedes, "and I will move the world!" So give us, gentlemen, one single /ar< upon this question of puriti/, adapted to aU parts of the country and good' in all kinds of weather, and we will let you shout '■' evrcJca!''' the rtmaindcr of your days. I have no learned quotations to make j from the dead languages for the benefit of my ' punctilious friends, biit I Avill honor them with one from a world renowned volume and a living author. Here it is : " Mankind has been learn- ing for six thousand yca;s, and yet how few have learned that Ihc'ir fellow beings are as good as themselves." Dr. Ayres' Almanac, 1868, October page, paragraph 3.

As this question of purity of Italian queens has assumed a new aspect, from the late impor- tations and observatbms of Mr. Grimm, I will say, for the benefit of those who do not profess to be experts in judging of blood, that it is to the hybrid progeny of a queen that they are 1o look for the safest test of purity. For instance, if you get a queen which reproduces queen'^, that in turn, after copulation with a black drone, produce bees a larger proportion of which arc light colored and have three yellow bands, jou. can safely conclude that the grandmother of such hijbrids is pure enough for all practical purposes, let her daughters be of what color they may.

Mr. C. T. Adams, in the January number, asks if it makes any difference in raising queens from icorker eggs, whether they arc in ne^c or old comb ?

I will answer him that my experience is de- cidedly in favor of new comb. As I have not time to speculate upon the cause of his bees failing to raise queens, I will give him the bene- fit of my method, which I have never I^aown to fail. I lake a standard hive and place in it, on one side, a comb containing eggs and larvaj from the queen I Avish to propagate from, I then take the hive with its comb to a stand having a strong swarm. This I open and take from it an outside frame containing honey only in the comb. I place this comb next to the one containing the eggs and larvse. I then take

frames from the centre of the hive containing the strong; swarm, and, with a wing, brush a good supply of young bees from the combs of the strong swarm into the nucleus hive. I then adjust the frames, and set the nucleus on the stand of the strong sicarm, which I remove to a goodly distance.

In this V ay I have never failed to get from six to ten S|)leudid queen cells ; and in case drone-hrood, is inserted in the comb, the bees Avill generally build as nice Avorker-comb as if they had a fertile cjueen. My practice is, after the cells are capped to remove all but one; and Avhen the queen hatches and become fertile, I build up the nucleus to standard strength with brood from other hives.

Osage, Ioava. G. A. Wright.

[For tlie American Bee Journal. ]

Size of Hives.

A Querist, on page 128 of the January num- ber of the Journal, doubts the size of hives being best, as given by Quinloy and Langs- troth. I Avish he had given us his objections, if not his name; avc might perhaps have learned something. Quinby and Langstroth Avould have been wiser, I am quite sure — provided Querist had demonstrated bej'oud a doubt, that his new position Avilh regard to size, is better than theirs. Whatever his favorite size may be, I Avill give my reasons for accepting the size given us by the above named ajjiarians, a'3 good enough at least ; and also some reasons Avhj' either a larger or smaller hive may, and often does, prove a failure to some extent, in comparison with such as have up to tLis time been most approved.

I find that a moA'able comb hiA^e containing two thousand cubic inches, contains also about seventy -tAVO thousand Avorker cells, Avhen filled Avith comb. These cells Avill contain fifty pounds of stores Avhen lilled, more or less; but, as Ave Avish to use a portion of these cells for breeding purposes, Ave will substract from the above number of cells twenty-eight thousand eight hundred, which is lAvo-tiftliS of the Avhole number, and Avhich keep the colony constantly populous, as from twenty to forty thousaml bees are, I believe, regarded as a good swarm. This Avill also enable them to cast one strong swarm each year in due season, and enable them to lay up ample Avinter stor> s, and yield a surplus when the season is lavorable for honey gatliering. For their numbers increase very rapidly from the last of March to the middle of June, and they are found at this latter date to number more than tAvice forty thousand. In the time given and the number of cells allowed they Avill raise three crops of bees, and increase their numbers to eighty thousand four hundred. In many cases they will, at this season of the year, use a larger number of cells, at least in reaving the tlnrd crop of bees given them above, and consequently be more populous. NoAV, I presume all Avill admit that they do not die at this season of the year in numbers cor- responding Avith the number hatched. If Ave admit the loss of one-fifth the whole number

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

185

bred, from the last ol" Maroh to tlii; l.^tli of June, we have ye', bees enough left to eonsti- tule two good colonies. Wo will now tliviile the bees eiiually, and leave the leniainiug num- ber to store the remaining thrcc-fil'lhs of the seventy-two thousand cells, (beiug fbrt)'-lhrce thousand two hundred). This number will contain thirly ])ounds oC honey, which is suHi- cient to winter tlie colony salely. But tliej^ will also, in districts where Cull forage abounds, fill wiih winter supplies (luile a number of cells used for breeding purposes, thereby adding largely to the above amount, and which will winter tlie largest colony through the most pro- tracted winter and backward spring. They will also store a large aniount of surplus honey, as' has often been proved, and which M'e of cmirse desire them to do, as otherwise they would not be profitable to us. We also want surplus honey to be stored in receptacles fitting it for market in the very best and most sale- able condition, and not in the breeding combs, as that is not of the best c|uality to comnuiud the largest price. Kow, if t^uerist wishes sur- plus honey alone, and not an increase of colo- nies, then he may add from two to four frames to his hive, thereby increasing the room to be used by the queen, lie will then have many bees in one hive, and if be prevents them from BAvarming, and will furnish them with boxes containing comb, to induce them to occupy them, his surplus will be larger than from a smaller hive. But bis extra amount of surplus boupj'' will not bring him as miu'h profit as he would have obtained from one good swarm, and the surplus from the parent stock in the other case.

Still Querist may say that in a Laugstroth or Quinby hive of 2,000 cubic inches, bees will in- crease from the loth of June to the 1st of Au- gust, so that they will swarm again. Well, if they do, and my object is surplus honey and not an increase of stock, I will open the parent bivc and destroj' all queen cells, and turn the swarm back again. At the same time I will give them boxes partly filled or containing empty comb, which they will fill if forage abounds; and if it does not, then a large hive would be no benefit either to them or myself. Neither would the late swarm be of any value, as it would perisb from want of stores. A liive smaller than the size recommended by Quinby and Langstroth uill contain less bees at almost all sca.sons of the year ; and if its combs are used in the manner I have described, they will not have the requisite amount of cells in which to rear young. If thcirnumber fall much short, there will not be at any time enough to form two good colonies; and if you take many over half their number from them for a new col- ony, then you weaken the parent stock too much to store a surplus of honej'.

Again, with a larger hive it is always later in the season before it becomes sutficiently popu- lous to cover all its combs. Consequently we get a later swarm from it, Avhich is not desirable; and at the same time we get but little surplus boney.

Now, Mr. Editor, I believe I have proved that a hive as recommended by Quinby and

Langstroth, with regard to size, is at least a safe

hive to keep bees in. And if Querist can give;

another or bettrr reason lor using a hive either

smaller or larger than 2000 cubic inches, than I

have given for using such dimensions, it will be

necessary lor him to prove that a less hive will

1 cast one g(Mjd swarm each year and yield more

\ surplus; or that one of a larger size will become

poi)ul()Us to overllowing witli nmnbers and also

j cast an early swarm, and at the same time give

I a larger amount of surplus to its owner — oiher-

j wise I Ciinnot consent to adopt his kind of hive,

as regards nize.

With regard to the nhape of hives I will not at this time saj^ more tluin that I am satisfied with the frame hive as made; by both Quinby and Langstrotli ; the difference between them l)eing but trifiing. If I were to select a tnller hive, I should prefer that made by Mr. J. H. Thomas, of Brooklin, Canada West. But as I am jier- fectly satisfied with the Langstroth hive, I shall not think of exchanging it for any other at this time. I much admire the arraneemeut of the bottom-board of ]\Ir. Thomas' hive, which is so arranged as to be dropped down at tlie back part of the hive, and is easil}' relumed without in the least irritating the bees. But for a large amount of room on top, to place the surplus honey receptacles, I cannot fuid any so well adapted as the Langstroth hive. I also succeed very well in wintering bees in the open air, when I fill the cap with corn-cobs. Its frames are very easy to handle, as it is not a very deep hive. Those of the Quinby and the Thomas hive are somewhat deei)er— Thomas' being still deeper than Quinby's; yet it is noL as far out of feason as some others, and maj^ prove a very good hivCj if not too expensive as regards con- struction. There are other hives, the shape of which I do not like at all. Neither do I like their construction, as some of them are so modi- fied from the original frames, as hardly to be frame hives at all, being nearly unmanageable. Some others again, that have lately been pre- sented to the public, I cannot say an3'thing of, for or against, as I have not seen them. But some one will think I am gettiiig on patent ground, where I should speak with great caution. So I will pass those hives for the present.

Godfrey Bohrek. Alexa>dria, Ind.

fFor thi» AinPiican Bee Journal.]

An Improved Breed !

Dear Editor : — I am sometimes much amu- sed when I read j'our very valuable paper, whi(^ I would not do without, indeed, if it would cost five times its price. If I can be admitted into your family of bee-keepers, I do not care whether j-ou call me second cousin, or brother, or syh^t, provided I can have the benefit of all the excliau- \ ging of thoughts, back and forth, done in the I family. But slnndd this come before the public, I presume our naturalists will soon see that \ am a young brother in the family, young in age, and also young in writing, having never wntteA articles to be publi&lied.

AVc arc doing a noble work, if only our senior

186

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

■brethren do not go too fast in improving the Italian queens, or that race generally. I have purchased three or four fuU-hlooded queens of that race, and thought when I got them to have the three yellow rings, I had reached the point, having laid out seventy or eighty dollars already. I have set my wits to work, and a new plan strikes me, whereby I maj^ keep up with the rest of you. My queens produce three-ringed workers. Now, I shall have drones with' at least two of the yellow rings ; and don't you see 1 am going to let those drones pair with the three-ringed queens next year ; and don't you know that the two and three make live yellow rings on their progeny ? And will I not thus be ahead of some of you ? And after that I am going to add a half-blooded Egyptian drone to my stock ; which will then come out five rings double-blooded Italian and halt-blood Egyptian. If I am mistaken in this, I am willingto have the mistake pointed out, as I am truly

A PniLOMATH.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

The Best Form for Hives.

In answer to "ciuestions" by Querist, on page 138, cnrrent volume, I gave in a former number my views of the "best size" for a hive. I will now say what I consider the "best form." The length and width of a hive measured inside of the frames, should be nearly equal, which would make tiie box a little longer than wide. The depth tif tlie hive should be about one-fourth more than the length. The bottom board should incline a little, to aid the bees in removing dead bees, (fcc. It should also be so constructed that it may be dropped at the rear of the hive, for the purpose of hiving and cleaning in the spring.

The following is the inside measurement of the bo.x of a frame hive, which I prefer to all others ; 12 inches wide, 14 inches long, 16^ inches deep in front, and 14f inches deep at the back. This size and shape allows eight frames of the following dimensions inside, measured through the centre each way ; 13f inches by 13^ inches. The depth of the frames, of course, being 134. Making a trifle over 2,000 inches comb capacity. I consider such a shape the nearest approach to the requirements of the bee that we can get, as it allows the bees to form themselves into a natural cluster, and one best adapted to secure the most heat in winter. Being about equally distant on all sides from the walls of the hive, no one side of the cluster is more exposed to cold than another. This form also gives sufficient depth of comb to allow the bees to store a large portion of their winter supplies at the top of the hive, where it is always warmer, and hence more readily reached in cold weather; while the distance to be travelled by the bees to reach the surplus boxes in this form of hive, is so little more than a shallow one, that the difference is of no account whatever. This form, if otherwise properly constructed, also ensures straighter and more even combs than any other, and that, too, without the use of "gnide-combs" or "comb-guides." Again, I

consider this form of combs (nearly square) the most easily handled in the various operationa with the bee; while the hive in its outward ap- pearance is symmetrical, and highly ornamental to a well-arranged lawn.

I do not believe that climate should have any- thing to do with the size or form of a hive I be- lieve the size and form I have given, to be adapted to all climates; and, other things being equal, will show as good results in the production of surplus honey as any other; while, in other respects, it is, in my opinion, superior to any other form. It will be understood that with this form of hive it is desirable to use a double tier of boxes; and as the bees fill the lower tier, raise them and place the upper tier under. Bees will readily work in a second box if this plan is followed. A free entrance also should be given to the boxes, and the honey board should never be over I inch thick ; and only ^ inch space between the frames and honey board should be allowed. The passage through the honey board to each box, should be from two to three inches square. With this construction the bees in the boxes are not detached from the bees in the body of the hive. J. II. Thomas.

Brooklin, Ontario, Canada.

[For tlie American Bee Journal.]

Give every one his due.

Mr. Editor : — I have been noticing the movements, and dodgings, and quibblings of the different bee-hive manufacturers, and their friends. And from all that I can gather, I must think that our brother bee-keepers are on the track of imj^rovement, because they are willing to criticise and be criticised. For while one attempts a blow of criticism, the other throws blood, thunder, and wounds, and cast-iron frame holders at him ; and he takes it with a patience of a Job, at least it appears so ; but I think all the more of him for that. The language of an old divine i.s, "in your patience possess ye your souls."

But what I wish to get at more particularly, is that the honor of inventing movable frames seems to be so grudgingly or reluctantly given to him who is entitled to it. Some would call them American, and some call them side-opening hives ; while others would jierhaps like to have them called thin paste board side, or hoop-bound frames, instead of coming out Avith due credit and honor to the man who most likely invented those frames, and did undoubtedly obtain letters patent, a re-issue, and an extension of that pat- ent, and call them at once the Langstroth movable frame. I feel considerable more on this subject, but shall forbear for the present ; for some might think thereby that I ani also more partial than I should be. But I am wait- ing to see a tested improvement on his frame, and then I will fall in. But not sooner.

S. B. Eeplogel.

Martinsbtjrg. Pa.

C^" Send us the names of Bee-keepers, with their Post Office address.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

187

[For the American Beo Journal.]

Ventilating Bee-Hives.

In the February, 1807, number of the Bee Journal, is an article from me on this subject, wliich has been severely criticised in several papers, because contrary to the statements of authors of established authority.

In the July number, a correspondent who sigus himself "J. Wolderine Bi'e-Keeper,'''' re- lates '■'Two MisJiaps,'''' and says that until he read my statement he had always supposed the bees were smothered, and adds : "If Mr. Adair, or any of the numerous readers of the Journal, can give me any other satisfactory reason for the loss, I shall be glad to hear from them.

As soon as I received the paper containing the communication, I wrote what I considered an explanation, giving my experience in similar cases. That communication you inform me was never received.

Mr. Wm. Bruckisch, of Ilortontown, Texas, in an article published in Patent Office Report, 18G0, page 170, from which 1 quoted in my tirst article, says : "Another remarkable feature deserves mention. Bees are capable of living for diii/s, and iceeks, and even months, without air — at least without the occasion of fresh air. ***** This fact being of great import- ance on account of the less quantity of food re- quired during winter, (not, however, because of its total stoppage, as supposed by many), the writer made repeated experiments on the sub- ject." His experiments are given in my former article.

'•A Wolverine Bee-keeper," from his own statement, shows plainly that he did not smoth- er his bees. He says " I closed the entrance, raised the Ai tie a trifle, holes in the tip of the hive open, honey boxes removed, cap covering the boxes on the hive." They were all dead in an hour and-a-half. In the other instance there was "a hole in the top of the box two inches square, covered with wire-cloth. In a half day two-thirds of them were dead. Kow, it is plain that in both these "mishaps" the bees had plenty of air, more, in fact, than is frequently allowed bees that prosper.

The mishaps were not occasioned by want of air. I have had several "mishaps" of the same kind, which would make this letter too long to relate. But in every instance it happened when "J raised the hive a trifle''' or attempted to leave some opening to admit air, but never when I closed the hive tight. I could not account for it for some time, why the bees would die when air holes were left open, and why not when all was closed tight, until last spring.

I had a natural swarm which I had just put in a hive, w^hen another swarm issued and was about to go in with them, and I had to close the entrance to prevent it. After hiving the second swarm I returned to the first and they were nearly half of them dead. On looking for the cause I found that the glass which formed the back of the hive did not fit, but left a space of about one-eighth of an inch along its top, and the bees were trying to get out at the opening. I noticed further, that the bees were in a general

row or fight, and that in contending for which should have precedence at the supposed exit hole, they would sting each other and fall to the bottom. When they became angry they had first to discharge the honey from their sacs be^ fore they could use their stings, which was con- tinually hilling on the bees piled below, besmear- ing them until they were black, and several table spoousl'uU had leaked out of the hive on a board under it.

I puffed some smoke through the opening until the inside was a perfect fog, and closed up the opening with some paper, and quieted them; thus saving the remaining bees. I repeated it in another similar instance with the same result.

I transferred a colony, comb, honey, brood and bees to a section hive, and placed them on their stand with two entrance holes open three inches long by one-half inch wide. The glass in the back fitted badly, and left a similar open- ing. Next day I opened the door and found that a pint or more of bees had died and tallea in a pile below the opening, and the contention was still going on. I closed the gap and that prevented another "mishap."

In the last instance the regular entrance holes were open and most of tlie bees were passing out and in, with no confusion.

Three or four years ago I hived a swarm of bees in a tight hive. The next day they attempt- ed to swarm out. When about half had passed out, I stopped the hole with a tight-fitting plug. The queen still being in the hive, the bees that were out returned and clustered over the hole. About dusk I opened the hole and they went in. The next day and the next, they repeated the attempt. In each instance 1' closed them up tight. On the fourth day they went to work and prospered. Not a bee met with a "mishap," except a few that I crushed in stopping the holes.

During the last season I often prevented swarms from issuing, by stopping the entrance holes, and keeping them closed until late in the evening, and i-epeating it the next daj'. In this time, the j'oung queen was disposed of and the swarming fever passed over. In two instances I discovered the swarms coming out, and closed the holes. I kept them confined during that and the next day. In none of these instances did I "smother" a swarm nor any part of one. When I wish to prevent a colony from swarming, I find this a far simpler and easier plan than any laid down in the books.

Another experiment and I am through with instances. I look from a hive a honey box, fourteen inches long, by seven inches wide and five inches deep. It was filled with honey and bees. Every crack and crevice was made air- tight by the bees, except the passage hole ; that I closed by covering it with a piece of waxed paper, such as is used in grafting. It was thus rendered air-tight. I set it on a smooth board in the shade of a tree, on top of the hive. One end was glass, which admitted light, but not air, / let it remain there two days. I then re- moved it about one hundred yards and opened the hole, supposing the bees would fly out and return to their home. Not a bee left. I suppo- sed they had brood, but on opening the section

188

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

of which the box was composed, (it was a ''sec- tion honey box" by means of which each piece of comb could be separated from the others) and examining I found all the comb filled with lione}^ ■•and no brood. I then concluddl that thej' had been separated so long from the parent hive that they had forgotten it. I took about a liand- ful and placed them at the entrance of their hive and the guard bees refused to admit them, and they showed but little inclination to enter, but took wing and flew off". I hived them in a new hive, giving them two sheets of comb and brood from the old hive. They went to work and are now a j^rosperous colony. Could there be a severer test of whether bees can be smoth- ered, or whether <7ie?/ cc^i live '■^without air, or at least an accession of fresh air ?"

1 deem it unnecessary to prolong this letter, by commenting further on these facts. They are conclusive to me. The Solomons to whom we have looked for all of our bee knowledge I know have taught the reverse of this. But these are stubborn facts, and if Mr. D. C. Hunt, who says of my former article, " that the igno- rant arc wise in their own conceit," and uses other rough language, (see Bee Joxjrnal, March, 1867, p. 172), will think and experiment a little for himself, and not set everj^thing down as "fixed facts" that he has been taught by others, who are as "wise in their own conceit" as he seems to be, he may find that his aphorism "like chickens" and some other things, may "come home to roost."

The truth is that there are yet many things to be learned about bees, and that the economy of the bee-hive is not j^'t understood. We will liave to learn several things yet before we attain perfection.

I have now written more than I intended, but will venture to theorise a little about this thing. If you think proper you can reserve the re- i^ainder of my letter for another number.

D. L. Adair.

Haatestille, Ky., Jak., 1868.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Criticism.

[For tlie American Bee Journal.]

An Inquiry by a Novice.

First. — Will some one of large experience give us the best way of raising early queens, before the appearance of black drones, so as to make early artificial swarms, and have fertile cjueens in readiness for them ? But, especially how to get a supply of bees, to form nuclei as early as April or the first of May, without weak- ening the stocks from which the bees are taken. This I consider the secret of success; but have never been able to raise queens before swarming time and therefore too late for artificial swarms. I have tried Langstroth's plan of setting one hive on another, but could never get tho bees to go up till June.

Second. — Will bees, returning from the field and finding the old stock removed, accept of a young queen in a new hive, on the old stand; Avith a frame or two of eggs and brood ? I have never tried this, and do not want to risk the experiment.

Another Novice.

Fair, honest, oixm criticism is solicited. Free discussion will bring to light many facts that a few are interested in koeinng concealed. Mr. E. Gallup on page SO of the Bee Journal, vol 3, speaking of the waste of wax, in constructing comb, says: — "If you have the bees in the right kind of hive, and ventilation just right, thej^ will not waste one jiarticle. "

I have a suspicion that Mr. Gallup does not know what kind of a hive, nor what ventilation, is right. If he does let him tell us, even though he is no "scholar." Ever^^ experienced bee- keeper knows that his "division-board" would be a failure as far as saving all the wax is con- cerned.

In regard to the "two-story bee-house," is it not rather strong language, for the sake of find- ing faidt, to say — "the upper story is good for nothing," when perhajis he could only say in truth that the upper story was not quite as good as the lower.

Have a care, Mr. Galluj-), for my feelings. How did you know but this was my jyet featwref

I happened to say causually in my work on bees, that some hives do well, and otliers stand- ing by them will yield no profit. He remarks — "I mu^t confess that I was greatly disajipointed in reading his late work. I expected that it would be fully up to the times. Why did he not tell us how to remedy this, and make all swarms equallj^ prosperous V"

I will frankly confess that I am not able to tell "how to make all swarms equally prosper- ous," and submit to the humiliation of being behind the times. But I have a desire to catch up — am "ambitious to rise." JMr. G. has insin- uated that anybody up to the times, might tell. Now, I insist he shall say where we can get the desired intelligence. I expect to make from some of my best colonies next season $30, $40, perhaps $50. If all that I have would be equal- ly prosi:)erous, I should have quite a snug sum. Now, I would give one-half of tliis to Mr. Gal- lup, if he will furnish the information to accom- plish it. Let it come through the Journal, thus making it the "best source of information on the question ;" and when the last is printed, the whole subject of bee-keeping is finished — we have it all.

M. QtJINBT.

St. Johnsville, N. Y:

To ascertain the parent stock of a swarm : — It sometimes happens that a swarm issues unob- served and is found already clustered, so that it not known from which hive it came, when there are a number of strong colonies in an apiary. To trace its parentage, detach twenty or thirty bees from the cluster, dropping them into a tumbler or a small box; carry them in front of the apiary, and throw them up in the air by -a, whirling motion of the arm. Most of them will immediately repair to the parent hive, " lighting near the entrance, and standing there fanning briskly, before rejoining the general mass, thus indicating their native home. — Ber- lepscJi.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

189

[For tho Amoricau Boo Joarual.]

Honoy-Emptying Machine.

We, last year, made the following announce- ment in our circulars :

"A plan lias been devised in Germany for emptying honey from the comb, without injur- ing the comb, or removing the bee-bread or any other impurities. Bj^ retuining the emptied comb to the bees, the jield of honey, in favora- ble seasons, may be largely increased. An im- provement on the German machine for effecting this object, has been devised and patented bj^ L. L. Langstroth and Samuel Wagner, Avhich will soon be thoroughly tested, so that the machine can be offered for sale the coming season "

Owing to constant demands on our time in other directions, the first machine was not ready for use, until the middle of June. We had sent to pui chasers about the first of JMay, a large number of queens reared the previous season, and as the yield of honey from the fruit-trees and the locust blossoms had been very abun- dant, the combs, in many of the hives, were so filled with honey that the young queens had very few cells in which to deposit their eggs. in this state of affairs the machine was at once called into play ; four, and even six, of the heaviest combs were taken out, the uncapped cells emptied, and the combs returned.

During the course of this work, we found that sealed brood in the combs was uninjured by the process of emptying, that the eggs in the cells were undislurbed, and that pollen, freshly deposited, remained in place; hut tbat all the hone}^ uncapped, and all the young lurvm in the cells uncapped, made haste to quit the comb when once the machine commenced to work.

An apiarian friend, whose articles have often added interest to the columns of the Journal, being soon after on a visit to our apiary, saw the machine and devised a plan for making it lighter, simpler, and cheaper, and at the same time equally adapted to most of the ends sought

to be attained. Our original machine, of which a cut is annexed, which will serve to give an idea of the principle on which we work, (viz : centrifugal force), had two ends in view : one to allow of the reception of comb frames of dif- ferent sizes, the other, to allow of the use of dif- ferent sized barrels or receptacles. To accom- plish these ends, it had been made of iron, with numerous bolts, pillars, screws, &c. In the modified machine, the patented features are dis- pensed with, a barrel being furnished with each apparatus, and the comb-holder of wood, being made large enough to hold the Langstroth frames used in hives not over ten inches deep. Smaller frames, or pieces of broken comb, can as readily be emptied.

This modified style we have thoroughly tes- ted, and found to work to our satisfaction. With it, two full combs, in our frames, can be emptied dry and clean, in less than three min- utes after the cells are uncapped. This uncap- ping was at first a very difficult process, until wc had a knife made expressly for the work ; this knife needs to be frequently dipped in boiling water, to prevent clogging of the edge.

After a little practice nearly every cell can be readily uncapped by this knife, without materi- ally injuring tlie comb, which can at once be re- turned to the bees.

Having already made this communication longer than was intended, we will only add that since the first day of December, we have emp- tied successfully all our full combs secured as surplus, and that the hone}' obtained from these combs, many of them black from long breeding in, and more or less stored with bee-bread, was of good color, and possessed the peculiar, deli- cate flavor which would have been destroyed if the comb had been subjected to either heat or pressure. We have found no difficulty in sel- ling this honey at wholesale, put up in "glass screw-top fruit cans," side by side with the finest box honej^ for only a few cents less per pound. For table use, in all except the mere show made b}'^ white comb, it is far preferable to honey in the comb.

As we are continually in receipt of letters of inquiry in regard to this apparatus, price of ma- chine, directions for making, «&c., allow ns to add that we have made arrangements for the supply of such machines as may be ordered, in- cluding knife and barrel, at an advance over cost barely sufticient to pay for our time in attending to the matter.

Any one is, of course, free to make them. For fui ther particulars, we refer to our Circular and Price-list for 1868.

L. L. Langstroth «& Son.

Oxford, Butler Co., O., Feb. 1868.

If worker bees are to perform any service of much account in the year in which they are bred, they must be hatched at latest on the 15th of June, in districts where there is no fall pas- turage.— Berlepsch.

A northern man, who recently emigrated to Jefferson county, in the lower valley of Virginia, made 1,500 pounds of honey from fifty hives of bees last summer, which he sold for |450.

190

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the Americaa Bee Journal.]

Experience in Italianizing.— No. 2.

Mr. Editor : — In live daj's after I bad found the queen — or the second one — for 1 am con- vinced that I found two, an old bee-keeper cal- led to see my bees. He had just ordered two queens from Mr. Langslroth. I related to him the circumstances in reference to finding the queen, and expressed my fears tliat, as the Italian queen to be introduced had been kept in the box since July 24th, seventeen or eight- een days, she could not hold out four or five days longer, until I could introduce her. On examining the box, he agreed with me, saying he hardly believed she was still alive. I asked him if he thouglit I could safely introduce her now, it being five days since I removed the black queen. He said we would open the box and see if she was yet alive, and if she was, we had better risk it, than risk keeping her any longer. On opening the box there were hardly twenty bees alive. But her majesty was stid living, though very weak. We knew of no way to keep her a few days longer, and I deter- mined to risk introducing her then. So we caged her with eight bees; cut out all the cells we covdd find; put the cage on top of frames ■where tlie bees were thickest; leaving off honey- board, and spreading an oil cloth over, as I always do since. When I went to uncage her in twenty-four hours, she with every bee was dead. Tlius I realized the failure I had expec- ted to be the result of this bothering case.

Being determined not to give up, or grieve over spilt milk, I determined to let them remain queenless until they would be glad to accept any queen I should see fit to olTer them ; went to my desk and ordered two more c|ueens to be shipped forthwith. I would have sent to Mr. Langstroth this time, as it was much the near- est point, but I knew from the gentleman above referred to, that Mr. Langstroth could not fur- nish them for several weeks. Mr. Quinby filled the order promptly;*but the bees were eleven or twelve daj's on the road, though they finally arrived all right. By the way, I examined the hive again in five days from the time the queen -was killed, and found four more sealed cells, which I removed. This was the cause of the killing of the queen. We had either overlooked them, or they were built over larva? five days old from the &g^.

Nine days previously I had removed a queen from another hive, to receive the second of the two queens ordered. This case hardly took me an hour, with no assistance. I introduced those t«'o queens safely, but made a very ludi- crous bhmder in the iirst instance, that_ came near ending in the loss of the queen. This was as follows : The bees that came with the first two queens wore common black bees ; and I expected of course those coming with the second two would be of the same kind. But on open- ing the box before the window, the first bee that came out took position on 'the top of the box, with wings vibrating, abdomen extended, and yellow bands glittering in the sun. Not expecting to see a such bee, I immediately seized her, supposing her to be the queen, dip-

ped her in a spoon of honey, and introduced her. While going to the hive with her in my hands, she curved her body and made vigor- ous elforts to get loose. I thought Mr. Quinby had sent a very small but stout queen this time. The greatest wonder was that she did not sting- me, as she ought to have done, for she proved to be a veritable worker^ as we shall see. After introducing her, and believing all was right, I returned to let the remaining bees out of the room. On entering I found the window full of yellow-banded queens., precisely like the one I had just introduced. I saw my mistake instant- ly. Nearly all the bees had left the box, and collected on the window. But on looking in the box, I saw her majesty at once. I had many doubts whether the bees would accept her now, after having deceived them with a worker, but finally concluded to try by experi- ment whether she would be received or not. I introduced her in the same manner, by besmear- ing her with honey. I would here remark, in passing, that for besmearing a queen, I use a little honey taken from the hive to which the queen is to be introduced, and have thus never failed to introduce them safely. While intro- ducing this queen, I accidentally dropped her on the honey-board, about three inches from the hole I intended to put her in. She ran into it with the swiftness of a cockroach. Novices should guard against such accidents; and those who read this will be in no danger, probably, of incurring such risks. After being satisfied that I had introduced these two queens success- fully, I resolved to give the bees no cause for excitement, lest the newly installed sovereigns, be yet killed, during a temporary ebullition of passion. I believe bees can be provoked to de- stroy their queen, and hence I never opened either of the hives to see if all was right, till I saw the young Italians come out to play, in thirtj''-four days after. At present I would not fear opening a hive half a dozen times, if neces- sary, the week after I introduced a queen. But my rule is never vinnecessarily to disturb a colony — though, at that time, I had other reasons for being so careful of the queens. I was very anx- ious to raise queens and Italianize all my other colonies, the ensuing season, t>om those two queens. I then had seven other stocks, besides those two — having had six in the spring, with but two swarms that season, besides one from the woods, making nine in all. These I wished to Italianize before they increased.

Having been very successful in wintering bees, I intended my next number for that sub- ject, but as the season for raising queens and Italianizing is approaching, I shall devote it to those topics ; so that those who prefer my process as being easier, may have an early op- portunity to try it.

It would be a good plan for others of large experience, to write on the same subject for the May number of the Bee Journal, so that we may have a greater variety of plans and sug- gestions than has yet been submitted to it rea- ders. If Mr. Langstroth could finish his hand- book, giving varfous practical manipulations and useful processes in detail, the book would find a rapid sale, and be just the thing needed. Lowell, Ky. A

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

191

[For Ihe American Cee Journal.]

Objections to frames being placed equal distances from, each other in movable Comb Hives, considered.

at

Mr. Editou : — lu the Bee Journal, vol. 5, page 58, it is stated that "adjusting the frames lirmly at equal distances from each other, is a decidedly objectionable plan, and certainly a retrograde movement in bee culture. It was used, fully tested, and abandoned years ago."

