464 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



than the vaunted Italians? They do not 

 work as early in the morning nor as late in 

 the evening; the}' carry on an average less 

 brood in the hive, and yet in the end they 

 produce as much surplus honey as other 

 races would do under like conditions. I 

 have not tested for myself, but I strongly 

 suspect that the secret lies in the longer life 

 and in the more extended working period of 

 the black bee, and because less of the work- 

 er's labor is expended in the raising of 

 brood and young bees, to die out again al- 

 most before they have gathered honey 

 enough to pay for their keep. 



There seem to be features in the charac- 

 ter of bees suggestive of their nativity. 

 Why do the black bees hasten under cover 

 quickly at the approach of darkness, or 

 when clouds loom upf and why do they 

 scamper nervously away and drop like mo- 

 lasses from the combs when being handled? 

 Is not this indicative of a boisterous place 

 of origin and a desire to get in out of the 

 cold or to escape impending storms? The 

 Italian, on the other hand, is quiet and 

 tractable, spreading itself evenly over the 

 comb, and continuing its work almost re- 

 gardless of disturbance. Is not this an ex- 

 hibition of its inherent confidence in the 

 blue skies and the balmy atmosphere of its 

 native Italy? 



Concluding, I am impressed with the be- 

 lief that breeding for longevity and hardi- 

 ness should call for the best skill of our 

 apicultural specialists. I would further 

 suggest that dogmatic conclusions as tO' the 

 value of any particular race of bees for 

 universal use be set aside, and a study of 

 the adaptability of the different races to 

 special localities be taken up. These fea- 

 tures being satisfactorily understood, our 

 bee journals, advisers, and supply-houses, 

 instead of dumping their own favorite and 

 probably successful race upon us would 

 enrich us with bees suitable to our locality 

 and our needs. 



Charlottetown, P. E. I., Feb. 1. 



OPEN AIR FEEDING 



BY MAJOR SHALLARD 



I have been much interested in your plan 

 of feeding, given in the A B C and X Y Z, 

 by hanging kerosene-tins with perforated 

 bottoms up in the air. But you state in the 

 same place, " If the syrup were fed in open 

 cans, thousands of bees would be drowned." 

 This is not so. I once had an apiary of 250 

 colonies where the crop had gone off right 

 in the middle of the season. The hives were 

 short of stores, and the queens were ceasing 



to lay. I knew this would not do. As it 

 was an out-apiary I had no time to go to 

 feed each colony individually, so I put out 

 three of the largest galvanized iron wash- 

 ing-tubs, put the end of a kerosene-case in 

 each for a float, spread a large sheet of hes- 

 sian (coarse sacking) over the whole lot, 

 leaving enough sag to allow it to go right to 

 the bottom of the tub when it was empty. 1 

 filled the tubs to the top with honey and 

 water, half and half. 



I ne\er saw more than a dozen or two 

 dead bees in any of the tubs at any time. 

 The hessian would float on the board, and 

 the capillary attraction would wet it right 

 up to the edge of the tub, even if the latter 

 was half empty; consequently the bees had 

 a large surface to alight on, and they did 

 not get drowned. For that matter there 

 was no place to get drowned, as there was 

 no pool of honey anywhere, except the 

 damp hessian. There was no robbing, al- 

 though the tubs were put right among the 

 hives. Before I had quite finished giving 

 them the amount I had arranged for, the 

 honey-flow started and the tubs were de- 

 serted. 



It paid me well; and while I had a good 

 population in each hive, and got a good 

 crop, my neighbors' bees built up only 

 strong enough to go into winter quarters, 

 and got no surplus at all. 



You will probably say they would have 

 robbed if the flow had not come on. T do 

 not think so. I think they would if the 

 tubs were removed; but if left there they 

 would simplj' visit them until they were 

 thoroughly satisfied there was no more hon- 

 ey there, and then they would settle down. 



If a Comb of honey is left out and the 

 bees begin robbing it properly, remove that 

 comb and you will cause robbing; but leave 

 it there and let the bees empty it, and when 

 they are satisfied that the honey is all gone, 

 they will abandon it and will settle down 

 quickly. 



If a half-story of honey is left out and 

 forgotten while taking off the honey tO' ex- 

 tract, and I find the bees starting to rob it, 

 I get it away quickly; but I put another 

 half-story, with a little honey on it, in its 

 place. Let them satisfy themselves that 

 there is no more, and they will go away; 

 but take it away, and they go looking for it 

 and start robbing the other hives. 



Smith Woodburn, N. S. W., Australia. 



Rope Attracts Swarms 



I had a queen among eleven whose eggs would 

 not hatch this spring. I also notice that bees in 

 swarming will be attracted by a rope wrapped on 

 a limb or bush if placed in a conspicuous place. 



Elizabeth, Pa., May 5. W. T. Fuehrer. 



