ao4 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



In feeding back to have theui com- 

 plete. 



I have only to say that, without con- 

 siderable experience, it will most like- 

 ly be nnsatisfactory. 



The honey fed back will granulate 

 in the comb, making the sections un- 

 marketable and the Avholc job uni)rot- 

 itable. 



I remove surplus only after the 

 close of the honey season, by the use 

 of bee-escapes; and with reasonable 

 care, there ought to be no trouldo with 

 robbers at any time. 



Soon after the honey is taken off 

 it should be all graded, and the un- 

 finished sections, that are not mar- 

 ketable, should bo extracted, cleaned 

 up by the bees, and stored where they 

 can be protected until the next sea- 

 son; when they can be profitably used 

 again as bait-combs. I have always 

 considered these unfinished combs as 

 profitable when used in this way. 



The honey should be stored in a 

 dry place. This is important. 



The unfinished sections that are to 

 be marketed (those not entirely 

 sealed over) should be disimsed of as 

 soon as possible, Avhlle the honey is 

 in good condition. 



I don't think it profltalde to let the 

 bees empty the unfinished sections. 

 The honey, if left on the hives long 

 enough to become well ripened, will 

 be of good quality, will pay very well, 

 and the combs will be in much bet- 

 ter condition if extracted. I use botl; 

 cases and wide frames In full hives 

 for sections. 



I extract the unfinished sections 

 by placing them in the wide frames, 

 after which they are cleaned up by 

 the bees, and then stored for future 

 use by hanging them over head in the 

 bee house. 



East Townsend, O., June IC. im:'>. 



MPROVING BEES BY CROSSING 

 DIFFERENT VARIETIES. BY 

 ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



^Ir. Gill's article in the Review for 

 :\lay furnishes food for thought. The 

 case cited was so pronounced as to 

 .•'rrest the attention of so extensive 

 and busy a bee-keeper as J\Ir. Gill. 

 There is on(> factor, liowevev, which 

 he failed to note, or failed to tell 

 about, and there are som(> other fac- 

 tors which seem worthy of furthe'- 

 consideration. 



SCENT OR ODOR OF LITTLK IMPORTANCE 

 IN INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



The tpieen he speaks of was caged 

 in the colony for three months, and 

 upon being released, was immediately 

 ))alled. Surely she had been there long 

 enough to acquire the same "scent" 

 as the bees, and if "scent" or "odor" 

 is an imiM)rtant factor she should have 

 met with a better reception. From 

 many experiments through many years 

 1 am forced to the conviction that 

 odor has nothing at all to do with a 

 (lueen's treatment in an alien colony. 

 The sooner this is understood the soon- 

 er we will advance in the safe hand- 

 ling and introduction of (pieens. 



The other factors I refi'rred to have 

 to do with the longevity of different 

 strains and races of bees. 



BLACK BEES ARE LONG LIVED. 



yiv. (Mil says the black bees of the 

 colony under observation lived not less 

 than TO days, and this during the busy 

 I)art of the year. As a rule, I have 

 found the blacks to be long lived; par- 

 ticularly in comparison with many 

 strains of "improved" Italians now on 

 the market. I have attributed the vi- 

 tality of the blacks to their not hav- 

 ing been so closely inbred, and to the 

 "survival of the fittest." Were it not 

 for some vital defects in their nature 

 (vital to easy and agreeable handling) 