I cannot possibly concur with the above, and though Langstroth says; "you will soou get tired of frames in notches," yet such has not been my experience. It appears from the above that, long ago, it was thought desirable that frames should be fixed at equal distances from each other. Is it not just as desirable now ? But it is said that "it was fully tested and aban- doned years ago." But is not tliis an age of improvement V May not hives differently con- structed from those in use ja'ars ago, admit of the frames being laterally a fixture? We will consider the two principal objections to this plan. First, it is claimed that frames so fixed will not admit of lateral movement ; hence they cannot be pushed together for the purpose of removing anj' desired frame. Second, it is claimed that, on account of the irregular shape or uneven sides of combs, they cannot conveni- ently be exchanged wiiere frames are fixtures, as one comb would crowd ujwu another. Now, Mr. Editor, I claim that these objections arise from the use of hives which are not properly constructed. In other words, in properly con- structed hives, the frames may be fixed, and still admit of a lateral movement, and being ex- changed, when filled with comb, without diffi- culty. Now, if hives can be so constructed, and in their construction lose none of the ad- vantages now given by the best frame hives, would they be ol)jectionable — a retrograde move- ment in bee culture ? I think not. In 18G4, I invented and patented a hive, the frames of which are fixed at equal distances from each other, and yet they admit of both a lateral and a vertical movement, with far less difficulty than 5¥ny other hive with which 1 am acquainted (and that is not a few). And the annoyance to bees is so much less than with the Langstroth and other hives, that some who have adopted the hive, have written me that thej'- were no longer trou- bled with stings when operating with their bees. That is almost as good as Flander;^ "bee charm." Neither do I find any difficulty in exchanging cards of comb — often doing so every day in the week, if I think it is required. I practice artifi- cial swarming; strengthen weak stocks, by ex- changing cards of comb with stronger ones ; build up stocks for shipping ; in fact exchange the combs in any way that they may be exchan- ged in the Langstroth or any other hive; doing so for the last four years, and instead of being tired of "frames in notches," I would not have them otherwise on any account. But it must be un- derstood that combs made in my hive, will, as a whole, be far less crooked and waving than i

when made in hives that are long from front to rear. Tiiis is easily explained. The shorter the top piece of tlic comb frame, the more even and straight will be the comb, as the bees al- ways commence to build at less points on a short top piece than on a long one. I have known bees to conuncnce at four dilFerent points to build on a frame in a Langstroth and other hives that are long from front to rear ; wliereas on a frame that tlie top piece is only about twelve or thirteen inches long, they will s(Odoni commence at over two points, and freciucntly at only one; and hence the bees are more likely to build straight. I would not however speak dis- paragingly of a Langstroth hive, as I consider it better than at least two-tiiirds of the modern patent frame hives. Yet it Avill not admit of frames being fixed, neither will it secure as straight comhs as a hive shorter from front to rear, unless elevated, which amounts to the some thing as shortening the frames. I use a top piece made like the letter V. I never use guide-combs, could not be bothered with them ; and the combs are so straight and even that practically there is no difficulty in exchanging them, though the frames are firmly adjusted at equal distancss from each other. Furthermore I pledge myself to examine the bees in three of my hives, removing any comb, and with less annoyance to the bees, in the same length of time that it will take to examine, in a similajf manner, two hives of any other construction.

J. H. Thomas. Brooklin, Ontario.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Explanation.

Editor Bee Journal : — I perceive that 1 am called upon for explanation, or reconciliation of things said in my book and circular.

A. li. K., on page 137, Bke Jourlal, vol. 3, calls for more light, &c.

On page 311 of Bee-keeping Explained, I spoke of "Early Red or June Clover," as fre- quented by the Italians or hybrids, during the first few mouths of my acquaintance with them. In my circular of 1867, in enumerating their good qualities, as stated Ijy others, I said — "AVill work on second or seed crop of red clover, when other sources of honey are not abundant." I then remarked — "I have no opportunity to see them work on red clover, so little is raised in this vicinit3^" Here is where I am at fault, in omitting to use again, in the last paragraph, the words " second or seed crop." Had not my at- tention been called to this subject, I would not have noticed that the words were not there. I see in the circular of the year previous, it reads : "I have no op])ortunity to see them work on red clover, so little seed clover is raised in this vicinity."

There are many varieties of red clover, differ- ing materially in the secretion of honey. Some secrete honey at one time, and not at another. If Mr. K. will observe closely, he will find even white clover varying from a plenteous yield to none at all. M. Quinbt.

St. Johksyille, N. Y.

192

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees in Cellars.

Mr. E. Gallup's Letter on Ventilation and Watering.

Mr. Editor : — lu a former communicatiou I !

stated that I had united such of my colonies as I Ihouglit were too weak to winter w^ell, and removed them to the cellar, leaviug only two holes in the honey-board open for ventilation, and asking some of the readers of the Journal for information whether this was sufficient. A few days after sending off my letter, I examined my bees, and found them all astir, trying to get out at the entrance and the holes in the top. As the weather was too cold to remove them to their summer stands and let them fly, I used a little smoke to drive them down below, and made five more holes in the honey-board, cover- ing tliem with wire cloth, to keep the bees in and mice out. In a short time they became quiet, and have remained so ever since, show- ing clearly that they had not sufficient ventila- tion at lirst.

I found a large number of dead bees on the bottom boards of these hives, some of which I suppose had worried themselves to death in trying to get out. But I thiuk it probable that the larger part of them died of old age, as there was but little brood fonnd in any of my colonies after the 20th of September. And I am satisfied now that it is of little use to build up strong col- onies with old bees in the fall, expecting them to come out strong in the spring, cither in numbers or physical strength. These old bees may live through the winter in a hive of proper construction, and in an atmosphere of even t(!mperature, but they will soon die off when the busy labors of the spring commence, and before a sufficient number of young bees are reared to take their place. The only remedy I can f-uggest is, to tempt the bees to continue breeding as late in tiie fall as possible, by feed- ing regularly a small quantity of honey or syrup every few days, provided there is no forage for them in the fields.

Permit me, through the Journal, to return my thanks to Messrs. E Gallup, T. F. Bingham, Thomas L. Sydenstricker, and A. Grimm, for tJieir kindne-s in answering my inquiries (by letter) in regard to ventilation, temperature, and Avater for bees.

Mr. E. Gallup, in his letter, gives some ex- periments in ventilating and icutering, that I think will be of interest to the readers of the Journal, and as Mr. G. has given me permission to do so, I send you his letter for publication. Will Mr. Grimm give us, through the Journal, his manner of packing bees in his cellars ? In one of these he is wintering three hundred and ninety-three swarms, all of which were doing finely at the time of writing, (January 13). lie also ftates that he is wintering some forty swarms uoderground, all in one pile, and cover- ed with about twelve inches of straw and eight or ten inches of earth ; but does not like the plan as well as wintering in the cellar.

J. 11. Gardner.

CURISTIANSBUEG, W. Va.

Dr. Donhoff regards the anteunael as the olfac- tory organs of the honey bee.

Mr. Gardner : — I will endeavor to answer your enquiries in the January number of the Bee Journal, and as you may need the infor- mation before you get the next Journal, I pro- ceed to give it "to you immediately.

Your first enquiry is about feeding entirely on molasses in winter. It is poor feed for the inexperienced. You can feed on almost any kind of sweet in spring or summer, when the bees can fly out. If you have no honey, use white sugar dissolved in boiling water and of the consistence of honey, for Avinter.

llow are you to know whether your bees have ventilation enough ? I answer, by the action of the bees. I have one small swarm that I have closed the entrance, and have two holes in the top about the size of yours. Then I have two extra large swarms, from Avhich I removed all the top, honey-board and all, and then had to raise the hive three-quarters of an inch from the bottom board on one side, before they had sufficient ventilation. (I do not use anj'thing to stop them in.) Your bees must not shoAV any agitation, but be perfectly quiet. On listening near the hive you can hear a gen- tle humming, if all is right. Do not fasten them in, but use 3:ou own judgment, governed by the action of the bees. A small swarm must not have a current of air through the hive ; neither must they have too much air from any source. A large swarm must be ventilated accordingly. Any medium SAvarms have the common en- trance, three inches by half an inch ; and a five-eighths inch hole directlj^ aboA^e, three inches from the top, and tAvo holes in the honey-board tOAvards the outside, about one inch by three, all open, varied a little to suit the swarm.

The temperature of your cellar ranges exactly like mine.

Do bees want Avater, &c. ? Last Avinter was the first time that I CA'er tried Avatcr for bees. I fond that as soon as they commenced breeding (Avhich a strong swarm will do about the first of February,) every time I Aveut into the cellar with a light, some fcAV of the bees would come out of their hives. I then began giving them a little fresh water every third evening, in a small piece of comb laid close to the top ventil- ation, and they kept quiet. But on stopping the supply of water, they became uneasy again. I kept up the supply and had no further trou- ble. Your climate must be warmer than ours, hence the bees Avould probably commence breeding earlier. You can also set them out earlier in the spring.

Do not set your hives directly on the bottom of the cellar, but have a beuch or something two or three feet from the bottom, as the air is dryer.

A letter of enquiry, Avith stamp to pay post- age for reply, will be cheerfully answered at any time. My experience cost me considerable, and I am Avilimg to impart it to all sincere en- quiries. Yours, &G.,

E. Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

193

[For the American Bee Journal.] How I became an Apiculturist.— No. 2,

The city of Langrcs, (Liironcs, of old), situ- ated on a high rock in the form of a promontary, is naturally so strong a ])Ositiou that the Roman emperors, Avhen Gaul was subject to their sway, forlifiod it, placed it in eluirge of one of their praetors, and constructed a system of paved roads iMdiating from it. These communications, several of which still exist, greatly enlarged its transit trade, which continued to flourish, till railroads were introduced, and refused to scale the heights on which the city is located. When I was twenty years old, its annual fair, held in August and continuing eight days, attracted merchants from all parts of France, and buyers from the whole iieighl)orhood around. I was then a clerk in one of its wholesale dry goods stores. That year, the municipal administra- tion, according to custom, in order to give more splendor to the occasion, arranged for Sunday, various games and amusements, to be followed in the evening with a general illumination and splendid fireworks. The scene of these sports was between the cascade and the public or white fountain, on the grand promenade. An eloctrophore was erected to light at night this favorite resort, which is a walk two miles in length leading to the fountain, and planted with hundreds of linden trees.

It was in the afternoon, when, as with some comrades, I was following to the shooting ground tlie National guard and a company of liremen, preceded by a brass band, I observed a group of boys throwing sticks at a hollow tree near the walk. Approaching, I discovered that they were trying to smoke out a swarm of bees dwel- ling in a big linden. Fully persuaded that the tree guarded by the policemen, would prove a sufficient protection for the bees, and believing them to be out of reach of the boys, I passed on. But on my return in the evening, to mj' great astonishment, several boys were contending for the spoils of the ruined colony. With their knives they had cut away the rotten wood bclow^ the swarm ; hut the numerous stings they had received in their faces, show^edthat the bees had bravely defended their stores, and the vic- tory had been warralj^ disputed. As for the bees, they were hanging In a cluster under the lirst branch.

The distress of that swarm, thus devoted to certain death, revived all mj' predilection for bees, and I felt an irresistible desire to save them, if possible. With all the eagerness natural to a young Frenchman, I came back to the city and supped hastily. Then, provided with nails, hammer, Avire, and thread, and carrying a store- ladder, I went to a shop where I liad seen straw hives for sale, and procured one. When I re- entered the promenade, the citizens were already gathered in groups, admiring the light of the clcctrophorc, playing beneath the green vault fonned by the lindens, while every leaf wassuc- cessively tinged with all the colors of the rain- bow. Too much preoccupied and overloaded to think of stopping, I hastily left the main ave- nue, (where everybody appeared to be annoyed

or incommoded by either my hive or my ladder), and turned into a lateral alle}', where the covet- ed swarm was. My ladtler being a little too short, I bad to exert my gymnastic skill to the utmost, in order to secure tiie hive properly above the clustered bees. The wavering light of the clcctrophorc by turns helped and hinder- ed me; for when it flared up the bees would be- come excited, leaving the cluster and assaulting my stove-pipe black liat. It was then that I lirst noticed that bees have an antipathy to the black color, for Avhilc my hat was the target at which they aimed their thrusts, I received only a single sting on my hand. After introducing some few bees in the hive, I had the gratification to see the whole colony follow and enter in an orderly manner. I then came down, concealed my ladder, returned home and retired to bed, to meditate on Avhat remained to be done.

To get possession of the bees was not very diflicult ; but to decide where to place the hive after the swarm was in it, w'as a much more perplexing matter. The rocks that girdle the city having limited its extension, gardens are rare within its area, the yards are small, and the streets themselves narrow. Hence it was im- possible to think of setting the hive in a garden. Mj' grandfather owned an orchard near the sub- urbs, but as that spot was not enclosed, the hive if placed there, might be upset by cattle or pilla- ged by vagrant boys. The roof of the store- house where I was clerk, though covered w'ith tiles, had one of its slopes leveled in terrace, and that part was covered with zinc ; and I selected this as a suitable spot.

As it was necessary to bring in the swarm before daybreak, I remained awake the rest of the night. Before four o'clock next morning I was knocking at the shutters of his lodge, to arouse the keeper of the city gate, which is kept locked from ten at night till fiive in the morning. Whether the man was really asleep, or whether he merely feigned to be deaf, I know not ; but could obtain no answer In vain did I olfcr him the customary fee of two cents ; in vain did I, with huge generosity, proceed to increase the proffered pcrcpiisite to ten cents ! No re- sponse could be elicited ! Finally, despairing to see him before the established hour, it occur- red to me that there was a breach in the Tall near the college, through which the schoolboj^s used to scale the ramparts. I ran thither, and llnding the place with the pegs which had been driven in the fissures still remaining, and descending" by their aid, I went directly to my swarm. The bees were all peacefully in the hive. Fasten- ing my handkerchief under it with pins, and passing some twine around it for greater security, I took it up and triumphantly re-entered the city. After installing the hive on the ziuc-cov- cred platform, I unfa.>tened the handkerchief, and came down to attend to the customers cf the store.

Immediately after breakfast, I vent up again to see how mj' bees were getting on. 1 hej' w'cre as regularly busy as though they had I^een located there a long time. But, under Ihe burn- ing rays of the sun, the zinc was alieady getting hot, tliough it was yet far from noon. Fearing that the heat of the zinc would compel the beea

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to decamp, I looked about for something to af- ford them shelter. In similar circumstances, we might, in this country, use the side oi,; top of a common packing box; but not so in France, for there dry goods are usually baled up in coarse bagging. Unfortunately customers were waiting, and I had nothing suitable for the pur- pose. Yet there was no time to lose. I chanced to espy the cover of a large and deep cistern, which was always kept full, though used only in lye-time. In France, linen being abun- dant, families generally wash their clothes in lye, only two or three times a year. — To save room the cistern had no stone curbing, and hence I hesitated to let it remain uncovered; but reflecting that there were no children there, and deeming it highly improbable that anj^body would be drowned at night in a corner of the yard where no one had anything to do, I resolved to carry the cover to my bees, determined to take it back again as soon as possible.

The apprehensions, which during the day freciuently recurred to my mind, disturbed me in my sleep next night. I dreamed that some- body had fallen in the cistern. I heard his groans, intermingled with the rippling of the water. At last fear and pain became so poig- nant that I awoke. The splashing of the water still continued. I doubted whether I was quite awake. I sat up on my bed in order to re- collect n\ysclf. Then the noise ceased, and I imagined that I had the nightmare. Again the rippling was renewed for some seconds, ending in a cry or rather sob choked in the throat by the suifocating Avatcr. Doubt was no longer possible — in my imprudence I had caused the death of some one ; and frantically I imagined the miserable condition of the wretched creature whom the water had swallowed up. With lightning speed a thousand thoughts flitted through my brain, and set the hair on my head on end. I rushed undressed out of my room, ran shrieking, and knocked at every bedroom door. My messmates, believing the house on fire, were soon gathered at the scene — not one •was missing. Our old servant, Francois, came first to the rescue. We lowered his lantern in the cistern, and saAV a big white cat floating in the water ! She was in the habit of descending by the watcrpipe from the high wall enclosing the j'ard ; and not suspecting on this occasion that the cover had been removed, took her ac- customary leap, and landed in the water. Her fall and death-struggle had caused all my terror. The reader will readily imagine that the cistern remained uncovered no longer.

Hamilton, III. Chas. Dadant.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

The French socialist, C. Fourier, whose genius comprehended at once the greatest schemes as well as the smallest ameliorations, besought the nations, some sixty years ago, to organize industrial armies for the purpose of piercing the Isthmus of Suez and of Panama. In the same work he reproached naturalists for occupying themselves principally with dry nomenclatures, and subordinating thereto the interests of practical science. In support of his position he quoted their inability to find, either

a kind of bees with a proboscis or tongue long enough to gather honey from the blossoms of red clover — thus allowing it to evaporate dailj'; or to discover a species of red clover with so short a corolla as to permit the bees to reach the honey within.

The accounts so discrepant published in the Bee Journal, respecting the red clover and Italian bees, led me to remember the work re- ferred to above, and to think that the contrarie- ty of statement on so plain a subject may be caused by an accidental difference in the length of that flower's corolla. This difference may result either from differences in soil or season, or may be the effect of some specific variation become fixed in the very flower. This matter can be elucidated by the bee-keepers, whose bees are seen gathering freely on the red clover. For this purpose let them carefully gather some seeds, when ripened, from clover blossoms on which the bees were seen to be busily foraging ; and send those seeds to be sown in localities where bees were never seen gathering honey from such flowers. If the shortness of the cor- olla be thus ascertained to have become a per- manent characteristic, (and we daily witness greater changes in cultivated plants), it would be easy for the community of bee-keepers spread throughout the United States, and who are for the most part agriculturists also, to substitute everywhere the short corolla clover for the long, and thus introduce in the country a new and valuable source of sweet income.

Hamilton, III. Chas. Dadant.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

ChaBge of Progeny.

Last year, as well as this year, I had several bastard Italian s'ocks of honey bees, whose queens gave birth to a predominant Italian progeny, in their earlier i:»eriod of life ; but in the second summer of tlieir existence, their progeny was almost exclusively joure black bees. A similar change was noticed by Dzier- zon, and Berlepsch (Bee Journal, Volume 1, page 18). Can any bee-keeper explain this? If the sperm of the drone is preserved in the re- ceptaculum seminis of the ciueen, and absorbed gradually during oviposition, should we not expect that the progeny of a queen fecundated by a common drone, would be all alike during her lifetime ; and if any change was probable, should we not rather expect that the Italian, blood would predominate in the progeny of a bastardized Italian queen, during the latter part of her life, rather than the contrary? Has any naturalist ever ascertained, by means of the microscope, whether one- fourth, or one-half, or three-fourths of the contents of a regular fertile queen's spermatheca, was used up in the course ot one or two years ? A. Grimm.

Jefferson, Wis.

The experience of later times has taught that bees are best jirescrved in winter, by a general restraint from the open air; that they may pass the time of no gain in sleep and slumber, with little waste. — Butler.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

19(

[For the Amorlcau Boo Joarnnl.]

Motildy Combs.

As much has boon said in dilTcrent works, and by dillcrcnt correspondents, in regard to the utihty of careluUy removing old or mouldy combs, an experiment of mine may be found in- teresting.

About a year ago T examined the combs of a stock that had perished for want of pro[)cr ven- tilation, &c., and found them quite mouldy. Nearly every frame contained some honey, and many of them were full of dead bees. Find- ing it a hopeless task to pull the bees out sepa- rately, I carried the hive in doors, to be out of the way of robbers, and there it staid until June, when the bees were at work on clover.

After I had used all my frames of good combs, I opened this hive to see whether the combs had dried off and improved in condition. I found the honey had been so damp that what was in open cells had become sour ; and the smell was so bad from the dead bees tliat I was tempted to melt all into wax ; but taking some of the best I concluded I would try them. These the bees cleaned out, and filled with hon- ey so rapidly, that I gave them some more. Finally, after airing them one forenoon, I took the two worst frames, which were full of dead bees and so mouldy that they wei-e for the most part covered with a downy substance and smel- ted quite badlj^ and put them in the centre of one of mj" strongest Italian stocks. I must confess that Taftcrwards thought of taking them out again, for fear that the bees might desert the hive, so disagreeable was the smell ; but, on further thought, concluded to wait until eve- ning.

AVhen I returned home I was at a loss to ac- count for the number of dead bees about the en- trance of the hive in which those frames were inserted, until I saw that they were the self- same mould}- bees removed from the bad combs. And on lifting out the said frames, I was agree- ably surprised to find them nearly filled with clear sweet honey, and the cells so lengthened out with clean while wax that I could not believe it possible they were the same, till I had examined all the others repeatedly.

It may be suggested that the bees could have built new combs nearly as cpiiek as to cleanse the old ; but from other experiments made at the same time, I am sure they could not have done so, by considerable odds. I have since used many frames of combs full of dead bees, but these were removed so readily, that I should never liave known the difference.

Perhaps all bees arc not as energetic as my hybrid Italians ; but a frame of comb will have to be very bud indeed after this, before it is con- demned.

Notice.

P. S. — Who is going to furnish us with artifi- cial comb, or even tlie foundations, made of oloth or paper soaked in wax, as a correspon- dent suggested V I tried it last year sutticienll}' to convince me that the bees would use such ma-

terial ; but from my imperfect stamps, I could not prepare it satislactorily.

One ohjeoiion to the comb-emptying machine would be that folks around here will not buy strained honej', or if tliey do, it will not bring near as higli a price as honej^ in clear white coml)s. Again, how will you prevent it from candying ?

Who can furnish foundations for combs, or has the necesary dies for stamping them ?

[For the American Bco Journal ]

Wintering Bees.

Mr. Editor : — Would it not be a proper time just now, at the close of this long and severe winter, for bee-keepers to give their experience in wintering bees, through the medium ot your valuable Jouris^al ? If all would do this, giv- ing the manner of treatment, the kind of hive used, and all the particulars in each case, it would certainly be a source of great benefit to 5^oung apiarians. Hoping that all t^ ill act upon this suggestion, I will give you my experience.

I had twelve colonies in the fall, all of them Italians — five in Langstroth's movable comb hive, two in Hotchkiss' dividing hive, two in Dr. Eddy's patent hive, and three in movable comb hives changed from common box- hives. Eight of them were strong colonics, with abundance of stores ; one medium ; two with plenty of bees, but short of stores; and one w^eak, with very litte honey. In October I fed the weak colonies as much syrup, (made by dissolving coffee sugar in hot water and boiling it until all the scum rose and Avas skim- med off), as they would carry down. Two of the weakest colonics I put into a dark room — with double walls, filled between with dry straw — w^ell ventilated. The rema'nder I left on their summer stands, removing the honey boxes from all, but leaving the honey-boards on the Langstroth hives without any other pre- paration for winter.

Now for the result. On the 10th of March I re- moved the two weak ones from the dark room. One of them was in fine condition, with a small supply of syrup in the combs ; but the other one had starved to death. One of the colonies in the Langstroth hive perished from dysentery, while all the others are in fine condition, with plenty of honey to last until they can gather from the opening flowers and buds of spring.

One year ago, I wintered all mj^ colonies (five) in a dark room ; and I think those I kept in the open air this winter are in as good condition, as thej- were in the spring, except perhaps a larger percentage of dead bees on the bottom-board.

I have come to the conclusion that there is not so much difference, after all, in the kind of hives ynu use for wintering bees, if your colo- nics are strong, with an abundance of .tores, and plenty of vjncard ventilation.

Geo. IIardisty. Malverx, O., March 12, 1868.

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[For tho American Bee Journal.]

Temper of Bees.

Mil. Editor : — As lintuud tolefirn and prac- lico to the extent of my ability, I leel deeply iu- lerested in the Jouknai, and all other mediums through which I can communicate with others on the subject of bee-culture.

You did me the favor to publish a few re- marks of mine in the Journal for October, 18G7. I thank you for the comments on the article rci'erred to. But as I was not sufficiently defi- nite, I will, with your i)ermission, try to explain more fully what 1 intended to convey.

I did not intend to be understood to say that all the descendants of my queen were hybrids, but will now saj^ that of the three-banded bees, or " Simon Pures," I have had excellent luck, although a few of these queens do not produce all of that stamp.

But my observation and experience does not agree with those who claim that the Italians are more mild than the black bees. On the contrary, with me, those colonies where not a bee can be found with less than three yellow bands are more venomous than those mixed ; and the mixed more so than the black bee. And I repeat it will yet be acknowledged that, in i-roportion as we Italianize our bees, in just that degree will their vindictiveness be in- creased. "Oh," says Mr. Queenvender, "your bees are not pure; you know nothing about the Italians." Nevermind, I only speak of what I have seen ; intending to know more, by and

I believe it is admilted on all hands that the liybrids are more pugnacious than the black bees, or tliat black bees are more mild than hy- brids. Now the axiom that " like begets like " is contradicted, if this additional ferocity of hy- brids is derived from the black parent ; because the black parent could not invariably impart more venom than it possessed. Consequently it must have been derived from the Italian par- ent. This argument cannot be turned against the black bee, because its reputation is estab- lished by universal consent, and it is the stan- dard of comparison ; while that of the Italian is disputed by very many, and by some very high authority on any bee question.

Again, the claim of those who represent the Italians as such amiable creatures, proves en- tirely too much, for they give them the reputa- tion of gathering more and better stores, and of being more successful and resolute in their de- fence against other bees, and j^et less disposed to interfere with man.

Now, is it possible that a creature governed entirely by instinct, can have more resolution to defend against other intruding bees, and at the same time less resolution to defend against ma7i as an intruder ? Or are they to be credited with so much sagacity as to enable them to dis- criminate between one class of intruders and another ?

P. Peckham.

Columbia Cross Roads, Pa.

(Il^"Send us names of bee-keepers with their post office address.

[For the American Boo Journal. [

Answer to a Correspondent.

I did not set my bees out for a purifying flight until spring ; liave set them out sometimes in winter years ago ; but avoid doing so now, by keejoing equal numbers of bees in each hive, and the right numbers of hives in each room well ventilated, dark, of a uniform temperature. Have kept a dozen hives in the house six months, on trial : they kept well. It will pay to house bees in the working season, when there is a failure of pasturage ; liave kept them in some parts of all months, cxcejDt June, for ten days at time, to save bees and prevent rob- bing.

The best style of hive for me to use with my knowledge, is a low box, containing frames ; as I get on and filled three boxes fifteen inches long, or six or nine shorter ones, as soon as I get the two twelve-inch or four shorter ones on my box hives filled.

I have one hundred box hives with bees in, the remainder of five hundred and fifty; the em[ity ones piled up for future reference. They are twelve by twelve, fourteen inches high, the bottom edge shaved down to one- fourth inch, ten holes leading into honey-boxes covered with a cap on top ; two holes between each comb, and they all straight from front to rear ; entrance one-fourth inch by four long at the bottom, one-half inch entrance near the top front side, ojjeu when the bees are at work iu honey season, at all other times covered with wire screens. A single boarded house is too thin to winter bees in, as it is effbcted by every change of outside temperature. It will i:)roba- bly do to lath and [blaster twice, as that will make two dead air spaces to your thin boarded house. In damp cellars ventilate well both the hives and the cellar room. I have used a cellar that had water stand in it three inches at a time. Of course it was dami^ the rest of the winter. I have used a thin boarded house, but can make a better one pay. If the feed is bad, or hives or room not well ventilated according to the amount of bees, and they need carrying out to prevent a worse state of alfair^, that is, cannot expel the excess of moisture from their bodies, or from the hive, then carry out if the Aveather is warm. If too cold, put them in a warm, drj' room. Ventilate every range of comb thoroughly with wire netting. If tire bees are badlj' troubled, place a wire bas- ket, the larger the better, for them to fly in. After they have evacuated the excess of mois- ture, and are quiet at dark, they can be returned to their winter quarters. I have more bees in my home apiary than I wish to keep some win- ters. I have now one hundred and forty in a cellar, one hundred and fifteen in a brick house, sixty in a stone house. Honey is the best, and the season was driest for j-ears. The hives had no rain or snow on them for months. I carried the most of them in, early in fall ; generally have them all in by the first of Novem- ber ; generally carry them out March 25th, then, carry back part, sometimes the whole stock, ' until they can Avork.

St. Chai^les, III. James M. Marvin.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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WASHINGTON, APRIL, 18G8.

lE:^' The Ameutcan Bee JbunNAL is now published monthly, in tho City of ^Yasllin<;•ton, (D. C.,) at $2 per annum. All eommnnieations should be addressed to the Editor, at that place.

Tlic Kentucky Bce-kccpcrs' Association will meet iu Lexington, on the second Tuesday in April, (I4th instant), and will be pleased to see visiters from other States.

The good people of Wenliam, in Massachu- setts, in town meeting assembled, have voted that bees shall not be kept in their town, be- cause, among other reasons, they (the bees, not the citizens) stole a few pounds of sugar from an upper room, the Avindows of which had been nnwiselj- left open ; and, furthermore, because they made an inroad on a certain kitchen, where odoriferous sweetmeats were being prepared without due caution. For this and other simi- lar peccadillos, the poor bees are banished from the town by a vote of two to one. Thus the ir- rational creatures are first led into temptation, by the thoughtlessness, or the slovenliness — for it comes to that — of the rational portion of the community, and then banished for obeying the instincts of their nature.

"With ordinary care the sugar would have been safe in its box, and confections could have been cooked in the kitchen without an- noyance or interference. The sulferers, asthej^ Avould fain regard themselves, are in reality more to blame than the alleged depredators ; Laving caused all the trouble bj' first inconsider- ately miseducaiinrj the bees, giving them access to coveted sweets, and allowing them opportu- nities to visit jjlaces from which common pru- dence and care would have kept them debarred. Thus taught " bad habits" (for that can readily be done), is it surprising that the bees were steadily on the lookout for chances to indulge their appetite, and make a dashing onslaught where a rich quarry was temptingly exposed ? It was by indiscreet indulgence at tlie start, that the trouble ^rrt.s imited ; for bees will not resort to such spots in cro%cd»^ till after individ- uals have been permitted to work the mine long enough to let the news of the discovery of a jjZa- cer become spread abroad. Those thoughtless per- sons who permit the game to be carried ou un- til tlie visits become a visitation, must charge the annoyance suifercd and the damage sus-

tained to tlieir own ignonince or imprudence. Here too " a stitch in time saves nine," and " prevention is l)etter than cure."

It also becomes a serious question whether careless and slovenl}' peoj.le have a right to ask those engaged in laudable an<l lawful pursuits to abandon them, that they, despite of slovenli- ness, may live at case. It would hardly be fair, indeed, that even sugar refiners and confection- ers should be granted an injunction against api- arians, because annoyed and perhaps injured by the bees ; for the converse of the case might as propei'ly be urged against them, and the argu- ment be as valid. An apiarian, we apprehend, has as good a right to carry on his business iu a community as either of the others. Nay, he might even allege that, besides being a public benefactor, saving that which would otherwise be lost, he is a great sufferer from them by tho frequent destruction of his laborers en manse.

Do not tempt the bees, and they will not an- noy you. Where they are invited to come, they will in time repair in crowds, if they find good accomodations there. If stinging follows, that too is commonly the result of provocation, for bees are not apt to sting when away from their home.

There was a time when, in Europe, the owner of a robbed colony could maintain an action against, and recover damages from, the keeper of the robbing bees. But now, thanks to the dififusion of a more accurate knowledge of facts, the man who there claimed damages in sucli a case, would be laughed out of court. It has become a well-known and recognized truth, that the owner of the robbed colony is at fault, and has liimself to blame for his loss.

But will the Wcnhamitcs gain much by ban- ishing bees from their bailiwick ? The metes and bounds of their town do not probably embrace tho whole area of the Old Bay State ; and if the good people continue to "keep open house," boiling sweetmeats with kitchen doors and windows open, and letting sugar "lie around loose" on the counters of their groceries and the shelves of their pantries, there accessi- ble to outsiders, how are they going to keep out the "winged worshippers" that come from abroad ? Is it even certain that those bees which con\mitted the overt acts complained of, belonged to !Mr. Gould's apiary ? It is the very poorest sort of argument to allege that "an acre and a half of land" could not supi>ort a hundred colonies, therefore — ar(/al ! Thej', or many, or most of them, may have come from a distance. In this number of the Bee .Iourkal we have au account of a swarm that travelled eight

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miles for a lodgement ; and we remember reading a story, well vouched for, of bees tliat flew twelve miles to ibrage in a buckwheat field ! The hosts that were -troublesome at Wenham may, for aught that appears, have come from the neighborhood of Squam Beach or Nahant, or even from the granite hills of New Hampshire ! Grasshoppers in Kansas fly thrice as far.

But may not some good result from this anti- bee-bellum ? If the action of a j-egular town meeting proves eflectual in preventing depreda- tions by hees from abroad, may not those of ants and roaches be in like manner arrested bj'' a formal two-thirds vote ? By all means, since they have their hands in, let the voters of Wen- ham try the experiment !

Foulbrood Again!

