American l^ee Journall 



process goes on, indefinitely. Such honey 

 when dished out is dry and thick. But where 

 the honey has been sealed up the film is ab- 

 sent, and the honey is thinner, and absorbs 

 moisture from the air at a rapid rate. 



Chatsworth, Calif. C. W. Dayton. 



Italian Bees vs. Blacks. 



Of late, we have taken a great deal of in- 

 terest in the different accounts about the 

 Italian and black bees, so we are sending an 

 account of our experience. 



We have been in and around the bee-busi- 

 ness, more or less, for the last 6 years, and 

 have had Iltalians, hybrids and blacks. With 

 us the Italians came out ahead in the lon^ 

 run, every time. A few of their superior 

 qualities are: Honey-gathering, less inclined 

 to swarm, and in better condition in spring. 

 A point in favor of the blacks is that the 

 queen does not lay eggs in the super as the 

 Italians are liable to, at least not with us. 

 But, there is another desirable trait, and this 

 is due to the prolificness of the queen, and, at 

 the same time, it can be easily overcome by 

 the use of 2 brood-chambers, or an excluder. 

 We use the 4x5 sections, and have them about 

 half filled with foundation. The remaining 

 half was built mostly for drone-comb, which 

 offered a place for the queen to lay those un- 

 desirable eggs. We do not doubt that in a 

 good honey-flow near home, as in the case 

 with sweet clover, no strain or variety of 

 bees can surpass the pure blacks, but, when 

 the harvest begins to wane, when the nectar 

 must be sought far and wide, then the Ital- 

 ians are "on the job." They hang on while 

 the blacks do practically nothing. 



We all know ot the wealth of nectar se- 

 creted by the common red clover, but, except 

 when the tubes are shortened by drouth, or 

 some other reason, it is not available for the 

 bees. Black bees have shorter tongues than 

 the Italians have, and, if you see them on 

 red clover, it is more of an exception than 

 the rule. 



Our f3ow at present consists of buckwheat 

 and second-growth red clover. In going to 

 the bee-yard in the early morning when the 

 bees are working on buckwheat, we find the 

 blacks flying fairly well, but do not come up 

 to the Italians. In going to the yard on a 

 clear day after 10 o'clock, we find the Italians 

 flying at about the same rate, while the blacks 

 barely do anything. At this time, in going 

 to the buckwheat pasture, we see no Italians 

 at work at all, and what Httle we see are 

 blacks, but on going to the clover fields, we 

 find it just buzzing and alive with bees, most- 

 ly or nearly all Italians. 



On examination of the hives, we find more 

 or less dark buckwheat honey and some honey- 

 dew (if there is any to be gathered) with the 

 blacks, and with the Italians a good surplus 

 of red clover mixed more or less with buck- 

 wheat, but not to so large an extent as to 

 injure the sales of the honey, as is the case 

 with the honey taken from the blacks. We 

 have a hard time to sell dark honey, as the 

 people want too big a reduction for it, so this 

 is quite an item. 



AH things considered, the Italians seem to 

 be the best bees for this country. 



Lititz, Pa. Snavely Bros. 



Tolerably Good Season. 



Barring the unfavorable spring, the honey 

 season in this locality was tolerably good. To 

 date I have extracted 300 pounds of honey 

 from 4 colonies, and increased to 6. I had 

 but one natural swarm. There is still some 

 honey in the hives, and the bees are in an 

 excellent condition; plenty of brood in all 

 stages; The honey in this locality lias a green- 

 ish tinge, but the body and flavor are good. 

 I sell 3 pounds for 50 cents. 



I find the ordinary Italians superior to the 

 goldens. Albin Pi.atz. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 31. 



Italians vs. Black Bees. 



Having had an experience of nearly 50 

 vears with Italian bees, and having been ac- 



?uainted with the blacks more than 75 years, 

 think I know something of the difference 

 between the two races, that seem to be unal- 

 terably fixed. 



For instance, .in handling Italian bees, they 

 hold their position on the combs, while the 

 blacks scamper to the bottom of the frame, 

 clustering in knots of both young and old 

 bees, ana drop off at the feet of the person 



handhng them. Many of the yount^ be. s 

 never get back into the hive and must nc 

 come a loss, except that the operator picks 

 up and returns them to the hive, which he is 

 not at all likely to do. 



