136 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. 28, 1901. 



this mixture of so many things are many incogruities, yet 

 the general good is sure to come from the apparent chaos. 

 It matters not -whether a thing is English or German, or 

 French, if it is good it is accepted here ; while a good 

 thing, over there, will not be acceptable if it comes from 

 antipathic sources. " We have always done this way " is a 

 very usual reply. 



And not France alone is slow to take a proposed 

 progress. The Anglo Saxons, who would have us 

 think that they lead in every sort of progress, have strenu- 

 ously opposed the introduction of the metric system, or of 

 the decimal system in their money, because it was not de- 

 cidedly English, no doubt, and they stick to their shillings 

 and pennies and yards and pennyweights, while America 

 braveh' accepted the metric system, just because she saw 

 that it was good. Visit an American farmer, then stay 

 away 10 years and when you come back none of his imple- 

 ments of cultivation will be the same as 10 years before. 

 He has outprogrest them all. 



Even our new spelling reform shows that we are not 

 content to remain stationary. I lately bought a new book, 

 "Newest England," which treats of New Zealand and the 

 wonderful reforms they are making there, faithfully trying 

 co-operation, government ownership, and enough different 

 forms of socialism to scare any conservative. Well, the 

 writer of this book, who seems to love progress, still U5>es 

 the English spelling — "valour, labour, neighbour, fervour, 

 favourable, plougli." If we have dropt the useless letters in 

 so many words, why fall back— why not keep on improving ? 

 Or had we best go backwards and write "myrrour " for " mir- 

 ror ? " 



But if the Europeans are slow to take hold, there is 

 room for improvement here. too. The country is new and 

 we try to go fast— too fast in some things. Our structures 

 are often flimsy, our bridges insecure. Our roads are hor- 

 rible, our architecture a salmagundi of all ages and styles. 

 W^ith our excellent railroad coaches, we have the most inef- 

 ficient and expensive transportation. Our express compan- 

 ies " skin " us to the quick. We need parcel posts such as 

 in Europe. While passing thru Paris, when first arriving 

 in Europe, we had to give out some linen to wash, but could 

 not get it back in time for our departure for the country. 

 "I will send it to you by parcel-post," said the laundry- 

 woman. "What, twenty pounds of linen?" "Why, 

 yes, it will cost you 16 cents." And, sure enough, we re- 

 ceived our linen, by mail, 20 miles away, for something less 

 than a cent a pound. 



While in Switzerland, a friend loaned me an umbrella, 

 to go some miles in the rain. I askt how I could return it 

 to him. "Oh, by mail." "By mail!" " Yes, it will cost 

 you four cents." 



How many of my readers know that we can send a half 

 pound of samples of merchandise to a:nv point in the Postal 

 Union for half as much as it will cost to send the same 

 package to our nearest post-office ? Half a pound can be 

 sent to the other side of the earth, or to the Fiji Islands, 

 for four cents, while it will cost eight cents to send it to the 

 post-office next to your own, in your own county. Yes, yes, 

 America can learn something yet. 



The Long-Tongued Fallacy as Applied to Bees. 



BY R. C. HUGENTOBI.ER. 



ADMITTING that long tongues in one species of animal 

 life can do wonders in extracting sweetness, and carry- 

 ing it to their homes to be evaporated so as to make it 

 more palatable to those who are fond of this sort of luxury, 

 I am still extremely slow in applying this principle to Apis 

 mellifica. It has been argued with much show of reason 

 that the enormous yields of certain colonies of bees over all 

 others, is attributable to their longer reach of tongue. The 

 micrometer has argued long and eloquently in support of 

 this theory, and the honeyed jury (I dare not say jurvmen) 

 have been deeply moved by the long tongue of counsel, and 

 are actually measuring tongues with one another : It is not 

 yet decided which has the longest tongue. 



In order to defend the above theory successfully, it will 

 be necessary, in comparing the results of labor, to have the 

 short and the long tongues engaged on a flower whose chal- 

 ices refuse to yield up any or all of the coveted treasure to 

 the short tongues, and willingly bestow it upon the long 

 ones. 