In the concluding portion of the Baron of Berlepsch's essay on foulbrood, given in the March number of the Bee Jotirnai,, there is an unfavorable notice of an article on "the origin, nature, and cause" of that disease, by Director Fischer, published in the transactions of the third meeting of German Agriculturists, in 1865. Against that judgment of the Baron, Mr. Fis- cher protests on the ground that experience has since confirmed and sustained his positions. He further says : —

" I am able to cause the best colony to be- come foulbroody in the course of a few months, and to cure a diseased colony in a still shorter time. At a suitable season I shall be ready to furnish the proof. The Rev. Mr. Huonder, of Medels-Plata, to whom, under injunction of secrecj^ I communicated my prescription for the cure of his foalbroody stocks, wrote to me on the 34tli of September, that they were re- stored to a healthy condition in the course of three or four weeks.

" The nature of foulbrood, its origin and cure, are in no respect mysterious, but entirely in accordance with nature, and as intelligible as any other vital phenomena in the case of bees. To many symptoms, hitherto regarded as secondary only or incidental, due prominence and significance are now assigned. Especially interesting are the physiological importance of chyle, and the structure and function of the or- gan secreting that substance, which cannot any longer be regarded as the product of digestion in the stomach.

" The practical consequences of the insight now obtained, are far-reaching — even apart from

the proper cure of foulbrood. A gratifying sur- prise awaits that veteran apiarian, Dzierzou, inas- much as the fundamental principle of one of the positions inllexiblj'^ adhered to by him, is now shown to be in strict consonance with a law of nature."

Director Fischer intimates that he will short- ly communicate to the Bienenzeitung a sketch of his theory. But if he has made so important a discovery, as he alleges, why not take meas- ures to have it tested in a trustworthy manner by some prominent apiarian, if he does not in- tend to make the prescription known at pres- ent? .^___

The Kohler Process,

Great bodies in Europe, as well as in Ameri- ca, proverbially move slow. Fearing that if they relied on the action of Government officials to obtain a reasonable remuneration to Mr. Kohler for his process to secure the pure fertili- zation of Italian queens, when and where com- mon drones abound, the method could not be brought into general use this year, the German apiarians have resolved to make up a sufficient sum by contributions from among themselves. The plan is to have the process communicated to each contributor, by printed instructions, but not to be divulged until such time as shall be agreed upon. This plan was proposed by the Rev. Mr. Kleine, and having been approved by a number of prominent apiarians, subscriptions will be received at the office of the '•'■ Bienemeii- unri'''' in Eichstiidt — each subscril)er to specify the sum he is willing to contribute. It is expected that a satisfactory sum will thus be secured by the first of May. The main purpose is to com- pensate Mr. Kohler, in the first instance, for a discovery so valuable, and then make known the process, iiro bono pithlico. This would be just to the discoverer, and liberal to the bee- keeping community.

ffi^^We have received from the publishers a copy of the catalogue mentioned below. It is the largest, handsomest, most complete, best printed and most profusely illustrated, that has come under our notice ; and will be fully worth its cost to farmers and dealers in all parts of the country.

"Allen's Catalogue of Agricultural and Household Implements and Machinehy, Seeds and Fertilizers. — Messrs. R. 11. Allen & Co., 189 and 191 Water Street, New York who conduct the largest business in Agricultur- la and Horticultural Implements, of all Ameri-

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can houses engaged in general dealings of the kind, have just issued a new odilion of their very complete and handsome C:itaio!j^ue for tlic current and coming season. It fills 225 pages, illustrated with nearly 400 engravings, and is sent to applicants l?^r one dollar — less than the ac- tual cost of production, and this amount is de- ducted on the receipt of orders from those who have paid it. Every Planter, or j\Ierehant en- gaged in dealings with Planters, in the South, ought to have a copy of this Catalogue.

In our present condition there is no subject 60 important as the introduction of labor-saving machinery and tools on the farm and in the household."

[For the AmeiicaL Bee Journal.]

Can Bees Breed without Water?

On the 27th of October last, I introduced an imported queen into a stock of hybrid bees that had, during leu weeks, had a queen whose eggs would not hatch, and which had tor this reason a large amount of bee-bread stored up.

On November 10th, before I put this hive into the cellar, I examined it and found that it iiad sealed brood in three eomlis. I made another examination about a week later, and found a large number of young bees hatched, and the same amount of brood-comb as before, filled with eggs and young larvic. I examined again and again, and tbund that the colony went on breeding, though tliey could not get any water and I nc^-er gave them a dro[). They could not get any from condensed vapor, as all this escaped through nine one inch veniilation holes in the honej^-board. To-da}', January 13lh, I examined again, and found the last set of brood nearly all hatched, and every cell that was before occupied by brood, filled with eggs or larviC. The bees ajipeared very lively and healthy, and had in- creased to triple their original numbers.

Can any one explain where these bees got the moisture wherewith to nurse their brood, if they need any besides what is c<iutained in the honey V The temperature in my cellar is, and has been, excepting a few days, from 34-' to 44-' — F. I have not offered any water to any of my colo- nies this winter; but did so repeatedly last win- ter, though not onedrop of it Avaseverconsumed by any of them. From this observation I came to the conclusion that bees do not need any water when kept in a cool cellar, iind that they can breed without it ; but that tliey must have bee-bread to feed their brood. The stock refer- red to bad to-daj' nearly the whole of its large supply of bee-bread consumed.

Three j'ears ago, I wintered one hundred and seventy swarms in the cellar of my dwelling house, in which the temperature ranged from 45^ to 52^ F, excepting on a few days near the lirst of January, ilcrc the bees seemed very thirsty, and drank water very freely. A number of stocks, however, which I tlid not supply with water, had a small lot of sealed brootl on the 25th of March, when I took them out of the cel- lar. They showed no signs of dysentery, and

their abdomens were as slender almost, as when they Avere lirst put in the cellar. They, how- ever, Avere verj' restless, and many Avere lost by leaving the hive. I therefi)re Avould not advise bee-keepers to ke ^p bees in cellars, the average temperature of which is higher than 34" to 4i4P F.

A, Grimm. Jeficekson, Wis., Jan. 13, 1808.

[For tho Amoricau Bee Journal.]

Sending Queens by Mail.

Having succeeded in sending a fcAV queens by mail, in the fall of 1807, I am encouraged to further trial. The box 1 u.sc for this purpose costs so much less than the one sent l)y express, that I can better afford to make it and pay post- age, than furnish the one heretofore used.

If I continue to succeed in this method, I will describe the box I con.sider best — having tried several.

Although this idea is original Avith myself, I shall not patent it ; and one object in referring to it here, is to prevent others doing so.

!St. Johnsville, N. Y. M. Quinby.

[For tlie Aiuerican Bee Journal.]

Varronian Theory.

Prof. Varro's article of five column?, begin- ning on page 144 of the Bee Jouiinaj., I suppose Avhen reduced to common English, means to say that the egg of a queen-bee must form a component part of the food of a young (pieen in the incipient stages other being. His theory is very ingenious, but unfortunately there are a fcAV facts Avith Avliich it seems to come in collis- ion. Any one may test the i)rinciple by shutting up a quart or more of bees, most of Avhich should be quite young— Italians are preferable. Give them a fcAV combs in Avhich is sufiicient honey to last a fcAv days; see that there is not a cell containing an egg— using combs that Avere taken from the bees las-t fall, if convenient. Noav, from sume populous hive, cut a piece of comb two inches long by ludf an inch Avide, which shall contain nothing but hirvte hatched about two days. I often get such a piece six inches square. Fit this piece in a middle comb, as di- rected in "Bee-keeping Explained," page 323. Said piece Avill contain about thirty grubs. Confine the bees to this for tAvo or threedaj's. At the end of this time, there wiL be half-fin- ish(;d queen cells, containing young queens and a full i^ui)ply of food. In a day or tAvo more, after the bees are let out, such cells Avill be fin- ished, and in due time bring forth perfect Ciueens. Where a large number of nuclei is started in this Avay, they avIU average about four cells each. Three-fuurlhs of all the queens I raise are man- aged just in this Avay. Now, Avill the gentleman explain Avheu and how the eggs for feeding these queens were obtained ? Let it be in lan- guage Tve can all understand, dilfering some- Avhat from the article on pag3 144, in Avhich a fastidious sense might almost detect a trace of pedantry. M. Quinby.

St. JonxsviLLE, N. Y.

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[For.the American Bee .Tournal.] That Discovery.— Who will Explain?

The opinion seems to prevail tliat friend Quinby oriirinntcd the plan of using two tiers of boxes for surplus honey. Friend Langstroth I observes has also this opinion. See B. J., vol. 8, page 149, ■where he says — " Make the cover eleven inches deep, that two tiei's of boxes may be used, on the plan. /ir.s!! suggested by IMr. Quinby.

The Italics are mine. Now this plan may have been "first suggested by Mr. Q,uinby," but where is the proof? I ask the question as a matter of apislical history, and Avould be pleased to see the question settled, and the answer re- corded in the American Bee Journal. I am perfectly willing that Mr. Quinby shall have all the credit that belongs to him ; 'but let us give the honor, if such it be, "to whom the honor is due."

Now, perhaps friend Quinby himself does not claim the discovery. Here is a revised copy of the "Mysteries," rewritten in 1865. We will see what he says on this subject. On page 62 and 140, I find this language : —

"The height of the cover should be seven inches, but where a double tier of boxes is used, it must be made fit?"

"Occasionally a colony will have too many bees to work to advantage in one set of boxes. In such a case, after the first are well advanced, raise them up, with the holes of communication through the top and bottom."

Cerlainly there is nothing in the above to show that the plan of using a "double tier of boxes," originated with this author. I may be mistaken, but do not think another sentence on tiiis sub- ject, can be found in the "Mysteries."

Thus it seems that Mr. Quinby docs not attach much importance to the discovery^ or he would, without question, have had more to say about it. It will be observed that occasionally we will have colonies strong enough to work in two sets of boxes at one lime. This may be true in the East, where foulbrood exists, but not in this section. In many parts of the West, every strong colony, if kept from swarming, will need two sets of boxes.

M. M. Baldridge.

St. Charles, III.

[For the Ameiicau Bee Journal.]

Explanation Desired.

I notice in the March number of the Bee Journal, page 170, that fears are expressed by W. W. Baldndge, that foulbrood has been intro- duced into some of the apiaries of Iowa. This strikes me Avith much surprise, ibr I believe that I am well acquainted with all apiarians of any note in this State, being in constant com- munication with all leading bee-keepers. I have never heard of a single case of foulbrood in this State, nor of anything which could possibly be mistaken for it. Indeed I have never known any disease among bees here. It has been a matter of congratultition among us, that bees

are so universally vigorous and healthy. Since Mr. Baldridge claims such knowledge, I call upon him to give the readers of the Bee Jour- nal the names of the persons iii who.se apiaries the disease is found, and the proof that such is the case. I can hardly belieye that any person who knew that the disease was among "his bees, would send queens away. Certainly I know of no Iowa bee-keejjer who could be guilty of the crime — for I can give it no milder name. If any have been luifortunate enough to receive the pestilence with a queen from abroad, they should have the sympathy of all. Please, Mr. Baldridge, give us the names and facts, instead of "fears" and insinuations.

Ellen S. Tupper, In helialf of all Iowa bee-keei^ers.

[For the American Bee Journal. ]

Bee Feeders.

I see that Mr. Hunter, of Piqua, asks for in- fonnation regarding an invention for feeding bees, and also inquires how he shall "feed bees in the Langstroth hives." I do notknow what appa- ratus was meant bj^ the writer in the Rural iVew Yorker, but can inform Mr. Hunter, that Mr. Edward Harrison, of Springfield, Ohio, has the most perfect thing I have ever seen for feeding bees, adapted to any form of hive. It is simple, cheap, and perfectly constructed, so as to pre- vent any interference from robber bees, and can be so adjusted that the bees of the cluster may have access to it in the coldest weather, with safety and ease.

I do not know Mr. Harrison's present address. He should certainly advertise his feeder, and introduce it to all bee-keepers. Pi'obably Col- onel Leffel, of Springfield, could give informa- tion of Mr. H.'s address.

E. S. T.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Wanted I

A good method of destroying the drones of such hives as we do not wish to breed from. Something applicable alike to common and mo- vable comb hives, and not patented.

It should be capable of being attached to a hive, without injuring it if left undisturbed sev- eral days. Breeders of queens could then pre- vent the flying of all the drones in the neighbor- hood which are undesirable for breeding purpo- ses, provided all the owners gave their assent.

I have a device in view, and if on trial it proves a success, will inform your readers, unless a better plan is offered. Experimenter.

lEi^Send us names of bee-keepers with their post office address.

IIi:^°Want of room constrains us to postpone to next month a number of communications now on hand.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

MAY, ISGS.

No. 11.

[Translated from the Bieuenzeltung.]

Practical Bee-culture.

I propose submittiug some remarks ou prac- tical bcL'-culture ; though what I have to say (nay uot be new to all, I think it will be service- ftble to some and interesting to many.

1. Can Melilotus alba, or melilot clover, be recommended as a good honey-plant ? The cultivation of this plant as a forage crop for cat- tle, and for bee pasturage, has been frequently suggested. Attempts have been repeatedly made to introduce it in various sections of the country, and it has thus been tested in diflferent Kinds of soil and diversities of exposure and cli- cnate. Some writers have been lavish in its praise, and others have unspairingly condemn- ed it. I tried it myself about twenty -two years ago, and spoke of it as follows, in the Bicnenzeit- iing for 1845: — "Attracted by the favorable notices I had seen of this plant or melilot clover, I purchased a small quantity of seed, that I might test the alleged good qualities of this wonderful plant. The stalks produced grew to an extraordinary height, and yielded seed so profusely that could I have sold it at the price I paid, I should speedily have become rich indeed. The little white blossoms were continually cov- ered with bees, and night alone compelled them to withdraw. But as for fodder, whether in a green state or drj', the plant was entirely worthless ; and I have since been endeavoring to extirpate it again, though thus far with only partial success, because of its deeply penetrating roots,"

I remain of the same opinion still, namely: — that this species of clover cannot be recommen- ded as a forage plant. If grown for soiling, it must be mown long before it comes into blos- som, and even then nine cows out of ten will reject it, because of its disagreeable odor. If permitted to bloom, the bees will for some time have an ample supply of pasturage, but cattle will afterwards refuse to eat the hard and lig- neous stems. There will be plenty of seed, in- deed, and could it be sold at one dollar per pound, as the seedsmen charge for it, it would be a most profitable crop. But, alas, the de- mand for it is small, and must so continue, un- 1

less some one is fortunate enough to discover that it possesses some yet unknown value for economic uses. Moreover this plant soon be- comes a perfect pest on a farm, as a weed in the soil which can hardly ever be extirpated. I sowed the seed of it in 1845, in my garden, and though I have been rooting out the stalks ever since, whenever and wherever they make their appearance, and never permit any to ripen its seeds, it is still annually coming up. On road sides, on stony spots, or on poor sandy tracts not fit for tillage, this clover might an- swer, as it might there be allowed to bloom for the benefit of the bees. It will however not grow so tall, nor blossom so profusely there, as on richer land.

2. A much more valuable bee-plant than this, is the TrifoUum incarnatum, or Incaruat clo- ver, mentioned by me on a former occasion. As tliere stated, I had sown some seed of it on one of my poorest uumanured fields, the soil of which was highly charged with the oxide of iron. It stood the winter well, and grew splen- didly in the spring. The stalks, when in full bloom attained a height of four feet, and pre- sented a perfect sea of blossoms, on which the bees revelled in great glee. Unfortunately I was constrained to remove a large portion of it for soiling my cattle. The earliest mown, however, soon produced a second crop of blos- soms and a considerable amount of aftermath.

As forage for cattle, I value this species of clover highly. The hay is greedily eaten by cows, hogs, and sheep. . In northern climates the plant is an annual ; but, in southern, it may be regarded and treated as a biennial.

3. QueenJess Swarms. — It has probably occur- red in the experience of most bee-keepers, when bees have swarmed, that the cpieen was not among them. She eitlier did not accompany them when they issued, or was lost in some way during the act of swarming. It happened last spring that tlie queen of one of my swarms was stung as she came forth — whether by one of her own bees, or by a stranger, I know not. I took the dying queen from the alighting board, inclosed her in a queen cage, fastened that in a hive which I held up among the swarming bees. They promptly entered and

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surrounded lier majesty ; and I subsequently gave them a young fertile queen.

Usually, swarms that are queenless, or are unattended by a queen, are permitted to return to the parent stock, in the expectation that they will re-appear better provided, in a day or two. But it is by no means certain that they Avill do BO. Sometimes a sudden change of Aveather occurs, bees lose the swarming impulse, and the hoped-for increase is expected in vain. If it can possibly be prevented, I never permit a prime swarm to return under such cimcumstan- ces. As soon as I perceive from the indications in the hiving-basket, that the swarm is queen- less — the bees not clustering properly, and some continually leaving for home — I place the basket on a frame covered with wire guaze, and close all the openings to prevent the es- cape of the bees. They soon become tumultu- ous and clamorous, whereupon I procure a fer- tile queen from one of my nuclei colonies, cage her, and insert her in the hive. In an instant all is quiet, the bees soon become attached to their new ruler, and in the evening I liberate her, and set them on their stand. Or if I have any weak colonies at the time, I strengthen them by means of these bees, w'hich will remain in any locality Avherever placed, and may if de- sirable be divided among several colonies.

4. Uniting and Btrengtlicning. — It is often necessary to resort to each of those processes, and yet tJiey are apt to be failures. A colony may be strengthened without endangering the life of the queen, if bees be brought from a dis- tance and kept confined, queenless, in a well ventilated transporting hive, and then run into a weak colony in the evening. I have never lost a queen when thus introducing bees. In fact beesof difTcreut colonies standing near each other, will intermix in the evening without quarreling, and without manifesting hostility to to the queens. In like manner bees which, in the course of the day, mistake their hive and lighting at the entrance as strangers, beg their way in by fanning, rarely meet with a hostile reception. In view of this fact, wdien I wish to introduce bees to strengthen a weak colony, I place an inclined board in front of the Live, shake the bees on it, brush a few workers to the entrance, and the whole number speedily move forward humming and fanning, being peaceably received in their new quarters. The hive to be strengthened may also be removed from its stand and set on a table, and the bees to be added, shaken down in front of the en- trance.

If the bees to be added have a queen, there may be trouble and loss. The bee books tell us "invert the hive containing the swarm, and set on it the one which is to be strengthened, and the queen will be dispatched as she ascends." Very plain, and very fine; pity it should so fre- quently fail. I once strengthened in this man- ner a weak colony containing a beautiful Italian queen, by introducing an afterswarm which I supposed to be queenless. On the following day I made an examination, and believed ail was right; but on the third morning I found the Italian queen dead at the entrance. I re- examined the hive, and found a young black

cjueen moving about veiy sedately on one of the combs. She had obviously killed her yellow rival.

In order to pack a large number of bees in a box for transportation to my apiary, I shake them from the swarming-basket, from combs, honey- boards, &c. , into a vessel of water, and then transfer them by means of a strainer to a large sized cigar box provided with a wire gauze bot- tom. Set in the sun for a time, the bees become dry and active ; and the box will con- tain safely a considerably larger number than could otherwise be confined therein. They must of course be supplied with food, if their confinement is protracted. Outlying bees may be brushed from the front of their hives into water, for the same purpose ; but being treated on an empty stomach, bees are apt to be pugnacious, if a clean sweep is not skilfully made.

5. Transferring comhs, and encasing queens. — Several years ago I lost a queen in consequence of transferring combs in the brooding apart- ment of a hive. She was killed by lier own bees. A similar occurrence would probably have taken place in my apiary this year, had I not been present. I had a small colony in a square box hive, and wished to transfer it to another hive, in order to strengthen it with bees from other stocks. The queen, bred in one of my reserve nuclei, had been fertilized two days before, but had not yet begun to lay. I trans- ferred the combs to the new hive, and found the queen among a crowd of bees in their old home; whence I transferred her also to her new quar- ters. I closed the hive, and soon after the bees of all my stocks began to fly or disport briskly. Those of the new hive did so likewise, but the excitement continued long after the others had become settled. Sus'pecting something wrong, I immediately made an examination, and ibund the queen encased by a cluster of workers. I lifted out the cluster to liberate the queen ; and just as I was about to seize her, she took wing and escaped. Of course I thought she was lost, for being a stranger bred in a distant hive, she would certainly be killed outright if she attempted to enter any one of the forty stocks then in my apiary. I kept a good lookout nevertheless, and finally saw her near her oAvn hive, having been seized by sev- eral of the workers who were endeavoring to kill her. Rescuing her from the imminent dan- ger, I caged and replaced her among her still excited subjects. Next day, finding peace and quiet restored, I liberated her, and she at once mingled with the crowd without molestation.

When an unusual degree of excitement is ob- served among the bees of any colony, at their first flight in the spring, or when a young queen makes her wedding excursion, or after they have been disturbed by any operation, a thorough examination shoifld be immediately made. In most cases the queen will be found encased by a cluster of workers, and unless quickly rescued, she is sure to be killed.

6. UseofoldCombs.—lX.\s,yf&^\ known that old brood combs are warmer than new ones, and better suited for wintering. Hence the ad- vantage of using such as are still in good con-

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ditioii, lo furnish hives for the reception of swarms and iirlifieial colonics. So lonj^ as a couib hold up to light 13 still at least semi-trans- paront, it will be serviceable in a Jiive. Such as are l)lack or opaque when thus held ui), should not he inserted in the brood chamber — tliou^irh one placed at tiie end of a range, as a cover to the rest, when tiie hive is only partially lilled, will prove advantageous, if properly used. Tlien when the anterior combs are supplied witii eggs and brood, this comb .should be drawn back sufficiently to permit an empty frame to be inserted. Tlie bees, who would hesitate long to pass beyond the old comb for building, will speedily till the inserted frame ; and the manoeuvre may tiien be repeated again and again, till all the space is occupied ; after which the old comb should be removed.

7. Safe iiitrodnction of Queens. — Most bee- books contain insiructions for the safe intro- duction of Itahan queens. Nevcvthclcss many bee-keepers, beginners espcciallj', complain of ill luck in the attempt. The surest mode is found to be, not to introduce the queen to the bees, but, on the contrarj"-, the bees to the queen. If tlie bees remain in their accustomed liome, they feel like lords and masters there ; and, though quecnkss, they will verj'- reluct- antly accept an offered queen — much prefer- ing to rear one of their own brood. The case is otherwise, when they are allowed to build queen cells, and all these are destroyed on the ninth or tenth day, when all the brood has been capped, and an Italian queen is then in- troduced. But in many cases, the introduction cannot conveniently be so long deferred, and I then use two wire gauze caps — a larger and a smaller — for the protection of the queen. If possible I select a brood comb, containing a few open cells with hone3^ On this I place the queen, covering her with the smaller cap. Over this I set the larger, broader cap, pressing it down lo the septum or midde partition of the comb. The cpieen is thus secure from all hos- tile attacks by the workers, against which a single cap does not alwaj's afford protection. In the course of forty-eight hours the animosity of the bees usually subsides, and I remove the upper or larger cap. The other also may usu- ally be removed on the following day.

When an artiticial colony is formed, bj^ trans- ferring woikers from their native hives, or by taking bees from three or four stocks, and loca- j ting them in a new hive, such precautions are not required, when introducing a cpieen. Bees I thus removed to new quarters, or brought to- gether from various homes, are confused and intimidated, and ready to accept a f«?rtile queen when offered. Still the safer plan is alwaj's to i cage her lor a time, and watch the behaviour of of the bees. O. lioxnE. ;

Altsciiau.

[Fcir tho American Bco Journal.]

Hivcn and Management.

C^^Old queens, or such as are becoming su- ' perannuated, not unfrcquentl}' lay a few drone \ eggs in worker cells, so that drones are occa- sionally found maturing amid worker brood, i "When this occurs a young fertile queen should I be substituted for the old one. i

As I ])romised lo give a description of tho workings of tbe hive I use, for the readers of the JouuNAii, I shall commence hj saying that it may not be by any means the best hive in use, but as I have tried almost all forms, and this proves the most satisfactory', I shall give it for what it is worth.

As I said in a previous article, if I was going to winter bees out of doors, I should make the hive deeper, but retain the .same form. The frames, if proper care is taken in making them, will hang true on the rabbetings, even though twenty inches deep. But if nailed up in the common hap-hazard way in the rough, they will have to be fastened permanently at equal distances — which I have tried and rejected long ago. The shape of the hive I have given in a previous number of the .Iournal ; but I have a contrivance on the bottom which I have not described before. Say the hive is twelve inches deep, dress out your stuff twelve inches wide, lacking three-eighths of an inch; rabbet out on the outside at the bottom of the hive and nail on a piece of hoop-iron in the rabbeting, so that it will project three-eighths of an inch below the hive all around. Now, when the hive is set on the board, it rests on the knife-like edge of the hoop-iron, and there is no possible chance for a moth to hide; there is no accumulation of droppings under the edge of the hive for the miller to deposit her eggs in ; and with my man- agement, I have not seen a moth in that kind of hive in three years. I have some champered to an edge at the bottom, and some with boards without champering. In these hives I occasion- ally llnd a moth. If, as Mr. Quinby suggests, the miller deposits her eggs under the edge of the hive, and the bees carry them up on their feet, this hoop-iron arrangement may be a good thing. I am not yet prepared to say that a hive thus prepared is actuallj'' moth proof; but it is certainly better than a channel to raise moths in for the purpose of having the trouble of kil- ling them.

The entrance is a channel cut in the bottom- board. Now, should you think an inclined bottom-board is a good thing, raise the bottom- board on the rear side until j^ou are satisfied with it ; hut I will assure you that it is no ben- efit whatever.

If 3-ou want 3'our young queens to mate with drimes of anj- particular hive, move all the rest of your hives back on their bottom-boards from the channel, and close the hole above with wire screening. Now raise the front side of the hive on a IciD-d wood wedge, just sufficient to allow tlie workers to pass out and in freelj-, and so that a drone cannot pass. Then j-our workers have the whole length and breadth of the hive, which is eighteen inches. Consequently it is much better than a patent thumb-screw to reg- ulate the entrance. Move the hive forward on the bottom-board, and you enlarge the entrance ; move it back, and the entrance is contracted, to prevent the bees from clustering out. In hot ^'ealher, move the hive forward over the front

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edge of the bottom-board, from half an inch to one inch, according to the size of the swarm ; then every comb is ventilated. Some will tell you to fix a convenient place for the l)ecs to cluster on outside ; but I tell you to keep your bees at work inside of the hive. You will find that much more profitable. I never allow them to cluster out. Upward ventilation is wrong in the breeding season ; and so is any contrivance for the bees to pass directly into the surplus honey-boxes from the outside of the hive, for the bees that gather tlie nectar from flowers are not those that store it in the surplus boxes. With the Italians any one can satisfy him- self on that head ; at least I am satisfied now.

For the upper part of the hive, when the time comes to put on your boxes, remove the honey-board and substitute small strips or blocks, one-quarter of an inch thick ; lay them directly on the fiames, and put on your boxes with the fourth of an inch space between the top of the frame and the bottom of the box, which allows the bees to pass over the top of the frame. Make your boxes, either large or small, to suit your ov/n faucJ^ Should you use one box the size of the chamber, leave a two inch hole the whole length of the box. Should you use three boxes, they would be about eleven and a half by five and a half inches. Have two entrances in each box, one inch by five. Should you use six boxes, have the entrance one inch by five, and place them so that the entrauce goes across the frames, instead of lengthwise, in every case.

Many persons complain that the bees do not work in boxes. I have frequently seen such boxes. For example, a friend uses the old fashioned chamber hive. He says I now let my bees fill the chamber, Avithout boxes, and cut out the honey after cold weather, when the bees are below ; for they always fill the cham- ber, but will not work in boxes at all. " Well, friend, they cannot work in your boxes." (He tised boxes with an inch hole in each, to corres- pond with an inch hole in the chamber board). "You are a mechanic. Now, how are the bees going to work to cause a cool stream of air to pass into that inch hole, and a stream of heated air to pass out at the same time ? With your boxes out, and your four holes open to the chamber, it is quite different." Still the said friend's liive was a patented one.

When bees are gathering honey, I take off a full box at night, and the empty one substituted will be filled with bees in the morning, at work building comb, &c. Again, with a division board, I can manage a small swarm just to suit me in every respect, or a large one either. To illustrate this : sometime in August, 1866, a neighbor found a swarm clustered in a bass wood tree about twenty feet high. He sent word for me to come and hive it for him. I was from home at the time, and did not get back till after dark. Having to go away again before light next moning, I went and hived the swarm for him that evening ; and there chan- ced to be less than a pint of bees left on the tree. Three days after I took a piece of comb, with eggs and larvce in it, tied it to the end of a pole, held it up to the bees, and they clustered on it

forthwith. I put them in a small box and carried them home ; took from a hive a frame filled about one-half with 1>rood nearly mature, and the remainder eggs and larvfc just hatched ; this I inserted in an empf,y hive, introduced a young fertile hybrid queen, and gave her the said lot of less than pint of workers. Adjusting the division board, I let them go to work with- out any feeding. They filled seven (7) frames that fall, and stored sufficient honey to winter on. Last spring I took out two empty combs and inserted two well filled with honey from another swarm ; fed them about two pounds of sugar the last of June and up to the 20th of July. They then had five frames to fill with comb. The first week in August I took out one frame filled with brood and started a new swarm, and gave them access to the honey boxes to keep the queen busy below ; and to prevent swarmiug. I took out frames filled with brood, one at a time, as they could spare them, to build up the young swarm. Taking out one of those frames did not appear to di- minish their labors in the boxes in the least. Recollect that the frames are only about ten inches by eleven, inside measure. To sum up : after the 20th of July, 1867, they filled the bal- ance of the hive, which was five frames ; and I took away six frames filled with brood, one at a time, building up a first-rate swarm. I also took away one luindred pouuds of surplus hon- ey, two thirty-five pound boxes, and two fifteen pound boxes. When the l)ees were numerous enough to store twenty pounds of honey per week, and the thermometer was up to 100*^ in the shade, they did not cluster out the least. I am aware that the form of hive is not every- thing ; but knowing exactly how and when to make the right moves, ami doing it, has con- siderable inlluence on the result.

We will say that I have the Lee, Kidder, Champion, or Thomas form of hive, or even the shallow form of the Langstroth; then taking out one frame takes out too large a pi-oportion of the working force, at once, from the main hive. I never could manage those hives so as to have all the comb worker-comb, and all oc- cupied with brood throughout the entire comb surface in the breeding season. Yon must re- collect that last season was the worst honey season that I rennnnber, up to the 20th of July ; and from that time up to the 8tli of October, it was (for swarms that had been properly taken care of) as good as any I ever knew. We had none of the drought which was experienced in other sections.

Cheapness and simplicity in a hive is what I have been studying at for years, and it is pre- posterous to su[)pose that bees will make more surplus honey in your nail-keg than mine. But we ought not to have over three forms of hive, to suit every person's whim. Almost all the little fixings about a hive that are patented, are a perfect nuisance to the practical apiarian.

There is something yet that I have to speak of in this article. 1 formerly used box-hives twelve inches square and fourteen inches high, and used them for ten years without any sticks in the centre. The centre bar in the Champion or the American hive occupies space that ought

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to be occupied with brood. Say the bar is ten iuches long iu each frame, theu it occupies ton square inches, or tliereabout. Eacli square incli will contain fifty worker cells, and ten limes lilty is live hundred. Thus your bees are brooding a slick instead of five hundred wor- kers every three weeks during the season.

This article was suggested by my receiving so many inquiries from indiviiluals relative to my opinion about different kinds of hives, A;c., and whose hive I would recommend. I have endeavored to answer them without fear or favor. Tliere are so many worthless hives, and so many worthless fixings about different Iviuds of Jiives, that it is not to be wondered at that the novice is puzzled to know what kind to choose.

A letter of iuquiry enclosing a stamp will be answered on any occasion ; but in future, by the editor's permission, some of the questions shall be answered through the Bee Jouknal. Elisiia Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Depth of Hives.

