1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



771 



TYPES OF BEES. 



BEES FROM DIFFERENT QUEEN-BREEDERS. 



fERHAPS one who never studied the habits of 

 bees would conclude that all types of bees, 

 according- to numerical strength, are alike 

 industrious. But the practical apiarist knows 

 that there is as much difference in the dis- 

 position of bees as there is in men. In the morning, 

 when I go round the apiary 1 at once notice the vim 

 and eagerness of No. 3 of J. C. Frisbee's strain. 

 With the flr3t gray streaks of dawn they are off 

 with a rush as if bound for the first nectar of the 

 morning bloom. I have often thought, " You cer- 

 tainly will wear yourselves out; you are too eager 

 to be ich." 



In looking ai-ound I see a few bees beginning to fly 

 from No. 4 of A.I. Root's strain, which is a trifle 

 brighter than Frisbee's. Gradually No. 4 comes up 

 until 10 o'clock, when the heaviest field force is 

 coming from this hive, which is a constant rush 

 through the warm part of the day. 



I have some of J. M. Jenkins' strain of Italians 

 which are beauties, but they seem to be lazy, not 

 good comb-builders. They are a trifle longer, and 

 the queen is yellower than Root's or Frisbee's. The 

 Root bees seem to incline toward red clover, while 

 Jenkins' work mostly on touch-me-not. Frisbee's 

 will suck red horsemint or any thing. I have black 

 bees, which, during poplar and basswood bloom, 

 are about at the top. For hardiness and comb- 

 building qualities, blacks lead the world. They will 

 kill their drones earlier than the Italians. They 

 build up faster in spring. They cap their honey 

 whiter. They are easier run out of sections. I 

 have seen round gums of blacks so heavy that a 

 strong man could not lift them. A neighbor once 

 killed two black colonies and obtained from one 11 

 gallons of honey and from the other 12. 



G. W. McGuire. 

 Dark Ridge, N. C., Aug. 19, 1889. 



Is not the peculiarity you mention, rather 

 the result of accident than because the bees 

 were particularly different? Our stock all 

 comes from Italy, therefore we presume it 

 will average about the same, year after year. 

 If I am correct, friend Jenkins also depends 

 upon imported mothers for his best bees. 



BEE-KEEPING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



AN INTERESTING LETTER ON HOW THE NATIVES 



SECURE THEIR HONEY; WHAT THEV DO 



WITH IT, ETC. 



R. RO<">T: — Some time ago I wrote you that 

 Mr. Wilcox's Gleanings came to me, and 

 ventured to suggest that, if it continued 

 to come, it would be very acceptable to 

 me, and in return I would try to inform 

 you of "sweet" matters in this vicinity. I see 

 Bro. Goodenough is portraying his system of bee- 

 keeping, as carried on in Natal, and a comparison 

 of other methods as carried on here by the natives 

 may be interesting. We are some 600 miles from 

 Natal, and that is our nearest point of supplies. 

 We could not get a pound of flour at any nearer 

 point, nor a tack, nor" pin. But honey is abundant 

 here— more so than there is any demand for. 



AN AUTOMATIC BEE -HIVE; A SELF 8WARMER, 

 HIVER, ETC. 



The method of bee-farming as it is carried on her§ 



is as follows:"" A native cuts a circle in the bark of a 

 tree, and about three feet above he cuts another; 

 then he cuts in a straight liue from one circle to 

 the other, and strips off the entire bark as cut. 

 While this is still green he refolds it in the shape of- 

 the tree, and carefully sews up the center seam; 

 and after folding the two ends in a more or less 

 square form he sews them up, leaving the merest 

 entrance for necessary purposes. His thread is 

 bark, and his needle a thorn, and his punch is his 

 spear. This article, I will tell you plainly (you 

 would never guess), is a bee-hive, and it does ex- 

 cellently well for this class of bees, and this system 

 of bee-farmers, and this climate. This bee-hive is 

 now placed in the top of any large tree, and others 

 with it, and then left to future developments. It 

 is automatic throughout, if it acts at all; self-hiv- 

 ing, self-swarming, self-regulating; and about half 

 the time it appears to be an automatic fizzle as a 

 honey-collector. I am no expert on matters per- 

 taining to the apiary; but such observations as I 

 have noted are from an amateur's point of view, 

 and are to be valued as such. However, I may un- 

 derrate the excellences of this system of hives. 



The forests all about are well provided with these 

 hives, and bees should not fail of finding comforta- 

 ble habitations in their native forests; but they do 

 take unaccountable notions at times, and I have 

 had pitched battles for a week at a time to keep 

 them out of our spare bed-room; and whenever a 

 sack of sugar is opened, or any thing they take a 

 notion to desire, they monopolize the house till we 

 discover what is the matter with them, and then 

 the desirable thing is put in a strong case, bee- 

 proof, and then after smoking, brooming, and "gen- 

 eral destruction so far as we can apply it, the bees 

 depart till we are unlucky enough to get something 

 else about that they conclude is desirable for them. 

 On one occasion, a swarm having alighted on a 

 tree close to the veranda, and appearing to be pre- 

 paring for a charge on the house, I drove them 

 away by firing two loads of dust shot into them at 

 short range; but whether they were confounded 

 by the noise, or were actually alarmed at the ter- 

 rific losses sustained, or whether they had no inten- 

 tions on the house or not, all is a conundrum to us; 

 but they gathered up and went their way in about 

 15 minutes after the shots. 



The bee Jn this vicinity is not so large as the 

 honey-bee in America, nor is it very much smaller, 

 certainly not so small as Bro. Fuller's are in India. 

 The swarms that have alighted about the house 

 from time to time are about the size of a half-bush- 

 el, and to all appearances I should call them active 

 and determined workers, persistent fighters, and 

 excellent thieves. You will no doubt at this point, 

 if not before, ask within yourself, " Why doesn't he 

 hive those bees and have honey?" The answer is 

 not far to seek. We do have honey-bees thrust 

 upon us, and strained honey is always in the house 

 at about 10 cts. a bucketful (three gallons). Comb 

 honey we never see; but with honey so cheap, and 

 no market for any quantity, great or small, we do 

 not care to have the bees about. We should like 

 nice comb honey, but even this can be had if one is 

 at hand when a box directly from the tree is 

 opened. 



I will now proceed with the native method of se- 

 curing the honey. The hive, as stated, is placed in 

 the tree, and in time, sooner or later, bees do come 

 to the most of the hives, and in time they fill thern 