In the summer of 1897, when the hills overlooking our 

 town were robed in white, and guests by thousands sat 

 down to the banquet of the flowers amid a glorious burst of 



harmony, and drank the health of the same, I had one col- 

 ony that gathered 140 pounds of nectar, choice enough for 

 the gods. The average per colony of ray entire apiary was 

 50 pounds. Was the large amount gathered by one colony 

 due to long tongues ? I answer no. Can not all honey-bees 

 drain the chalices of white and sweet clover ? And even if 

 they could not drain the sparkling cups emitting inviting 

 odors, what time be lost in such a sea of flowers ? What 

 need of cistern-pole when full unto the neck ? 



Again, in 1899 I had two colonies which gathered 100 

 pounds — double the amount stored by any of the balance of 

 the apiarj'. That year, 



Sniilin:,' May. she promist me £hat I might smack my lips; 



Hut laliT on grew cold toward me, as love to hate oft skips: 



And tinallj', with back to me, as she was going out, 



■• I'll back again next season when time signals thee to rout." 



So. sore disheartened then was I; 



But when Ma.v's sister came along. 



She sang uie her sweet-elover song 



Which pleased my ear and filled mine eye 



With joydrops for another year. 



Until sweet .Jiuie should reappear. 



So melting poetry to prose, we had a fine flow of nectar 

 from a 20-acre field, 1 V miles to the north, which had been 

 furrowed by a flood and planted by that ready occupant — 

 sweet clover. Learn of him thy opportunity to watch, and 

 hold on with his might. He, an ardent lover of thin soil, 

 sent his servants on weighty- errands after treasure deeply 

 hidden ; which, when found and carried up, did intoxicate 

 with delight m}' teeming kingdoms which, when frowning 

 cloud and wind bore down on them, tv/ ;;/«^j<' came sailing 

 on lo%T down, till at flood-tide, they filled the main street of 

 our town, scarce over my low head! Fair sight I Well 

 worth a poet's eye I 



We conclude then, that the superiority of one colony 

 over many others in amount of nectar gathered, is due, not 

 to the superiority of organs employed, but to superior in- 

 dustry which characterizes not only families and individu- 

 als in the lower kingdom of animal life, but families and 

 individuals in the higher as well ; and to argue that, in 

 white clover and sweet-clover flows extending over peri- 

 ods of five weeks and three weeks, respectively, a particular 

 colony manifested superior results in amount of labor per- 

 formed because of a superior organ in its individuals, 

 would be manifestly an error. Let us remember in breed- 

 ing for long tongues to gather a doubtful amount of red- 

 clover nectar (for the meager results from the bumble-bee 

 indicate no purple goblets filled), that the characteristic en- 

 ergy of colonies is not dependent upon long tongues, tho 

 they may accompany them. Nature, it seems, in the provi- 

 dence of God, has placed an apparently insurmountable bar- 

 rier between Apis mellifica and the sparkling nectar in the 

 rosy chalice, which, if overcome by the ingenuity of man, 

 would doubtless j'ield some nectar, but, taking all things 

 into consideration, be undesirable to all. 



Hamilton Co., Ohio. 



Cuban Bee-Experiences— Honey and Wax. 



BY GEO. ROCKENBAUGH. 



THE rain has been coming down in torrents all day, mak- 

 ing one feel like doing something desperate, but instead 

 I came up here on the peaceful mission of^writing to 

 the "Old Reliable." 



April 10, 1900, I thought I was going to leave Cuba 

 for good, never to see my bees again. I was the most dis- 

 appointed bee-keeper that ever struck this island, as it was 

 no trifle to lose 475 colonies all in 10-frame hives with two 

 supers on each, and each colony containing a j-oung queen. 

 When I first began to work this apiary some of the hives 

 were rotten with what I pronounced foul brood, as some of 

 the bees were shipt here from Havana city. But I do not 

 now think that it is foul brood, as I tried the McEvoy plan 

 but made a failure of it. Some of the native bee-keepers 

 pronounce it chilled brood, pickled brood and bald-headed 

 brood, caused by pollen that is poisonous to the brood. 



Every colony that I have is verj' badly affected with 

 paralysis, which is probably also caused by that same poi- 

 sonous pollen, as their abdomens are swelled, and they act 

 as they would in a bad case of constipation. I have tried 

 many remedies, but none proved of any avail. 



When I arrived here the second time — Oct. 15th— there 

 were only 170 colonies left, the others having swarmed out, 

 and the hives were badly cut inside with moths. I have ex- 

 tracted about It), 000 pounds of honey up to this time. 