Mr. Langstroth in the February number of the JomiNAL, recommends the trial of deep Lives, as to their relative value for iointcring in tlie open air. I will give you a little of my ex- perience. I have used hives sixteen inches, fourteen iuches, and am now using them twelve inches deep. I have also had the care of them for my neighbors, of the dimensions Mr. Lang- stroth uses; but you must recollect that I have always lived in a colder climate than Mr. Lang- stroth does. The dimensions of the hive I now use, are twelve inches from front to rear, twelve inches deep, and eighteen inches long, inside measure. 1 have wintered iu this hive in the open air with perfect success. But I never could winter in the open air, in any kind of hive, without the bees consuming too much honey to suit me. If I was going to winter in the open air, I would make a hive just high enough to admit a frame twelve inches high in- side, and enough narrower to receive one or tAVO frames less, because that is high enough to contain, above and in the cluster of bees, all the honey they will consume during the coldest weather. In the broad shallow hives the bees cannot cluster naturally; for a good strong col- ony in the fall, if allowed to cluster naturally, will occupy a space (together with the comb and honey), in a circular form, twelve inches in diameter. And when bees are constrained to cluster in a non-natural manner, they cannot economize the animal heat, either in winter or summer. Consequently the queen cannot breed u}) to her full capacity so early in the sea- son; neither will she breed so well throughout the season in the broad shallow form. If the hive is too high, the bees eat the honey directly above them, and in the spring they commence breeding where they are clustered. It then takes them till late in the season before they oc- cupy the combs at the bottom of the hive,

which gives the moth a chance to get in. Another thingj if your combs are too deep, you cannot use a division board to so good advan- tage as you could if the comb was not so deep. To illustrate, say that for making small swarms or for raising queens, you take a frame from the American hive, and one from Mr. Langstroth's shallow hive; put each into hives just largo enough for said combs, with bees enough to oc- cupy the combs, and a fertile queen in each. You have got to have more bees, according to the surface of comb, to occupy those combs, than you would if that comb surface were in a more compact form. I would sooner have the surplus honey in the body of the hive for the use of the bees in spring, at the side than at the top. With the practical working of the hive I use, I am perfectly satisfied. For breeding pur- poses or wintering, I would as soon have a comb on one side of the bees, or both, as I would a board ; and I am not sure but I would sooner. After all my experimenting, I am satisfied that hives can be too high for storing surplus honey, as well as on the opposite extreme, too low. High enough to have sufficient honey above the bees for the coldest weather, is sufficient.

In another article I give you the practical working of the form I use, I care not whose hive you call it. Mr. Langstroth's agents, and other agents also, have urged me to try their hives. I have never mixed myself up with any form of patent hive; so I ought to be as good a judge as those that are interested. I have had bee on the brain for the last thirty-five years. So Mr. Editor, you will have to have some patience with me for occupying so much space in your Journal. E. Gallup.

Osage, Iowa.

[For tlie American Bee Journal.)

" A profitable Apiary " examined.

Mr. Editor :— I find in your Journal for November an account of Mr. Way's success iu the bee business, furnished by Mr. Baldridge. — As I knoAV no better way to come to just con- clusions relative to the best mode of conducting the business, than by experiment and observa- tion, I am always pleased with a definite report of results in dilferent apiaries and in different hives.

This apiary consisted of 125 colonies, 18 colo- nies in hives that gave no swarms, and 107 colonies that gave swarms, constituting in the sequel 105 new colonies, and the product of surplus honey was about 2,920 pounds. If api- arians would keep exact accounts of their sur- plus, so as to render it unnecessary to calculate from about so much, it would be more satisfac- tory. The eighteen non-swarmers gave an average of GO pounds each, at 30 cents per pound, or $1W.

The product of the 107 colonies is, 105 new colonies and an average of 27^ pounds per hive,

A colony of bees will consume for breeding, drones, »S:c., during the summer season and for wintering, ^0 pounds of honey. The eighteen colonics that gave GO pounds surplus, and coa-

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pumed 60 pounds, gave one half of the honey they guthered to the Iseeper, in surplus. The 107 colonies, with their 105 new colonies — to- gether 312 — consumed 12,720 pounds and gave the keeper 2,030 pounds. — While the lirst-class gave one-half to the keeper, in surplus, the second-class gave 208 pounds less than one-tilth iu suiplus, and consumed 202 pounds more than four-fitths of the honey gathered.

Is the consideration given to this view of the Hubject which it deserves ? Thus, l;]0^ colonies in the first-class of hives, would have gathered ][.'5,G40 pounds, giving 7,820 pounds in surplus instead of about 4,000 pounds. This dilference in surplus would pay for change of hives several times over — a difference, at thirty cents per pound, of more than 1,000 dollars.

I this spring had four colonies in a new hive, which I patented July 2, 18G7. The product of the four colonies, this year, was four new co'o- uies and 500 pounds of surplus. One of the four T/as an Italian swarm; three of them na- tives. The product of the Italian swarm was two new swarms and lOG pounds of surplus; of one of the natives two new swarms and 97 pounds of surplus. The other two natives gave DO swarm, but one gave 123 pounds of su'plus and the others 174 pounds. Each hive has eighteen surplus honey boxes, of the capacity in the aggregate of 135 pounds. It will be no- ticed that the two that gave no swarm gave 57 pounds more than two-thirds of all they gather- ed, and consumed 57 pounds less thanone-tliird. My honey was more than two thirds of it from white clover, and most of it sold for forty cents per pound.

Every field is limited in its produc'ion. It is of some consequence to the bee-keeper whether he uses hives in which his bees will give him two-thirds of the product or only one-lifth.

Albany, N. Y. Jasper IIazex.

Handling Bess. — "No Protection used.

[For tne American Bee Jonraal.]

Room for Surplus Boses.

Mr. Editor : — In the Bee Jour>'Al for Feb- ruary, I saw in a communication from Mr. Langstroth, a plan for a Langstroth hive with deep frames, giving at the same time extra room for surplus honey boxes. I have a plan which I like better. Last summer I put a swarm in a hive made as follows : Take a Langstroth hive IC inches long, 12i inches wide, and 10 inches deep, Vv'ith frames. And, instead of a honey-board, make a triangular top with- out frames ; the base the right size to fit the liive, and lars of lath tacked on to prevent the bees from building combs to the frames. A top of this kind will hold eight six-inch boxes and makes a hive 13 inches deep. I got the idea from a hive patented by T. F. Bingham, of Gowanda, N. Y.

I am wintering thirty-six hives in different ways, and may report in the spring. Yester- day, February 19, was the first time the bees flew out, of any account, since winter set in about the last of November.

'V' J. WiNPIKI/D.

Canfield, Ohio.

" I had bees creeping in my ears last season, nndcr my veil. I would therefore advise put- ting cotton in, before commencing operations." Bee Journal, vol. 8, page 100.

No, no, friend llulman, don't advise us to do any f:uch thing. We want to use our ears, so that we can know when our bees are in a pleasant mood.

That veil of 5'^ours, please give it to your wife, if you liave one. low don't need it. No prac- tical bee-keeper should wear a veil, or a bee-hat, save in extreme cases. Some pains will then be taken to handle the bees properly ; and where this is done, they will keep in good liu- mor throughout the season. I write from many years' experience in handling bees, and therefore know what I have afQrmed.

My friend Marvin, of this place, is as success- ful as myself in handling bees without protection. His experience is also quite extensive, as his apiary is one of the largest in the Western States. It now consists of 300 colonies of very choice Italian bees, and just now they are in winter quarters, and wintering finely. He has no Italian bees that do not show three yellow bands distinctly. Those showing a less number of bands were banished last fall.

To return. We both use wood smoke, and no further protection than what the smoke affords, in our manipulations with the honey bee. We have no trouble iu accomplishing with that kind of smoke, all that we desire. Its pungency, when rightly used, will subdue any hive of bees, whether Italians, natives, or the ill-tem- pered hybrids. Friend Marvin, I believe, keeps a supply of bee-hats, made of wire, for the use of visitors, of whom he has a great many from all parts of the country. These bee-hats arc worth many times their cost to him every year. They are first-rate for " caging his visitors," so that they cannot pitch into his choice fruits ! for be it known that Mr. JMarvin is not only a practical bee-keeper, but likewise an amateur fruit grower. So it seems a bee-hat is of some use.

We have, of course, no use for the celebrated "bee charm," and in this connection let me inform the .Journal readers that the discoverer is reported to be dead ! I hope, therefore, they will henceforth let him "rest in peace." My informant may be mistaken. If so, we would like to have the report corrected by the "Prof." M. M. Baldridgk. St. Charles, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Centre Passages. ,

There is much said about bees cutting or making centre passages. It is found that iu some hives there are many such passages, iu others but few. Many are at a loss to under- stand how this is ? My opinion is that all such passages are made by the bees iu their attempts to remove the larvrc the moth. Hence those hives which arc most affected have the most centre passages. J. H. Thomas.

Brooklin, Ontario.

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[For the American Bee Journal.]

The Economy of the Bee Hive.

If it be a fact that bees can live "for days aud eveu months" without a change of air, it cer- tainly is a wonder wortii investigation, and must be accomplished by moans of those .simple and bcautifnl laws that a Avisc Providence has set U[) to govern tlic most insignificant as well as the greatest ot his creations; and when we come to understand it, it can but increase our admiration of the inlinite Avisdom and skill of that Great Being, who brought such perfection out of cliaoH.

All animated beings require the same kind of air to support life. Without it they could not exist. Tliat air surrounds us on all sides. Chemists tell us that it is composed of two gas- ses, oxygen and nitrogen. One atom of the Ibrnicr to two of the latter. It is only the oxy- gen wc need in breathing. When we inhale air into our lungs it is brought in contact with the blood. The air parts with the larger part of its oxygen, which is absorbed by the blood, and receives in exchange another substance derived from the food Ave cat and called carbon, and another called hydrogen ; so that when it is exhaled it consists of nitrogen, oxygen, car- bon, and hydrogen; but they are not all united in one substance or compound. The oxygen lias united Avith hydrogen and has produced vapor or Avater, and with the carbon and the result is carbonic acid. The air Ave inhale is nitrogen and oxygen ; the air Ave exhale is Avater, carbonic acid, and nitrogen.

This carbonic acid gas is poisonous and de- stroys the life of any breathing creature CA^en Avhen mixed Avith a large quantity of common air. It Avill put a light out instantly. It has another peculiarity wiiich is singular : its Aveight. Although only air, j^ou can pour it from one vessel to another. When it is breath- ed out being mixed Aviththe hydrogen and nitro- gen Avhich arc light and being expanded by being Avarm, the volume of breath is lighter than the common air, and ascends; but it cools and by degrees separates from the other parts of the breath, and sinks to the ground.

Everything living breathes the same kind of air, with the same results. Warm blooded ani- mals, men, beasts and birds, breathe a great deal. Cold blooded animals, snakes, lizards, frogs, fishes and some inscct.'< and small vermin, breathe very little. Bears, dormice, and the bird called the martin, and most insects, become torpid in winter, and during that time scarcely breathe at all. They become cold, and their breathing and the circulation of their blood stops.

Now let us return to the bees. They are stopped up in their hiA'e so that no fresh air can reach them. They breathe the same air over and over ; all the time converting it into this carbonic acid, which gradually rises like an in- undation, and the last one of them would die. Is it so ?

Science to be of any value must prove tilings as they actually exist ; but the deeper its researches, the etronger the proof that wc live

in a world of paradoxes, and that creation is to our limited understandings a maz9 of contradic- tions. It has by the aid of discovery reconciled manyot these, but many baffle their ingenuity and still remain hidden mysteries. One thin"- IS certain, that the greatest contradictions, and tlie most opi)osing elements, all combine to- gether and produce results perfectly concord-

For ages fisiies were kept as pets. Thpy were placed in vessels of Avater, but they could only be kept alive by the most careful attention. Daily the water had to be changed or the fishes soon died, and for the same reason that avo have been trying to explain. They have to breathe as Avell as other animals, though not so much, and they obtain their air from the water. When they l)reathe over all that they have m their limited cage and convert it into poison, they die like any other animal deprived ot pure air. NcAvdiscoA'cries have remedied all of this difficulty. Now they can be kept for years in the same vessel without a change of the water in which they live. This is accom- plished by the application of one of those simple laws of nature, of Avhich we spoke.

Plants breathe as well as animals, but they take in through the pores of their leaves this very carbonic acid, that animals throw out. The sap absorbs the carbon and again sets the oxygen free to unite with the nitrogen and re- store the air to its original condition. When this Avas found out the whole thing became easy. It was only necessary to place in the water such plants as would grow there, and the thing was accomplished. The plants would use up the carbonic acid and set the oxygen free to be again used by the fishes, while the fishes in turn would breath the restored air and make a new supply of carbonic acid for the plants.

Bnt there was another difficulty. The excre- ment of the fishes and the decay of the plants would in time make the water so "foul that, it was unfit to sustain life in either fishes or plants. Another beautiful discovery supplied a remedy for that. Ic was found that snails, and other kinds of small water animals, actually lived on these very things as their only food ; and that these little scavengers, made from this decayed and foul matter, became good food for the fishes.

Out of tnese discoveries originated the Aqua- rium, which has in it all the elements of the reservoir in which the fishes lived ; that is, fishes to breathe the air and produce carbonic acid, plants to use the carbonic acid and restore the air, and snails to eat the foul matters that would acciuzulate, and thus keep the water pure, whicn snails in turn became food for the fishes to live on.

God did this, not man. When he created the fishes he made an aquarium for them. Was he less iniuui ul of the " little busy bee," when he gave it a nabitation in holes in trees, where from the very nature of things, they would be frequently depri\'ed of fresh air for months at a time, on account of -^uoav and ice and sleet clos- ing them up ? Experience says not. The bees produce by "breathing carbonic acid,

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■which, if there was nothing to take from it the carbon, would destroy them. There are no plants to do it ; but we find in the hive several things that may answer the purpose. The comi), it is well known, is at first pure white, but first turns yellow and then dark, and as it gets older becomes perfectly black. Something must produce this effect. May it not be this very carbon that it absorbs that colors it ? It is further known that the older the comb the heavier it gets. This is not only true of the comb in the middle of the hive where the breed- ing is done, but moi'e so at the top where honey is stored. It may be said that carboiiic acid is heavier than the other air and therefore settles below. We have shown that it first rises, from being heated and thus rarifled.

The honey may also absorb the carbon. New honey and old honey are very different things in taste and color. So may the bee-bread and also the propolis.

The fact being established that bees can live without fresh air, we can only account for it upon some such reasoning.

But this would not be enough. Bees cannot live without water. Here we are not so much in the dark. We have shown that oxygen and hydrogen are united in the course of breathing, and thrown out as vapor. This is condensed on the solid sides of honey, and on the vacant comb and sides and top of the hive, which are dense and cold, and remains there hanging in globules or runs down in drops among the bees. Thus they are always furnished with water. It is also a wise provision, that it only so accumu- lates in cold weather. In warm weather there is a class of bees that are called ''fanners" or "ventilating bees" that keep a constant circula- tion of dry fresh air.

It has often been wondered at that bees should plaster the solid sides and top of their hive with propolis. In some very old hives I have seen it nearly a quarter of an inch thick. The wood being porous would absorb the mois- ture, and they wax it to make it solid and a better condenser. May it not be also to absorb carbon? D. L. Adaiii.

Hawbsville, Kt., Jan., 1868.

Smart Bees.

One of my neighbors had an old hive of bees that last season threw off'three swarms, two large swarms and one small one. The last swarm, after working two or three months, and ma- king considerable comb, but not much honey, swarmed out one pleasant day in the fall, well knowing that they did not have sufficient honey to winter on, and returned again to the parent hive. Who can beat that? — E. W. B. in Country Oentleman.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Bee Hunting.

Dt^Pollen gathered by the bses from Centau- rea, (blue bottle), is white ; that from white clover, is dark cream color ; that from buck- wheat, bright yellow; and that from Esparsctte or Spanish clover, is brown.

Mr. Editor : — Is it possible for one to have bee on the brain ? I have been engaged in the culture of the honey bee for twenty years, and have many pleasant recollections concerning them — so much so, that my family sometimes tell me that I have got the bee on the brain. But this I am not disposed to consider serious, unless the sting of my pet should chance to re- main. Even then I should not mind it much, as I do not experience any harm therefrom.

I always considered it a very pleasant and agreeable recreation to hunt the bee. To look them out, and trace them to some large giant in the forest, requires at times considerable skill and sharp-sightedness. I have found them varying as to height, from on the ground to one hundred and thirty feet from terra firma I I have never given up the hunt until found, if there was any show at all. It is a harmless, but not always profitable recreation. Of late years I usually take them down in the lag.

I propose to give an account of my short experience in hunting bees on the James, in Virginia. I came there rather late in the fall, remaining in the State until about the middle of July. In looking around I soon ascertained that there were very few swarms there, except in their natural wild state. When getting some sweet gum in the month of November, I noticed the bees gathering the gum as they usu- ally gather pollen. From that source I obtain- ed several lines ; but did not find the swarms at that time, as I had no honey, and it was late in the season and rather cool. I concluded to let them rest till spring. In the month of March I noticed bees at work on an apricot tree in blossom. I watched them as they were gathering pollen. From this source I obtained five different lines, of which I resolved to find most or all of them. You maybe assured I was on tiptoe, and almost went into ecstacies. Now for the result. Without honey I took one line, and with careful looking found it in an oak limb about twenty feet high, about a mile and a half distant. Now for number two. After a pleasant search of about three hours, I found them about three-fourths of a mile dis- tant, in a stump of an oak tree cut several yeara before. The stump was not more than three feet high ; and the swarm as fine a one as I ever found at that time of year. After a search of about half a day, I found number three in an oak tree, about eight feet from the ground. It was a fair swarm. Perhaps if you had seen me at this time, Mr. Editor, you might might have thought that I had bee on the brain, though you woufd never have said so. So excuse me, and bear with me a little longer. Number four crossed the river, and as I had no boat I made no effort to find them. I followed the line of number five about half a mile, and found them in a green oak stump about four feet high, which had been cut perhaps two years before. This was a fair swarm.

From another source I obtained another line, starting from near the same plase as the others,

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This swarm proved more difficult to find. Wlicu I loolved where tliey ought to be, they were not there. At last I found tliem going into a root on the ground and thence into the tree, which was a small oak in nu opening. This was far beyond my expectations.

Now for a Utile extra luck. On the 28th of April, I found and hewed a very fine swarm. In ten days they filled their hive, and seemed almost rrady to swarm. At this lime I broke out their honey. May 31st, went to see my swarm in the root, wdien to my surprise, on a bush, about twelve feet from the old stock, hwug a young swarm waiting to be hived. I returned to the house, procured a hive, hived them, and they were doing well when I left.

I have lived in the Eastern States, and have been bi'yond the Mississippi, all the while having an eye to bee-culture, and from what I know and could learn, I should prefer Virginia for a short term of 3'ears to raise bees for profit. The winters are short there. A knowledge of the bee could be made to pay in large ratio.

I have wintered my eighty stocks without the loss of any. W. C. Newton.

Oswego, N. Y.

[For the American Bee Journal ]

Wintering of Bees in the Open Air.

For many years I have been persuaded that bee-keeping would never flourish as it should, unless some cheap and simple mode could be devised, bj' which bees may be safely wintered on their summer stands, instead of being placed in special depositories. To say nothing of the cost of such structures, and the great labor and judgement needed for their proper use, they are open to disadvantages which cannot be reme- died, even by the most skilful and jKudent management. After the bees have been placed on their stands, if the weather suddenly chan- ges, a cold wind springing up and clouds ob- scuring the sun, it is often found that as many bees are lost as if the colonies had wintered in the open air. Stocks that have wintered w^cll on their stands, are usually more forward in breeding than those of equal strength which have been put in special depositories. When first set out, the latter have a deceptive appear- ance of strength ; for the old and feeble bees which would have died if they had been win- tered in the open air, perish soon after they be- gin to fly.

However successful skilful bee-keepers who liave large apiaries, may be with winter depos- itories, the great majority of those who keep but a few slocks, will never winter them any- where but on their summer stands.

After years of experimenting, I have devised a cheap and simple plan which promises to ef- fect as great a revolution in the wintering of bees in movable comb hives, as the movable frames have produced in their summer manage- ment. By this plan prudent bee-keepers may winter bees in the open air, in hives having movable frames or bars, as well (if not belter,

all things taken into account), as in any special depository. The phm is applicable to any old hive now in use, and will bo made known in .ample time to use the ensuing winter. My health and the pressure of other duties, will prevent cither myself or son from replying to any letter of inquiry on tins subject. If the plan should be patented, all parties owning the right to use the Langstroth hive, will be enti- tled to use this plan, without any charge, as long at least as my extended patent is in force. L. L. Langstkoth- OxFORD, Butler Co., Ouio.,

March 30lh, 1868.

[For the Americaa Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees.

Mr. Editor :— If all bee-kcpers read your valuable paper with the same interest that I do, I am sure they will endeavor to contribute something for its pages ; and the more the bet- ter, as I am sure you will select the best for the greatest number of your readers.

As my success in wintering bees, and how I do it, may be of interest and value to others, I communicate it for their benefit ; and if any have a better plan, let us have it, for it is cer- tain that the loss in wintering bees, in this sec- tion of country at least, is more than from all other causes combined.

After experimenting in difi"erent methods of wintering, some of which were better than an out-door exposure and others not so good, I judged it more economical to build a permanent house for this purpose. Selecting a place conve- nient to my apiary and of easy access, I com- menced operations hj making an excavation seven (7) feet wide, eighteen (18) feet long, and three and a half (3}) feet deep, and bricked it up level with the ground, except a space in one end for a door. On this wall I built the house, with side walls two and a half (2^) feet high ; with good tight roof, and two ventilators therein, one at eacli end ; with tight double- doors at one end. After lathing and plastering it entire on the inside, and giving it a cement floor, I considered it complete, sufficiently roomy for about fifty stocks of bees, with a pas- sage way between the ranges of hives, so that any of them can be seen and attended to at any time. AVhen setting in my bees for the winter, I take off the caps of the hives, and put a straw mat over each.

The advantages which a house of this kind possesses over any other are, 1st, an even tem- perature, or so much so that j'ou can regulate it at will. 2d, ease of access at all times; and never fearing any loss from fire, which might occur if they were kept in the cellar of your dwelling. 3d, it provides a convenient place in summer for extra hives, honey-boxes surplus honey, tools to be used about the apiary ; and in short, a repository for everything you want just where you want it. 4th, and what I con- sider of the utmost importance, my bees consume one-half less honey than when wintered on their summer stands.

210

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

I know that some claim that bees wintered on their summer stands, will breed earlier and more rapidly. But I have failed to discover it, or see it in that light ; and have no difQcully in making my bees breed as earlj^ as I want them to do. This much I do know, that, taking one year with another, more than one-halt' of all the stocks wintered on their summer stands, perish from cold and starvation, uidess in very large hives. I mean in this section of country. Perhaps some would set it higher than this. I have now kept bees in this house two winters, and have lost only one stock, and that diecl from the want of honey, through my neglect. In the others the bees and coml)s were in the very best condition.

For one, I think it pays to have a suitciblc place to keep bees iu the winter ; and I care not what the hive is, or whose patent, if it is a bee Mye fit to be used at all. We caunot keep temperature as we would like it in this cold disagreeable climate, without some other pro- tection, notwithstanding diiferent venders cry Eureka. B. J. Hoxie.

CooKSYiLLE, Wis.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

On Wintering Bees in the open Air.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

A Safe and Perfectly Keliable Method

of Introducing Italian Queens,

even by a Novice,

When the Italian queen arrives, put her into the wire cage sent with her, aud tie firmly over the end of it, a piece of old factory cotton. This should be done in a close room, so that if the queen happens to fly, she cannot escape. Now find and destroy your black queen; then cut out from a card of comb a piece the size of the queen cage, but one inch longer ; insert the cage so that the bees can get at the factory cot- ton. The cage should always be inserted near the centre of the combs, or where there is brood, so that the bees will be sure to cluster about it. Within forty-eight hours, they will generally liberate her, by eating through the cotton, and she will be all right, no further attention being- required. But should it so happen that at the end of forty-eight hours they have not eaten her out, a small opening may be made through the cotton with a pen-knife, that the bees may be able to enter the cage if they wish. It is "well to smear the cage and the cloth with a little honey, after it is put into the comb, to attract the bees to it. A few drops are sufficient.

This method may be practiced at any season of the year ; and the cage with the Italian queen may be inserted immediately on removing the black queen.

If the bees are in a box-hive, they must be driven out, the old queen captured, the caged queen inserted between the combs, and the bees returned. In searching for a black queen in a frame hive, it is better to smoke the bees only a little, because much smoking will frequently cause the queen to leave the combs and run on the sides of the hive, where it is more difficult to find her. J. H. Thomas.

Brooklin, Ontario.

In the January number of the Bee Journal under the above head, Mr. Langstroth says : — "Intelligent apiarians are aware that most bee- keepers in cold climates, who winter ttieir bees in open air, are not satisfied with their success m any style of hive yet devised."

It is evident from the above and a well-known fact that ordinary hives aie not constructed suf- ficiently warm to prevent loss of bees from chill, in detached clusters, among the outer ranges of comb, during sudden changes from warm to cold weather, as described by Mr. Langstroth, in the article referred to.

For many years, until recently, it was very generally supposed that all that was necessary lor the successful wintering of bees, on their summer stands, iu the open air, was to admit extensive upper ventilation — tlie object being to prevent the creation or retention of excessive moisture in hives in winter. But this was found to admit too freely the escape of the ani- mal heat of the swarm, and consequently was not well calculated to prevent loss of bees from chill or the impression of cold. And I never could believe that to remove the honey-board late in the fall, aud substitute "corn cobs," or even a nicely made straw mat, instead of a cov- ering perfectly air-tight, such as is natural for bees to prepare, would add anything to the prosperit}' of the swarm. For the reason, that the bees, at that season of the year, cannot " seal up " and give it a coating of propolis or bee-glue, which would prevent the free escape of animal heat. Besides, a straw mat, without such preparation, absorbs so readily the mois- ture arising from the exhalation of the swarm in cold weather, that it soon becomes quite wet, and consequently cold, and often moulds con- siderable. The absorbant quality of the straw, therefore, is of no use in the hive or mat.

Contrary to the prevailing opinion the coat- ing of propolis given by the bees to the inside of hives constructed of straw or other porous ma- terial (thus rendering them impervious to air and moisture), is indespensablc ; as they are then only in condition to retain the animal heat of the swarm. Thus conditioned, the warm air arising from the swarm, and coming into con- tact with its warm interior surface is not con- densed ; and thus the creation of moisture is prevented, and "prevention is better than cure."

Isaac Ide.

Medina, N. Y.

I have known hundreds of cases, where bees which were accustomed to the presence of an old fertile queen in their hive, treated one re- cently ferilized, introduced after the death or removal of the old one, not only with indiffer- ence and disregard, but with as much animosity as though she were a stranger or a virgin queen — either rejecting and destroying her, or be- coming reconciled and accepting her only after prolonged resistance. — Berlepsch.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

211

[For the American Bee Journal.]

More Light on tub! Subject.

Gcorgo M. Taher, of Iowa oily, under date of August 17, 18G;3, writes me, in substance, as follows: — C. T>. Beu't, whose present address is Grand View, same State, has l)een taught b>/ ex- perience, tliat where boos are storing lioncy raj)- idly, tiiey will fill two sets of boxes aljout as soon as they will one. And for this reason :

Bees will not neitl (he cell'i nntU the water in the Jioney evaporates. Wlien tliey have access to one set of boxes only, several days of storing surplus arc lost before a new set can be given them, as tiic honej' siiould not be removed till the cells are closed, cspcciallj'wheu designed for market. They -will, it is true, deposit the lioney in the main hive ; hut this, in many cases, is detrimental to tlie colony, occupj'ing cells that are needed for brood.

To return : — When the boxes are nearly full, they are raised np and another tier put under them. Slit.t are made in the tops and bottoms of the lower set. Hy this arrangement the lower tier is full by the time the upper boxes are ready to seal. A section is added to the cover, to raise it one tier of T)o\-cs higher. Mr. Beut uses eight boxes in each tier. His hives have two portico fronts, and the cover is made longer than those in common use in the Langstrolh hive.

To conclude: — From the above it will be seen that two sets of boxes for a hive were used in Iowa, at least two years before the "Mysteries" ■were rewritten. But that is no proof lliat the author did not use them till that j'car. Nor is the letter, given above, an}^ proof that this plan of getting lioney was unknown in the "West prior to 1863. — Who will give us more light ? ]\I. M. Baldeidge.

St. Chakles, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Scouts employed.

Do bees just before swarming, or while clus- tered preparatory to their final flight, send out scouts to select, and guide them to their future home ?

Of this, .1, S., under the caiition of " Curious Inatanren of Swarining,^'' in the March number of the Bee Journal, seems to express a doubt. Permit me to match his curiosities of hae behav- iour with an instance not less curious, which very clearly indicated that the above query should, in this case at least, receive an affirma- tive answer.

During the swarming season of 1866, having several Langstroth hives containing dry combs, I prepared them for the reception of issuing swarms, and jilaced them in my bee house to await calls for their use. One day while occupied about my apiary, I observed strange bees alight- ing on one of these hives, located about fourteen feet from the door, and passing in and out as if examining the iiremises and resolving some im- portant question relative thereto. This they continued to do until I closed the door at eve- ning. Suspecting their object, early next morning I threw the door open, and in a few

minutes had the pleasure of greeting the visitors of tiie jtrevious day. With great assiduity, they continued Iheir examination of the same hive, with an air tliat seemed to indicate that they felt themselves charged with a mission of great respi)nsil)ility, and even commenced house cleaning. Tliese jiroeeedlngs continued until about eight o'clock, when suddenly a respecta- ble swarm made its appear.anee at the door and passed directly to the hive thus indicated ; and in a short time was quietly domiciled in it.

Very evidently the bees whichfirstcame Avere pioneers, sent out in search of a hom« for the family aliout to emigrate ; and having found one which tliey deemed suitable, they commu- nicated the fact", and then guided tlie household to the chosen abode. D. Witter.

Buktox, Ouio.

[For the Aniorican Boo Journal.]

Scouts, or no Scouts ?

Some persons believe that every swarm of bees, at the time of issuing, have a home select- ed, and know just where they are going. Others believe that they have to Jiunt a home, in every case, after issuing. I think that in some ca.ses they have their homo not onlj'- pick- ed out, but cleaned out ready for use. In other cases, however, judging from the distance they go after issuing, it seems evident that they have to hunt their home as they travel.

I have two cases in point. When I was a boy wild bees were very i)lenty in the woods. My father one day, in the swarming season, took a walk in the woods, and when he returned told us little fellows that he had found a " bee tree," and that if we would hoe corn well till Saturday we might go with him to cut it. Tliis was on Thursday. Well, on Saturday evening away Ave went to cut the tree; but when Ave got there, father said he could not see them at work, as he did the other day. Yet, as the tree Avas small, Ave Avould cut it at anj^ rate ; Avhich AA'C accordingly did. But to our great disap- pointment not a bee AA'as in it, though there was a very nice iilace for them. While Ave were there, sitting on the trunk of the tree, and my father AA'ondeiing hoAV he could liave been so deceived, (for he said they Avere working "very strong,") Ave heard a loud humming in the air, like that of bees SAvarming. Soon a swarm of bees made their appearance, flew around aAvhile where the tree had been, and then clustered on a bough nearby. M}'' father always believed that what he saAV AA'ero bees cleaning out the cavity, preparatory to the re- ception of the swarm.

Again, I have the only Italian bees in this county. Two summers ago, I had a s'^varm of Italians leave me and go north-west into Avhat is called the Big Woods. The next summer there was a colony of Italian bees found eight miles distance from my house ; and from ap- pearance it had been there about that length of time. These surely did not have that home picked out, in advance, at that distance; though Avithout doubt they Avere my bees.

Winchester, Inu. B. Puckett.

212

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal . ]

Bee-Keeping, and Scouts.

Mr. Editor : — I wish to say tliat I am very much pleased with the Bee Journal. The March number is worth six months' subscription. I believe it is growing better and better. "While reading Novice's anticipations for the coming season, I see that others also have "great expectations " of a good bee time com- ing, just as I have.

The long winter is almost gone, and we shall soon set the bees out and let them fly. What a humming and buzzing there will be ! Beautiful sounds, how I do love to hear them ! I have been opening some of my hives, and found young brood in the largest stocks on the first of March. I am expecting some early swarms this spring. I intend letting some of my stocks swarm naturally, and some I shall divide before swarming time. I am going to get some Italian queens, introduce, them, and go through all those manoeuvers that I find explained in the Journal, for I wish to know how to perform all those necessary manipulations. I am not exactly a novice for I have learned two things in bee-keeping. One is, not to try to winter small or late swarms ; and another is, not to get out of honey by selling myself short. If it is possible I will have bees enough to supply the honey that is wanted.

Bee-keepers tell about curious instances of bees swarming and flying away to the woods ; and none of them agree in thinking that they have a hollow tree selected beforehand for a home. Now I think this is not always the case, though they may generally do so. The first swarms, with which the old queens leave, appear to know where they are going ; but late swarms do not always. Four years ago, this spring, a swarm of bees was seen going past where I live, about nine o'clock in the morning, flying very low and slowly as though they were tired. They went on somewhat less than half a mile, lit on a bush, and hung there while they hunted up a tree to go into. They started comb on the bush, then left and went into a tree about forty rods from the bush, where they were found and taken up in the fall.

