THE BEE-KEEPERS REVIEW. 



U3 



determiue the exact ainoniit of stores con- 

 sumed by good colonies, under the con- 

 ditions already indicated, duringthei period 

 of confinemeut. 



Secondly, free upward ventilation was 

 given to a considerable nunilier of colonies 

 to determine whether under cellar conditions 

 it would prove a benefit or the contrary. 

 And, lastly, to get some light, if possible, on 

 the theory held by some eminent bee-keepers 

 that moisture is the cause of the dysenteric 

 disease which is the source of most of the 

 bee-keeper's wintering troubles, five col- 

 onies in a single column were placed near 

 the wet stone wall in the cellar already de- 

 scribed and completely enveloped in a cotton 

 slieet, the top edge of which was brought to- 

 gether and inserted in a vessel already placed 

 on the top of the upper hive. The sheet 

 hung around the pile of hives so as to be just 

 free from them and the vessel was tilled with 

 water which was daily replenished. The ef- 

 fect on the sheet was that it was continually 

 complely saturated with water. It was sup- 

 posed that the moist condition of the air of 

 the cellar with the moisture arising from the 

 inclosed bees would render the air inclosed 

 by the sheet as nearly saturated as it could 

 be conveniently made in such a place. 



The results of these experiments is next to 

 be considered. 



Lapeeh, Mich. March 2(5, IW*.""). 



^i^^^r^p^'i 



Nature has Developed in Bees the Most 

 Desirable Characteristics.— Bright Yel- 

 low Bees Not an Improvement. 



a. TATLOK. 



rvX- PRESIDENT 



.\bbott said re- 

 cently that in going 

 into the comb honey 

 business the first 

 thing to do was to 

 get some bees. Yes, 

 bees do play an im- 

 portant part in 

 honey production, 

 and, come to think 

 of it, there is no 

 practical substitute 



for them, hence they are of great importance 



to the apiarist. 



Golden Italians, leather colored Italians, 

 five-banded Italians, three-bauded Italians, 

 gray Carniolans, golden Carniolans, Cypri- 

 ans, Holy Lands, (xerman brown bees and 

 native black bees. Surely from this ample 

 list every bee-keeper may have his choice. 

 Which had we better chose ? Let me say at 

 the start that I have had a thorough person- 

 al practical experience with but two vari- 

 eties of bees, native blacks and Italians. I 

 used several Italian queens in early times 

 when they were catalogued at $10.00 each. 

 That was thirty years ago, and I have culti- 

 vated and used these Italians through all the 

 intervening years, and think I can justly 

 claim a fair acquaintance with them. 



One of the things I have learned to a cer- 

 tainty is that they are like different children 

 in the same family. Ditt'er greatly in their 

 capacity or disposition to accomplish effect- 

 ive work. 



Some fifteen years ago I paid a visit to a 

 neighboring bee-keeper (Mr. John Car- 

 negie) and he had bought one of brother A. 

 I. Root's best breeding queens and was 

 anxious to show his fine stock. We opened 

 a hive in which there was a young daughter 

 of his late purchase. We found her and she 

 was truly beautiful. 



" What will you take, Mr. Carnegie, for 

 this queen ?" 



" Three dollars." 



" Here is your money ; cage her." 



I introduced her safely to a strong colony, 

 and this was the most profitable purchase I 

 ever made in the line of bees. She lived 

 four years and during all this time I en- 

 couraged her colony to swarm naturally as 

 often as possible, and then used in other col- 

 onies all the cells started, and the improve- 

 ment in my bees was very much greater 

 than I had ever experienced before or since. 

 Each fall the colony containing this old 

 queen not only gave much surplus but the 

 hive was crammed with winter stores. This 

 was my greatest success with Italians and 

 was before I had heard much said about the 

 "greatly improved strains." Of these im- 

 proved strains I have since bought dozens of 

 queens, but never had one come anything 

 near to the one first named, and I would 

 now give $10 for one like her. Some of 

 her daughters were quite her equal, but I 

 had no means of breeding them pare and the 

 strain was in time bred out. 



This experience led me to know that there 

 is great difference in Italian bees. But I 



