66 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 1 



ey production for 1899 as 61,196,160 pounds 

 — a figure so low that the annual comb-hon- 

 ey crop alone would probably exceed it. Un- 

 fortunately, only those apiaries on farms 

 were included in the enumeration, and it is, 

 of course, obvious that a very large percent- 

 age of apiaries, especially in the East, are 

 not on farms but on smaller tracts of land in 

 towns and cities. A farm in the census is 

 defined as at least four acres, or enough to 

 support the owner. It is to be hoped that 

 bee-keeping will be included in the enumer- 

 ation in towns and cities in the next census. 



It is most unfortunate that the honey crop 

 of 1909 has been a complete failure in so 

 many localities. This will make the record- 

 ed figures of little value as representing the 

 industry as it normally exists, or as indicat- 

 ing the value of the honey-bee as a producer. 

 The enumeration of the number of colonies 

 on April 15 will give the least number pos- 

 sible for the winter losses, which are heavy 

 when we consider all classes of bee-keepers, 

 wiU have been completed, and there will by 

 that time have been no increase for 1910 ex- 

 cept in the South. It will be obviously un- 

 fair to estimate the average production per 

 colony by comparing the crop of 1909 with 

 the spring count of 1910 except in a very 

 general way. 



Bee-keepers should make it a point to see 

 to it that their bees are included when the 

 enumerators visit them so that we can make 

 as good a showing as possible. It may also 

 be well for us in giving the crop for 1909 to 

 designate honey-dew honey separately so as 

 to attract the attention of the census author- 

 ities to the abnormalities of the year 1909. 



SOME INTERESTING WINTER READING. 



A YEAR ago we published a portion of a 

 contribution on the natural history of the 

 honey-bee, by Dr. H. von Buttel-Keepen. 

 This was entitled, "Are Bees Reflex Ma- 

 chines?" but the very nature of the title was 

 such as to cause our readers to believe that 

 it was an abstruse scientific work beyond 

 their comprehension. As a natural conse- 

 quence, these papers did not at the time at- 

 tract any considerable attention. Dr. von 

 Buttel-Reepen, while a scientific man, is also 

 a practical bee-keeper. He conducted a 

 series of experiments that are not only ex- 

 ceedingly interesting but valuable from a 

 practical standpoint. During the long win- 

 ter evenings it is our opinion that many of 

 our practical honey-producers will find this 

 to be exceedingly profitable reading-matter. 



Here is a list of the titles and subheads: 



THE Hive Odor and its Reactions. 



Modification of Reactions toward the Hive Odor. 



The Swarming-out of a Queenless Colony. 



Intensifying the Reaction. 



Overcoming the Reactions toward Hive Odor. 



The Odor of the Queen. 



The Brood Odor. 



The Indifferent Odor of Young Bees. 



Failure of the Hive-odor Reactions in Queens and 

 Drones. 



Abnormal Hive Odor. 

 THE Means of Communication in Bees. 



Investigations with Colonies from which the Queens 

 are Taken. 



Behavior of a Queenless Swarm. 

 Disregard of a Queen in Open Air. 

 Hearing Capacity and Sensations of Sound Present. 

 Experiments on Swarms. 

 The Infecting Influence of the Swarm-tone. 

 The Enticing Note of Bees. 

 The Teeting and Quahking of a Queen. 

 The Queen's Tone of Fear. 

 Memory of Place in Bees. 

 The Paths of Bees and their Direction. 

 Disappearance of the Memory for Location through 



Narcotization. 

 The Box Experiment. 

 The Loss of Memory for Location through Swarm 



Dizziness. 

 Associations of Impressions. 

 Memory for the Feeding-place in the Hive. 

 Conduct of Bees in the Buckwheat Season. 

 Are Bees Attracted by the Color of Flowers or by the 



Nectar? 

 Place Perception in the Queen. 

 Memory for Locality in Scouting Bees. 

 The Eyes of Bees. 

 The Flight of Orientation. 

 The Finding of the Hive through the Senses of Sight 



and Smell. 

 Bethe's Tree Experiment. 

 Special Capacity for Orientation in Bees. 

 The Influence of Weather Conditions on the Sense 



of Sight, therefore on the Ability to Orient. 

 Influence of Color on Bees. 

 Further Contributions to the Natural History. 

 The Flight of Bees into a Room. v 



The Behavior of Robbing Bees. 

 The Origin of Hostile Conduct. 

 The Vanishing of Instincts with the Decrease in the 



Strength of a Colony. 

 Reactions toward Flight. 

 The Formation of the Honey-comb. 

 The Play Instinct in Bees. 

 Bibliography. 



The work was originally written in Ger- 

 man, but was recently revised and afterward 

 translated into English by one who has not 

 only a knowledge of bees but of scientific 

 terms. While this work really cost us more 

 than any other of equal size, we are going to 

 offer it to our readers on conditions mat 

 will place it within easy reach. It has 50 

 pages the size of this; and to any one of our 

 subscribers who will send us $1.00 before 

 his subscription expires, or, if the subscrip- 

 tion has expired, will pay up all back ai'- 

 rearages ana $1.00 for one year in advance, 

 we will send a copy of this work postpaid. 

 The general current of the discussion that 

 will be running during the year 1910 in these 

 pages will make this contribution exceeding- 

 ly helpful. 



ECHOES FROM THE LAST CONVENTION OF THE 



NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION AT 



SIOUX CITY. 



The last Annual Report of the National As- 

 sociation, giving a financial statement, com- 

 plete list of the membership, and report of 

 the proceedings, has been issued. Amohg 

 other things discussed was the question of 

 fastening foundation in brood-frames and the 

 various methods of staying it by means of 

 wire or splints. In this connection Mr. 0. 

 O. Poppleton drew attention to a method 

 that he had been using with considerable 

 success, that employea neither wire nor 

 splints. Mr. Poppleton said: 



Some six or eight years ago a gentleman in Califor- 

 nia sent me a permit to use his patent, and it is the fin- 

 est I have ever used; but on account of its being pat- 

 ented I have never given it out very mnch. Mr. Hill, 

 the late editor of the American Bee-keeper, in Florida, 



