Published by The A. I. Root Co., Medina, 0. 



H. H. Root, Assistant Editor. E. R. Root, Editor. A. L. Boyden, Advertising Manager. 



A. I. Root, Editor Home Department. J. T. Calvert, Business Manager. 



Entered at the Postoffice, Medina, O., as Second-class matter. 



VOL. XLI. 



JANUARY 15, 1913 



NO. 2 



Editorial 



EXTRA-YELLOW VS. LEATHERED-COLORED ITAL- 

 IANS. 



Elsewhere in this issue, Mr. Penn G. 

 Snyder alkides to the fact that the editor, 

 through these columns, has spoken of Gold- 

 en bees as being- very often cross and short- 

 lived. We do not mean to claim that all 

 extra-yellow bees are bad stingers; but we 

 have obtained stock from all over the Unit- 

 ed States, and the most of it is either cross 

 or dies off before spring. Many of these 

 so-called five-banders have been bred so 

 much for color that they are about like 

 some of the high-class poultry that has been 

 bred so much for feather that they are 

 l^ractieally good for nothing. On the other 

 hand there has been a gxeat demand for the 

 extra-yellow bees. They are beautiful to 

 look at, and are sometimes the equal of any 

 other stock of darker color. If Mr. Snyder 

 has that kind of stock he is to be congratu- 

 lated. Only recently one of the largest 

 honey-producers in the United States, and 

 a queen-breeder as well, told us he had elim- 

 inated all the yellow bees from his yard, 

 adding that he was much disgusted with 

 them on account of their being so cross, 

 and he was going back to the old leather- 

 colored Italians. He and his customers 

 have had some disagreeable experience 

 with liis yellow bees, as we happen to know. 

 Notwithstanding he says he bought stock 

 all over the United States, they seem to be 

 very much the same as regards bad temper 

 and impaired vitality. 



SHIPPING BEES WITHOUT COMBS, AGAIN ; THE 



GREAT AMOUNT OF INTEREST IN THE 



PROPOSITION. 



Little did we anticipate, when we first 

 advocated shipping bees without combs to 

 save tlie cost of express charges, and to 

 eliminate bee disease, that so much inter- 

 est would be manifest on the part of our 

 subscribers. Correspondence is coming in 

 thick and fast from all directions, asking 

 for more particulars — " What kind of cage 

 would you recommend?" "How do you sup- 

 ply the bees with water?" "What is the 

 best food while in transit?" " Could comb- 



less bees be shipped by parcels post?" 

 " What effect will parcels post have on ex- 

 press rates on bees?" 



Some of these questions we have an- 

 swered in part. Other questions will be 

 answered more fully as soon as we can se- 

 cure engraving's to illustrate the form of 

 cage. 



In the matter of food we use for the 

 present at least the ordinary candy, such 

 as is used in regular queen-cages. But we 

 are coming to the opinion that a thick syr- 

 up may be even better. The problem is, 

 however, to provide a receptacle that will 

 feed the syrup to the bees as fast as they 

 require it, without daubing. We have tried 

 out the atmospheric feeder using one hole. 

 So far the experiments with the use of 

 syrup have been on so limited a scale that 

 they have hardly warranted us in giving a 

 definite opinion. Water is given to the bees 

 in the same kind of a feeder. Thi'ough the 

 top or bottom, rather, is punched a hole 

 about the size of a coarse pin. 



Both the cans for holding the syrup or 

 the water, or both, should be secured to the 

 top of the cage. In order to prevent the 

 package from being laid on its side, or be- 

 ing turned upside down (thus causing the 

 feeders to leak) the top is provided with a 

 convenient handle; and, of course, there 

 should be displayed a label, reading " This 

 side up." 



Through the body of the cage there is 

 secured a series of thin slats arranged hori- 

 zontally about % inch apart and the same 

 distance vertically. These slats taking the 

 place of combs serve the purpose of a sup- 

 port for the bees during transit. Dearly 

 bought experience years ago showed that 

 the mere wire-cloth cage without any clus- 

 tering supports to hold the bees while in 

 transit would deliver only a small portion 

 of them to their destination in good order. 

 While many of them went through, the use 

 of the slats in lieu of combs has eliminated 

 two-thirds of the former losses while the use 

 of the water-bottle during hot weather has 

 served to eliminate the remaining loss not 

 taken care of by thie slats. 