Another instance is where, in company with others, we found a swarm of bees, in Septem- ber, settled on the limb of a green spruce tree, right in the open air. They had built three sheets of comb about the size of a man's hat.

I could give other instances ; but enough for the present.

Willi A3I C. Merrill.

COLEBROOK, N. II.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Solution of the Query.

E^°Tlie consumption of pollen, by the bees, when building comb, promotes the production of wax and effects a saving of honey.

Mr. Davis, of Toungsville, Pa., in the Feb- ruary number of the Bee Journal, has related an occurrence of a colony of bees accumulating a large amount of honey and pollen, and not raising a Avorker or drone : and inquired in what condition the queen was all the time.

We do not know that we can give an answer that will be satisfactory to all ; but will relate an occurence that came under our observation last season.

We had removed a queen from a colony, and given it a young one (vith every appearance of being fertile. We had occasion to look into the hive about ten days afterwards, and to our astonishment found no brood, though the combs were filled with eggs. Wo noticetl that some of the eggs did not look right — some being very small. The queen appeared to be all right. We closed the hive, let it remain about a week, and then examined it again. It had the same appearance as it had at the first examination. Some of the eggs seemed freshly laid, and some had become contracted in size. We thought best to destroy the queen and introduce another.

Mr. Davis' colony may have been in posses- sion of a queen of this stamp. There was, as he says, not a worker or drone reared in the hive, for in the above case not one of the eggs ever hatched. The queen in Mr. Davis' colony may have died, or the bees may have destroyed her sometime before he became aware of their condition.

If others can give a better answer to his in- quiry, we should be glad to have it.

C. B. BiGLOW.

Perkinsville, Vt.

[For the Amoricaa Bee Journal.]

What a Wasp's Nest is good for.

(H^PoUen is rarely found deposited in drone cells. The bees probably find a diflBculty in storing it in such wide cells.

Bring wax to a boil, put in a layer of wasp's comb, saturate it with wax, and drain it. It makes the best bee feeder — better than boxes or honey-comb.

I shall try it in honey harvest as a substitute for artificial combs, for bees to store honey in. Would it not make a capital comb to put into the comb emptying machine, being so firm and hard ? Or, as it will stand heat enough to boil wax, put the frames in a very hot room, and let the honey run out.

You say in your February number that you had given up most of the paper to correspond- ents. I think there are a great many useful hints among the difierent articles, and shall be glad always to see such.

I am sorry I cannot, by doubling my subscrip- tion, receive the Journal semi-monthly, in-, stead of monthly ; and hope soon to see it so patronized as to justify its more frequent issue.

J. M. P. Buffalo Grove, Iowa.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOUENAL.

213

[For tho American Beo Journal.]

Remarks and Suggestions.

As there arc mauy correspondents, cntcrtain- inpc various views anil proposing dilTerent schemes of management, some practical and sonic experimental, I suppose one must let his ignorance be known in order to Icaru some- thing.

I iiave kept bees for the last fifty-five years, in fact from bojdiood till now. I early obser- ved th-U there was a difference in black bees. One kind was more vicious, being smaller than tiie otiier. The other is larger with rings on their bodies, and more docile. I removed to Ohio in 1833. Here I found the same races. The small kind was more apt to desert when swarming, ana go to the woods. When kept for a length of time, the first swarms took to the Avoods ; tlie others staid better.

I live within thirty rods of timber on both sides. T always sell bees when any want to buy. I have always let them swarm, until I ob- tained the Langstroth hive. I used to be op- posed to all patent hives, as I had one that I could get thirt3'-five to forty pounds of honey from, when honey was to be had.

Now, for the theory of old hives. I always turned up my old-fashioned hives in the apiary, and cut all the drone combs away ; and the bees a'most invariably built worker combs in their stead. Thus I got what honey the drones would have required for their rearing, and saved what thej^ would eat Avhile living, which in some hives is almost all the workers can gather in breeding time — leaving none for the owners. I did not put boxes in, but let the bees go up in the chambers. Instead of lying out, they would fill the chambers while preparing to swarm, and were thus kept busy ; and I ob- tained some good honey before the swarm is- sued. Sometimes I used smoke to drive up the bees the second day after swarming, and in- serted a royal cell for another hive. By driving the bees up and fastening the cell witli a brass pin to a comb, they would swarm on the second day after the young queen was hatched, if the hive was crowded. Sometimes the old queen would get at the cell, and kill the j'oung queen therein. If the old one is about ready to go, she will leave before the young queen hatches. When the young one emerges from the cell, she will destroy those the workers were rearing. In that case there will be no second swarm.

There is very little, if any, useful practice with old fashioned hives, but to drive out the bees into an empty hive and set it on the same stand ; then take the hive of brood and remove some strong hive when the workers arc chiefly out, and they will rear queens and swarm sooner than if left as they were. But this had better be done by practised hands. I have cut out queen cells and fastened them in hives, the bees of which were lying out heavily, the queen cells being just ready to hatch. When hatched, the bees on the outside went off" in a swarm with the young queen.

As to patent hives, there are but few that are of any consequence to the public, only to spend money on and waste time. The moveable

frame combs of Mr. Langstroth is the best for practical use. All being made alike, when an}--- thing occurs in tlie colony it can be remedied. If a queen dies or is lost at any time while drones are about, tiio loss can bo supplied by inserting a frame with brood. But if the queen die or is destroyed late in the fall, the hive had bettar be supplied with one from a colony that has not honey enough to winter, or by uniting the two — thus saving both. All the comb3 should l)e carefully preserved for the next sum- mer. They are worth half a swarm, to make artificial swarms with next season. I use Lang- stroth's hives with twelve frames. I think where a man has too many kinds of hives in his apiary, he is not using economy, as he will often have to adjust parts or change some.

My Langstroth hives hare yielded me more honey than anj^ others. I have about one hun- dred colonies on liand now ; and have received over two hundred and twenty-five dolhirs for hon- ey sold, besides using quite an amount for home purposes. My stocks are mostly Italianized. The Rev. D. Witter obtained tAvo queens of Mr. Langstroth' s last importation, from whicii I have Italianized my apiary. Some have beauti- ful yellow bands, and some are hybrids, though finely banded. I have before referred to a kind of bees of larger size than the little black bees. Some of our bee-men pronounced them Italian hybrids. But there were then no Italians near- er than Mr. Sturtcvant's, in East Cleveland, thirty miles olT. I think the disposition of bees is often in accordance withthat of their keepers. The little black bee has a ])eculiar trait to sting; while my others, and my Italians and hybrids, are alwaj's peaceable.

I prefer to take frames of brood from one hive and the bees from another, wlien making my artificial .swarms, which does not unduly reduce either stock. Handle bees as little as possible, and with gentleness at all times. If they are respected and not disturbed, mine do not disturb anybody. But my Italians visit some of my neighborj, who arc careless with their hives and honey ; and these then think the Italians are not strictly honest. I think the Italian bees will run out the old kinds in time.

I wish to ask one question. On making an artificial swarm and failing to obtain a royal cell the first time, another frame of brood was put in, and the bees built a royal cell on the op- posite side of the comb next to the brood. Why was it not reared on the brood comb that was put in last, as the royal cell Avas reared at the last operation ?

I think the Bee Journal is just the thing tor every one that keeps bees, whether he has few hives or many. J. T. Merriman.

Burton, Ohio.

Bees are variously affected by different colors. White blinds tliGin, and black is disagreeable to them. Hence Lhc front of a hive should not be painted white ; and the bee-keeper should not wear a black dress. Hives when ranged iu a row on their stands, iu close proximity to each other, should have at least their fronts painted of different colors.

214

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Italian Bees and Breeding. No. 2.

It is generally known by most bee-keepers having many years' experience, that swanns taken froai the woods and located in an apiary with other bees, show superior qualities, and generally run the others out in a few years l)y being superior workers, breeding faster, swarm- ing earlier and more frequently ; and are better at robbing their weaker neighbors, by keeping tliemselves strong. The probable reason of their superiority "is, they are accidentally well bred, and being the best, are the ones to fly away from persons tliat don't know how or ne- glect to keep tbem. Being located at a distance from their near relatives, they are generally sur- rounded, in their new homes, by large numbers of drones not near related, that overbalance their own, thus making a good cross, and im- proving them still more. We may make a sure thing, improving the good qualities of bees, by breeding artificially. Having a queen that pro- duces superior stock, it is best to get another queen irom a distance, so as not to be near re- lated, as breeding in and in, will spoil the stock sooner or. later, if persisted in. One queen should furnish eggs for queens, another eggs for drones ; and if other hives are near remove all drone cells, or kill the drones in the comb by cutting off their heads before hatching, or trapping and killing after tliey are hatched. If a large quantity of drones are wairted, place the drone comb in'the hive with the drone mother, and after it is filled with eggs it can be returned, for other hives to rear the young drones. Al- low all other hives but the two parents to pro- duce neither queens or drones of their own ; but they can supply workers to make the swarms for the young queens from the one par- ent, fertilized by the drones of the other. That is one wa}^ to improve the stock. Choosing with care the dark Italians that some seem to prefer, and Avorking perseveringly for a few generations, they will rival the native blacks, and still be more pure than when imported. By choosing the best qualities of different par- ents we canimprove in the different directions, be it in disposition, Avorking, or color. If the light yellow is preferred to the dark, they can be bred to be a clear yelloAV, if not so already ; so as to ri\'althe goldsmith's (referred to in Bee Journal), and still be more pure the longer they are bred, if not crossed Avith the blacks or other breeds. The Devon cattle, the most con- stant in color of any breed knoAvn by me, can be bred a light Richmond cherry red, or the color of the darker morello chcrrj', by selecting the parents showing those colors and for the at- tainment of that particular shade of color.

James M. Marvin.

St. Charles, III.

We ought never to know any more about nature than we can observe. We knoio what we have observed, and not a jot more ; and if , we think that we do, we are ia error. — Mudie.

[For the American Cee Journal.]

The Color and Fertility of Queens.

Last summer, Avhile raising queens, I started a lot of culls in a queenless colony. These were removed as soon as sealed over ; and as quite a quantity of the larvae remained unsealed, the bees were allowed to start more queens from the same sheet of brood. The larvte from Avhich this second set of queens was reared, Avas of course several days old, and nearly ready to be sealed over.

The second set of queens, when first hatched, were much darker than those designed for queens from the egg. They Avere but little bet- ter colored than Avorkers. These dark queens improved much in color, after becoming fer- tile.

I suppose the reason why thej'- were darker, was because they were designed for workers, and were fed accordingly until their color in part Avas fixed.

It seems to me that such queens must partake somewhat of the nature of AA'orkers, and Avill not be so long lived and prolific as those design- ed for queens from the beginning.

The foregoing experiment I tried two or three times fast summer, and shall continue it another season Avith an imported queen.

If others haA^e experimented on the same point, and came to any definite conclusions, please give us the results.

J. L. Hubbard.

Walpole, N. H.

m^'So long as worker larva3 lie coiled on the bottom of the cell, they are fed exclusively on chyme or digested food ; but when stretched at length in the cells, with head slightly elcA^ated, thcj^are fed Avith a mixture of pollen and honey, till ready to be capped — though it is likely an entire change of diet is not made suddenly.

Queen larvre, on the contrary, as usually found in what are called pre-constructed cells, are fed exclusively from first to last — from the egg to the capping — Avith chyme or digested food.

The coloring matter of pollen shows itself plainly in the Avorker larvoe, soon after the change of diet takes place. But Prof. Leuckart could not, by means of the microscope, detect any coloring matter in the chyle-stomach of a queen larvae taken from a i^re-constructed cell. Whether a worker larva fed with honey and pollen for scA'^eral days, then selected for the production of a queen, and re-fed with chyme or digested food during the remainder of its larval life, Avould exhibit the result of such feed- ing, we are unable to say. Prof. Leuckart's at- tention does not appear to have been directed to that point.

In as far as knoAving it is concerned, any one of the kingdoms of nature is every man's king- dom, if he AviU but come and conquer it. The conquest is a conquest without labor, too, for we have only to Avait with patience, and notice Avith attention, and nature does all the rest.—

MCDIE.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, MAY, 1SG8.

UTS'" The Ameuican Bp:e .Touiinai, is now published monthlj', in llio City of Wiislungton, (D. C.) at $2 per aimuin. All coniiminicalions should bu addressed lo Ihe Editor, at lluit place.

"We have received from IMr. Edward Harrison, now residing in Frederick, Maryland, one of his newly patented Bee-Feeders, referred to in the April number of this Jouunal. It is a sim- ple and ingenious contrivance, by means of which colonies deficient in honey can be readily supplied at any time, without danger of attract- ing robbers.

Alsike Clover.

A report on Alsike clover, made lo the Board of Agriculture of the State of Maine, gives the experience of Calvin Chamberlain, in its culti- vation for several years. He says: — "It is hardy and more permanent than red clover ; it branches much more, throwing out many stalks from one root, thus alTordiug a good crop with thin seeding ; it bears cropping well, thus prov- ing its adaptibility to pasturage ; and it contin- ues in a condition to be cut longer than any forage plant that I know. I believe it to be the best hone3'--plant in the world. A field of Alsike clover is the best patronized bee-pasture I have ever seen, exceeding that of an orchard in full bloom. I am sure that iu a neighborhood of Alsike clover fields, bee-keepers would not be searching for other plants for their use."

Alsike clover may be advantageously sown with spring barley or oats. — Seed is advertised on second page of cover.

The usual annual meetings of bee-keepers in Germany were deferred in 18GG and 1867, on account of the then disturbed state of the coun- try. It is now, however, announced that tlie General Convention will assemble in the city of Darmstadt, in September next, though the days of meeting are not yet determined. These conventions are usually attended by the most eminent and experienced apiarians, and the de- bates are alwaj's interesting and instructive. The Paris Exposition was a failure, so far as bee-culture i^ concerned — the business being as yet one of subordinate interest ia Franca. The

case is otherwise in Germany, and visitors who may be attracted to the Darmstadt convention and exhibition will hardly come away disap- pointed.

There are two communications in this num- ber of the Bee .Tournai. which we would spe- cially commend to perusal and inward digestion of the anti-bee portion of the good people of Wenham, to whom we shall feel bound to pay some attention on all suitable occasions. As they are somewhat behind time, we must help them to catch up again.

One of those communications shows to how great a distance swarms will sometimes wend their way, when in quest of a new home ; and from it we may fairly infer that bees do not restrict themselves to narrow limits, when im- pelled by instinct to explore the outside world in search of nectar. The other furnishes an instance where a single apricot tree in blossom was visited by bees from five different sources, and from distances varying from half a mile to at least a mile and a half. Now we presume that all the bees in that neighborhood arc not "located fiying about" in the town of Wen- ham, like a certain " crowing robin " we once heard of; and how hopeless au undertaking must it therefore be for the citizens to keep themselves free from such anno3'ance3 by reso- lutions of a town meeting ! Depend on it, so long as they are slovenly or slatternly in the management of their kitchens, their pantries, their grocery shops, and the like, bees will find their way among them ; and maj' then prove to be troublesome tp cooks and compounders of comfits.

Mr. Kiihler's process for controlling the fertil- ization of queen bees is not likely to become available to American bee-keepers this season. The process is to be kept secret in Europe for the present, and till a satisfactory sum is secur- ed to the discoverer ; and the price asked for communicating it for the benefit of American beekeepers, is two thousand dollars in gold, payable in Europe. A fund is now being crea- ted in Germany, for 3Ir. Kohler's benefit, by voluntary subscriptions among bee-keepers. We have seen a list of contributors in February, embracing the names of forty-eight individuals and firms, amounting iu the aggregate to about one hundred dollars. Nearly one-half of the contributors subscribe sums varying from fifty- five to sevcntj'-five cents each ; and the highest sum, in any case, is under twenty-five dollars. It doo9 jiot Boeni from tliis as if th* fund would

210

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

be large, or very soon made up if meant to be so. We learn that several American inventors have their attention directecl to this matter ; and it may be that home-bred ingenuity will prove itself able to devise some conveliient pro- cess equally efficient.

Extract from a letter, dated,

LiGHTSTKEET, Cohimlia Co., Pa., April 15, 1868.

"If Mrs. Allen Tupper, Mr. Adam Grimm, Mr. H. A. King, or any other person largely en- gaged in the bee business, should come east the coming season, w^e would be pleased to have them call on us, or stop with us a day or two. By notifying us in time, we would bring them from the depot, and return them when desired, free of charge. H. W. Creasy & Co.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Objections Answered.

A correspondent in the April number of the JouKNAL thinks that the lioney-comb-emptier is objectionable, because people in his vicinity will not buy honey in a liquid state, except at a low price. Perhaps they never had it thus offered free from the coloring given in extract- ing it from old dark comb (and mixed with bee-bread) either by heat or pressure. We find no difficulty in disposing of all we have in a liquid form, either at home or abroad.

But even if it would not bring so high a price with him, let us ask if he can get as high a price, or any good price, for his honey in such comb ; and also whether he cannot see saving enough in using this emptied comb, to be refilled in up- per storage receptacles, to pay any difference in the selling price of the honey. Okl comb is the best for this purpose.

The tendency of honey to candy is also urged as an objection. Tliis has some iorce. We find that honey taken out of the comb last June and kept air-tight, is still as limpid as at first ; but that honey taken out in December candied. Therefore we propose to empty the combs as fast as filled, and by putting the honey in air- tight vessels, do not apprehend any trouble. If it does candy, opening the jars and setting them in water which can be gradually heated, brings it back to the liquid state ; and none thus treated has re-candied.

We shall be able io secure, by the use of the machine, our share of honey from the fruit blos- soms, which every bee keeper knows to be of a peculiarly delicate flavor ; but which, without the machine, cannot be safely and i^rofitably taken from tlie hive.

James T. Langstroth. Oxford, Ohio.

Hasty observers frequently fall into error, by attempting to found a fact upon an inference, 'instead of drawing an inference from a fact.

[For the American Bee Joarnal.]

Foulbrood in Iowa.

Mr. Editor : — I see that Mrs. Tupper calls for an explanation of the fears expressed by Mr. Baldridge that there is foulbrood in some of the apiaries of Iowa. I may state that it is a fact that there is foulbrood in that State, at least in Clinton county ; and it is spreading very rapid- ly. So I am told by residents in the neighbor- hood where it exists. It is spreading by the bees of strong colonies robbing weak stocks re- duced by the disease.

If Mrs. Tupper had been at the Iowa State Fair she could have seen foulbrood, without going more than twenty rods from the en- closure of the fair grounds, as there is there an apiary badly affected with it.

I will endeavor to explain how it is supposed the disease was first introduced. Some boys found a bee tree and cut it, securing the bees, and putting them in a box hive. They then placed a thick cloth over the bottom and car- ried them home. On reaching home, however, most of the bees were dead. These were thrown out on the ground and soon began to decompose. Neighboring bees then gathered the honey that was in the honey-sacs of the dead and decomposing bees. Foulbrood was not discovered for some time after that, nor was its character known when observed, though sus- pected by some ; but some of the comb with dead brood Avas sent to Mr. Quinbj^, who pro- nounced it foulbrood.

As to the fears that it was introduced with Italian bees, they are entirely groundless. It was discovered before any Italian bees were brought to tliat part of the country.

If Mrs. Tupper or any one else wishes for more information about the matter, I would refer them to Mr. David Hess, Lyons, Iowa, as he was the first to discover the disease, and lost some fifty swarms by it. He can probably state the number of apiaries affected by it, and how long ago it was discovered. I know only a few apiaries in which it exists.

Should any still doubt that there is foulbrood in Iowa, they can see for themselves if they at- tend the next Iowa State fair.

R. R. Murphy.

Fulton, Whiteside Co., III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Hov/ to Feed Bees in Langstrotli Hives.

In answer to Mr. Hunter's inquiry, I would say that I found, this winter, the following to be the best in practice : — Take a frame of empty comb, lay it on a ])an and pour j^our liquid feed into the empty cells until full ; now turn and fill the cells on the other side ; then stand it upriglit over the pan, to drain. When drained enough, insert it in the hive.

John M. Pierce.

Buffalo Grove, Iowa,

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

217

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Kequisites of a Good nivo.

Will any one improve .1 frair.e hive to such a desirce as\o have all the following advantages?

Mrst. — That Ave can approach close to where the main body of the bees are breeding, with the surplns honey receptacle, as in Langstroth's shallow Ibrni of hive ; and in which, at the same time, the bees miiy store honey enough in the main body of the hive, dircctl}' above them, to winter on. We are perhaps all aware that bees can get at their winter stores better, in cold weather, when placed directly above them, as in the case of their natural habitation, the hollow tree.

Secondly. — A hive of adequate size, but not containing more than eight (8) comb frames ; as even a strong colony will not, in winter, occupy more than seven or eight combs at any one time.

ThinlJy. — With all the above, the hive should be simple in construction, and not cost com- plete more than two dollars.

Should no one else propose a hive "with all the above advantages, I will give a description in mj' next communication, of one that com- bines them. S. B. Replogel.

MAKTrNSBUKG, Pa.

[For the American Bee Jonmal.]

Mustard for Bee Pasturage.

Last season I sowed an acre of mustard. It came in bloom about six days before the white clover. I think by early sowing, on rich, dry land, it would blossom ten daj-s before white clover. Bees workeil well on it in the forepart of the day. I think the honey evaporated from it rapidly in clear warm weather. As I knew of no market for the seed, I plowed it under, and sowed buckwheat upon the ground. It was what is called white mustard.

I had growing on my farm a bunch of what is commonly called motherwort. It produced an abundance of flowers, and I noticed when the weather allowed bees to be out, that it was al- ways covered with them. Will it furnish good honey ? It is a very bitter herb, but I do not know its botanical name.

I wish to get a pure quality of Alsikc clover seed. Any quantity up to sufficient to seed two acrep. Can you inform me where it can be had?* A. Stiles.

Genoa, III.

* Advertised by J. P. Bartholow In the Bee Jorn- KAL for this month.

The Baron of Berlepsch says that the most remarkable instance of extraordinarj' fertility in a queen bee within his experience, was that of one in his apiary, which belonged to a very small swarm found on a willow tree in the summer of 1853. She survived her fifth sum- mer in 1857, and at a moderate estimate must have laid at least one million three hundred thousand eggs in the course of her life.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Answer to Questions by Querist.

In the Bee Joukxal, current volume, page 128, Querist desires to know "the best size and the best form for hives."

First^i as regards size, my opinion is that a hive should contain not less tlian two tiiousand cubic inches inside of the frames, no matter what the climate may be, Avarm or cold.

My reasons are, that such a hive contains no more breeding space than will frc([uently be used by very prolifie queens, especially Italian and hybrid queens. My hive contains about tAventy-one hundred cubic inches, and my Ital- ian and hyl)rid queens frequently fill CA'ery card of comb Avith l)rood, except a small jiortion allotted to honey. Therefore, I consider that a hive containing less than two thousand cubic inches Avould frequently limit the brooding ca- pacity of the queen.

Again, it Avill be understood that in a small hive — one much less than the above-mentioned size — a queen during the breeding season fills all the combs Avith brood, so that little honey can be stored. Such stocks are almost sure to be short of honey for winter w'ants, if the fall honey harvest fails ; as they cannot lay in a winter stock for Avant of room, until the breeding season begins to decline. But in a hive containing two thousand cubic inches, there will at all times be enough for Avinter wants, except where queens arc more than usually prolific. Ilence, slocks in such IiIa'cs are not so likely to be af- fected by a failure of the fall honey harvest. I agree, also that a frame hive had better be a lit- tle longer than is actually needed for breeding, aud the storing of honey for Avinter use. For if a hive is found to contain too much honey in the fall, it is easily removed. Or if, when spring comes, some stocks have more honey than is requisite, others are sure to require sup- plies. Then by exchanging cards of comb, these stocks that are short of honey can be at once supplied. Such are my reasons for advocating a liive contnining two thousand cubic inches, as the proper dze. Are they satisfactory ? The best form of hive some other time.

J. H. Thomas.

BaOOKLIX, OXTAKIO.

The number of days in a season in which bees gather more than is consumed in breeding, or I)y young bees Avhieh gather nothing for about the fir.-t ten days of their existence, is more lim- ited than most persons sujjpose. Some seasons it is less than a fortnight. Feeding swarms Aveak in stores to enable them to pass the win- ter in safety, should be done as rapidly as possi- ble after the (jucen has ceased laying in Octo- ber; otherAA'ise they Avill consume much in rear- ing young, Avhen their jiopulation may be al- ready sullieiently strong. By feeding regularly and sparingly, I have kept young queens laying, more or less freely, until the middle of Novem- ber.— E. Parmhj., New York.

THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL.

The Southern Buralist, published at Tangipa- hoa, Louisiana, aud we believe the only agri- cultural paper published in the south-western section of the country, commences a new vol- ume, much improved and enlarged. It is well edited, and deserves to be liberally supported in its efforts to make the southern people "self- reliant, self-respecting, aud self-supporting," by " an energetic, judicious, and prompt devel- opment of their agricultural, manufacturing, and mineral resources."

Mr. Adam Grimm, of Jefferson, Wisconsin, sent us by express, an Italian queen bee and a few workers, in a box two and a half inches long, two inches broa^, and one and a half inches high, made of one-quarter-inch pine, with four ventilating slits. The queen arrived safe, and as it is stated that, though she lays freely, her eggs do not hatch, we shall endeavor to ascertain the cause of that peculiarity, if Ave succeed in preserving her.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Upward Ventilation.

In the March number of the Bke Jourkal, yjuge 1G9, vol. 3, in the article "Water for Bees," Mr. F. H. Miner condemns upward ven- tilation. If he is right, will he explain the fol- lowing : —

Last fall I left a swarm out of doors to test that very point. From Christmas to the 30th of January, we had bitter and steady cold weather. On the 20th I examined the swarm. They were all right and lively. I then shut them up, and closed the nine holes in the hon- ej'-board, thus stopping all upward ventilation. Four days after 1 examined them again, and found my bees dead, with frost all over the hive, comb, and bees. All the rest of my bees, having upward ventilation in just as cold a place, but not exposed to the winds, came out safe, with very few dead in the hives this spring. As my neighbors have lost half of the bees they had last fall, from the same cause (or attributed to it), will Mr. Miner inform us what killed our bees ? John M. Pkice.

Buffalo Gkove,Iowa.

In the orchard-house of Stephen Morris, Esq., near Philadelphia, where peaches are grown by the bushel in fifteen inch pots and eighteen inch tubs, the gardener attributes much of his success to the agency of bees in fertilizing tiie blossoms. He places a hive in the house as soon as the tlowers begin to open, and the bees are kept there till the flower leaves of the blos- soms drop.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Somo of our Personal Observations.

First. — Concernino more than one queen in a hive. We notice that our fiiend J. H. Thomas, of Brooklin, Ontario, seems to think that two queens will not be permitted to live in one hive, sirictly speaking ; but that the space, whether in a hollow log or box, must be so constructed by nature or art, as to be virtually two hives, for the continued existence of two queens in close proximity.

As I have some experience in opi^osition to this, I will relate it. About the year 18o3, I purchased of a neighbor a colony of bees in a very large box hive, say about eighteen inches square and twenty -two inches long. This col- ony he said was fifteen years old, and had never failed to swarm annually two and and some- times three times, during that term. I kept it two years, but got no swarm, but such a mass of bees layout upon it all summer the last year, that I made up an artificial swarm by removing the bees on its outside. At the close of honey harvest in 1855, I took up the bees, which were now few in number, and found in the hive three living queens, that ajjpeared to be super- annuated or slightly crippled, and one lively smart queen (to appearance). How long these queens had been there, I am not able to state ; but that I found them there, is a fact witnessed by several persons.

Second. — Concerning Honey Boxes. I make mine to hold from eighteen to twenty pounds each, and without any bottom — taking off the the honey-board when I put the boxes on. Each box contains nine small frames, four of which just fill one of the large frames in the hive. I put a small piece of worker comb on the underside of the top bar of each frame, be- fore putting them into the boxes. In this way I have had a swarm make forty pounds of box honey in about eight days.

The supers thus get the advantage, first, of all the warmth of the hive, so that the bees will work in boxes both earlier and later in the sea- son, and are not checked by sudden changes of weather. They also, second, have a perfectly free pass from the hive to the supers ; as it is virtually a simple ui^ward extension of the hive.

Third, the honey being built in little frames, four of which jnst fill one frame of the hive, gives a chance to feed with box honey any swarms that may need food. These little frames are also just right to put into little nuclei hives to raise queens with, aud thus save the cutting up of larger combs ; for by simply filling two or three big or hive frames, with the little frames and inserting them in the bodj'^ of the hive, we can soon have them filled with brood. Thej'' can then be removed to the nuclei hives, putting- one frame of brood to each nucleus, witli one of honey and one empty or containing empty comb, and we have a nucleus sufficient for a pint or a quart of bees. Aud, fourth, by filling the two outside on each side of the hive with the little frames, and letting the bees fill them with hon- ey and cap them, we can then remove them to th« boxes for market ; an«I thuu very much in-

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

219

crease the amount of surplus honey, as it is well known that bees will store honey much faster in the body of the hive than thoy will ia boxes. Giles 13. Aveuy. Albany Co., N. Y.

[For tlii^ Anioricau Cne Journal.]

Artificial Comb Guides and Frames.

Editor Bee Jouiinal :— As your valuable paper is composed in part at least of contribu- tions from bce-kecpLTs, I have concluded to send j'ou an item that I think Avill be of consi- derable value to my apiarian friends who use the movable comb hive, especially to the far- mer who wishes to make liis own hives. As the triangular comb guide is somewhat difiicult to make, I have hit on a plan far more simple, and, as I claim, much better. It is simply a square strip tacked on the under side of the top bar of the frames — say a strip { by | of an inch, tacked on so that the width extends downward. In experimenting with moveable frames, and using the triangular comb guide as deseril)ed by Langstroth and otlicrs, I found that fre- quently the bees w'ould leave the sharp edge or square corner of the frame, and then cross to the opposite side of the frame, Avhich of course makes the comb much Avaving or crooked. But since substituting the strip I nave not been troubled in this way ; for if in building the bees do pass from one side of the strip to the other, it is only a quarter of an inch instead of seven- eighths of an inch deviaficn.

I will now describe my manner of making and the material used. I simply use common plastering laths, which arc commonly about an inch and a half wide. I rip them in two, ma- king one strip wide enough for the top of the frame, which I make seven-eighths inch wide. The narrow strip that falls off makes the guides and also strips for the bottom of the frame. I take ofFtlie rough of the lath for the top of the frame ; the rest need no dressing except to size the strips for the guides or bottom. The lath, when ripped in this way, also makes the ends of the frame. I also prefer for my use a cen- ter piece nailed in tlie frame, the same as the ends. This makes the frame more solid, and secures the comb from being broken while the frames are handled.

Feeling confident that this only needs a trial to be appreciated, I drop it for the readers of the JouuNAL. I will further say that if, in connection with the frames you will use parti- tion boards, to contract or enlarge the size of your hive, to suit the strength of your colony, it will be an additional help in securing straight comb, a good stock, and surplus honey.

Samuel May.

Eddyville, Ohio.

The fanning o^hccs at the entrance of the hive is chielly designed fur ventilation. At times however, and in other circumstances, it is employed to express either grief or joy — grief at the loss of their queen, or joy on returning home after long continued and constrained ab- sence.

[For the American Beo Journal.)

Are Valuable Patents Selfish Monopo- lies ?

Mu. Editor : — May T be permitted througli the columns of 3^our Journal, to say a few friendly words to those opposed to all Patents, as selfish monopolies ?

Such opposition was once so common that honest patentees often found it impossilde to protect their rights. The late Professor Olm- sted, of Yale College, informed mc that Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton-gin, found it almost impossible, in a trial before the United States court in one of the Southern States, to find witnesses willing to swear that liis gins were in public use, while at the very time of the trial, the sound of gins illegally used, was plain- ly heard through tlie open doors and windows of the Court House ! If after years of fruitless litigation he had not practically abandoned his invention to those who were determined to de- prive him of any remuneration for its use, and applied his inventive talent to the manufacture of guns for the Government, he might have died an impoverished man.

Even tweut}"- j'cars ago, to be known as the owner of a patent right, was, by very many, regarded as detracting from a man's good stand- ing in the community. vVmoug intelligent men, this prejudice has nearly if not quite, passed away, and they will cheerfully admit that to no class of persons, is the productive industry of the country more indebted than to honest and capable patentees. It is no exaggeration to say that where one dollar has been paid for the right to use their valuable improvements, at least ten have been realized to the country at large. Few men coidd afford to devote the time and money needed to make valuable in- ventions, if they were to become public property as soon as divulged.

Our Government began very early to foster the inventive talent of its citizens, and nearly every civilized nation has, by its patent laws, recognized the importance of doing^ the same thing.

