1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



165 



nspection, or, if it is pos.sible, supple- 

 ment and stimulate it. 



The future of the beekeeping industry 

 depends in no small measure on the 

 creation of professional beekeepers. 

 Apiary inspection was instituted chiefly 

 to save what already existed and was 

 not conceived as a creative agency. If 

 inspection is to assist in giving the 

 much needed impetus to the industry, 

 every apiary inspector should empha- 

 size the extension feature of his work, 

 so far as his authority will permit, and 

 in addition should encourage and sup- 

 port the extension work which openly 

 assumes the task so long carried un- 

 announced by the inspection. By en- 

 larging the extension work to the full- 

 est extent, we may expect still more 

 satisfying results than those here given. 

 Washington, D. C. 



How Products of the Hive 

 May Be Increased 



BY J. E. CRANE. 



IT has been often observed that one 

 hive of bees is much more produc- 

 tive than another, but the reason 

 is not obvious. It is the purpose of 

 this brief article to point out two or 

 three reasons why this may come about. 

 The first and most usual reason is a 

 large population at the right season to 

 gather the surplus. We notice in the 

 •' great war" now in progress, the value 

 of large armies, and the advantage they 

 have over the smaller bodies of men. 

 The same is true in the work of the 

 nive The more numerous the held 

 workers, other things being equal, the 

 greater the yield. So we may set it 

 down as a matter of prime importance 

 to have a prolific queen. But there are 

 other things of as much or even greater 

 importance, the longevity or endurance 

 of the workers is one of them. It is 

 of little value to rear a large number if 

 they die early while in the height of 

 their labors. . 



We notice a great difference in the 

 age reached by different families of 

 mankind. Some drop out at 65 or 70, 

 while others live on, almost every mem- 

 ber to 80 or more years, hale and 

 hearty. The same law appears to hold 

 true in regard to the age of bees, as is 

 easily shown by introducing an Italian 

 queen into colonies of black bees ; or 

 by noticing the time a queenless colony 

 will survive after they have lost their 

 queen It is generally believed among 



the more intelligent beekeepers that 

 the average age of worker-bees during 

 the summer months is about six weeks ; 

 and the time they work in the field is 

 not far from four weeks. If workers 

 of one colony of bees can gather honey 

 for four weeks while the longer lived 

 bees of another colony can go five 

 weeks, we can readily see why the jat- 

 ter should prove the more productive. 

 If the first colony should produce CO 

 pounds of surplus, the hive of longer 

 lived bees should produce 75 or even 

 more pounds of surplus honey. 



There is another factor of prime im- 

 portance in the discussion of this sub- 

 ject. It is the constitutional vigor with 

 which the bees of a colony are endowed. 

 It may even include longevity. Any 

 person who has had much experience 

 with domestic animals, and especially 

 horses, must have noticed the great 

 difference in their constitutional vigor 

 and ability to stand up under adverse 

 conditions. One horse may be driven 

 a dozen miles and back, and when you 

 turn it out it will kick up its heels as 

 though it had thoroughly enjoyed the 

 whole drive, while another after having 

 been driven half the distance appears 

 worn out. There is as much difference 

 in the natural vigor of different colo- 

 nies of bees as in other animal life, 

 perhaps even more. Some colonies 

 will go down in spite of our best en- 

 deavors to build them up, while others 

 in apparently no better condition re- 

 spond and build up with surprising 

 rapidity. This may account for the 

 greater distance some bees fly in 

 search of nectar, and also for the 

 greater productiveness of one hive over 

 another. If the bees of one hive fly 

 over an area whose diameter is three 

 miles, while bees of a more vigorous 

 colony fly over a diameter of four 

 miles their pasturage is nearly doubled, 

 and sometimes the surplus of their 

 hives also. Bees often fly even farther. 

 A friend of the writer introduced Ital- 

 ian bees into his apiary. There was a 

 field of alsike clover 2^ miles from his 

 yard. He went to see if his new breed 

 of bees would go so far for honey, and 

 much to his surprise found his yellow 

 bees in great abundance; and they 

 were several times as numerous as 

 the black bees of a neighbor whose 

 bees were located only a mile from the 

 clover. The greater vigor of Italian 

 bees accounts in a large measure for 

 their popularity. 



It is well for the apiarist to have 

 these points in mind if he would in- 



crease the productiveness of his bees. 

 Avoid increase from the weaker hives 

 and plan to get the new swarms, or at 

 least the young queens, or as many of 

 them as possible from the strongest and 

 most vigorous colonies, and those pro- 

 ducing the largest amount of surplus 

 honey. 



iMiddlebury, Vt. 



Translations from a Swiss 

 Bee Paper 



BY C. W . AEri'LER. 



In "Der Scliweizerisclien Bienen-ZeitunK" 

 (Swiss Bee Journal) for December. 1916. I 

 tind the following of linlerest; 



HONEY and wax have increased 

 in price in Germany, but in far 

 greater proportion than other 

 food stuffs. It is thought that the rea- 

 son for the increased price of honey is 

 the lack of cultivated plants yielding 

 nectar. All available land has been 

 put into potatoes, grain, and the like, in 

 order to meet the demands of the war, 

 leaving only honey plants that are 

 growing wild for the bees to secure 

 nectar from. Even the parks^ flower 

 gardens and lawns have been plowed 

 up and put into potatoes. 



Honey is now selling for six marks 

 per kilo in Germany, which if given in 

 price per pound would be approxi- 

 mately 68 cents per pound. Wax is 

 selling for seven marks and above per 

 kilo, which if given in price per pound 

 is approximately 76 cents per pound. 

 Before the war, honey was selling for 

 30 to 35 cents per pound, and it is sur- 

 prising that it has only doubled in 

 price in that country. Before the war 

 most articles of food were cheaper in 

 Germany than in America, yet honey 

 was selling for about three times the 

 price that we receive. 



Before the Swiss Science Associa- 

 tion in November, 1916, Prof. Goldi 

 presented his new theory on the sex 

 determination of the honeybee. His 

 theory is as follows : All eggs that are 

 laid in drone-cells by the queen are 

 fertilized the same as all eggs that are 

 laid by her in worker-cells. However, 

 after the eggs have been laid by the 

 queen in drone-cells, the workers steri- 

 lize them. 



This is the third hypothesis that has 

 been set forth on sex determination in 

 the case of the honeybee, and may be 

 said to lie about midway between the 

 hypothesis of Dzierzon and Von 

 Dickel. 



Prof. Goldi bases his theory on ob- 

 servations that he made with certain 

 species of ants in Peru, South America. 

 Madison, Wis. 



A CRANE APIARY IN VERMONT 

 Losses in the Crane apiaries the past winter under two percent 



Long Distance Beekeeping 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



THERE are hundreds of men who 

 keep bees as a side line and with 

 no very special importance placed 



on the income from the apiary. There 

 are a few side line beemen whose 

 colonies are numbered by hundreds. 

 For novelty of management and 

 profitable returns we take off our 

 hats to I. J. Stringham, of New York 

 city. Stringham runs a supply busi- 

 ness in the city which requires more 



