OCTOBER 1, 1918 



We can not emijhasize too strongly the 

 importance of moving comb honey in car 

 lots before freezing weather sets in. There 

 have been more jangles and more trouble 

 over late shipments of comb honey than 

 over almost any other proposition connect- 

 ed with the honey business. Comb honey, 

 when near or below freezing-point, breaks 

 very easily, and a ear of it at such times is 

 quite sure to arrive in poor condition. 



BRIEF NOTES ON MODERN RATIONAL BEE CUL- 

 TURE; DEVELOPING AND IMPROVING ITAL- 

 IANS IN THEIR NATIVE COUNTRY. 



The above is the title of a new bee-book 

 in Italian, by Gino Travaini, a teacher in 

 the Provincial Agricultural School of Gor- 

 itz, Austria. Mr. Travaini has put out a 

 charming and interesting book. But the 

 feature that makes it most interesting to us 

 in this country is the fact that it has so 

 much to do with American hives and meth- 

 ods. While the illustrations and descrip- 

 tions of European hives and equipments are 

 given due prominence, it is evident that the 

 author has become permeated with the 

 American way of doing things. 



We believe it is the general consensus of 

 most beekeepers of the world that the Ital- 

 ian is the best all-around strain of bees. 

 Some of the old original imported Italian 

 queens of some twenty years ago were some 

 of the finest that we have ever seen — not in 

 point of markings and bright golden bands, 

 but in honey-gathering qualities, longevity, 

 and gentleness. If this book shall result in 

 the development of this strain of bees right 

 in its own native clime, it will have well 

 served its purpose in Italy and the outside 

 world at large. At the present time we are 

 unable to secure as fine a strain of import- 

 ed Italians as we did some years ago. Why 

 this is so, we do' not know. If it is because 

 beekeeping has retrograded in Italy, this 

 work will serve to stir up a new interest. 

 It will also mean the development of that 

 strain of bees that has become famous the 

 world over. Speed the day. 



more ABOUT THE SMOKE METHOD OP INTRO- 

 DUCING. 



For a couple of issues back we have men- 

 tioned the success we have had in introduc- 

 ing virgin and laying queens, some of the 

 latter too old to be introduced by any meth- 

 od except the use of smoke. We have been 

 watching Mr. Marchant introducing by this 

 method; and when we asked him if there 

 was not danger of introducing queens by 

 that method he replied, " Not as I do it." 

 His plan is this: 



He approaches a hive with a virgin or 



607 



laying queen. He then starts the smoker 

 going, giving a dozen or two strong puffs 

 out in the air. When the smoke rolls out of 

 the smoker into the air dense and heavy he 

 blows three strong puffs in at the entrance 

 and then closes the hive. After an interval 

 of perhaps ten or fifteen seconds he picks 

 up his virgin and pushes her in at the en- 

 trance. He then follows her up with one 

 more strong puff of smoke, and closes the 

 entrance. In all he gives only four puffs — 

 all that a large smoker will give when the 

 bellows is closed clear down at each puff. 

 Certainly this amount of smoke would do 

 no harm to either bees or queen. 



Up to this point Mr. Marchant follows 

 the plan as laid down by Mi-. Arthur C. 

 Miller, p. 370, Gleanings; but instead of 

 waiting 12 hours or over night, he removes 

 the plug over the entrance in some five or 

 six minutes, as he finds it not necessary to 

 keep the hive shut up any longer. 



Another thing he discovers is that this 

 way of introducing can not be employed 

 successfully in a small nucleus in full-sized 

 hives, even if the rest of the space be filled 

 up with empty combs. An ordinary divi- 

 sion-board placed next to two or thi'ee 

 frames is not sufficient to confine the smoke 

 or the queen when she is allowed to run in. 

 There must be a tight-fitting division-board 

 or the queen will run wild into the vacant 

 space; and when she does get back where 

 the bees ai'e, there is " trouble." 



In one place where we watched Mr. Mar- 

 chant he smoked in 23 virgin queens in as 

 many different hives. Of these, 22 were 

 found accepted and laying a few days after- 

 ward. 



Mr. Miller's improvement over the old 

 Alley plan of using tobacco smoke for in- 

 troducing is in showing that tobacco is not 

 necessary, and that an excessive amount of 

 any smoke is not only not needed but cruel. 



LAYING V^ORKERS AND A LAYING QUEEN IN 

 THE HIVE AT THE SAME TIME. 



For over ten days we have had laying 

 workers and a laying queen in the same col- 

 ony at the same time, the laying workers 

 pursuing their careless go-as-you-please 

 way, and the queen her careful methodical 

 way. While this has been reported before, 

 the facts in this case may be interesting. 



By an oversight a queen that had been in- 

 troduced to a colony without young brood, 

 some time in June, was not checked up later 

 on, as is our usual custom, and it so hap- 

 pened that the queen was not accepted. At 

 any rate, the colony was left hopelessly 

 queenless for some weeks, and laying work- 

 ers developed. The time state of affairs 



