386 



i^Amgrican Bcc Journal 



November, 1913. 



possible when a flow of nectar is dried 

 up. Outside feeding, unless very care- 

 fully carried on, demoralizes a whole 

 country side. 



No less acutely are the organs of the 

 bee affected by noxious perfumes. This 

 was acknowledged by beekeepers be- 

 fore the Christian era. Virgil wrote: 

 " And suffer not a yew near the bees' 

 homes; nor burn in the fire the redden- 

 ing crab-shells, and do not allow them 

 to be near a deep pen, or where there 

 is a noisome smell or mire." Bee- 

 books from that time until now advise 

 to locate an apiary apart from any 

 offensive smells. Nothing taints more 

 readily than both wax and honey when 

 in proximity to a foul smelling sub- 

 stance, which is another sound reason 

 for avoiding what would arouse the 

 antipathy of bees. Therefore, the even 

 temper of the workers, the equable 

 temperature of their keeper, and the 

 delicious flavor of their luscious sweet, 

 are all influenced by offensive odor. 



Odor also plays an important part in 

 the well being of the community, be- 

 cause by it bees know their own sisters 

 and their own queen, owing to the col- 

 ony odor being the same. Queen in- 

 troduction, union of different stocks, 

 or the amalgamation of separate com- 

 munities, requires a unification of 

 odors if the two are to become one 

 peaceably. Guards "spy" would be 

 intruders mainly by the wonderfully 

 acute smell hollows possessed in such 

 vast numbers in their antennae. 



ODOR ANTIPATHIES. 



No creatures are more susceptible to 

 certain odors than bees, and as a result 

 of experiments, I am led to think that 

 ire in bees, and the consequent sting- 

 ing mania, is very frequently produced 

 by some such cause if matters were in- 

 telligently analyzed. "The stable odor" 

 is generally credited with being most 

 offensive to bees, but this is only partly 

 true. A sweaty horse is anathema to 

 them, unfortunately at times for the 

 horse. Perspiration has for ages been 

 set down in this list, but again this is 

 only partially true. Perhaps a dirly 

 sweat may, but a clean sweat does not 

 always produce irritation. Well for 

 many beekeepers that it does not, be- 

 cause at certain seasons, and under 

 certain circumstances, he must be a 

 very cool man indeed who can carry 

 out a day's work among the bees with- 

 out perspiring. A " stinking breath " /,s- 

 offensive to bees, yet snuff takers, to- 

 bacco chewers and smokers work 

 among them unmolested. 



I have seen, however, a man arouse 

 very quiet bees to a state of frenzy by 

 blowing in a few puffs of a foul breath 

 when he was " out of condition." At 

 other times he could breathe on them 

 with impunity. I once received a very 

 genuine stinging owing to the use of 

 corrugated packing paper as a smoker 

 fuel. It had been used in forwarding 

 some kind of alcoholic compound, I 

 afterwards learned, and whatever its 

 nature it certainly converted generally 

 good tempered bees into veritable 



demons. The whole population it 

 seemed took wing instantaneously. 

 The carbolic cloth properly prepared 

 and applied acts as either a quitener or 

 a regular intimidant; but cases have 

 come under my notice when it roused 

 bees to fury. Sometimes when it was 

 undercharged, and at other times when 

 it was overcharged with the solution. 



I have consistently advised that the 

 apiarist should not handle his bees 

 with unwashed hands. "Cleanliness is 

 next to godliness "is a truth worth 

 impressing on the bee-keeper for the 

 sake of the produce, which, like Cssar's 

 wife, should be above suspicion. In 

 addition, however, the rule is a wise 

 one if we consider only the bees. We 

 handle so many tools and implements, 

 so many plants and weeds in our gar- 

 dens, and so many other articles in the 

 course of the day — all more or less 

 tainted with foreign odors — that to 

 keep the bees' tempers sweet and 

 equable, it is wise to deal with bees, 

 frames and supers with clean hands. 



The receptacles in which honey is 

 stored should be very carefully washed, 

 and then rinsed in clear water to en- 

 sure that no smell is left from the soap 

 and other purifiers used in the clean- 

 ing. The same may be advised in re- 

 gard not only to the extractor, but also 

 as to all tools, implements and appli- 

 ances which may come in contact with 

 surplus either directly or indirectly. 

