1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



579 



BEE CULTURE AT JAFFA, SYRIA. 



SOMETHING FURTHER FROM FRIEND BAL.DENSPER- 

 GER. 



§OME years back I tried tobacco smoke on a 

 very vicious colony of Cyprio - Syrians. I 

 could subdue them with nothing, being dread- 

 fully stung- I smoked them ad infinitum, and 

 was astonished to find them tumbling over 

 and over at the bottom of the hive. T succeeded in 

 subduing them. 1 did the same to a very vicious col- 

 ony of Syrians soon afterward, but never tried it 

 again, as 1 had no occasion for it. Very vicious ones 

 are either discarded or else worked in just the time 

 of day convenient. I think during the hottest 

 hours of the day no robbery is going on; and the 

 gentlest way a man can handle them is to use plen- 

 ty of smoke to begin with before opening the hive. 

 Tobacco smoke is the only remedy I know of to get 

 down the braula ccecca, which is often met with on 

 bees. A queen-bee having often a number of these 

 parasites, I pick up the queen by the wings and 

 give her two or three puffs, and the little fellows 

 will tumble down dead. Picking them off with 

 pincers is very trying, as the animal does not keep 

 quiet for a moment, but rushes about, the body 

 particularly, when disturbed; the smoke does not 

 injure the queen. Tobacco-blossoms also give hon- 

 ey, which has a slight taste of tobacco. I think the 

 habit of smoking bees with tobacco originated with 

 pipe-smokers (in Germany), as it is very easy for a 

 tobacco-smoker to light his pipe, give a few puffs, 

 and continue the use of his smoker at his pleasure. 

 In Palestine tobacco is used very extensively, in 

 cigarettes, pipes, and the well-known hubble-bub- 

 ble, the arjelah, or water-pipe. A water-bottle has 

 a stem of copper fitted to it with three openings- 

 one in the water, one at the head where the tobacco 

 is put, and one in the empty space above the water. 

 The smoke, being drawn through the water, gets 

 purified, and continues its long way through the 

 various-colored leather tube, corded with silver 

 wire, having a length of several feet, into the 

 mouth. Bee-keepers here never use tobacco smoke 

 for their bees. Horse or cow manure is the only 

 fuel for smoking the bees, through an old water- 

 jar, having a small hole at the bottom. The smoke 

 is blown by the mouth— a difficult process. How 

 thankful should we be to Mr. Quinby for giving us 

 such a comfortable smoker 1 In bee-keeping for 

 women, Mrs. B. supposes it quite work enough to 

 do the necessaries without looking for the pleasure 

 of carrying them about for fun, as Mrs. Chaddock 

 tells us. My wife generally holds the smoker while 

 I handle the bees or shake them off for the honey, 

 which I put in empty hives on a wheelbarrow be- 

 side me, which, though very clumsy in comparison 

 to the one you advertise, still does the business well, 

 taking four hives with 18 frames each. As soon as 

 extracted, the empty frames are brought buck and 

 distributed, if possible, before sunset, as experience 

 has taught many a bee-keeper never to handle bees 

 after that. Robbers don't trouble us as long as 

 honey is coming from the flowers; but as soon as 

 the honey-flow is over, they are a trouble, it being 

 impossible to work more than an hour at a time; 

 then we stop again till they are dispersed. They 

 also defend their hives well against intruders. 



I suppose there is no established rule as to the 

 age queens continue to lay well. Very much de- 

 pends on their having been in a nucleus or very 



strong colony, and also whether they have passed 

 good honey-seasons, obliging them to lay extensive 

 ly. Revising the apiary during April and May, be- 

 ing an interval with very little honey-How, I try to 

 put away such queens as seem to go back or 6tand 

 still in brood-rearing, as we want a good number 

 for the thyme-blossom. I took away the old queens 

 at some hives, but found more of them had either 

 raised another one, killing the old queens at once, 

 and in one case they kept both queens; but they 

 have finally done away with the old one. A hive 

 having 9 brood-frames and upward may be consid- 

 ered a good one with us. Less than 9 frames is a 

 poor layer in a season when pollen is coming in 

 plentifully, and stimulative food being given. But 

 then, again, you can't tell exactly when the queen 

 stops laying, as you may look in for three weeks or 

 more, finding an increase of one or two brood- 

 frames each time; all of a sudden they stand still. 

 From 15 frames you are tempted to take away one 

 or two, and find the next time only 11 or 12 frames. 

 I never clip queens' wings, but 1 keep a record of 

 them all, and find 1 am always, or nearly always, 

 well informed, as the trace, even, of a superseded 

 queen is easily known. Take all in all, I think the 

 end of the second season is just the right time to 

 raise new ones, the exception also being for lon- 

 gevity the third season. Some queens will never be 

 superseded by the bees— they live and die together. 



A friend of mine came around the other day, and 

 I read to him " Dot Happy Bee-man." As we both 

 talk German, we laughed till our " schtomacks went 

 schplit." 



Drones fly out and congregate on afternoons of 

 warm days, as we frequently see. I have not yet 

 observed whether they congregate at some particu- 

 lar point year after year, although I heard their 

 loud roar one season, day after day, above the road 

 I crossed to go to the apiary, but never could I dis- 

 tinguish them. 



" All our eggs in one basket and too many irons 

 in the fire," seems to be very general among bee- 

 keepers; in fact, it seems as if most bee-keepers 

 concluded, after a few years' trials, and hard trials 

 too, that it is better to put " several irons in the 

 fire." Being of the number, I must state, for the 

 benefit of new comers into the bee-fraternity, they 

 should not rashly do away with one business before 

 having well grasped the other. When we began 

 bee-keeping, all other occupations were discarded, 

 to our great detriment. Slowly but surely they are 

 taking their respective places again. What has 

 been rejected is welcome again. Most bee-keepers 

 live in the open country— at least they ought to for 

 the greater benefit of their bees, and thus have an 

 occasion to put up with live-stock, which comes in 

 very handy at times; besides raising a few vegeta- 

 bles for the kitchen, this will help us a great deal to 

 get along in a poor season. Since I find the ques- 

 tion so largely discussed by many fellow-sufferers, 

 I fully sympathize with them. 



Our receptacles for holding extracted honey, 

 come all the way from America to Palestine, and 

 we find them a good deal cheaper than any 

 thing that can be had here. I guess some of the 

 readers of Gleanings will be astonished to hear it 

 when I tell you that a thoroughly cleansed petrole- 

 um-can holds 50 to 55 lbs. of honey, and does the 

 same service as new tins, and seldom have our cus- 

 tomers had to complain about petroleum taste; this 

 also was in former years. We take two petroleum- 