Then, again, during all the years that i 

 have handled the Italians, I have never had a 

 colony to fall a victim to the ravages of the 

 bee-moth, while it is a fact that the moth 

 often invade and completely destroy a colony 

 of blacks. In fact, unless a colony of Italians 

 become reduced to a mere nucleus, I never 

 give the matter of their being hurt by the 

 bee-moth any attention; but in the event of 

 such a mishap, and the hive is full of comb, 

 I at once take the precaution of reinforcing 

 them with a frame of mature and emerging 

 brood. 



As regards the crossness of the two races, 

 I have found but little difference, for I oc- 

 casionally find a colony of Italians that are 

 as cross as they can be, it seems to me. And, 

 I also found the blacks no better. I have 

 opened a hive of Italians perhaps twenty times 

 in succession without veil, or smoke, without 

 receiving a sting; and the next time I have 

 received perhaps 50 stings before I could get 

 away from them. 



I have learned never to open a hive without 

 a bee-hat on, and almost invariably have smoke 

 at hand, and never have any trouble when 

 this course is rigidly adhered to. However, 

 I will except the Cyprian strain of bees, as 

 I do not remember ever handling a colony of 

 them that was not on the warpath; and smoke 

 does not seem to subdue them for any con- 

 siderable length of time, for as soon as the 

 smoke would clear away, they would fall in 

 line and seemingly attack me with renewed 

 and increased fierceness. 



In the matter of collecting and storing 

 honey, I am not fully prepared to say defi- 

 nitely that the Italians excel the blacks verv 

 much, if any. It is claimed by some that the 

 blacks seal their honey with whiter cappings 

 than the Italians. I have never been able to 

 note any real difference in the aggregatb. 

 However, I have seen the Italians cap their 

 honey with whiter material, sometimes, than at 

 other times. As to whether or not the blacks 

 do so, I can't say having never given this 

 feature of the subject any attention when 1 

 had blacks in my apiary. 



I will recapitulate the only real points of 

 difference in favor of the Italians that I have 

 been able to note: 



The Italians stand their ground on the 

 combs when handling them, while the blacks 

 run to the bottom of the combs and drop off 

 on the ground at the operator's feet, thereby 

 causing the loss of many bees. 



Second, the Italians defend themselves much 

 more successfully against the ravages of the 

 bee-moth. 



As I view the situation, these points of dif- 

 ference make it worth while to own the Ita^ 

 ians in preference to the blacks. 



Lyons, Kan. Dr. G. Bohrer. 



Byer and the Other "Buckwheaters." 



Friend York: — Please tell Mr. Byer_ that 

 he is correct in his belief that Albany is lo- 

 cated near the "buckwheaters," and if he will 

 favor us with his presence at the Nation.Ti 

 convention, he will find them out in full 

 force. Although he says he is not partial tu 

 buckwheat, I think he will find the "buck- 

 wheaters" a very good class of people to meet. 



Mr. Byer said in regard to the decision to 

 hold the National Convention in Albany, 

 "that is really too bad." I am sorry that he 

 feels that way about it, and believe that if he 

 will make the most of the opportunity, he 

 may be able to change his mind. I believe 

 it due to our Canadian brethren, that the 

 National Convention be held in their Domin- 

 ion in the near future, and I hope to sec it 

 brought about. W. D. Wright. 



Altamont, N. Y. 



[Mr. Byer writes that he expects to be at 

 the Albany convention, all being well. We 

 didn't think that he could stay away, buck- 

 wheat honey or no buckwheat honey. 



Mr. L. C. Root, of Connecticut, the son-in- 

 law of the lamented Moses Quinby, also in- 

 tends to be present at the meeting. Better 

 go, reader, if you can possibly do it. — Edi- 

 tor.] 



WanloH —Old C:omhs and .ShiniKuni. Will 

 fffdlllCU work it for half anti pay lu cents a 

 pound for your share of wax. A. A I.vons. 



HAi2t Rt. 5. Hox IHH. Kt. Collins, Colo. 



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