It is well known that many bee-kee[)ers are illegally using the patented features of the Laugstrotli hive. Possibly some of your read- ers are doing this, and perhaps with less scruple because they suppose that I have grown riih by this invention. Such persons will probatjly be surprised to learn that for the last fourteen j'ears, I have lost at least half of my time, from an attection of the head which unfits me entire- ly for cither mental or bodily labor, and that OAving to the numerous infringments ^upon my rights, after years devoted to studying the habits of bees and improving hives for their management, I am actually poorer than when I begun the work. L. L. Langstroth.

Oxford, Butler Co., Ornc,

March 30th, 1868.

When bees are in want of honey, or when they have lost their queen, or when besieged on all sides by the moth worms, they will occasion- ally desert their hives.

220

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[For the Amerioan Bee Journal.]

Shallow Hives.

After rising the "broad shallow things" for hives (as Mr. Gallup calls them) for ten years, I must say that I cannot eutlorso all which Mr. Gallup says of them. We here in Essex county (Mass.), have but little trouble in making our bees build straight combs, and I never have seen but one, in these hives, destroyed by the moths, and this Avas done while the owner was confined to the house sick. There are hundreds of these "shallow things" used by the bee-keep- ers of New England; and most of those using them have had good success with them. I never yet found a bee-keeper usiug them who did not speak well of them. Of course, Mr. Gal- lup has a right to say what he choses; but we here in this part of the world, do not believe he has fairly tested the shallow hive. I want nothing better for my bees, and do not believe a better hive can be found. Mr. Gould, of Wen- ham, has used these hives for ten years, and he finds no trouble in making Ms bees build straight comb; neither does he have any trouble in win- tering bees iu them.

Wiiy don't Mr. Gallup tell new beginners Avhat the BEST hive is ?

I have sold farmers the shallow hive, and their bees have always done well in them, not- withstanding they do not go near their bees more than once or twice in a year. Some far- mers whom I have sold hives to, have had bees in them for seven years, without losing a single stock; and I knoio that they did not trouble them more than twice in the course of the season, and then only to remove the surplus honey.

Their bees seemed to do well with no care at all, and pay them a handsome profit. Mr. Gould has about fifty stocks in the s!iallow hives, which seem to be wintering well. Most of them are iu double hives, which I described in the September number of the Journal; and each hive had the winter passages made through the combs, and has a box of dry corncobs over the frames.

I have examined my hives once a week during the winter, and found the bees clustered snug to the cobs every time. I find that the cobs make an excellent winter passage for the bees, to pass to any part of the hive. I some- times found the bees clustered near the entrance; and then again I would find the same stock near the real-. Will others who have used the "shallow things," give the readers of the Jour- nal their experience with them?

Wenham, Mass. II. Alley.

[For the Americau Bee Journal.]

Fertile Workers.

' Mr. Editor: — In October last I deprived three colonies of bees of their queens, for the purpose of introducing Italians. Five days later I removed all the queen cells that had been started, and not having received the Ital- ian queens as soon as I expected, left the colon- ies about three weeks longer. At the expira-

tion of that time I discovered that two of the colonies had fertile or drone producing wor- kers.

Will not bees ordinarily, if deprived of the the means of procuring a fully developed queen, do all they can in that direction, and by feeding "royal jelly" to partly developed workers, so change their character as to make them lay drone eggs ? This seems natural, and my ob- servation in the instance narrated above, ap- pears to afford strong corroborative evidence. If it is really true, then, iu our efforts to Italian- ize a colony, unless a cjueen can be supplied, immediately, the young queen cells should not be removed until about the tenth day after the removal of the reigning queen.

Will you or some of you contributors ventilate this matter a little ? Polo.

lll;^Fertile workers evidently originate in various ways, and various hj-potheses have been projwsed to account for their appearance. The explanation above accords substantially with the views of Huber, Dzierzon, and Von Siebold. Von Berlepsch, however, thinks they are sometimes produced in colonies in which no queens were reared or attemi)ted to be rear- ed, for several years ; and in which conse- quently no worker bred contemporaneously with a queen could have been found. He cites a case which came under his own observation, and which he thinks confirms that view, but it does not seem to us to be conclusive.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Polanisia Purpurea, and Cleome Integrifolia.

These plants, described on pages 50 and 71, Vol. 3. AisiERicAN Bee Journal, seem to be very much alike. Both were brought from the Rocky Mountains, and are similar in growth and appearance, according to the descriptions given. I have received a package of seed of Cleome Integrifolia and can see no difference between it and the seed of Polanisia Purpurea.

An old edition of Wood's Botany describes Cleome and Polanisia as two species under the same order, which shows that they are probably very near alike.

As I have sown the seed received I can pro- bably detect the difference, if any, next summer.

I have fed some of the seed of the Polairisia purpurea to sheep, and find they will eat it ; though they do not like it as well as corn and oats. The seed is bitter, and I cannot tell Avhat the eff'ect would be to feed a large quantity of it. The leaves and stalks are of no account for forage, as one pa[)er has asserted.

Will not some practical botanist inform us in regard to the ditierence between these plants ? Also the probable value of the seed ?

I have remaining a quantitj' of seed of the Polanisia purpurea, and will send a package to any one who wishes to try it, if a small sum is enclosed to pay expenses of postage and [jutting up. J. L, Hubbard.

Walpole, N. II.

American Bee Journal.

EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY SAMUEL WAGNER, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Vol. III.

JTJ]VK, 1S08.

No. 12.

[From the German of Rev. Geo. Kleine.]

Practical Bee-Culture.

You "will only be able to aspire to the title of an intelligent bee-keeper, wUeu, in the manage- ment of your bees, you shall have made your- self independent of their lunes and whims, and have learned so completely to subject them to j'our control as to feci assured that they will accommodate themselves to your plans, what- ever system j'ou may adopt. To this, however, you can only attain by employing the method of artificial swarming, which, as now practiced, must unquestionably be regarded as the great- est advance j'et made in practical apiculture. The art of making artificial swarms is indeed not new; but it has received its full develope- ment only since the introduction of the Dzier- zan system — which has enabled bee-keepers to multiply colonies by rule, and effect the design- ed increase at the most propitious period.

But, if the bee-keeper would operate with confidence, assured that the artificial colonies he undertakes to establish shall not prove to be miserable abortions, he must not work at ran- dom or be as one groping about in darkness. He mu.st acquaint himself with the nature and habits of bees, understand thoroughly their pe- culiarities, and learn to know the circumstances under which swarms will prosper or perish, and be able duly to apprec-ate the surrounding infiu- ences, climatic or local, which may aff'ect the condition of his apiaiy. Possessed of such ciualifications, he will readily be able to adapt his processes, when multiplying .stock, to the re- quirements of his situation — thus guarding against partial disappointment or utter failure.

Artificial colonics may be formed in various modes; but most simply and easily by means of a fertile queen, to which an adequate number of workers arc apportioned. Time is thus gained, which is always an important element in bee-culture ; and we may have our increase in a prosperous and advancing condition, at a period when it is wholly premature and unsafe to attempt artificial multiplication in the cus- tomary manner.

■ Should you unexpectedly come into posses- sion of a fertile queen early in spring, long be-

fore natural swarms might be looked for in your locality, she should of course not be de- stroyed, but reserved to become the prolific mother of an independent colony, and be im- mediately put to active service. A colony formed by her aid will, if properly cared for, richly repay the attention it requires and re- ceives, though for a short time it may involve some trouble. The bees to be allotted to this queen you will take from several of your most populous stocks, which thus deprived of only a comparatively small number of workers each, will hardly perceive or feel the loss — a loss moreover speedily made up by the maturing brood. To procure these workers j'ou have only to open a hive, take out a comb well cov- ered with bees, but not containing the queen, shake from it, into the hive designed for the new colony, such portion of the workers as you judge can well be spared by the colony to which they belong, and replacing the comb and clos- ing the hive, proceed in like manner to deprive other colonies, till you have secured workers enough for j^our ])urpose. The hive into which the bees thus collected are shaken, should be furnished with two or three empty Avorker combs and one containing honey.

Though a fertile queen will almost invariably be kindly received by workers thus collected from different stocks, it is nevertheless safest to introduce her among them in a cage, leaving her in confinement until it becomes manifest that she will be accepted by her new associates. But a colony thus formed must be sent to a lo- cation at least a mile distant from j-our apiary ; because the older bees, accustomed to a particu- lar range of flight, would for the most part re- turn tothcir old homes. Soon after reaching the selected spot and placing the hive in posi- tion, allow the bees to fly ; and if the weather be favorable for a general issue, feed them with diluted honey to encourage nearly the Avhole mass of workers to take wing. They Avill tlius at once acquaint themselves with tlie surround- ings of their new home, and thenceforward re- gard themselves as one common family, though collected from many different swarms. The queen may soon after ihis be liberated, unless some of tlie workers make hostile demonstra- tions against her in the cage. The earlier in

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

the season an artificial colony is formed in this manner, by the aid of a fertile queen, the more frequently or more plentifully must it be fed, unless it can at the outset be adequately sup- plied -with honey in the comb. It must also be carefully watched until the spring has fairly opened, and the workers can support themselves by their own industry. For this purpose it will be convenient if the hive be brought back to your own apiary, three or four weeks after the first removal.

If I obtain a supernumerary queen later in the season and at a more favorable period, I adopt a more simple and yet equally eflRcient process for making an artificial colony, which will not require removal from the home apiary. It is a more convenient mode, and one that rarely fails. I prepare a hive lij^ putting in it four frames of worker comb, and place the queen, securely caged, between tlie two central frames. Then set it in the place of one of my most populous .stocks, which latter I remove to some other location in the apiary. The fora- ging bees, returning to their accustomed liome, find matters greatly changed indeed, and at first reluctantly enter the Jiive allotted to them; but finally, finding no alternative, yield submissive- ly to the inevitable, take possession of tlieir new quarters and go to work. For several days nearly all the bees that leave tlie parent stock resort to the old location and join tlieir com- panions there; thus rapidly increasing the working force of the new colony, which having no brood to nurse, speedily accumulates stores. I usually liberate the queen on the evening of the second day. She promptly assumes the duties of her function, supplying the cells with eggs; and in tliree weeks, 1 have a fine strong independent colony, when perhaps most of the other stocks, allowed to indulge their own whims, have yet made no preparations for swarming.

The removed parent stock, which thus un- consciously supplied the bees required for the artificial colony, will for some days appear weak and inactive, as nearly all the old bees which leave it fail to return. But no uneasiness need be felt on that account. Bees enough will always remain to take care of the brood and discharge the required domestic duties ; and as all the young bees adhere to the new location, and numbers are daily emerging from tl>e brood cells, the population will soon be replenished. A strong swarm has indeed been virtually taken from it, yet the hive will really be in a better and more thriving condition, than if it had lost both bees and queen by natural swarming.

That for such transposition only populous stocks can be selected, and that a fine clear day when the workers are busily gathering honey must be chosen for the operation, need hardly be mentioned, as that is sufficiently obvious. If a supernumerary fertile queen be obtained at an unfavorable period, or when the weather is unpropitious, it will be advisable to adopt the previously described method — making an arti- ficial colony by collecting bees from several hives, and sending the swarm thus formed tem- porarily to a distant location.

But it ofttimes happens that we have no su-

pernumerary queens at command, when it is desirable to multiply stock. We are then con- strained to resort to other modes of making ar- tificial colonies. The following is alike simple and eflicient. I remove about one-half of the combs containing brood from the hive I propose to divide, placing them with the adhering bees in a hive designed for them, which is then to bo filled out with frames containing empty worker combs. Setting this hive in the place of the parent stock, I remove the latter (which must retain the queen) to a new location, after having inserted frames with worker comb to replace the brood combs abstracted. For several days the parent stock will be losing numbers of its older bees and appear weak and languid, but will speedily be replenished by the daily matur- ing brood. Besides, as it retains the old queen, eggs are constantly being laid and tho population thus rencAved and increased. The new colony, in addition to the bees adhering to brood combs given to it, receives for days in succession a constant accession of workers from the parent stock and from the maturing brood. Thus, by the time a young queen is hatched and fertilized, the colony will have a sufficient working force for collecting stores abroad, par- ticularly as for some time there will be no young brood requiring attention. If a royal cell containing an embryo queen nearly mature, can be procured and inserted in such an artifi- cial colony, the term of interregnum may be much abrcviated, as a fertile queen will thus be secured several days sooner than by the natural process of queen raising. The young queen may in some instances issue on the following day; and if the weather be propitious she may be fertilized and commence laying within a week after the operation.

I usually provide myself with royal cells by removing the queen from some populous stock eight or ten days before I propose to form arti- ficial colonies, thereby inducing the deprived stock to commence rearing queens. In riiost instances more royal cells will be built than are wanted for that stock, and I appropriate the surplus for my own purposes. As soon as they are closed, all save one can be removed and inserted in artificial swarms, or nucleus colonies for reserved queens. If cut out careiullj'- with a sharp penknife, leaving attached to them a portion of the comb on which they are built, a hole of similar size and shape may be cut in the comb in which they are to be inserted, and thus securely placed. The bees will usually fasten such cells, if only properly set in the opening, or they may be attached by touching the wax at the junction with a heated knife-blade.

It happens sometimes, however, that the bees of an artificial colony do not content themselves with the royal cell thus inserted, but build some in addition, if they have suitable worker brood. If this is not seasonably discovered, it may furnish the occasion and inluccmcnt of natural swarming, which, under the circumstan- ces, would be injurious to the colony. I there- fore always use the precaution to examine the combs repeatedly, at intervals of two or three days, destroying any queen cells that may be started.

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223

When I stated that I remove from the Live

intended to be divided about one-half of its conil)s containing brootl, for fitlini^up the artifi- cial colon}-, it was probablj' tlion^iit tliat I make too heavy a draft on the Ibrnier. There need be no uneasiness on that score, in any such case. If in a condition to swarm, the stock can readily bear tie deprivation -without injury, l)rovided the division be not made at an improper time. But, if unwillini; to remove from it so much brootl and so many workers, you may, if 3'ou i)rel('r, restrict yourself to the abstraction of bees alone, and taki! the needed brood from some others of your stronsj colonies. The arti- ficial swarm thus built up will thrive equally well. You may even let the adhering bees re- main on the brood combs ; being for the most part young bees, they will be kindly received in their new quarters, and if some of the older ones happen to be transferred at the same time and meet with a hostile reception, they will quickly leave for their proper home.

Your artificial swarms will certainly succeed and tlirive, if you follow these instructions, and do not undeitakc to operate prematurely. Wait jiatiently till your stocks have become suffi- c"ently pojndous to warrant the expectation that they would ere long swarm ; and then be care- ful to undertake division only when the season is sufiiciently advanced and the weather will permit the bees to tly. A single daj' of auspi- cious weather will secure the success of your e.\i)eriment.

In like manner you may divide all the colo- nies in your apiary, and double your stock an- nually. Br.t therewith j'ou must resolve to be content, without allowing yourself to be tempted to hazard a larger or more rapid increase ; or you may find yourself constrained to re-unite your weak colonies in the fall, or run the risk of seeing most of them perish in the ensuing winter.

There is nothing so disastrous to new beginners in bee-culture as the overweening desire to be the owner of a large number of stocks. If in- dulged, it invariably and infalliby leads to disap- pointment and loss. Whereas a rigid adherence to a plan which gives a regular moderate annual increase, is the sure mode of creating and per- manently maintaining a large and profitable api- ar}'. Let this counsel be deeply impressed on your memory. It is the most important and valuable that an experienced bee-keeper can give, or a novice receive. Not the number of your stocks should elicit your pride, but their intrinsic excellence. On the latter only can you base j'our hopes of the enduring prosperity of your apiary, or of remunerating success in your business.

[From the Bienenzeitung.]

White Melilot.

A discarded queen will either be stung to death by the workers, encased and smothered by them in a cluster, or driven out and exclu- ded from the hive.

As soon as the internal temperature of a hive rises to 100'^ F. the bees cease working, and many of them cluster idly on the outside.

Much has been said about White Melilot (Melilotus alba), as a forage plant affording abundant bee-p;isturage. Some regard it as valuable for both purposes, while others think it of no account except in the latter aspect. Both may be right according to the circum- stances under which it is cultivated. In some districts, it is said, cattle reject it, whether of- fered to them in a green or a dry state, while in others, it is stated, they will eat it greedily. I have no doubt both statements are correct, and based on careful observation. The soil in which it is grown makes all the ditference.

One of my friends procured seed from me. Some of it was sown on low, moist, sour mea- dow land ; and some on well cultivated sandy soil. Visiting me some time ago, he remarked that the melilot on the meadow land was grow- ing with great luxuriance, but his horses and cows would not eat it; while that from the sandy land Avas consumed eagerly. He said, more- over, that the meadow had previously produced nothing but sour grass, which the cattle would not eat; and it had, lor that reason, been plowed and sown with melilot, in the hope of obtaining from it a more acceptable product, as the hay previously made there could only be used for litter.

Again, in my own immediate neigborhood, there is an extensive range of meadow land ; but the plants and flowers found on it naturally yield very little honey. To a point where the deep, moist alluvion enroaches on and covers the drier upland soil, the grasses growing, on the former, though to all appearance precisely the same as those found on the latter, are refu- sed and rejected by horses, cattle, and sheep. If mown and made into hay, it is either sent by the proprietors to the distant city market, or retained and used merely for litter. Such is the iulluence which some sods exercise on the crops grown on thsm, and melilot seems to be one of the plants peculiarly liable to be thus affected. If to be used for fodder, it should moreover be cut young. If allowed to attain its full growth, the stems become hard and ligneous ; which is the case also with Lucerne grass.

At an agricultural meeting in Magdeburg, Mr. Knauer, well known as an intelligent far- mer and bee-keeper, warmly recommended the cultivation of white meldot. When I objected that cattle would not eat it, he replied that it was very productive, that he fed the hay to his sheep, and that it was readily eaten by them.

I have not myself been in a position to culti- vate this plant on a large scale, but have a small patch of it near my apiarj--, which when in bloom is frequented jjy astonishingly large crowds of bees. Visitors have often expressed their surprise at the sight, and declared they had never seen the like before. A bee keeper who should sow even a quarter of an acre with melilot, would provide three months of most excellent and abundant pasturage for his bees ; and the increasing demand for seed among far- mers shows that its value and importance iu

224

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

other respects, is coining to be more generally understood.

My fiieud, B. Banse, has cultivated melilot three or four years. He says it lias proved itself very superior for bee pasturege; and cows, goats, and sheep eat it freely. His brother has had equal experience in its cultivation. He states that it furnished ample and acceptable fodder for his cows, and that his bees foraged on the blossoms continuously for more than three mouths. A square rod yields about six pounds of seed.

In conclusion, I would say let farmers and bee-keepers try melilot on various kinds of land ; and then cultivate or reject it, as they may find it adapted or not to soil and climate.

F. Bahr.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees.

Mk. Editoe : — I hope that all bee-keepers •will act on the suggestion made by Mr. Har- desty in the April number of the Bee Jour- nal, and give rs their manner and success in wintering bees the past winter. I consider that one of the most important things for successful bee-keeping is to learn how to winter bees properly. In this country (Canada) more bees are lost from bad wintering, than from all othei' causes combined ; and a large number of the colonies that manage to live through the winter, are weak in numbers in the spring and short of lioney. They consequently require feeding for a month or six weeks, at the risk of being rob- bed by more fortunate colonies, or are destroyed by the worms. Such bee-keeping is both vexa- tious and unprofitable. Hence the question arises, can it not be avoided ? I think it can, with a proper place for wintering, and a little care and judgment in fitting colonies for winter confinement. Now if all the bee-keepers who read the Bee Journal, will describe their method of wintering, the number of stocks lost, and if possible the cause of their dying, we should then soon be able to learn the best way of wintering our bees. This would be a very important stei> gained towards success.

I will give the mode of wintering I adopted last fall, and the result. I had twenty-eight colonies, all of them Italians, or at least the most of them, and the rest hybrids. All of them were in J. H. Thomas' movable comb hives. On the eighteenth of November, I put them into a cellar, built like a root cellar. The sides were planked up with seasoned pine planks, an. 1 the floor of the same material; the top planked over, and covered with dirt ; and ventilated at the end. I removed the hon- ey boxes and tacktd a piece of fine wire gauze over the holes in the honey board ; and then packed corn cobs on the top of the hives, as many as the covers would set over. With the cellar perfectly dark, and the thermometer ranging from 34" to 38°, they spent the long cold winter of 1867-8, undisturbed.

On the twenty -third of March, I set them out, and found them all (with the exception of two

colonies) in a splendid condition. One of the two exceptions referred to was dead, leavint^ plenty o. honey. Cause, a small, colony of bees when put into winter quarters, with too much ventilation, consequently too cold. Tlie other hive had a very strong colony of bees, and was very full of honey when put into winter quar- ters ; but came out reduced in bees, and short of honey ; combs damp and mouldy. Cause, not enoufjh ventilation, consequently too icarm. The other twenty-six were in good condition, as already stated, Avith plenty of honey, and some to spare.

Now is there anything to be learned from my last winter's experience ? I think there is. First, when preparing our stocks for winter, we should ascertain how many we have that are short of bees or honey, and give them a little bet- ter protection, and considerably less ventilation. Second, if Ave have a very strong and heavy colony (especially if Italian) we would give it more ventilation. Perhaps, in the latter case, it would be advisable to take off the honey board altogether, and cover the top of the hive with fine wire cloth, to prevent the bees from com- ing out.

I, for one, am very anxious to see, in your valuable Journal, the experience of every practical bee-keeper on wintering bees. I think we could then conie to sor.ie very important conclusions, in regard to Avinteiing our colonies successfully; and on that depends to a great ex- tent our success in bee-keeping, especially here in Canada. H. M. Thomas.

Brooklin, Ontario.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

"Wintering Bees.

It lias been my practice heretofore to carry all my bees into the cellar about the tenth of De- cember. With the hives I chiefly used, I found the operation quite objectionable— ^?'s<, because of the heavy lugging ; and secondly, because, to my great dissatisfaction, there Avould almost al- ways be more or less of the combs mouldy in the spring ; and this, too, notwithstanding an apparent sufficiency of upward ventilation. I therefore determined, last fall, to try the exper- iment of wintering a fcAV on their summer stands. For this purpose I selected five colonies — two of them Italian hybrids, and all in hives that had been constructed Avith a special view to afford, among other advantages for convenient man- agement, particular facilities for i)rotection in Avinter. Above the combs I placed corn cobs, for the purpose of absorbing the moisture, and then sticks set slanting against the hives to se- cure a dead air space, against which I placed straAV and litter, and then banked up with chip dirt to nearly the height of the hive — placing a lock of prairie hay over, to shed off the water from rains and melting snows.

Thus protected, I left them undisturbed until about the twentieth of March, when a Avarni day occurring, 1 opened them to ascertain with Avhat degree of prosperity or adversity they had passed their long cold Avinter night.

The first one opened was found in a fivir con-

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225

dition. The cobs were quite damp; there were more dead bees than I had cxpocLcd to find ; aud there was apparantly a areater consumption oi'sloros than in hives kept in a cellar. Anoth- er ^v as found in a similar condition; but a third, owini; I think to an accident that occurred to two of the combs a tew days before they were put up, and the unfortunate course they had taken, were in a bad condition ; the larger part of the bees were dead, and this too with ])lenty of stores in the hive. I ovei hauled the combs, and discovering that the cpieen was still alive, determined to see if with careful nursing, thej' would recuperate. I set them out on warm days and indoors at night, till on going to the hive one day towards night, for the purpose of carrying them in, I found no bees in the hive, except a few young ones, which were crawling about in a dis^consolate mood. There Avas some brood and plenty of stores, but the swarm had gone, being I suppose dissatisfied with my nursing. Some t^ree or four days after, during which time the nights h;id been cold and frosty, my st>n accidentally discovered about sunset a cluster of bees about the size of a large coiree cup, in a little twig of dry leaves lying on the ground under on old shed in the calf pasture. He called my attention to them as a curiosity, and I immediately surmised that they must be my dec. imping swarm. Taking a nucleus box with stores, I put them in. They seemed joy- ful enougti at first, but on being set in a wood shed they soon were all out, crawling and buz- zing as tliongh they did not feel quite satisfied. The next morning, they were quietly clustered among the tombs. I set them out and am still watching to sec if they will recuperate, though I feel quite sure they will not.

lu the February number of the current vol- ume of the Bee Jouun.\l, if I mistake not, there is a communication from the Rev. L. L. Langstroth, in relation to a matter that should receive the attention of bee keepers which its importance I'.emands — namely, the loss of bees by expansion and contraction of the cluster among the combs, during changes that occur in the weather. As I mistrust that Mr. L., to wliom we are so much indebted for the intro- duction of movable combs in this country, has a plan of obviating the difficulty, perhaps I should sliow proper respect by waiting till he promulgates his remedy. But as he has invited discussion on the subject, I venture a few sug- gestion.s, not only to the attention of Mr. L., but also to the criticism of all the sharp and knowing ones ; promising not to be offended Avith whatever comnumts they may honestly make, with a view to remedying the evil.

My plan is simply this : to take out the side combs and leave so few through the middle of the hive ttiat the cluster will always extend be- yond them. Have your swarms populous, and your hive so constructed that you can place some well filled combs directly over the cluster; and in the surrounding space place some mate- rial that will absorb the moisture from the breath of the bees. Then, with suitable protection on the outside, your bees are safe.

S. L. RiCnAKDSON.

Wkbsteb City, Iowa. April 13, 18G8.

[For the American Bee Journal ]

Experiments in Wintering Bees.

Mn. Editou: — On the 12th of November, 18G7, I weighed twenty-four hives of my bees; nine of which 1 buried on the same day, in the manner described by Ciiarles Uadant, in the Bee Journal for that month, page 91. On the Sllth of November, I put the other fifteen hives into my celler, under my hou.se, where I kept vegetables, «fcc., for family use.

March 18lh, 18G8, I removed them all to their summer stands. It being a pleasant day, the bees improved the time in open air exercise. On the morning of the 15th, alter cleaning the bottom boards of dead bees aud all filth, I again carefully weighed th( m.

The weight given below is that of the bees, combs, and stores, in each hive, at the time in- dicated.

When my hives are ready for the reception of the bees they are all weighed, and the weight marked on the hive. This I find very conve- nient sometimes in my operations with them.

The stocks marked 1 are Italians ; those marked II are half breeds ; and those marked B are black bees.

In Cellar.

No. of Hive.

(Nov. ll.iMar. 14.1 Loss. lbs. oz. libs. oz. lbs. oz.

H. 1 53 8 37 12 14 13

2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7..

B. B. B. B. B. B. B. 8... H. 9.. I. 10.. B. 11. B. 13. H. 13. B. 14. B. 15.

. 4 31.

. 0 30.

. 4 86.

. 4 30.

. 0 27.

. 4 37

.12 29 12 12 0

0 14. 8 12. 810. 8 IG. 8 15. 4 12.

. 4 . 8 .12 .13 . 8 . 0

. 0 22. . 4 33. . 4 39. . 0 23. . 4 37. . 0 17. .12 30.

0 12. Oi 7. 013. 8i 9. 0 6. 4 G. 0 13.

. 0 . 4 . 4 . 8 . 4 .12 .12

Total 177.... 4

Average per hive 11.... 13

Buried.

No. of Hive.

Nov. 13. 1 Mar. 14.1 Loss.

I I

lbs. oz. 'lbs. oz. lbs. oz.

B. 1 42 12 35.

B. 2..

B. 3..

B. 4..

H. 5..

B. 6..

B. 7..

B. 8..

B. 9..

8 37.

'47

45 8 34

'48 12 39 8

!42 12 3G 4

147 13 38 8

'41 8 33 4

'30 8 21 4

28 433 4

13 9.

8 11.

8! 9.

6

9

9

9

G

.12 . 0 . 4 . 8 . 4 . 4 4 0

Total 77.

Avei-age per hive 8.,

. 8 .10

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

No. 4, in the cellar, and Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, of those buried, were box hives. All the rest were movable frame hives of the Quinhy form. Caps and honey boxes were removed from the box hives, and the holes left open. Honey boards were removed from the frame hives, and all entrance holes left open.

Fewer bees left the hives of those buried, than of those put in the cellar ; and there were fewer dead bees in the hives.

Too much ventilation in winter, I believe, increases the amount of honey consumed, and the number of bees that die. I doubt the utility of a circulation of air through the hive. Either the top or bottom of a hive, I believe, should be closed air-tight, or nearly so.

I should hke to see the experience of others, in this direction, published in the Journal.

Avery Brown.

Delay AN, Wis.

[For tbe American Bee Journal.]

Ventilating Bees.

Mr. Editor : — I crave a small space in your valuable Journal, in reply to Mr. Adair's ar- ticle, in the April number, on ventilating bees.

In his article in the February number, 1868, he says : — " If these learned apiarians would go out into the rural districts, and there talk of smothering bees to death, they would be laughed at for their ignorance."

It was to those people that I referred when I said, "the ignorant are wise in their own conceit," and not to Mr. Adair personally. But if he choofes so to apply it, I have not the slightest objection, as when he undertakes to convince practical bee-keepers that bees cannot be smothered, it seems to bespeak a want of due information on the subject himself, or that he relies nmch on the ignorance of his readers. Possibly he has a different variety of bees. Or, does lie claim it as a patent peculiarity of his " Section Hive " that bees can live in it without air?

I thank him for his advice to " think and ex- periment a little for myself, and not believe all that is taught by otliers," »&c. But does he really think any one acquainted with the physiology of the bee, will have the credulity to believe that they cannot be smothered ? There are too many bees lost here, in New England, by smothering particularly when wintered out of doors, for his statement of facts, wliich are such conclusive evidence to liim.

I might refer to quite a number of mishaps of my own ; of having occasionally lost a fine stock bj^ the entrance getting closed accident- ally, when there was no upward ventilation ; and sometimes by ice closing all the air holes ; when I would have the mortification of finding every bee dead, for the want of fresh air and notJdng else. And how many arc there that have kept bees any length of time, who have not had the like "mishaps':*" Again, a single glance at a full hive on a hot day in June, shows that a portion of the busy workers cease other labor, to attend to that all important re- quisite— supplying the hive with fresh air.

Claiming no superiority over any one, I am perfectly willing tlie subject should rest on its merits with intelligent bee-keepers, as pre- sented in the articles referred to. I am always willing to be taught, and am quite ready to place my experience and success by the side of Mr. Adair's ; although my experience has been with bees that could be smothered, and such as could sting without first discharging the honey from their sacs.

Now, Mr. Editor, anything personal in a public journal is decidedly out of place, and generally of little interest to others. But your Kentucliy correspondent, after acknowledging that the best and wisest in bee-culture teach di- rectly contrary to the absurd idea he advances, brings my name before your readers, with a slur. Siiil I will drop the subject, and write of something of more general interest.

Bees have wintered better here, notwithstand- ing our unusually cold winter, than is usual in this section of the country. The temperature was more uniform than for many years before ; and about the 20th of March, Ave were able to get our stocks out of wmter quarters, which is about ten days sooner than the average of years past. The most of my stocks are in the stand- ard Langitroth hive, and in preparing them for winter, I removed the honey board, putting on a frame filled with a double thickness of corn cobs. This I like better than putting the cobs immediately on the top of the movable frames, as it allows free access across the top of the frames, and permits the bees to cluster closer to the cobs. I then Returned the super, which has an inch and a quarter hole bored in each end, just below the top, for ventilation.

Of thirty-six stocks in an underground clamp, put in in that way, all came out in good condi- tion, and with more or less brood. I also had two straw clamps above ground. In one of these I placed a few stocks just as they came from their summer stands, without any upward ventilation. These wintered the poorest of any.

The temperature in the underground clamp scarcely varied a degree during the entire win- ter, being about 34°. I think as much judgment is required in putting bees in winter quarters, as in any other part of their management. To attempt to winter them cmt of doors, in our cold climate, and expect good success and profit, too often proves a failure.

I would like to hear from others on this sub- ject, through the Bee Journal.

D. C. Hunt.

Sharon, Vt.

When the larvae of the beo has attained its full growth, and the cell is sealed over or cap- ped by the Avorkers, it spins its cocoon, and as- sumes the pupa or nymph state, preparatory to its final metamorphosis. The worker and drono larvce spins an entire cocoon, that is, one in Avhich the pupa is completely enveloped. The queen, on the other hand, spins one enveloping only the head and thorax, leaving almost the entire abdomen bare or unprotected. When the insect is mature, it emerges from the cell, leaving its cocoon attached to the base and side^ walls of the cells.

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[For the Americau Bee Journal.]

Wintering Bees In Cellars.

