JANUARY 15, 1913 



man will become intoxicated more quickly 

 in a room painted red than in one which is 

 blue. 



Smallpox patients escape pitting if they 

 are placed in rooms with red glass. Under 

 the advocacy of Dr. Finsen, red-light treat- 

 ment has been widely extended. There can 

 not be any doubt that red waves of light 

 tend to excite the nen'ous sj-stem. The 

 ether waves which give rise to the sensation 

 of red are longer than those of any other 

 color. Accordingly we should expect that 

 the color with the shortest waves, as violet, 

 would produce the opposite effect, or be 

 very depressing. This is the fact ; and those 

 who live in dark-blue or violet-colored rooms 

 are apt to be low-spirited. It is said that 

 state prisoners in Russia are sometimes 

 confined in rooms with the walls painted a 

 deep violet, with the result that the mind 

 in time becomes enfeebled and helpless. 

 Red in moderation is a warm stimulating 

 color; but in excess it becomes an irritant. 



If black were a color we should conclude 

 that the waves of light from it irritated the 

 bees. But black is not a color. An object 

 is black because all the rays of light are 

 absorbed; it is white because they are all 

 reflected. Now. we do not see how black 

 can irritate the bees when it does not, like 

 red, give oft' any rays of light to affect 

 them. The physical cause, waves of ether, 

 is absent. So far, then, as finding out why 

 bees sting a black animal more than they 

 do a white one, we do not seem to be much 

 better off than when we started; but we 

 have narrowed the problem. 



Are, then, bees angered by black? 



We think not. 



Is there no other explanation of their 

 apparent dislike for black? 



Some time ago, if I mistake not, it was 

 suggested in Gleanings that perhaps the 

 true explanation is that bees see a black 

 object more quickly than they do a white 

 one. This, in my opinion, is correct. Un- 

 doubtedly in the glaring white light of a 

 d*y in midsummer a black object is m.ore 

 rapidly seen than one which is white. 



In the polar regions all forms of animal 

 life, whether mammals or birds, in the win- 

 ter season become white like the snow. In 

 contrast with the vast expanse of white 

 landscape a black object would be very 

 conspicuous. A black coat is equivalent to 

 a death sentence. A bee hastening out from 

 the darkness of the hive would more readily 

 see a black object than one which, like 

 white, is less visible in the intense light. 

 Like white, a mirror reflects the larger part 

 of the rays of light ; and if one could be 

 corstrueted which would reflect them all it 



would be invisible. Failure to detect the 

 presence of a mirror has, indeed, been the 

 cause of many mistakes. 



Again, a black surface in bright sunshine 

 is several degrees warmer than a white 

 surface. This additional heat may also 

 exert some influence in attracting the at- 

 tention of the bees, though this is doubtful. 

 As bees pass so large a portion of their 

 time in the darkness of the hive, it would 

 certainly seem improbable that blackness 

 per se would annoy them. 



The disposition of the bees and the way 

 in which they are handled are likewise fac- 

 tors wliich must be considered. Nor in em- 

 phasizing the supposed dislike of bees to 

 black must it be forgotten that they very 

 readily sting white objects. The case was 

 mentioned of a beekeeper who used a pair 

 of black stockings instead of gloves, with 

 the result that they were stung very badly. 

 I always wear white gloves, but at times the 

 bees attack them very fiercely and in great 

 numbers. On the whole, then, the supposition 

 that bees see a black object more readily 

 than they do a white one seems to afford a 

 satisfactory explanation of why at times 

 they sting the former more freely than they 

 do the latter. 



It follows that one of the principles of 

 apiculture is : Let every beekeeper dress in 

 white. 



Waldoboro, Maine. 



CARNIOLANS AHEAD OF ITALIANS IN MANY 

 RESPECTS 



Their Tendency to Swarm Excessively Overcome 

 Easily 



BY E. F. ATWATER 



In this locality we have never had black 

 bees unless rarely from a mismated Cjueen 

 sent here by some breeder in the East or 

 South. With this condition, and for many 

 years with nothing but Italian bees, we are 

 prepared to say that the idea so often ad- 

 vanced that Italians will, when left to 

 themselves, degenerate to blacks, or ap- 

 proximate that type, is a myth, pure and 

 simple. The existence of this long-time 

 myth, false as it is, has been dependent on 

 the fact that in most localities the bees, of 

 more or less black blood, in woods or rocks 

 or box-hive apiary, will rear a vast number 

 of drones compared to the few that are 

 usually allowed in an up-to-date apiary. 



Excellent as are the Italian bees, they are 

 not superior in all respects for all localities. 

 For several years we have been slowly and 

 rather cautiously adding a little Carniolan 

 stock. We know that the Carniolans (not 

 necessarily pure Carniolans), rightly man- 