 Much of the honey which is imported 

 into this country suffers more from 

 these foreign taints than from the in- 

 ferior grade of the honey sent us, if it 

 were consigned in its purity. 



Some years ago we had great trou- 

 ble owing to some foundation used be- 

 ing rejected by the bees on account of 

 its offensive odor. Bees worked it un- 

 der compulsion at times, but in gen- 

 eral they avoided it, and even swarmed 

 out rather than accept it. Under more 

 modern modes of manufacturing it this 

 danger is a thing of the past, if the 

 parcels are kept apart from strong 

 smelling substances. If wintered near 

 some of these, bees will reject other- 

 wise perfect sheets on account of the 

 odor. 



BEES AND CHASTITY. 



A Strange, persistent undercurrent 

 runs through bee literature and litera- 

 ture dealing with the bee to the intent 

 that the very occupation, or the close 

 association with so model an insect, 

 encourages purity, gentleness and 

 goodness. It crops up in many classic 

 writers of ancient Greece and Rome. 

 Then it persists in the classics of early 

 English literature. We have it, too, in 

 the Koran, wherein rules are set down 

 for the guidance of beekeepers. 



1. No family may quarrel or live in 

 discord. 



2. Two partners in an apiary must 

 agree on all points, never suspect dis- 

 honesty or unfairness in each other. 



3. In any house where hives are kept 

 no stolen object should be permitted. 



4. No wickedness of any kind shall 

 be allowed at such a house. 



5. No guilty hand shall be allowed 

 to touch a hive. 



6. The surroundings of an apiary 

 should be very clean ; otherwise the 

 bees will perish or leave their dwell- 

 ings, bringing a curse on the neigh- 

 borhood. 



Perhaps these terse but emphatic 

 rules are an embodiment of the wis- 

 dom of the centuries going before. 

 Perhaps they took their origin in the 

 strange anomaly of the very existence 

 of these vestal virgins of the hive, the 

 worker females ! Th» purity of their 

 lives cannot be questioned, and the 

 high moral tone of their efforts for the 

 existence and ■ well being of the com- 

 munity is high souled and inspiring. 

 Self-abnegation is the rule of their 

 lives. The commonwealth is all in all 

 to them. They themselves and their 

 success or failure is less than nothing. 

 And they go on " toiling and spining " 

 for the good of a generation they 

 will never live to see. There is some- 

 thing so high and holy in this grand 

 rule of duty first, and the complete 

 sinking of self for the well being of 

 others, that we must admire and won- 

 der, while our admiration must at times 

 be tinctured with awe. Another enigma 

 of the hive. 



Banffs, Scotland. 



Dr. Millers ^ Answers^ 



Send Questions either to the office of the American Bee Journal or direct to 



Dr. C. C. Miller. Marengo, III. 



He does not answer bee-keeping questions by mail. 



Cross Bees 



I. Can you tell me why my bees are so 

 much more cross this season than usual ? I 

 liandle ttiem thesame as I have always done, 

 usingsmoke and avoiding undue haste, etc.. 

 and there is no robbing going on. The trou- 

 ble is not while handling them, but they 

 have taken to coming up to the door-yard 

 and lawn, and threatening ;and onceor twice 

 stinging) any one who happened to be there, 



I have always had Italians, until last year 

 I experimented with Caucasians in the hope 



of finding a race of bees better adapted to 

 this climate. The Caucasians have a good 

 reputation for gentleness, and last year I 

 really thought them more gentle than the 

 Italians, at least to work with, and I am 

 Quite sure they build up faster in the spring. 

 Are they more likely than the Italians to 

 leave thi; hive to hunt trouble ? Can it be 

 that the crosses are more vicious than 

 either breed if kept pure ? 



2. Can you suggest a remedy ? Would it do 

 any good to put a shield up by the side of 

 each hive so as to hide the premises from 



LEWIS BEEWARE MEANS 



GOOD QUALITY, SCIEN- Send for AnnunI Catnlojt nhieh -ivill trill 



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