J. Tl. Gardnor, Esq., on page 02 of the Bee JotiiiNAT,, vol. P), in an article on wintering bees, desires that I might give my way of packing bees in my cellar. I do it cheerfully. Tiie cel- lar in which I wintered the stocks of my home apiary — 393 in nnmbcr — is 18 feet wide, 27 long, and 7 deep. Over it is a small frame house of the same size, for storing hives, boxes, and other articles. Only one room is plastered. The floor is of one-inch boards. In this there are two holes cut fnr ventilation, each nine by ten inches. The cellar is situated in the side of a hill. The east side of the wall is partly in the ground. An entrance, level with the bot- tom of the cellar, on this side of the wall, is provided with two doors, the inner one of which has a hole, nine by ten inches, near the bottom, for ventilation.

I usually commence wintering-in my stocks on the l&t of November. They are piled in in a single and two double rows, as close together as practicable, leaving a narrow passage way between the rows, for an occasional visit of in- spection. The Laugstroth hives I piled up five high, beginning on the floor of the cellar, with- out anything under them. The box hives I piled four high, all inverted, with their bottom boards on. They had no opening at the top, nor the bottom. The summer entrance, now at top, was the only ventilation they had. Al- most all the bees in these hives clustered on the bottom boards, near the entrance. During very cold weather the temperature fell nearly to the freezing point, in some instances. I re- peatedly lifted the bottom boards, and found thom dry where tlie bees were clustered, but full of drops of water outside of that space. Towards the end of January, sweetened water ran out of the tops (now bottoms) of these hives ; and as this was the first time I wintered my bees in this way, I was afraid there was something wrong. But, on wintering-out, I found all of them, except throe, in the best or- der. One of these three had become somewhat mouldy. The other two had died from starva- tion, with plentj' of honey in the combs. They had clustered on the bottom board away from their stores. All the rest of the stocks were apparantly stronger than when put into the cellar.

The Langstroth hives I pile up without in- verting them, and without taking ofT the honey board. I simply insert quarter-inch blocks un- der the honey boards at the back end of the hive. The entrance I contract, so that only an opening one inch wide is left. I lost only two Blocks ; one by d)'sentery, and the other from Bome cause unknown to me. The Langstroth liiveshad less brood when wintered out, than the box hives. I would further state that only a few had become mouldy, and those had no blocks under their honey boards. Three or six one inch holes in the honey boards had not given as cfTt'Ctual ventilation, as the blocks under the honey boards in tlic other cases.

Out of forty-nine swarms wintered under

ground, three died, with plenty of honey. Al- most every hive had more or less mould. I do not like this Avaj' of wintering bees.

The cellar for my northern apiary, which was constructed in September last, proved to be too damp. Rome stocks had become very mouldy, and finallv died of dysentery. From this cause I lost twelve hives out of one hundred and sixty- three ; and five more from queenlessuess, since wintering them out. It seemed singular to mc that some stocks had become very mould}', while others standing right by their side had not a particle of mould, nor hardly any dead bees. On an average the living stocks appear in very good condition. Those of my neighbors around here, who wintered their bees on their summer stands, lost from one-fourth to one-half of their stocks. Adam Grimm.

Jefferson, "Wis., April, 1808.

[For the American Beo Journal.]

Wintering Bees in Minnesota.

The bee-business lias suffered much in Minne- sota during our cold winters. How shall we winter our bees ? is the great question here. A gentleman in St. Paul gave us a long article on wintering bees, by burying them in clamps. This plan proved almost a failure last winter. Two men wdio have met with some success, thought the}' had found out the best plan of win- tering bees here ; which was in cellars in the side of the blufT. Last winter t7iei/]ostl72 stocks out of 300, which had been put in three cellars of this description in the fall. One of my neighbors lost 47 out of 50 stands placed in a granary, the walls of which were filled with saw-dust. The granary was raised a little from the ground. A farmer in the next county placed his hives in the basement of his stone barn, and lost 40 stands, being all he had. Others have shared a similar fate.

I built a bee-house last fall, to winter bees in, with a cellar under the hives, and a chamber over them filled with straw. The walls are packed with saw-dust ; and the flues are so ar- ranged that warm air from the cellar, or cold air from the outside, can be let in, and pass off through the straw and roof. In this I placed seventy stands of Italian bees. Thus far, it more than meets my expectations. I made my calcu- lations to keep the temperature as near 30^ above zero as it could be. Placing the thermom- eter on a pillar about the centre of the bee-house inside, in December it stood 33^ above ; and in January 28"^ above. On the outside it has been as low as 40-^ below. On the 23d of February, when I went in to give them water, the ther- mometer stood at 29^ above. Tliis month (Feb- ruary) it has been as low as 30^ below on the outside. AVhen I gave them the wet sponge, they all answered by coming up promptly to quench their thirst. Thomas J. Smith.

Red Wing, Minn.

t^"In some exceptional cases, a few drones will be retained over winter in populous biras having a fertile queen.

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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURN"AL.

[For the Americau Bee Jnnrnal ]

WinterinG: Bees.

Will any of your many experienced corres-

iioudents favor us with an article on buryinir )ees in a trench, for the benefit of myself :ind other inexperienced bee-keepers — how they ventilate, and with what success ? I see by reading your Journal that the cellar seems to be preferred ; but all have not got a cellar suital)le for keeping a large stock of bees.

Last winter I buried my whole stock in a trench, with ventilation alike in all. Some stocks were strong, others were weak young ones. The strong stocks were placed at one end of the trench, which was protected from the winds, and was cousequently the warmest part. The weak stocks were more exposed, but wintered the best. In one of my best stocks I neglected to arrange the ventilation tube. Consequently it was nearly shut out from air, or an accession of fresh air. This spring the bees of that stock were nearly all dead, only about a quart remaining ; Avhich were badly off with dysent ry. I concluded the cause was want of air. Mr. Adair's article in the April number ot the Bee Jotjunal puts me in doubt. Will Mr. Adair explain ?

E. Shulze. Brownsville, Iowa.

"Wintering Bees.

A number ofyears ago, I accidentally discover- ed that a bee hive under cover, where rain or snow could not fall on it, might stand with the lid or cover off, entirely open, through the cold- est weather, and no frost or wet would accumu- late in the hive. Having made this accidental discovery, I concluded next winter to put it in practice. I had a narrow shed, j ust long enough to hold eighteen hives, the ends and one side were already boarded up. I boarded up the other side, leaving a door to go in at ; made it it as tight as I could with common rough boards: still there would be some cracks through whicli the light peeped in. I took the covers off all the ,hives, they stood there all the Avinter perfectly dry, not a particle of wet or frost was to be seen about them, but some of the bees would get out at the cracks on bright days, and were lost, because they could not find the way back again. Very early in March they became so restless and so many would get out, that I was compelled to put the covers on, to open the front of the shed and let them go. I thought, then, that if I had something to put over the hive that would keep it dark, and yet let the damp vapor pass off freely into the open air, I should have just the thing that was want- ing, but it cost me several years of study and experiment to make that discovery.

W. Y. Singleton.

Springfield, III.

JI^~Queens may attain the age of five or six years. But usually they die in the third or fourth year.

[For the American Bee Journal ]

Want of Air, and Upward Veatilation.

Facts are consistent with truth, and so far as we understand the truth we can explain the facts.

IVIr. Adair says bees live without air. But oxigeu and carbon sustain animal boat essential to life, and when the animal is hot a much greater amount of oxigen is needed; witness the panting of a dog after a race. The bees which Mr. Adair says had plentj^ of air, were probably smothered. If bees cannot get out where they see light, they becomi alurmi^d, and crowding there prevent the admission of air, while the struggling thousands behind them perish. Bees may worry to death against a window, or the glass side of a cap. It is not a natural position, and puts their inbtinct at fault. They obey the law of their natui'e. Tlie bees which Mr. Adair says lived without air, were few in number, a part having made their es- cape. The hive contained some air; and tho light being excluded, the bees were quiet and needed little air. But I must be allowed to doubt their being in air-tight confinement.

The remarks of Bruckish, (Patent Office Re- port, 1860, page 270), are strange. Only two hives, probably covered with boards, contain- ing a large air chamber outside the hives, buried also in dry earth through which oxigen penetrates freely, seeds germinating six inches deep — thus i)laccd, the bees would have plenty of air. But fine swarms outdo^jr-i, witli ny-holo? only at bottom, are sijiothered every winter, in the first severe cold snap; for then they must have more air to generate more heat. But lae bees below, driven up by coid, pack closely and exclude the little air they have. If Mr. Adair will hold a feather at the fly-hole of a hive bc- tbre swarming, he will find there is a strong circulation of air.

Mr. Grimm states that in the warm cellar his bees wanted water, and did not get the dysen- tery. This was because they were warm enough to perfpirc freely, not using much hon- ey and air to generate heat, they did not gene- rate much water. If the outer air had been be- low 45°, they would be quiet, if the tops were tight. In a cold cellar, with nine ho'es in the honey board to let off the moisture, the bees raised brood, and he thinks without water. As bees increase most in wet seasons, and Bruckish says they stop breeding in time of drouth in Texas (Patent Office Report, 18G0, page 275), and Dzicrzon says they must have water (Bee Journal, 1881, page 143), and the the young bee is mostly water, I will try to ex- plain hew they get it. As the heat passes off nearly as fast as generated, the outer or surface bees are cold, (see remarks on temperature. Patent Office Report, IBGO, page 90), and form a compact crust. Consuming great quantities of honey and air to generate heat, they are full of water, and could only avoid the dysentery b}' sweating freely in the centre of the cluster, where they are warm enough ; while the tem- I)eralure beneath the crust is low enough to condense vapor, for dew falls in a warm sum-

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229

mcr night. (Sec Langstrotli, for opinions of Gcrni.iu -writers on this subject.) If it were not for the fuc-t thut tlic bees may chill in a temperature one degree above the freezing point, remain so for thirt.y-slx hours and still recover, they could not endure the evil eflects of upward ventilation, for their vital temperature Is about tliat of the human body. There is an account of a buried SAvarm in England, living two and a half monthson three ounces of honey. Mr. Adair says they can live without air, the source of water. It seems the way to keep tiiem dry is to keep them warm.

No doubt upwarJ ventilation saves the un- covered comb I'rom mould, as it is colder and the exhalations that escape the hees pass off. But tlie cold compels the bees to pack closely, confining the moisture among the bees. The inner bees want air, and the outer ones honey and warmth. The inner bees burst through the crust to get air, thereby warming the outer bees and enabling them to come to the centre for honey and protection, before death ensues. These great and frequent agitations shorten the term of life, and destroy the vigor for spring labors. With air- tight tops the bees are warm, cluster loosely, require little honey or air, seldom need to change places, and can do so without much disturbance.

I was an upward ventilation man, but found on examination, it was not only contrary to nature but to all kinds of common sense.

F. H. Miner.

Lemokt, III.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Producing Fertile Workers.

I noticed an article in the March number of the Bee Journal, from the pen of Mr. Town- ley, untler the above head. Although he is a very good reasoner,yet I cannot luUy agree with him. Wishing to be as brief as possible. I must refer the reader to his article, and not go over his ground. He says : — '*It will at once be seen that none of tliese workers, when in a larva state, could even have tasted royal food;" and further, "I have since had such workers, un- der similar circumstances, when I was quite cer- tain they never had been fed royal jelly."

Now, how could Mr. Townley be certain that they never tasted royal food, or through what means the royal food is given them V I am quite satisfied they had the necessary food, from the fact that they were developed to fertile workers or queens. Again, there being no queens in his artificial swarms, is not a proof tluit the larva) were not fed royal food from royal lips, for it, is not the queen's place, nor is it her nature, to feed and nurse a royal rival. It is the duly and function of the worker hees to fur- nish the royal food ; and it is not likely that this food is laid up in store, but is prepared and supplied as wanted. J. N. Clarke.

Caledonia, III.

[For the American IJee Journal.]

How I became an Apiculturalist. No. 3.

He who with health would live at case, Should cultivate both fruit and bees.

Looking forward to the swarming season, and l)elieving it impossible to watch my roof- standing hive properly at that interesting pe- riod, I conceived the idea of resorting to artifi- cial swarming. Feburier, in his treatise on bees, gives all the necessary information, and following that author closely, I manufactured two leaf or Iluber hives, witii some impmtant improvements. The hives were constructed of eight frames fastened together by two iron rods, and covered with an outer box. Into one of these hives I was to transfer my colony, and the other was to receive the expected swarm.

In April following, after many delays as I was reluctant to disturb my bees, on a bright morning I ascended the roof with all the appa- ratus supposed to be necessary for so big an op- eration. After blowing some smoke in at the entrance, according to the instructions of the book, I inverted the hive. But like all begin- ners, I acted with too much precipitation ; for before the empty box could be jiroperly adjus- ted over the inverted hive, a multitude of bees rushed out in anger, assailing and slinging me on all sides. Never before had I been in a sim- ilar situation. Like a recruit in his first battle, I was ready to flee from the spot. But, re- flecting that my comrades, who were always ready to quiz me about my hobby, Avould never cease teasing me if I now shrank from the un- dertaking, and unwilling to become their laugh- ing-stock, I persevered firmly, though multitudi- nous stings were piercing me tlu'ough my clothes. The result was a complete success. Everything turned out as the book had pre- dicted. Tlie bees were driven out by my rap- ping, and I could cut the combs and fix them in the frames, Avilh no further difficulty. The bees being soon gorged with honey, became peaceable as flies, and I ventured to dispense with my gloves and throw off my wire mask.

Eight days thereafter I disturbed my bees once more, to remove the fastenings from the combs. All was right, and I was c^uite elated with my success, so that I disregarded and scarcely felt the numerous stings with which the bees complimented my visit ; for deeming the smoke needless and inefBcacious, I had opened the hive without preliminary precau- tion. This disrespectful treatment so irritated my bees and fixed their ill temper that for weeks after I could not show my head on the roof, without being at once rancoiously assailed. ,

Three weeks subsequently, observing some bees clustering out, I resolved to divide the colony. I was the more ready to undertake this,, as I was to be absent some fifteen or twen- ty days on a canvassing jaunt. By reperusiug Feburier and some otlier apicultnral works, I had acquired a better knowledge of bee manage- ment, and went to work with more calmness and deliberation. Using smoke I opened the hive, loosened the frames, and searched the combs for young brood, without irritating Uie bees. Good weather previously having favored the blossoming of the rape, forage was abund*

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ant, and the cells were so filled with uncapped honey, that suitable brood was scarce, only one comb showing eggs and larvae. Rapping smart- ly on the opposite side of that comb, (for Febu- rier claimed that those raps would attract tlie queen), I put one half of the combs, witli the bees attached, in my new hive, and fitted the two hives with empty frames. Tlicn placing them one foot on each side of the old stand, I watched to see the bees divide equally between them. The next day all seemed right, to my inexperi- enced eyes, and I started on my journey with entire confidence that the work had been well done.

On my return I found my new hive covered with clustering bees ; but as for the old stock hardly a bee could be seen entering or issuing. I raised the outer box and opened the hive. It contained neither bees, nor brood, nor honey ; but a large number of moth worm in various stages of growth. I had evidently put the queen with the brood, leaving the old stock without the means of raising another. I resol- ved to repeat the operation more carefully, and undertook the tedious taskot picking out all the worms, and destroying thcni.

The ensuing two days were rainy. On the third, as I was making preparations to re-divide, I was informed that my bees were decamping. Indeed crowds of them were already hovering in the yard, and I soon saw many enter, by an open window, a second-story room in a neigh- boring house. A woman and two boys, occu- pants of the room, were quickly busy, with cloths and broom, endeavoring to expel the in- truders. I hastened to the scene, and on my arrival, saw a small cluster hanging in the em- brasure of the window, and the disturbed bees dispersed through the room, while tiie woman and the boys were severely stung in their efi"orts to dislodge the unwelcome visitors. With much ado, I succeeded in persuading the woman to leave the bees in peacesible possession of the chamber a short time, till I could make arrange- ments for their removal— promising tliat she should be rid of the annoyance before noon. I then proceeded to extract the stings from the three victims. Here let me remark, by way of parenthesis, that usually the stinging bee leaves in the flesh the sling with the vesicle or sac containing the poison attached. If the sting is not extracted immediately, the vesicle being contracted, continues to pour its contents into the wound. If pulled away with the fingers, the vesicle is pressed, and the same effect takes place, only more quickly. The best way to 't)revent this, is to remove the sting by sliding a knife blade on the sJcin ; the venom bag is thus closed, and if the operation is promptly perform- ed, no swelling will result. As no specific rem- edy for the sting of the honey bee has yet been discovered, the less the wound is touched or rubbed after removing the sting, the less will be the swelling.

While the bees were gathering in a cluster, I surrounded the mouth of a bag with Avire to keep it distended, raised it under the cluster, dis- lodged the bees by sliding a quill between them and the ceiling, closed the bag, and carried the swarm to my hive. On repeating this operation.

very few bees remained in the room. Then se- lecting from my old hive a good comb full of honey, I took it to the boys, to mollify their stings and temper. Still, this donation was not sufficient to assuage the anger of the father on his return ; for next day I received a visit from two policemen, who announced that as my bees were accused of disturbing the public peace, they were condemned to leave the city immedi- ately.* I however succeeded in obtaining a week's delay, and as some daj'^s after, I found a few just hatclied queens thrown out on the zinc roof, showing that no swarm was to be expected that season, I determined to let them remain where they were till the ensuing spring.

Charles Dadant. Hamilton, III.

*4®"\Ve take pleasure In announcinaf that, if the anti-aplarian portion of the good people of Wenham lack a legal precedent for municipal bee-banishment, it seems liicoy, from the Incident related above, that they could find it in the reeords of the police court of the ancient city of Langres, in France. Wou't they send a delegation for it 1

A New Kind of Bee-Bob.

To keep natural swarms from decamping when they issue, and induce them to settle in a manner convenient for hiving, I take two or three frames filled with comb, adjust them to- gether at the distance apart at which they are usually set in the hive, and fasten them to a light pole of convenient length. When the swarm issues, I present this to the bees ten or twelve feet in front of their hive, and they usu- ally betake themselves to it without hesitation or delay. If the swarm has already settled on a tree, it can commonly be induced to take pos- session of the combs, by placing the apparatus gently over or against the cluster. Even if set- tled in a hedge, otherwise difficult of access, they will readily remove to more acceptable quarters, if the frames be presented to them through an opening in the hedge, made by drawing the branches asunder. When the bees have fully taken possession of the comb, they are not apt to leave ; and the frames may be again separated, and set in a hive in the usual manner, with the bees adhering to the combs.

J. RODELSPERGEK.

When capping worker or drone cells the beea sometimes use newly secreted wax, but more generally take the needed supply from the thick- ened edges of the cells themselves. Queen celh receive a kind of duplicate capping, being first closed in the ordinary manner with a thin film or scale of wax, over Avhich a thicker outer covering is afterwards placed, with a narrow dead-air space between.

Each of the numerous species of bees has some difference in its habits, its mode of col- lecting honey, constructing its dwelling, or providing for its young, and other particulars.

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[For tho Ainoricau Bee Journal.]

Experience in Italianizing. No. 3. By Anotheu Novice.

In my last I promised to give my experience in raisinc: qneens, but nn attack of porc eyes compelled me to be too lute for tho May num- ber.

In the early part of last spring, finding my bees had Avintcred well, I commenced feeding two Italian stocks, in order to stimulate early breeding, that I might have drones early. But in this I failed, for the black drones ajjpcared the same day as the Italians. My object was to raise early queens ; and in order to do that, I endeavored to ascertain the easiest mode for a beginner. I found so many modes ])roposcd in the books and the .Iouhnat,, that I was greatly puz-zled how and when to begin.

On the loth of April I transferred a weak colony to a frame hive, and as I went to remove the splints on the fourth day, I discovered that three or four queen cells had been started I Avas surprised that I had lost th(> (pieen in the operation, for I had hardly lost a dozen bees besides. Experience has since taught me that the l)laek queens will hide in any place they can f^nd. When transferring a colony ten days ago, I found the (|uecn hid in a crack in the old bottom board, after all the bees ha<l gone in and the hive was set on its stand. It was by mere accident that I chanced to see her, as I supposed she was in with tlie bees.

But to return to the c;lls. I noticed them al- most every day, and on the twellth saw where the fir>t had conn; out and dcslroyed the others. Thus I had raised my lirst ([ueen accidentally The spiing being very damp, cold and back- ward, and there being no hope that drones would appear soon, I destroyed her in about a week or ten days, and gave them a frame of brood and eggs from one of the Italian colonies, hoping the bees would buikl queen cells; but they faik'd to do so. In about a week I gave them another fianie of brood, and they then started a few cells ; but by the time they v.'cre ready to be cut out, the la t week in May had come and the earliest drones made their appear- ance.

I now swarmed the two stocks of Italians, each of waich had from ten to fifteen cells, a few being sealed over. This was on the 28th of May. Two i f the strongest black stocks swarmed en the same day. Tiie rest being in box hives, which I had not yet learned by ex- perience how to swarm, I concluded I would let them alone and see whether they would not swarm naturally, which they did. I now felt at a loss what to do with the great number of (|Uren cells that had appeared all at the same time, say about forty in three hives. I removed the black queens from the new swarms, and put a cell on the top of each between the frames, all of wliic'h did well. I formed a few nuclei in small boxes and gave them (;e!ls, all of which hatched; but only one queen remained to become fertile — the bees of all the others leaving with the queens on their excursions to meet drones. On opeuing one of these nuclei about noon, I

observed where the queen had just emerged from her cell, and destroyed the next cell that joined it too closely to be separated. About two inches from it was anotlier cell with a queen just working out. The third queen had just left, sccompanied by all the bees in the nu- cleus. How are we to account for her not de- stroying the other cell on the srme c )mb, within two inches of her own V "Was she unaware of its existence, or did the bees defend it, int(!nd- ing to swarm when tlierc was not a particle of brood in the box ? I removed this cell and in- serted it in a hole in the top of a box hive that had swarmed a few days previous, and poured in a little honey around the sides, to prevent the bees from killing the queen, knowing th;t she would get out of her C(!il in a few minutes. I did this merely as an experiment, not know- ing any other way to save her, as there were not bees enough left in the nucleus to nurse her. Three days after, about one o'clock in the af- ternoon, I observed a beautiful Italian queen enter the hive. Tims my experiment had proved successful. I put cells in the holes of all the box hives in from two to four days after the first swarms issued, and the next evening after the second left — all exceiit one of whicli hatched ; and some of them met Italian drones. Thus I had succeeded in Italianizing my box hives in a way little expected. I had calculated on b.aving to drum out the bees, hunt up the queens, and introduce some reared in nuclei, and keep them caged for twenty-four hours. The use I made of the numerous queen cells that came just at the right time saved me a great deal of trouble. But had I taken bees enough from the two natural swa'ins that came ofT the same day on which I divided the two Italians, and formed a few more nuclei, giving each a queen cell and a piece of brood comb, I might have saved more of the cells and all the young queens. As it was, I saved only about tea of them.

I dislike the practice of cutting out brood or eggs from large hives, to rear queens n small nu- clei. I prefer having the queen I intend to rear from a nucleus hive about twice or thrice as large as the common nuclei, with frames of the ordi- nary size, so as to be able to give each nucleus a frame of brood. This has tlie additional ad- vantage of preventing the bees from leaving with the queen on her exit to meet with drones. I consider this method much less trouble. I tried it from July until September, with a young fertile queen, and reared in all that season tliir- tj'-five queens. Four of these were unable to lly, and eight of them were lost on their excur- sions.

In the fall I removed all the hybrid queens, and attempted to introduce pure queens that had mated with Italian drones. In this attempt, however, I had my first trouble, as the bees killed s' veral of them. I was compelled to give them back their own queens, which I Jiad saved in cages, to be prepared for the emergency. Having no more (jueens to give them, I tried this on tiie twenty-four hours system. But this too is not always safe in the fall ; though I am willing t ) risk it at all times in the spring.

I said four of the queens could not fly, from

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defective wincrs. But there were three others, very heaiUiful and bright ones, on which I coukl not discover tlic least defect, that refused to lay at all, after having been kept for two months — one of tliem having been changed to two other populous hives, to induce her to lay. I conclu- ded they could not fly, and had not been out to meet ihe drones. But why tlien did they not lay drone eggs ? I lulled two of them ; and as I was abourFo destroj^ the last one, I took her in the house, to show her to some ladies. In a few minutes she flew from the lap of a lady to the door, rested on the top for a moment, then flew back to the apiarj', made a circuit tiiere, and went olF to parts unknown. Now I had tossed each of them up in the air repeatedly, to sec if they coukl Qy. Can any one explain why they would not lay. A.

Lowell, Ky.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

■Reraarks on a Re ply.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

More Questions.

Mr. Editor : — Looking over the columns of your v.- luable Bee Journai,, I find questions asked and answered — I request the privilege of making a fuw inquiries. Perhaps some of your readers can give me the desired information.

First. — Can the small hives used for rearing queens, holding three or f )ur frames four or five inches square, be placed anywhere during the winter, so that the bees therein will survive till spring ?

Second. — Which one of the following movable comb bee-iiives combines the most advantages — the Langstroth hive, the American hive, or the Quinby improvement of the Langstroth hive?

Tliircl. — Which is best for bees, a winter moderately cold, remaining unbroken from fall till spring ; or one which atlords frequent inter- vals of warm weather ? A. J. Fisher.

East Liverpool, Onio.

Bees Fertilizing Blossoms.

How continually do we observe the bees dili- gently employed in collecting the red and yel- low powder by which the stamens of flowers arc covered, loading it on their hind legs, and carrying it to tiieir hive for the ])urpose of feed- ing their young ! In thus providing for their own i^rogcny, these insects assist materially the process of fructification. Few persons need be reminded that the stamens in certain plants grow on different blossoms from the pistils ; and unless the summit of the pistil be touched with the fertilizing dust, the fruit does not swell, nor the seed arrive at maturity. It is by the help of bees, chiefly, that the developement of the fruit of many such species is secured, the powder which they have collected from the stamens being unconsciously left by them in visiting the pistils — Sir Charles Lyell.

Mr. Kark, of Stettin, advises that a hivo which contained a foulhroody colony, be thor- oughly washed with a clear solution of chloride of lime; and then well dried, set open in an airy place, and kept unoccupied by a swarm for at least one year.

In friend Thomas' reply to " Those Seeming Puzzles," he appears to think tliere might in that case have been two swarms. There was not, however. The hollow or cavity was about eighteen inclies higli, and Avidc enough for si.x; combs, five worker and one drone comb. The entrance was a tAvo-inch hole at the top of the cavity, on the south-east side of the tree.

There were other i^eculiarities about said swarm, that I am going to tell you of Both the old and the young queen were extraordinary large ones. Tiie upper part of the head of the young queen, where the eyes arc situated, was bliaped like a drone's. She also had largo spreading and i^erfect drone wings. The work- ers from this queen were the largest I ever saw, with one exception. Three years ago, last fall, I saw at Dacotah, in this State, in the apiary of Mr. Reed, a swarm of as large bees as those were. If it had not been for Italianizing my apiary, I should have kept that queen to breed from.

Mr. Thomas may be mistaken about the workers guarding the old queen. Last summer my best queen v^as superseded. I was taking out brood and eggs every few days to raise queens from, and they Avcre storing surplus honey in boxes. But all at once the boxes were deserted. I immediately examined the hive to see if they were preparing to swarm, and found eight perfect queen cells. The old queen was there attending to her regular business. I cut out all the queen cells ; but they immediately started new on"s ; and as fa^^t as they were sealed, I took them out. But I discovered that the old queen stopped laying, and also observed that there were no guards to keep the queen from the cells. Some days I would take out the frame she was on, four or five times a day, without disturbing the bees or using any smoke. There were five cells on the comb that she was on. I frequently saw her pass close by a cell, but she paid no attention to it. And once I saw her deposit an egg in a cell, pass directly over a queen cell, and deposit an egg in a cell on the other side, without paying any attention to the queen cell. Al^out the first of September, I al- lowed one young queen to mature, and there were no guards over either of the queens until the young queen was fertilized. Then the old queen was enclosed in a cluster or knot of bees, and the next day she was dragged out of the hive, dead.

I acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Thomas' book — a very good and comprehensive work for new beginners.

I have also received, within a short time, no less than six different patent hive circulars, all claiming to be the very best iu use.

E. Gallup.

Osage, Ioava.

Bees see best in l)rnad daylight ; less distinct- ly at dusk ; and, according to some observers, not at all in the dark— the antenna?, as is sup- posed, then supplying the place of eyes.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

233

[For tho Airnrican Coc Jovirnal J

A few Probabilities.

Different Kinds of Hives.

1. Straw, twktctl and fovraed iii tho shape of a high inverted bowl.

2. A square Ijox, made of six boards, form- ing the sides, the toji, and the bottom.

o. A square Ik)x, twelve inches inside meas- nrcmeut, I'onrleen inches high, with two or four boxes placed on the top, covered with a cip. The boxes of the aggregate capacity of twenty pounds.

4. A box, so constructed as to present a )arger surface for liie surplus honey hoxcs to rest on, and two tiers of boxes, one above the other. Aggregate capacitj', lifty pounds.

!). A box, so constructed with side chambers, ns to receive bo.xes on two sides, tlie whole height of the hive. Aggregate capacity, seven- ty pounds.

G. A box, so constructed with side chambers, and a chamber in the top of the hive, as to ad- mit surplus honey boxes on both sides and top oftheluve. Aggregate capacity, one Iiuudred and twcntj'-five pounds.

The lirst class of hives n>Hy include sections of a hollow log standing upon a board for its bottom, with another nailed on its top; or a flour or salt barrel, standing on its end.

Eexiilts. 1. The hives wilh but little room will give many swarms, and little surplus honey.

2. The hives Avi h abundant room, v.'hether in hol'ow log, barrel, or urplus honey boxes, will give a l^rge amount of surplus, and large swarms, when they do swarm — which will not be often.

Classes op Hives.

No. 1. The small hives of this cJass, and of class No. 2, will give manj- swarms, no surplus honey, and consume the stores gathered for winter. Honey for use, must be secured by driving out, or by destroying the bees.

No. 2. Will give from nothing to forty pounds. Mr. Quinb}', in one edition of cis work, estimates tlie average at one dollar's ■worth. This, at twenty cents per pound, is five pounds. In a revised edition, he estimates it at two dollars' worth, ten pounds. I pur- chased tliree colonies in this class of hives in 1824, I tliink. They gave me one swarm each, and not one ounce of surplus honey ; though the four boxes were placed on each hive.

Class No. 4, will occasionally till their boxes; and in an extra season, may exceed.

So of Nos. 5, and G. Tiicy will occasionally fill their boxes, and sometimes exceed it. Col- ton's patent is of Class No. 5. The Farmers' hive, patented in 1862, with boxes of from sixty to seventy pounds e;ipaoity in the aggregate ; and the Eureka hive, patented in 18G7, with boxes of one hundred and twenty f.ve pounds capacity, may both be counted in Cla.ss No. G.

In 1864, thirteen colonies in the Farmers' hive gave seven hundred and ninety seven pounds of surplus honey — an average of sixty- one pounds. In 18G7, my whole number in that hive, including one reported by Mr. House, gave

an average of sixty eight and a half pounds of surplus — being six hundred and seventy-eight pounds from nine hives.

Four Eureka hives, all in which were swarms in tlie spring of 1867, gave five hun- dred powncts of suq)lus — averaging-one Iiuudred and tvyeuty-five pounds each.

CONCI-USIONS,

1. Bees place their brood in the central part of the hive, for warmth and protection from ene- mies.

2. Store their honey in the upper part, and and side edges, and outside sheets of their combs.

3. The best arrangement of snrplus boxes is on the top and by the sides of the sheets of comb.

4. The snr|)lus honey boxes should be placed in as close proximity to the sheets of comb as may be. The less obstruction the better.

5. If ample room is given for brood in tho sheets of eomb which form the centre of the hive, there is little danger of brood in the sur- plus honey boxes. Out of more than two hun- dred surplus boxes, filled with houey by my bees last season, there was brood in only four ; and that was from other causes than from close proximity of the swarm.

G. Bees may be expected to store surplus hon- ey in proportion to tlie amount of room giveu them in surplus honev boxes.

7. They will as soon probably commence in a second suit of eighteen boxes, as in a suit of two boxes. The eo'ony that gave one hundred and seventy-four pounds of surplus last season, gave one hundred and twenty-one pounds of white clover honey in the first suit of boxes, and on the removal of those and the supply of twelve empty boxes, they entered them at once, and stored in them fifty -three pounds of buck- wheat honey.

8. The boxes should be so arranged as to bring the whole suit equally near to the brood — forming an equal amount of comb on both sides of and above the brood.

I draw the above conclusions from the obser- vations I have had and the experiments I have made. Jasper Hazen.

Albant, N. Y.

