1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



327 



sooth, we could rig up a press in such a way 

 that the sun's rays could act on the slumgum 

 that was to be squeezed. It is strange indeed 

 that we Americans have been all this time dis- 

 covering the advantages of a steam wax press, 

 pressure being exerted on the refuse inside of 

 the extractor, surrounded by hot steam. I 

 bold in my hand a copy of the Leipziger 

 Bienenzeitung for Jul)', 1893. In this are two 

 illustrated articles describing steam wax- 

 presses embodying the principle of a steam 

 wax-extractor and a screw press, the screw 

 operating inside of the extractor. These ex- 

 tractors are the invention of Mr. Haeckel, of 

 Schlath, Germany. While a wax press in a 

 vat of hot water may be all right, yet it strikes 

 me that such a device would be much more 

 messy than a steam-press — that is, a press 

 that squf ezes the slumgum inside of a can 

 filled with hot steam. — Ed.] 



Alex. Astor reports in Revue Int. that he 

 made 140 weighings of bees, weighing 2300 

 bees in all, and he gives in milligrams the 

 weights of different kinds of bees. From this 

 I deduce the following table, showing the num- 

 ber of bees in a pound avoirdupois : 



40.i4 bees just out of the cell. 



3898 bees falling before a swarming colony 

 (probably 2 or 3 days old). 



24-57 wax-workers. 



3974 swarming workers. 



488-5 black workers in May-June. 



5066 Italian workers in May-June. 



51-51 black workers in July-August. 



5271 Italian workers in July-August. 



According to that, the load of honey of a 

 swarming bee is about ]^ its own weight. 

 [This table is exceedingly interesting — the 

 more so, as I think it confirms very well the 

 figures that have been given heretofore. It 

 appears, then, that bees weigh more during 

 the swarming season, and that wax-workers 

 weigh the most of any. This fact is new as 

 well as interesting. It appears, again, that in 

 Mav, June, July, and August the black workers 

 are heavier than the Italian. I had always sup- 

 posed that the average Italian bee was, if any 

 thing, a shade larger or heavier than the black. 

 Is it not possible that the black bees referred 

 to were Carniolans, or of that persuasion? If 

 so, there would be all of that difference as in- 

 dicated in the table in the relative weights, 

 for we have come to assume that the Carnio- 

 lan is the largest bee of the species Apis mel- 

 lifica ; and we have also assumed that the little 

 black bees of this country — not the brown 

 bees — were the smallest. With regard to the 

 amount of nectar a bee can carry, it seems to 

 me the figures that I have seen heretofore are 

 somewhat in excess of one-fourth its own 

 weight. There, I have just looked it up. Yes, 

 Prof Koons estimates there are 4500 bees in a 

 pound, and that 10,000 bees can carry a pound 

 of nectar, this being the fewest number to 

 carry such an amount. According to this, 

 then, a bee can carry half its own weight in 

 nectar. But Prof. Koons estimates that on 

 an average it will not carry more than one- 

 fourth of its own weight ; and this agrees 

 with the above figures. But so far as wing 

 power is concerned, we know that one bee can 



carry one of its companions ; it could, there- 

 fore, carry its own weight in nectar, provid- 

 ing its honey-sac would hold that amount, 

 which is probably not true. I have dissected 

 the honey-sac of worker-bees when they were 

 filled with nectar, so that they almost dropped 

 down as they flew in at the entrance. This 

 sac was, at the time, about the size of a No. 4 

 shot, or perhaps a little larger. — Ed.] 



The Grand Trunk Raii^way has ruled 

 out comb honey as freight, and, according to 

 the American Bee Journal, something nearly 

 as bad is contemplated on this side of the line, 

 namely, to make double-first-class rates on 

 comb honey in boxes with glass fronts, wheth- 

 er the glass is exposed or not. That makes 6 

 cents a pound from California points to Chi- 

 cago, and the railroads might about as well 

 say they would not receive the goods. [I re- 

 gard this as a most serious matter. I can not 

 think of any thing that would handicap bee- 

 keeping any more, unless it be foul or black 

 brood, than to have the railroads practically 

 refuse to handle comb honey. We can not af- 

 ford at the present rate to send any quantity 

 by express ; and if the new freight-classifica- 

 tion should go through, we could not afford 

 to send it by freight. Many large apiaries 

 would be totally unable to dispose of their 

 product, and the industry would not only be 

 crippled but almost annihilated. I have al- 

 ready laid the matter before General Manager 

 Secor, of the National Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion. Action should be taken at once, it 

 seems to me, because it is far easier, according 

 to our experience, to prevent a bad classifica- 

 tion getting on the tarifT-books than to have 

 such classification rescinded after it is once in 

 force. Why, our Association could better 

 expend every dollar in its treasury rather than 

 have such a foolish, unreasonable, and uncall- 

 ed-for discrimination against our industry. I 

 am sure that our worthy General Manager 

 will take suitable action at once. In the 

 mean time the Ontario Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion in Canada should see what could be done 

 to have that unjust ruling of the Grand Trunk 

 Railway rescinded. It is apparent that the 

 proposed action on this side of the line was 

 instigated by the fool ruling of the Grand 

 Trunk on the other side ; and as long as it 

 stands thus, so long it will be a menace to us. 

 —Ed.] 



The nations are in wild unrest, 



Armies still are fighting ; 

 The Bull, the Bear, the Eagle too, 



Are all some grievance righting. 



BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 



The discussion of the proper and best size 



of section for use in England seems to engross 



the attention of the best bee-keepers there to 



a great extent. As thoroughly as the ques- 



