1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



567 



understood, then, that the markings of the 

 drones are not to be considered in any sense 

 as indicative of the purity of the mother 

 from which they came. Even pure Italian 

 queens vary all the way from a bright yel- 

 low to a jet black. One of the best import- 

 ed queens we ever had, and one that pro- 

 duced gentle three-banded Italians, was as 

 black as any black queen I ever saw. The 

 only markings on which we can base an 

 estimate of purity are those on the worker- 

 bees themselves. — Ed.] 



QUEENS WHOSE BEES WILL WINTER. 



Let me give j^ou a little circumstance in 

 last year's wintering. I had two colonies 

 side by side. We will call them A and B. 

 I bought a queen of a breeder who deals in 

 yellow stock, and gave it to A. It was a 

 little stronger than B, but both were good 

 colonies. The premium queen from Victor 

 3'ou gave me I gave to B. Side by side they 

 wintered, same treatment, and to-day B is 

 working in super, while A is a mere hand- 

 ful of bees, I purchased a queen of Mr. 

 Victor, and introduced her to a small nu- 

 cleus. They were light bees in the fall, 

 but wintered well. Any bees will make 

 some honey in summer ; but there are no 

 bees which will make honey if they don't 

 winter. Why don't some one select queens 

 that winter well, instead of for color and 

 tongues? G. A. Bostwick. 



Verbank Village, N. Y., June 6. 



[To get good wintering qualities is one of 

 the points that all queen-breeders should 

 take into consideration in their breeding- 

 stock. The bees of that valuable queen 

 that we lost, which was four years old, and 

 going on five, were not only good hone}'- 

 gatherers but excellent for wintering. 

 They invariably came out strong and vig- 

 orous. Indeed, the bees could hardly be 

 good workers without being also good win- 

 terers.— Ed. ] 



apis MELLIFICA and APIITBI VIRUM AND 

 THEIR USE. 



Gleanings for May 1 contains an article 

 treating on the poison of bee-sting, Apis 

 DFellifica, as a specific for rheumatism. 

 Much has been said during the past twenty 

 3-ears, in which I have been interested in 

 bee-keeping, about this remedy for rheu- 

 matism; and the article referred to above 

 says "Gleanings says that the poison of 

 Apis iiiellifica is used largely in homeopa- 

 thic practice.' It is used entirely by the 

 homeopathic profession, not to cure rheu- 

 matism alone, but many are the sufferings 

 which it relieves when given after thorough 

 preparation, and according to the law pro- 

 mulgated by Hahnneman — Similia simili- 

 hus curantur. Apis mellifica is made from 

 the honey-bee, and this preparation is the 

 one most used by the. homeopathic physi- 

 cian. 



Apium virus is simply the clear poison of 

 the honey-bee triturated. There is no foun- 

 tain of youth, neither is there a " balm in 



Gilead" — a cure-all or a specific which 

 cures every ill or the same disorder or dis- 

 ease in everj'^ person. Apis mellifica cures 

 rheumatism when the particular case is 

 homeopathic or as indicated. Quinine cures 

 the "shakes" when, and only when, that 

 particular case presents symptoms produc- 

 ed by quinine when given repeatedly to the 

 healthy individual. The heroic adminis- 

 tration of apis virum by the business end of 

 a honey-bee may be pleasing enough to 

 some people to induce them to place a quart 

 or so of bees in their trousers, but surely 

 their faith must be "screwed to the stick- 

 ing- point." V. E. Freeman, M. D. 

 Chicago, 111. 



KNAPSACK BEE-SMOKER, OR COMPRESSED- 

 AIR BEE-SMOKERS. 



Friend Ernest : — In Stray Straws the 

 doctor and you were talking about that 

 knapsack smoker. Now, if you two were 

 to talk abovit an automatic smoker it prob- 

 ably would be in order. These spraying- 

 machines are filled with compressed air, 

 wliich forces the spray. Why not set a 

 smoker on top of one, with hose leading 

 from nozzle, with tap? The machine could 

 stand on the ground beside the hive, and 

 could be filled ; then the blast could be reg- 

 ulated the same as the fiow of spray, at 

 the will of the operator. These spraying- 

 machines appear to hold sufficient pressure 

 to last quite a while. The tank could be 

 smaller than those on spraj^ers, as they 

 would need storage for compressed air 

 only. It appears to me that one filling 

 would do for the operation of a hive at 

 least. J. P. Blunk. 



Moorland, la., June 9. 



[I once thought that a compressed-air 

 receiver in connection with a bee-smoker 

 might be used to advantage under some 

 circumstances. But a receiver sufficiently 

 large to hold air under pressure would be 

 rather heavy and bulky — not less than a 

 foot in diameter, and two feet long. This 

 would have to be strapped across the back 

 in order to be used, and the smoker would 

 have to be carried constantly, as it could 

 not be set down when not in use. 



While, as you say, one pumping-up might 

 last a considerable length of time, yet it is 

 no eas3^ task to do the pumping. Just imag- 

 ine, for instance, pumping air into a receiv- 

 er that had about ten times the capacity of 

 a bicycle-tire! I think you will conclude, 

 as I have done, that the slight advantage 

 to be gained would hardly be compensated 

 by the amount of labor, extra expense, and 

 extra weight to be lugged around. In the 

 case of spraying-outfits it is necessar3' to 

 have a constant stream ,in order to direct 

 the liquids to the point desired ; but a 

 steady stream in the case of a smoker is 

 not necessary, and usually a little puff or 

 two at the utmost, for the average colonj', 

 is sufficient to accomplish nine-tenths of 

 the work in the apiar}'. A common bellows 

 adds but very slightlj' to the weight of a 

 smoker, and will respond instantlj'. — Ed.] 



