140 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Foreign Notes. 



WHAT OUn FKIENDS ACROSS THE WATER 



SAY CONCERNING THE DIFFERENT 



RACES OF BEES. 



G. Dathe, Eystrup. Hanover, says in his 

 circular and price-list for 1877: "I do not 

 raise Cyprian, Egyptian, or Krainer bees 

 any more;" but he does not tell why. Mr. 

 Dathe, who is one of the most prominent 

 bee-keepers of Germany and author of valu- 

 able works on bee-culture, possesses three 

 large apiaries. His home apiary, consist- 

 ing, in summer, of about 400 colonies and 

 200 queen hives, is devoted largely to queen- 

 rearing, and his aim is to raise only "Ital- 

 ian queens of the purest full-blood, which 

 produce the most beautiful bees and 

 queens." It is well to see what men of his 

 experience say of the various races of bees. 



At the 21st Wanderversammlung of the 

 German and Austrian bee-culturists held at 

 Ereslau, last Sept., W. Guenther, of Gip- 

 persleben, Hanover, asked: " What has 

 been the experience during the past years 

 in reference to the various imported races 

 of bees ?" Quite a discussion ensued, 

 which Der Schlesiche [inker, published at 

 Troppau, Silesia, sums up as follows : 

 *' From the various experiments made dur- 

 ing the past years it appears that, as re- 

 gards diligence and prolificness, the Egyp- 

 tian bee ranks after the German and 

 Italian; that the Krainer race, at the ex- 

 pense of honey, produces many bees; the 

 Cyprians are diligent, but (luite inclined to 

 sting; between the German and heath bees 

 there is no particular difference; in poor 

 seasons for honey the Italians gather more 

 than the German bees. The Herzegovinian 

 bee is praised. Bees obtained by judicious 

 crossing have the preference over the pure 

 races." 



In an article entitled, " Die Bienenzucht 

 in lioehmen,"— Bee-Culture in Bohemia— 

 which Kudolf Mayerhoeffer, of Prague— the 

 editor of Bohemia's bee journal, Der Bien- 

 envater — contributes to an Alsatian bee 

 journal, is the following: " The Italian bee 

 was praised likewise, as in Germany, as 

 71071 plus ultra, and it was believed that 

 the golden time of bee-culture had come 

 upon us. Now all is still; attention is 

 turned to the Ki-ainer bees, and, more 

 recently, to the Cyprians." 



Here is Dzierzon — the man whom the 

 Germans honor with the title '• Gross-meis- 

 ter" (great master)— after 25 years' experi- 

 ence with Italian bees, saying: " In Feb. 

 of this year it will be a quarter of a century 

 since the first Italian bees (from Mira, near 

 Venice) arrived safely in Carlsmarkt. The 

 importation of the Italian bee to Germany 

 can rightfully be noted as a real event in 

 the history of bee-culture; not less worthy 

 •of note, however, is the fact that during a 

 quarter of a century it has been possible to 

 preserve it pure and unmixed. Thus has it 

 been proved that this as beautiful as gentle, 

 diligent, and prolific bee bears our German 

 climate very well, and that its preservation 

 in purity is, with some care, quite possible, 

 even though made in a measure ditiicult, on 

 account of the mating of the young queens 

 in the air. * * * * The importation of 

 the Italian bee increased directly the profits 

 of bee-culture, because this bee not only 



excels the common bee as regards beauty 

 and gentleness, but also in its greater 

 watchfulness and prolificness, and par- 

 ticularly in its greater diligence— superior 

 qualities which the Roman poet Virgil 

 praises as belonging to the golden-colored 

 bees, and have been fully preserved to this 

 time." 



During the whole quarter of a century 

 Dr. Dzierzon has bred from the queens first 

 imported and their descendants, having ob- 

 tained no more Italians. At the various 

 large conventions and exhibitions held in 

 Central Europe, his bees liave received the 

 highest prizes as pure and beautiful 

 Italians. 



SALICYLIC ACID. 



TheBienenvater,Prague,Bohemia,says: 

 This acid is not only a remedy for foul 

 brood, but it also renders us an important 

 service in the preservation of honey. As is 

 well know^n, newly-extracted honey fer- 

 ments easily in consequence of its thorough 

 mixture with the air, which contains the 

 fermenting principle; and in order to cause 

 sweet-must to ferment, it is regularly 

 beaten up. Salicylic acid placed in wine- 

 must prevents fermentation for months, as 

 it completely paralyzes the strength of the 

 barm. Frank Benton. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honey a Luxury. 



At the North Eastern B. K. Meeting held 

 at Syracuse, on the 7th to 9th of Feb., 1877, 

 Mr. J. H. Nellis said: 



" We must produce honey cheap enough 

 to compete with other sweets, to make it a 

 commodity of general demand and ready 

 sale. Can bee-keepers do this? If so, there 

 is no limit to the business of honey produc- 

 ing. If not, the business is already over- 

 done." 



A very just remark. Honey will ever be 

 eaten as a luxury or kind of " side issue," 

 even at one cent per lb. I have sold rich, 

 choice extracted honey at UJ-^c. per lb, by 

 the gallon, for two years past, and urged it 

 upon the market in every way possible, yet 

 ten times as much cane syrup has been sold 

 in the mean time. In the last 10 days more 

 pounds of maple sugar have been sold at 

 1<)C. than of honey at llV^c. during the past 

 year. Our city uses twice as much comb 

 honey as extracted. They pay 22c. to 2.5c., 

 retail, for comb honey. Honey and heat 

 are antagonistic to each other, and this one 

 fact casts both comb and extracted lioney 

 into the narrow sphere of sauce. Soui* 

 sauces are nuich preferred to sweet sauce. 

 Very many prefer all other kinds of sweet 

 sauce to honey. Many people will not eat 

 sauce at their meals at all. Those who 

 imagine they see a broad " rock bottom" 

 only a little way down, just ready to catch 

 any amount of honey everybody can pro- 

 duce, will ere long get the mote out of their 

 eye, and find themselves looking into a 

 chasm without bottom. 



What bee-keeper wrote in the Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Miignzine that he remembered when 

 brown sugar was worth 2oc. per lb, and 

 honey (strained) 12>^c. per gallon ? This is 

 the other extreme, but not impossible, as 

 one will not fill the place of the other. No 

 man can see such great profits in the pro- 

 duction as professional supply dealers, who 



