December, 1915. 



American ^^e Journal 



long account of the expeiiments there 

 related. Suffice it to say that it is very 

 interesting and that it practically con- 

 firms the experiments of Darwin, who 

 said long ago: "One hundred heads 

 of red clover, visited by bees, produced 

 an average of 27 seeds per head while 

 100 heads protected from insects pro- 

 duced not a single seed." The aver- 

 age shown by these scientists is greater 

 than that given by Darwin. They de- 

 cide positively that although it is pos- 

 sible to have an occasional seed pro- 

 duced in clover from self pollination, 

 clover is practically sterile unless pol- 

 len is carried to the blossom from a 

 separate plant. Their observations 

 show that bumblebees are able to pol- 

 linate 30 to 35 flowers in a single min- 

 ute. They show also that the honey- 

 bee, when able to work upon the blos- 

 soms, is as efficient a cross-pollinator 

 as the bumblebee. 



One cannot read this bulletin without 

 appreciating the thoroughness of these 

 experiments. It is well worth perusing. 



Expelling the Drones During a 

 Croi> 



In the September number of the 

 Swiss "Bulletin D'Apiculture," Mr. 

 August Cordey reports the bees as 

 driving the drones away in July during 

 a honey crop. But he noticed that the 

 colonies of black bees were driving 

 away the Italian drones while the Ital- 

 ian colonies were driving away the 

 black drones. He concludes that 

 although the bees tolerate the drones 

 from other hives at times, they 

 may expel these (the intruders) when 

 they do not expel their own. This, we 

 believe, is the first time that any one 

 has noticed or tried to establish a dif- 

 ference in the behavior of the bees to- 

 wards the home-raised drones and the 

 stray ones. We have always thought 

 that they were either tolerated or ex- 

 pelled alike, whether home-bred or in- 

 truders. 



Beekeeping in Porto Rico. — Our read- 

 ers will be interested in the view of the 

 apiary of Mr. Rodulfo Del Valle, of 

 Ponce, Porto Rico, also with a photo- 

 graph of the coffee-plant nursery, 

 which we give herewith. 



We have already given a view of the 

 plantation in which one of the apiaries 

 is situated. This will be found on page 

 405 of the December, 1!)I4, number of 

 the Bee Journal. 



One photograph illustrates one of the 

 improvements now being made in 

 Porto Rico. It is a public road now 

 being built in the mountain and lead- 

 ing to the district where the plantation 

 is located. The third man from the 



left, holding the umbrella is our cor- 

 respondent, Mr. Del Valle. 



Teaching Beekeeping to Convicts 



The following communication is in- 

 teresting on account of the novelty of 

 the experiment it mentions and also 

 because the possibilities of reform and 

 education among these unfortunates 

 are certainly to be enhanced by out- 

 door pursuits. Nothing, in the opin- 

 ion of reformers, will achieve greater 

 success than the present tendency to 

 treat convicts in a humane way, teach- 

 ing them instead of punishing them. 



The writer of this letter is a man of 

 international fame. The " Wernicke " 

 book-cases are known the world over. 

 An article on wintering by Mr. Wer- 

 nicke will be found among the contri- 

 butions in this number. 



It maybe of interest to know that the 

 Michigan State Prison at Jackson, 

 with which institution I am associated 

 as president of the Board of Control, 

 has established three apiaries as a 

 prison industry consisting of 50 colo- 

 nies each, and will include a course in 

 bee-culture as a part of its educational 

 curriculum. The institution is con- 

 ducting the greatest possible variety of 

 primary industries, including the culti- 

 vation of nearly 3000 acres of land, 

 which has proven so beneficial to the 

 moral and physical development of the 

 inmates that the Board of Control is 

 contemplating the purchase of still 

 more land. 



The underlying considerations for 

 establishment of apiaries are the pos- 

 sibilities for reformation, education 

 and profit. These apiaries have only 

 recently been established and I am un- 

 able as yet to report any success except 

 that a very hopeful interest has been 



aroused not only among the inmates 

 but among the officers of the institu- 

 tion. O. H. L. Wernicke. 

 Grand Rapids, Mich., Oct. 16. 



Dr. Phillips' Book 



Dr. Phillips'new book, "Beekeeping," 

 has been read through with tense in- 

 terest. The author's clear style and 

 the clear type in which it is presented 

 make the book easy reading, all but the 

 five chapters which tell about the in- 

 side make-up of a bee. That part is 

 hard for me because I know so little 

 about it. I suspect that in many a case 

 the pages of those chapters will re- 

 main the cleanest in the book, because 

 the reader prefers to pass on to some- 

 thing of immediate interest in the pro- 

 duction of big crops of honey, without 

 caring to know all about the epimeral 

 paraptera or the gonapophysis. Yet I 

 would strongly advise the beginner not 

 to neglect this part of the book. Even 

 if the knovyledge thereby gained should 

 make no difl'erence in his crops — and I 

 am none too sure of that — he will be a 

 better rounded-out beekeeper, and will 

 have a joy in the work that is denied 

 to us who know little about such 

 things. 



Without attempting a review of the 

 book, I may be allowed to make a few 

 comrnents upon some things in it, more 

 especially those in which there may be 

 some difference of opinion. 



REMOVAL OF THE DRONES. 



Dr. Phillips says regarding the disap- 

 pearance of the drones at the close of 

 the honey flow: "The first indication 

 of this exodus is to see them in num- 

 bers on the bottom-board, and soon 

 workers will be seen leaving the en- 

 trance carrying the heavy drones, with 

 the base of a wing grasped by the man- 

 dibles." I wonder how many beekeep- 

 ers have ever seen drones thus carried. 

 I confess I do not remcTber seeing it. 



APIARY OF MR. RODULFO DEL VALLE. PONCE, PORTO RICO 



