October, 1918 



G r. E A N T N G S IN B E K C U I. T U H E 



601 



^ FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



customers must pay 25 cents to 30 cents a 

 pound. With honey, postage, and can add- 

 ed, my proi)osed price is but 20 10/12 cents 

 a pound. Can I get it? Docs anyone doubt 

 it? A. F. Bonney. 



Buck Grove, la., July 25. 



THE BEST KIND OF HYBRIDS 



They May be More Prolific and Produce More 

 Honey Than Pure Italians 



It is enough to furnish many hearty 

 laughs to go to a beekeepers' picnic and 

 hear what the prominent speakers have to 

 say, and later observe what said beekeepers 

 do and how the speakers ' advice works out 

 in real life. For example. Prof. Eay of 

 Cornell said: 



"Don't keep hybrids. There is nothing 

 good about them. They have foul brood, 

 they are cross, and objectionable in breed- 

 ing new stock." 



Now, we will say that Professor Eay is a 

 pretty good fellow, but he will have to 

 amend his stock statements regarding Ital- 

 ian hybrid bees before I can admit that he 

 sticks closely to the facts. Hybrids aVe not 

 always all that might be desired, but in 

 many cases the first cross of Italian and 

 black bees (Italian queens with hybrid 

 drones) results in wonderful production of 

 bees and marvelous production of honey. At 

 the same time, under the same conditions of 

 weather and flowers, pure Italian bees of 

 uniform three-band markings, gentle tem- 

 per, and possible immunity to foul brood, 

 may fail to gain a profitable surplus of hon- 

 ey, when hybrids produce good yields. 



I have kept black bees, pure three-band 

 Italians, goldens, and different varieties of 

 hybrids for the last eight years, and, after 

 making careful observations and tests in 

 breeding these races, I maintain that there 

 are great possibilities in operating with se- 

 lected hybrids and quickly eliminating any 

 queens as soon as they show their stock of 

 hybrids are not up to a certain standard of 

 prolificness, immunity to foul brood, and 

 highest working ability in turning out large 

 yields of honey. I have one hybrid colony 

 which has produced up to date this summer 

 270 pounds of extracted honey, and this is 

 far ahead of any pure Italian colony's rec- 

 ord here. This hybrid colony has no foul 

 brood, the bees show about 25 per cent jet- 

 black workers, while the queen is a beauti- 

 ful yellow, and her progeny are gentle when 

 a small amount of smoke is used to handle 

 them. So we may say, when it comes to 

 hybrids, that circumstances often alter 

 eases. My conclusion regarding this matter 

 is that pure Italian virgin queens should be 

 used, when trying to get hybrid stocks. De- 

 generate bee stock is usually the result of 

 tolerating mongrel queens. The first cross 



in breeds of poultry are known to be very 



prolific layers, and the same is true of bees. 



Canastota, N. Y. Clark W. Wilson. 



WINTERING NOT DIFFICULT 



Only Three Chief Principles — Why He Approves 

 the Demuth Method 



Sometimes I wonder if wintering is such a 

 problem after all. I do not believe it is. 

 There are just three things to bear in mind. 



The first is vitality. We should plan on 

 having a strong colony of young bees to 

 pack for winter. But not all young bees 

 have the requisite vitality. When buying 

 queens one should make sure that the 

 breeder is up to date in his methods, and not 

 just trying to raise something with six legs 

 and four wings, and that resembles a queen 

 bee. Buying from such a man is like throw- 

 ing money away. Pay the price and get the 

 best. 



The next factor in good wintering is 

 stores. A colony will not consume a great 

 amount during the cold weather; but it is 

 in late March and April, when brood-rearing 

 begins that they use the most. In this lo- 

 cality a colony should never go into winter 

 with less than 25 pounds of stores. Thirty 

 is better, as it makes it safer till fruit 

 bloom. 



The third condition is protection. Some 

 prefer the cellar. I do not. I think that, 

 if the Lord had intended bees to live in a 

 cellar, he would have made one for them; 

 but instead he gave them a hollow tree, and 

 that brings a mental picture of the Demuth 

 wintering plan, which, I believe, comes as 

 near to being a perfect case as we shall ever 

 get. Having the comb broad side to the 

 entrance keeps out the wind; and putting 

 a ten-frame colony on seven frames adds to 

 the warmth. Also, by having the frames on 

 end the bees can go higher up than when 

 the frames are horizontal. And one need 

 not worry about the placing of the brood 

 in spring, as it will not vary much from the 

 way it is placed in the frames when hori- 

 zontal, since the queen starts to lay at the 

 back of the hive; and with the upstanding 

 frames she begins at the top end, so when 

 they are unpacked the top end can be placed 

 at the back of the hive, and it is just the 

 same as tho they had been horizontal. But 

 there are other good ways to pack for win- 

 ter; and one is the double-walled or chaff 

 hive. But we must bear in mind, however 

 we pack for winter, it is very important to 

 have several inches of good packing on top. 



I think that, if beekeepers would bear in 

 mind the importance of these three require- 

 ments — vitality, stores, and protection — 

 their troubles and losses would greatly de- 

 crease. J. C. Mosgrove. 



Medina, O. 