Besides the honey sac, in which the bees col- lect nectar, water, &c., and convey them to their hives, the abdomen of the bee contains another viscus, the chyle-stomach, or true stom- ach of tho insect, in which the nectar and pollen required for its own nourishment or that of the larva?, and for the production of wax, are di- gested. Food partially digested here, is dis- gorged from this stomach for use of the larvae ; that more completely digested goes to the sup- ]iort of the individual bee ; and the excess is converted into a fattv substance, or wax, and is secreted in the wax packets on the under surface of the ventral segments of the abdomen.

tWA. young swarm builds worker combs exclusively at first. Weak swaims aud second swarms seldom build drone combs the first year.

2S4

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

[Foi- the American Boe Journal.]

Closed or Open Top Frames.

I noticed an article in the February Journal on side opening liives, by ]\Ir. J. H. Smith, Avlierein he seems to think the various articles in the December number on sucli liives, fixed frames, &c., all refer directly to the American liive, with its fixed frames and other objection- able features, which are useless if the frames are of tlie right constructioi;: — namely, having their tops separated throughout their length, as well as their ends and bottoms. Now I have not the least objection to a man using what hive lie pleases, nor is it any of my business. Still I believe it to be the interest of every man, when he purchases a patent bee hive, 1o procure the best of the kind in the market. The simpler it is in construction the better, provided the desired object is attained.

As to movable comb frames for bee hives, I think any unprejudiced practical apiarian, who has used the different kinds of frames, closed or open top, will admit that the frames invented by Mr. Langstroth are, for practical opera- tions, far superior to the frames above referred to. For a man who does not work the frames at all, doubtless fixed frames are as good as any. But for such a man, why have any frames in the hive ? The old box "hive is, for such management, decidedly tiie best, as it affords the least protection to the moths and worms.

Improved hives, without improved manage- j ment, have done more harm than good. Most bee-keepers, when they purchase a patent hive, seem to think their bees are bound to {prosper in spite of mismanagement and neglect. Should their bees die, as is not unfrequcntly the case under the old system of management — wliicli is just no management at all — they will attribute it, for want of a better reason, to the patent hive.

For a man who has but a few hives to super- intend, and has plenty of spare time, which un- fortunately is not the case with most bee-keep- ers, such hives might do. But the case is very ditlerent where a man has a large apiary to su- perintend, and but little time to devote to his bees. I can superiutend forty colonies in the Langstroth hive in the same time that it would take me to perform a like operation iu a dozen hives containing closed top frames, and not kill one-fourth as many bees.

Mr. Smith says there are but few cases in which there is a necessity for looking at a par- ticular comb. He must be poorly informed in regard to the first principles of practical bee-cul- ture, to make such an unguarded assertion. The accidental breaking of a comb, he says, might be one. Now, in that case, it would he much easier and quicker, to slide one frame a little to the right and another as much to the left, and lift out one comb at the side, whereby you liave ample room to remove the broken comb, than it is to commence at one side of the hive and take out every comb till you come to the one you wish to remove. Again, when you replace the combs, you have to be as careful to set everv

comb in its old position, as you would the ma- cliinery of a clock, especially if it is an old stock. If you do not follow this rule, you have to use the knife in replacing nearly every comb.

Tiien, again, in the spring or fall, when you wish to air late or weak swarms by inserting combs well stored Avith honey and bee-bread, it is often impossible to introduce the comb with- out resorting to the knife, and thus causing the honey to run from the uncapped cells— the odor of Avliich attracts bees from other hives, perhaps to the ruin of the colony you wish to aid.

Suppose, further, you wish to remove a queen from a hive. You have to commence at one side of the hive of course, and periiaps remove nearly every comb in it, before you find her. Consider also the time and trouble required to close up the hive again, after you have found and removed her. You have to use the knife in replacing nearly every comb, to say notliing about the time spent in hunting her. When looking for a cjueen I have found it to be the better plan to commence in the centre of the hive, as she is almost invariably found on one of the lirood combs. In such operations the Lang- stroth hive speaks for itself.

Sometimes you desire to strengthen a weak colony in the spring, by inserting combs well filled with maturing brood. In such cases the disadvantage of side opening liives and fixed frames is obvious enougli. You will only find the brood combs in the centre of the hive at this time of the j'^ear , and, more than all tiiis, it in all important that the brood comi) you are in- troducing sliould be placed in the centre of the hive you wish to strengthen. Thus you have necessarily to ene<mnter the difficulty twice, before the operation is completed.

Again supposing you are raising ciueens to supply your artificial colony or the parent slock Avilh a fertile queen. In every operation con- nected with this, the disadvantage of closed frames will be plainlj^ enough exhibited ; and the Langstroth frames will be found perma- nently superior. I have used Langstroth frames fourteen inches high, with little more trouble than those iu the shallow form of hive as now used by Mr. Langstroth. To steady the frames put a stick across the bottom of the hive, trans- versely to the direction of the frames, leaving a space of a quarter of an inch between the top of the stick and the bottom of the frames. Take some small wire, cut it in pieces two inches long, bend these in the shape of the letter V, form a small ring on each end, and fasten with small tacks, so that the sharp end extends up between the bottom of the frames. This w'll hold the fnimes steady, tip the hive as you will.

I would say, iu this connection, that I believe I can obtain more surplus honey from the siial- low form of the Langstroth hive than from any other I have tried. IIknky S. See.

EVANSBURG, Pa.

l!I^"It is an error to say that queens and drones will not feed themselves. I have often seen queens eating honey out of open cells; and have noticed drones doing so hundreds of times. — Beulepscu.

THE AxMKRICAN BEE JOURNAL.

235

[For tlio Amc.ric:ta Bcc Journal.]

Upward Ventilation.

Without prcsumim,^ t(i iulvauce ivny ideas that arc new, I wish to say a lew words respecting moisture in hives.

Every observant apiarist knows that vapor i.s constantly generat 'd and thrown olT by the chister ot" bees. This vapor conies in contact with cooler air, and is condensed; and in severe coUl weather it accumulates in tin; hive in tlie form of frost, often within an inch or two of the cluster. If the cold weather is very long con- tinued, and the bees consume what little honey there is iu the combs covered by the cluster, the colony starves with plenty of honey in the hive. If the cold weather is of short duration, and a day following sufhciently warm with the heat fr<)m the bees, to melt the frost, the water runs down the sides of the hive to the bottom board. There it again freezes, sometimes closing the entrance of the hive with ice, and causing the death of the bees by suffocation.

If we house them during the winter, unless we ventilate upwards, we still have the mois- ture, an": often have mould}' combs. But when housed, even in aroom where it doesoccasionally freeze, if we give them abundant ui)ward venti- lation, we get rid of the whole difficulty, Avith- out any perceptible injury to the coIom}"-. At least this has been my experience for the last eight years.

1 introduced an Italian queen to a colony of native bees, iu October, 18GG. Ou the lirst of December there were no Italian bees or brood to be found in the liive. They were housed, •with the honey board removed, in a room Avhere it often freezes in winter. About the twentieth of February, they were set out for an airing. The colony was quite as strong as when they ■vvere housed, and at least one-fourth of the bees ■were Italians. On examination, the combs showed brood throughout a large part of the cluster, proving conclusively, in this instance at least, that, with all the upward ventilation that could be given them, there was sufllcient moisture nnd heat retained in the hive for breed- ing purposes.

I have wintered bees in the room referred to, both with and withovit ventilation, and much l)refer the former method.

We are referred to the home of the bee in the ■woods, to show that such ventilation is not ne- cessary. But, what is that home? My first bee tree was found iu 1843. Since that time I have found and helped to find and cut nearl)' a hundred more. ]\Iany of them were much bet- ter liomes for bees than auy T have ever seen constructed by man. If our hives were made of some material that would absorb all the mois- ture generated in them, upward ventilation would be unnecessarj'. And tliis is iirecisely the condition of many of these natural homes. The hollow is formed by the decay of the tim- ber, and is lined with wood more or less decay- ed ; and this dry rotten Avood is one of the best moisture al)sorbing materials that could be used.

In the study of bees, in contemplating the re-

sults of their labors, we learn to look beyond th(!m to the Great Creative Power. Even na- ture's home for them shows us the wisdom of the Creator, who, in providing them with a hab- itation, has supplied llieni with one so well adai)ted to their requirements. And it should teacli the apicullurist — whether lie winter his bees in doors or out — to adopt some means to keep the interior of his hives dry.

J. il. TOWNLET.

ToMi'KiNs, Micn.

[For tlio American Bee Journal. J

Patent Hives and Claims.

Mn. Editor: — I am already convinced, from my short experience in bee-culture, that, to make this pursuit profitable, we need the best bee hive that can be invented for the use of the apiculturist and habitation of the bee. We are greeted on every hand by the claims of patent venders, and of course they are not all best ioi stuceeasfal operation with bees. For the new beginner, who has no experience of his own, 1 find it is not only a great waste of time but a great waste of money, to be compelled to pur- chase every patent that may be presented, it' we would learn wliich is l)est. I the efore think that you would greatly enhance the public interest in bee-culture, by calling on every owner of ;)a<e)iY claims to present a copy of them for publication in the Bee Journal, witli explanations, and cnt!> illustrative of the hives, and of t!ie different portions of the same that may need illustration, to render them more easily understood. We could then, from such explanations and illus- trations, judge better of the value of tlie claims and the worth of the hive ; and more easily de- cide what is adapted to our wants. We miglit thus too be enabled to avoid an unnecessary ex- penditure of money, while promoting our best interests in scientific and practical bee-cultuie.

Of course no patentee could ol)ject to this, if he thinks his patent worthy of public confidence and patronage ; for their public exhibition, in comparison with the claims of others, would bring their good qualities into more general notice and adoption. These illustrations would also be gratifj'ing to the readers of the Journal, since all like to have before them a picture of wliat they are reading about. And to bee- keepers it is especially important to have placed before them every patent claim, so that each can ascertain whether he is tresjiassing ou the rights of otiiers, by inadvertantly using that to wliich some patentee lias a legal claim. All those clairzs also that need explanation, should be so plainly presented that the con- struction and use of the different fixtures may be readily understood, and every patentee should be willing and ready to do this in the pages of a .Tournul designed ti) promote bee-culture and devoted to the interest of bee-keepei-s.

J. Davis. Charleston, III.

The smell of balm is very a'_rree.able to bee.s, and it is well to have this fragrant plant grow- ing iu the neighborhood of the apiary.

236

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

(For tbe American liee Journal.]

Xangstrotli Hives, &c.

Mr. Editor: — In the February -nnmber of tiie Bee Jottknal. 1868, page 157, Mr. E. Gal- lup says :— "why Mr. Langstroth does not fur- nish his agents with some other form of hive besides the broad shallow things that I have seen, is more than I can understand." Now I prcsmne that Mr. Langstroth knows his own business, and furnishes tliat form of hive which is mostly ordered by his cus'omers. I found it so, at least, and received just such a hive ns I ordered. And, furthermore, I have no reason to find fault with the above mentioned form of hive — from a single one of which I have taken more than thii-ty4wo dollars ($32) worth of honey last season. Nor have I ever liad a stock starved or frozen to death in them, though I have used them now three years. My bees are the common black bees. I have no Italians, nor have I ever seen any ; but do not think I shall have this to say at this time next year.

I presume if Mr. Gallup prefers a shorter and deeper Langstroth hive, he can be accommo- dated by Mr. Langstroth, or his agent ; as the Langstroth hive is not by any means confined to the broad shallow form.

Again, my opinion is that bees do not fancy cTimbing up two or three flight of stairs, after they have reached their hives with a heavy load. At Iciist, I am willing to unload when I get up one flight of stairs, if there is any chance to do so, I have seen a style of hives that were staked and ridered with fence rails to keep the wind from blowing them over ; but I have no fanry for such contrivances to keep been in.

When I read Mr. Quinby's able work on bees, I did not understand it as Mr. Gallup seems to do. Where Mr. Quinby speaks of his two-story bee house, he says it would be ornamental, and a few pages back— I think on page 107— he ob- jects to bee houses, for several reaons, and says they will not pay. I know that young and even old bee-keepers of the present time, can get much valuable information from Mr. Quin- by's book.

To Mr. Langstroth belongs the credit of in- troducing to US the movable comb system ; for if each and every feature of the Langstroth in- vention is taken from other movable comb hives, there is, in my estimation, precious little left to buy a right to use. In view of all the light he has given us on the movable comb system, I can see no improvements made by anyone e!&e.

Again, it is the same with bee books. Almost any tolerably good s-cholar could take Mr. Lang- stioth and Mr. Quinby's books and write anoth- er//•<?»» them ; and he would be thought quite an author by a person who saw his production, and had never seen the former. But let hint see the originals, and he could pretty well guess where the other came from. Heiice I think Mr. Langstroth is the man who deserves the pay and honor.

Now a practical suggestion. To contract the entrance of a Langstroth hive, to prevent other bees from robbing a weak colony, reverse the movable blocks, with the wide ends next each

other, place them close »o the liiive and half an inch or so apart ; lay on the top of the blocks a piece of board or shingle, thus fonning a nar- row hall or passage, where it would be almost impossible for a strange bee to* enter a- hive without being detected.

Let me add my closing advic-e fO' beginners in bee-culture: Procure Mr. Langstroth's book on the Hive and the Honey B3C-,"jrr. Quinby's Mysteries of Bee-Keeping, and take tlie Ameri- can Bee Journal, and if there- is any etUer- prize and cnerfjij in you, you c-.ui Have lioaey and make money. MI. WixsoN.

Denison, III.

IFor the Amcrieiwi.Efee Journal.)

Height of Hives.

In the January number of the-BEE Jottrnal, Querist expressed a Avish tiiat the readers of the Journal would give their vicwrs as the best Mze andfo7'}n of hives. Mr. Quinliysays 1.1io ad- vantages of bee-keeping depend as- much- irpon the construction ef the hives, as on anyone thing. And in the Februarj numl)cr,. Mr. Langstroth suggests that some oi' his hives- be made higher and more compact,, for. the purpose of testing their adaptability for wintering bees, on their summer stands, in the speniair...

Now, altliough tills is a movc^ia;the ri"gh.t di- rection, I think that fifYeen indies, the height Mr. Langstroth named for the p-oposed change in the form of Ids hive, is ruiining tO' an. ex- treme. .1 have used hives just fiTtten inches i-n height, but the amount of suxpUis honey ob- tained from hives ol so gi-eat Isei'ght would, not satisfy bee-keepers of the presmit day. Of course hives so low and widespsfjadasto secure- the greatest amount possible of surplus- honey; are not profitable, if the hives rfflc to remain, en their stands during the winter ;: as it would be next to impossible to get anytliing like a full swarm through the winter, with; the breath, of life in them.

I tliink that, to avoid extremes iiii the height of hives, we slioukl not vary n^iachfrom .twelve- inches. I have a letter from H. Kirby, of Hen- rietta, N. Y., who had cxperiaiented a great deal in the height of hives. He decided that tAvelve inches was best. The UHual' height- off the Langstroth hive is ten inches.. Two inches; in the height of a hive makes a material. dilTtir- ence. Movable frame hives arc net. quite as^ Avarm as those without frames-;; as the vacant space around the frames admits a oomparaively free escape of animal heat, and is so- much, ad- ditional space for the animal beat, of the swarm to extend over, and thus renders the swarm, less able to maintain the reqmsite degree of warmth. Isaac Ide.

Medina, N. Y.

Crippled and disabled workers arc not tolera- ted in the bee commonwealth;, Thej' are at once condemned and ejected bythecommunLty,, as not only useless but injurioas members,. lor whom no compassion is felt aiKl no mercy i&ih store. C:ippled queens are reseiw-ed and cher- ished, though when become supemnnuatetLand unproductive, they too arc disesivied.

TnE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

237

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

WASHINGTON, JUNE, 18G8.

Iti^TnE Ameuican Bi:e Jouunal is now pub'.ishecl monthly, in the City of Wasliington, (D. C.,) ut $2 per annum. All commnnications should be .iddressod to the Editor, at that place.

li;:^"Several valuable communications were received too late for this number of the JouR- NAT-, and some articles now in type are unavoid- ably omitted.

tl^The queen bee received last month by express, from Mr. Grimm, died on the second day after her arrival, before any steps could be taken to ascertain why her eggs would not hatch, as she laid none during her journey, nor subsequently. An examination of her sperma- theca le-rt it doubtful whether she had been fer- tilized.

No similar case appears to have come under the observation of any German apiarian. The Baron of Berlepsch, in his very comprehensive treatise oa Bees and Bee-culture, published in 1860, says expressly that every egg laid by a queen will hatch ; and so far as we can recollect there is nothing in the Dletienzeititng since in- dicating a different opinion or intimating a doubt. Yet we have heard of several instances in this country, besides tiiat of Mr. Grimm, where eggs laid by an apparently healthy queen did not liatch ; and we have now a queen in our apiary which lays freelj', though a majoritj' of her eggs are not placed on the bottom of the cells, but on the side. Those so misplaced "we suspect do not hatch, as the capped brood ap- pears to be irregularly placed iu the combs, and the population of tbc hive is certainly di- minishing.

Mr. ^larvin, of St. Charles, Illinois, had a queen last fall which laid eggs tiiat did not hatch. She was unable to fly, and was probably unfertilized.

Milkpan vs. Honeypot.

To the class of popular prejudices against honey bees belongs the singular notion, preva- lent among dairymen, that white clover, on whose blossoms those busy insects have been foraging, is less valuable as food for milch cows than it would otherwise have been ; or that a

herd will yield less milk, cream, and butter, in a white clover region stocked with bees, than in one in which no bees are kept. This conceit, we apprehend, is on a par with that of the fruit- growers, who imagine that bees injure blossoms and deteriorate crops.

The nectar of flowers is generally regarded as a secretion intended by n:iture to attract bees and other insects, to secure the fertilization of plants. Yet in reality it is an excretion,, design- ed to rid the plant of puperfluous matter by natural process. It is extruded and thrown off, because not needed, or no longer needed, for the growth and developement of the plant as a herb- aceous or vegetable production ; though, in this extruded condition, it slill subserves the import- ant purpose of reproduction, by securing fertili- zation, through the instrumentality of honey- loving and honey-gathering insects. But here its ofQce or function ends, and whatever has not been gathered by the insect tribes, is almost immediately dissipated or dessicated. In some blossoms it is so exceedingly volatile that it evaporates early iu the day, and bees are never seen exploring them after noon. What is not gathered to-day is lost ; it cannot be gathered to-morrow. Still it is not re-ahmrbed. It does not re-enter the plant, and again form part of its substance. If, on drying, a minute portion of it may be supposed to remain on the nectarj% the infinitessimally thin lilm of saccharine mat- ter thus deposited, is speedily dissolved and washed away by dews and rain, or f»lls to the ground with the unfertilized blossoms. Precious little of it would find its Avay into the dairyman's milk pail, cream pot, or butter churn, though not a bee had ever existed, or the whole race were bani.shed from the laud by exasperated town meetings.

It is universally conceded that the white clo- ver is a much more valuable forage plant for milch cows, than the red. Yet the latter loses, by insect abstraction, comparatively little of the saccharine element so abund.iutly secreted or excreted in the nectaries of its blossoms. Hence, on the dairymen's theory, it should, so far as the sweets of a honoy-bearing herbage are con- cerned, be at least fifty-fold more valuable than the former. While a wliite clover patch iu bloom is swarming and musical with honey bees, scarcely a few dozen "droning humlers " can be found on an acre of the red, though in full flower and redolent with sweet savor. If then the retention of the saccharine element so essentially conditions the value of the forage, as one of its milk producing constituents tiiat the market price of cream and butter is affected

238

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

by wliat the bees carry off, how comes it that the milk product of the non-deprived red clover is so greatly inferior, both in quality and quan- tity, to that of the incessantly despoiled white ? Here is a fair test, open to every one anxious to search out the " secret things of nature." The facts, too, are so palpable and plain that even a Wenhamite of the tv o-thirds order might be expected to draw some pretty conclusive infer- ences from them.

Obviously the milk producing qualities of a plant do not depend on the retention or ab- straction of the saccharine matter secreted or excreted in the nectary of the blossom. That is the mere excess — the foison — which the plant no longer needs. Whether the sun dries it up, or the rains wrsh it off, or the bees carry it away, the result is all the same in the milkpan — though, in default of the latter, the difference would be considerable in the hive and the honeypot.

The Spider and the Bee: or, look not on outward appearanca.

A FABLE.

[For the American Beo Journal.]

Patent Monopoly.— Langstroth's Hive.

I have rarely been more deeply interested in any article ihan in that Avhich appears on page 219 of the present volume of the Bee .Iouunal, in relation to the hive invented by Mr. Lang- stroth. That he should now, after fourteen years faithful labor, be actually poorer than Avhen he first began the work, does not speak well for the honesty of American bee-keepers. One thing that strikes me most forcibly is the seeming ignorance of most of th'i writers in the Bee Journal in regard to the points in which we are indebted to Mr. Langstroth. I have ex- amined the subject with a good deal of care, and am fully convinced that every man who uses comb frames consiructed and arranged as in the Langstroth hive, is using that which does not belong to him. And yet we find men dis- cussing the merits of different liives, and con- trasting them with Langstroth's, while at the same time these ver)^ hives owe their most val- uable feature to Langstroth's ingenuity. I know that diffjrenccs of shape, material, and interior arrangement, may properly be the sub- ject of discus-ion and comparison Avith Lang- stroth's form. But in this discussion we are too apt to forget that to Mr. Langstroth we owe that which is far more imjiortant than any mere form or arrangement. Take away from our bee-keepers the knowledge of the movable frames, and where would we be ?

I have no pecuniary interest in the matter. I am not even personally acquainted with Mr. Langstroth. I speak in simple justice to a worthy man, to whom we all owe a deep debt not only o^ gratitude but of cash. Can we not afford to be honest ?

John PniN, Professor of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Agricultural College.

BY ELLEN llOBERTS.

It chanced a Spider and a Bee Once settled on the selfsame tree, And then began a warm debate Which could the fairer work create.

The Spider boasted, none so well Of geometric form could tell. Or could so cunningly design How squares with circles should combine. She said the webs she daily wove Her skill, in this respect, would prove ; And, farther, from her own slight frame The silken threads to spin it came. Whereas the honey of the Bee Was stolen from each flower and tree ; Nay, that she was obliged, indeed. To borrow from the humblest weed.

The Bee replied, she never thought Such charge against her could be brought ; That as to stealing honey sweet From every flower she chanced to meet, Her skill was so conspicious here, She'd nothing from such charge to fear. So delicately she distill'd, And her slight bag with honey fiU'd, That never had a fiovver complained That by her means its juice was drained 1 No leaf had been at any cost. As to the webs the Spider spun, Uar comb? as skilfully were done. Indeed the merits of her cause Might rest on mathematic laws ; For these were never disobey'd In any hexagon she made. But, what was chiefly on her side, Her works were usefully applied ; She labor'd for the public good, And stored her cells for winter's food.

Taught by this fable, let us aim At virtue, rather than at fame ; Caught by no outward show or glare. Appearances may promise fair ; The dazzling are not always bright, But glitter with delusive light ; Let's estimate things by their use Not the efl'ect they can produce.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Transferring Combs.

Mr. Editor :— The following I find is a bet- ter way of transferring combs from box hives to frames, than any I^have seen described.

Cut strips of thick and strong hardware paper, or such as paper flour bags are made of, and tack across the frames horizontally and verti- cally. Turn over the frame and adjust the comb in it ; tack other strips across, and the work is done. The strips should be about half an inch wide. After using these once, no one will return to strings. John M. Piuce.

Buffalo Ghove, Iowa.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL.

239

[Fi>r tho American Bee Journal .]

Answer to Correspondent. No. 2.

Do bees injure the fruit crop by taking honey from the llowers ?

A lady came to a neigboring bee-keeper's house and requested him to thut up his six stocks of bees, as they were taking the sweet out of the flowers, and it made the currants sour! When asked if she could prove them to be his bees, she replied of course they were his, as the hives were in the adjoining garden. The lady, with her little knowledge on the subject, did not think that the bees of my several hundred stocks could fly the distance of less than a mile, to rob her currant bushes of the sweets, and thus left her currants to grow sour. That is the theory also of tlie failure of fruit crops, grain, or seed, from the fancied bad effect of the re- moval of honey from the flowers.

I have grown seventy -five bushels of currants, twenty-flve of gooseberries, and apples, pears, cherries, and all kind of fruit that can be grown here, in abundance ; and tlie same year had six hundred and fifty stocks of bees within working distance of the fruit garden. I have not had an entire failure of the various kinds of fruit since I have kept bees. I have some seasons had large crops, while at other places ou the prai- ries, with no buildings, trees, or streams of water, with few or no bees kept near, I have seen failures of fruit from various causes, such as cold dry winds, frosts, hot dry winds, "rotten root," "wet feet," (land not well drained), scales or bark lice, various kinds of aphides or plant lice, that suck the juices from the leaves, tender branches, fruit stems, buds and flowers, and eject a sweet liquid resembling honey, of which the bees are fond. I have seen large ap- ple orchards on the bleak prairies that bore no fruit, or only at intervals, until the shelter belts of timber and hedges grew up. Now varieties bear often that were entire failures before such growth of protection. "While some orchards bore fruit only on the east side rows in some seasons, in others the produce would only be on the south side rows. Why not say the bees gathered all the honey from the barren rows ? The red clover yielded surplus honey for boxes the first time "for twenty years, and also the largest crop of seed. The melilot clover yielded the largest crop of seed, and also honey, for several years. One year I saw the white clover in flower for fifteen days ; but no bees were at work on it during that time, and no seed teas formed. A change in the atmosphere gave a yield of honey, and in a few days the flowerets turned down with the growth and weight of seeds — of which each pod contained many. I have seen buckwheat that had been sown in the spring, and also such as was sown in the latter part of the summer, in flower for thirty days at a time, and no honey gathered or seed set. Yet a change in the atmosphere gave a yield of hon- ey, and also of grain in proportion.

Can persons who think bees injure fruit, poison our bees ?

I think not. Bees gather poisonous honey in 6ome districts, but that has no injurious effect

on themselves; yet it is injurious to man, unless the poison is removed by boiling or the use of chemicals.

Most bee-keepers can tell what their bees are at work on, and may track them to the poison dish, if such a thing could be done as to poison them. An enlightened neighborhood would not tolerate an ignorant and vicious person in their midst, who would attempt so wicked !.n act as to endanger the lives of the whole com- munity, that might partake of tlie honey so stored, if it could be done. Tlie proper remedy for such persons is, to educate them I)y lending or giving them books, or if they cannot read, practical lessons in fruit growing and bee-keep- ing. Get them to go to fruit growers' and beo- kcepers' conferences; lend or give them a stock of bees ; give them knowledge, as that will give them power to overcome their prejudices.

St. Charles, iLii. Jas. M. Mauvin.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

"Wintering Bees.

Last winter I placed twelve stocks of bees in a pit, as directed by Bidwell Brothers, in the American Agriculturist Annual for 18G7. My soil being heavy, and not high enough to drain very thoroughly, I removed them as soon as spring began to open, and found them in good condition, though beginning to mould.

I am thinking of constructing a house for future use, with walls five or six inches apart, filled in with saw dust ; and would be glad to know from those who have had experience in using such winter quarters, about how long in the spring bees can be kept in such a house without becoming too restless. If it were prac- ticable, I would like to keep my bees housed until the appearance of fruit blossoms, and thus avoid the chilling winds which so surely follow the sunny days of March.

I would also like to hear further from Messrs. Bidwell Brothers, in regard to the feasibility of burying bees in heavy clay lands.

Selma, Ohio. C. E. Thokne.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Make of Hives.

Being a new hand in the bee-keeping business, I have became very much interested in the con- tents of the Bee Journal and more particu- larly in the writings of E. Gallup and J. H. Thomas. I notice that they differ on three im- portant points, to be considered by those just engaging in the business, viz : the size of the hive, the use of the slanting bottom boards, and fixed or equal distanced frames. Mr. Thomas advocates a hive of two thousand cubic inches comb capacity, the use of a slanting bottom board, and fixed frames. Mr. Gallup is in favor of a hive of greater capacity, and deprecates the use of the slanting bottom board and fixed frames. If these gentlemen would give their ' views more definitely ou those points, through I the Bee Jouuxal, they would confer a favor : on more than one Xew Beginnku.

1 Diamond Lake. Ills.

240

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

[For the American Bee Jouraal.]

How can we determine the amount of Honey in a field?

Bees in common swarminnj liives will gener- ally double their numbers annually, until they demand the wliole product of honey for their support. The doubling, or partial doubling, beyond this, carries them beyond tlieir means of support. Some strong swarms will gather enough tor winter, and a small amount of sur- plus. Some enough to go through the winter with some feeding. Otiiers so weak that the moths get the start of them, and they perish. A number must be broken up, or starve to death.

Last year I had no luck with my bees. I never saw so poor a season. There was Iiut very little honey in the flowers. I have hardly known a worse season.

Might not the keeper suppose that before this bad luck commences, he had measured the lim- its of his field ; and thus limit tlie number of his colonies, if he would secure success ? Sup- pose forty colonies had been the number tairly supplied, and above this numl)er failure and bad luck attended him ; would it not be proper to limit his number to forty colonies ?

Might he not make this a basis of his esti- mate ? Forty colonies at sixty pounds each, for winter consumption, and Avith the breeding season, will amount to two thousand four hundred pounds. My surplus was five hun- dred pounds. Whole amount collected by the bees two thousand nine hundred pounds. May he not enquire — I obtain five hundred pounds out of two thousand nine hundred pounds 3'ield ! A trifle more than one-sixth ! Is there no way to do better than this ?

Permit me, in answer to this, to refer to ac- tual experiment. In 1800, I built four new hives, so constructed as to give box room for from one hundred and twenty -live pounds to one hundred and thirty pounds, in eighteen boxes. The four colonies in them in the season of 1807, gave four new swarms and five hun- dred pounds of surplus. At an estimate of sixty pounds per swarm for consumption, the eight old and new require four hundred and eighty pounds for home consumption and give five hundred pounds — or more than half — in surplus.

Put twelve colonies of bees in the last named hives, and you may secure nearly five hundred pounds — or more than half— ia surplus. Can any one question whether it is best to be at the expense of twelve hives and obtain one thou- sand five hundred pounds of surplus honey ; or of forty hives, and obtain only five hundred pounds. Jaspek Hazen.

Albany, N. Y.

Fertile workers are not usually very prolific, many of them scarcely laying an hundred eggs each in the course of their lives, when placed in the most favorable circumstances. The brood consequently is irregularly disposed of in the combs. But Berlepsch says he knows of one instance in which such a worker was highly prolific, the brood filling an entire comb, and being compactly placed in the cells.

[For the American Bee Joarnal.]

Artificial Swarms.

I have just received a circular from M. M. Baldridge, St. Charles, Illinois, in which, among other things, I find the prospectus of a book which Mr. Baldridge is about to issue, giviuc instructions about making artificial swarms*^ and securing straight combs in frame hives.

By these instructions "any person, even the novice, may divide a hive quickly and with safety ; and, with onri exception, without spend- ing a moment's time in hunting the queen."

But, what about that "one exception," Mr. Baldridge? Sometimes exceptions are so frequent as to be hard to distinguish from the rule ; and I would like to know how often this one is likely to occur. Quinby and King each give methods for making artificial swarms without hunting up the queen.

And I would also be glad to know whether you propose to give us a better way of produ- cing straight combs, than the well-known and simple one of raising one end of the hive.

Selma, Ohio. C. E. "tnoRNE.

[For the American Bee Journal.]

Italian Bees and Red Clover.

Mb. Editor : — In the December number, vol. 3, of the Bee Journal, page 137, your correspondent "Bee-keeper" asks for " more light" on the subject of Italian bees working on the second crop of red clover.

My answer to Mr. McCune, vol. 3> page 58, seems to have satisfied 1dm ; but my answer is not entirely satisfactory to "Bee-keeper " This question is presented by him — " Are there any black bees in his (Mr. Langstroth's) neighbor- hood. ?" I reply — there are! and if my mem- ory serves me arii^ht, Messrs. L. & Son had just received a colony of l)lack bees into their apiary a few days before I visited them, and had intro- duced an Italian queen bee into it.

I have yet to see the first native bee in this country work on red clover, and I had observed this fact before I ever heard of the Italian bee. And the fact of the Italians working freely on the bloom of the second crop of red clover, for- ever determines their superiority over the na- tive bee.

This country abounds in luxuriant fields of red clover, the second crop of which is in full bloom just at the season when other flowers are failing, and weak colonies are enabled to gather a good supply of stores for winter use.

I am not yet satisfied of the superiority of the Italian over the native bee in many other points claimed by others ; but think I will be enabled to determine after handling them another season.

If you find anything in these few remarks which will be of interest to bee-keepers, you can give it to the public. If not throw it aside witli the rubbish. I am much pleased with your "Journal," and would not be without it for three times its cost. O. B. Long.

HOPKINSVILLE, Il,L.

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