824 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15. 



vice, for I have a commission for you to per- 

 form. I have been thinking much about Aifa- 

 retta since you were injured. We have noticed 

 that, when she is most alert and excited, she is 

 noticeably better. During the most critical 

 period in your sicl<ness we were greatly encour- 

 aged to find her so much like our former Alfa- 

 relta; but when the strain relaxed, and you 

 recovered, she again dropped back to her old 

 condition. We think more exercise would have 

 a beneficial effect, and I wish you to find us a 

 gentle riding pony for her especial use." 



The idea of helping his friends, and especial- 

 ly of putting Alfaretta in the way of recovery, 

 was the very strongest incentive to activity; 

 and, while still disheartened, through duty, he 

 mustered up enough energy to take him to 

 Sacramento. 



The change from the quietness of the rural 

 shades for the bustle of the city, was indeed 

 invigorating. The uproar of the city was aug- 

 mented by incoming trainloads of people to 

 attend the annual fair. The hotels were crowd- 

 ed to their utmost capacity, and the sporting 

 fraternity seemed to have full possession of the 

 city. The saloons, ordinarily plentiful, were 

 increased for the occasion, and through them 

 filtered the evil elements of the crowd. 



Every hotel had its coterie of gamblers, and 

 around the roulette and faro tables were little 

 crowds intently watching the progress of the 

 game, watcher and gamester silent, save now 

 and then a subdued word or the continued 

 click of the white and red counters as the game 

 rapidly changed. 



The same gaming evil was found upon the 

 fairgrounds, but in a more extended sense. 

 The races were on, and the sale of pool -tickets 

 was plied with energy of voice and gesture. 

 Flaunting women elbowed their way to the 

 gaming-tables, and put down their coin with 

 the men, blear-eyed and maudlin with beer. 

 As Fred moved from point to point he felt that 

 the entire city and fair was naught but an ex- 

 tensive gambling-den. There was one place, 

 however, where no games of chance were al- 

 lowed, and Fred was glad to escape from the 

 gaming mob to the .pavilion devoted to the 

 exhibition of the peaceful fruits of industry. 

 His interest in bee culture led him to search 

 for an exhibit of the product of the hive. His 

 perseverance was rewarded by finding a small 

 but neat display. For a long time he leaned 

 against the intervening railing, observing every 

 feature of the exhibit. The neat sections nice- 

 ly arranged seemed like old friends, and a tear 

 came to his eye as he thought of the fate of his 

 own beautiful honey. Regardless of the rush- 

 ing throng of humanity around him, the scenes 

 of that eventful night all came vividly to mind 

 — the roar of the flood, the swift descent, tragic 

 loss of his friend, his own rescue; but in all tho 

 changes c' his day-dream the figure of the 



lovely Alfaretta was ever uppermost until he 

 was startled to activity by the sudden dropping 

 of a hand upon his shoulder. 



HOW FAR APART SHOULD BEKS BE KEPT TO 

 INSUKE PURITY? 



Question — I have a select strain of Syro- 

 albino bees which I wish to keep pure. How 

 far apart from other bees must they be kept in 

 order not to have my queens meet with drones 

 from other apiaries? 



^nsifcr.— This is a question which confronts 

 every bee-keeper who wishes to improve his 

 stock by a careful selection, of the best out of 

 his own yard, and one upon which "doctors" 

 disagree. One writer, who is considered au- 

 thority on the subject of queen-rearing, says: 

 " There are some who entertain the idea that a 

 race of bees can not be kept pure unless they 

 are kept isolated several miles from all other 

 races. I have tested this matter pretty care- 

 fully during the last twenty years, and have 

 found that one-half mile is as good as a much 

 greater distance." He then goes on to state the 

 length of time the queen is gone from her hive 

 on her wedding-trip, from which I suppose he 

 arrived at the above conclusion. He gives this 

 as five minutes, from which I conclude that it 

 is supposed that a queen can not fly over one 

 mile in that time (one-half mile and return); 

 but, as will be seen, nothing is said regarding 

 how far a drone may fly during that five min- 

 utes. Regarding the flight of drones, he says 

 the "drones will sometimes fly a mile or more, 

 but queens will not;" but about how long It 

 takes the drones to fly that mile, nothing is 

 said. But what is to hinder those drones from 

 being that mile from home when the queen gets 

 to the end of her half-mile.? As I see nothing to 

 prevent, it looks as if the author would have to 

 admit that he drew his conclusions blindly, and 

 that he has also left a very weak point in his 

 argument. One fact is always stronger than 

 many theories, or any thing based upon suppo- 

 sition; so I will lay a fact alongside of the 

 above, and allow the reader to form his own 

 conclusions in the matter. Near the beginning 

 of my bee-keeping life there were no Italian 

 bees nearer than five miles; yet occasionally I 

 found some of my young queens producing hy- 

 brid bees, or those which were a part yellow- 

 banded and a part black. My original stock 

 were all black bees when I procured them, and 

 the Italians were introduced five miles away 

 after I had purchased the blacks. Not long af- 

 ter this a man four miles away Italianized his 

 whole apiary, and the year following I found 



