January. 1919 



G I, K A N T N G S IN BEE O TT I. TURK 



I 



N discussing 



large hives 



the editor of 

 the America n 

 Bee Journal, De- 

 cember, rather 

 questions the as- 

 sertions of some 

 beekeepers that 



claim to h a v e 



had queens fill 16 frames with brood. In 

 his opinion part of those frames were rather 

 plentifully supplied with honey. He states 

 his belief that 12 frames, Langstroth size, 

 will provide sufficient room for the best 

 queens. He also says that the younger 

 generation of Dadants are positive that an 

 active beekeeper, with these large hives and 

 a Ford, can properly care for a thousand 



colonies in different apiaries. 



* * » 



"reminiscences of CANADIAN BKRKEEPING." 



The December American Bee Journal con- 

 tains the following interesting statements 

 by J. R. Black: 



"When I left the University in 1875, I 

 had a nervous breakdown, which disturbed 

 me chiefly in the prevention of sleep. When 

 the medicine man had diagnosed my case, 

 he said, to my surprise: 'Keep bees.' I 

 asked him, 'Why?' He answered, 'Keeping 

 bees will take you out of your study, away 

 from your books, and give you a sun bath.' 

 — In a few days the doctor came with a colo- 

 ny from his own apiary, and I made a be- 

 ginning in beekeeping." * * * 



"Forty years ago the late D. A. Jones 

 was easily the most prominent apiarist in 

 Canada. ' ' His big undertaking was a visit 

 to the East, for the purpose of securing for 

 Canada new races of bees superior to the na- 

 tive ones. These he believed he found in 

 Palestine and the Island of Cyprus, and he 

 accordingly returned with a number of colo- 

 nies. These strains were somewhat popular 

 for a few years, but when put in competi- 

 tion with the Italians failed to make good. 

 The Cyprians were too irritable and the 

 Palestinians not prolific nor good honey- 

 gatherers. * * * 



' ' While the claim that a purely mated 

 Italian queen will cure any colony infected 

 with European foul brood, may be more 

 than is warranted in the actual issue, it is 

 certain that once such a stock appears in a 

 clean colony its immunity in- future is one 

 of the things to be confidently expected." 



[We have known of exceptions however. 

 I_ pi * * * 



' ' No change in Canadian beekeeping of 

 the past half -century is more marked than 



the Government's relation to it." 



* » * 



IMPORTATION OF THE ITALIAN BEE. 



The history of the importation of the 

 Italian bee is given by C. P. Dadant in the 

 American Bee Journal. The first attempt at 

 exporting them was made in 1843 by Capt. 

 Baldenstein of Switzerland, when he em- 

 ployed two men to carry a colony of Italians 

 across the Alps. His inability to keep the 



W^^^^^^^^ 



39 



race p u r e at- 

 tracted the at- 

 tention of Dzier- 

 zon, who in 1853 

 also imported 

 one from Italy 

 and from this 

 one colony suc- 

 ceeded in rear- 



_„ . ing 30 pure 



queens. Owing to natural barriers it has 

 been possible for the Italians to remain so 

 long pure. The bees of Nice are black, and 

 the change from blacks to Italians is grad- 

 ual from Ospedletti to Genoa. North of 

 these mountains the bees are pure Italians 

 as they are in the entire peninsula. After 

 breeding from this strain for four years, 

 Dzierzon wrote: "This race of bees is still 

 industrious, as beautiful and as docile, as it 

 was the first season. Nay, in several of my 

 colonies, as the result of careful breeding, 

 it is even handsomer, — as I invariably use 

 the brood of the handsomest and most fertile 

 queens for multiplying. ' ' 



Mr. Dadant states that the first Italian 

 bees successfully imported came from Dzier- 

 zon 's apiary and were purchased by Samuel 

 Wagner and Eichard Calvin, in 1859. The 

 first man to import largely from Italy or 

 Italian Switzerland was Adam Grimm. In 

 1867 he brought over 100 Italian queens. 



Five years later, Chas. Dadant made a 

 special trip to Italy, but failed in bringing 

 more than 20 to America alive. It was not 

 till 1874 that queens were imported in any 

 great numbers. The early failures, however, 

 taught many essentials of transportation 

 for long distances. Dark honey as food in 

 transit almost always caused diarrhea, and 

 all honeys proved less healthful than sugar 

 syrup or candy. Active field bees stand the 

 trip better than young ones, but there should 

 be some young ones with the older ones. The 

 bees are apt to chill and die if the tempera- 

 ture falls below 60 degrees F. When import- 

 ed they should be kept supplied with plenty 

 of air in special repositories as live animals. 

 Unless there is brood or the food is too 

 dry, water is entirely unnecessary, and pol- 

 len is very injurious, especially if in the 

 honey consumed during transit. 



ANOTHER PLAN OF SWARM CONTROL. 



"Variation of the Demaree Plan for 

 Swarm Control, ' ' by W. J. Sheppard, is an 

 article appearing in the December American 

 Bee Journal. The heading is very unfor- 

 tunate, as is also the attempted comparison, 

 since the plan given has no relation to the 

 Demaree plan, there being an entirely differ- 

 ent principle involved. It is possible that 

 the plan has merit, but as to calling it 

 ' ' Demaree, ' ' there are features so radical- 

 ly different that if the plan proves of value, 

 we propose calling it the "Sheppard Plan." 



The last of May when the brood-chamber 

 is full of bees, Mr. Sheppard places the 

 queen with two or three frames of unsealed 

 brood in the center of a second story over a 



