264 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



that all your readers could see for them- 

 selves and for illustration, and I was aware 

 of the distance and of the two lines of ex- 

 press carriage between Jefferson and Mur- 

 ireesboro. For bees, full colonies in Langs- 

 troth hives, 10 frames and 3 honey boxes, or 

 21 frames to the hive, I had them ottered to 

 me, the present season, at .'iF5.50 per colony, 

 but did not purchase for the reason hereto- 

 fore mentioned — 1 could buy cheaper. 

 Parties thus offering were changing busi- 

 ness and locality. 



I reared queens, the present season, m 

 April, and ship])ed young queens to Iowa, 

 Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kansas 

 on May 20th. Tiiese were the first 1 sent 

 north when Mr. Bingham's bees were " not 



fathering enough to support their brood"— 

 Ir. Bingham's were certainly inferior bees. 

 I sent bees to Ohio and N. Kentucky, in 

 April, 1876, while Mr. Andrews was losing 

 by early shipping. Has Mr. A. or any other 

 breeder lost in shipping, by cold or other- 

 wise, this season? 



I do not feed by nuclei, i.e., with feed pan 

 or tin and bottle feeders containing honey 

 or syrup. Give them honey at once and 

 enough in their combs, and if in a poor sea- 

 son they get short, exchange tlieir empty 

 fi-ames with a full colony. This feeding is 

 less trouble and not so inviting to robbers. 



We can choose the male for our bees in 

 Tennessee, just as well as they can in Italy. 

 The mating of the yellow bee in Italy takes 

 place in the open air, the same as in Tenn., 

 and, from what I see, there is a greater 

 variety in Italy, or as great, as in Tenn., 

 and as many chances for impure fertiliza- 

 tion. 



What does some of the honest brethren 

 who have imported queens say? 



"I have imported but few from Italy, and 

 among the number only one that I consider 



fure, thougli very dark, as in fact were all 

 ever imported. I have never had one to 

 breed perfectly bright queens until the 4th 

 generation My first and second importa- 

 tions direct from Italy proved a failure, the 

 queen died introducing. They were but 

 very little, if any, brighter than common 

 black queens. The first one I ever succeed- 

 ed in introducing, I commenced rearing 

 from her as soon as she began to lay, fear- 

 ing the bees might remove her — of course, 

 taking it for granted she was pure, because 

 she was direct from Italy. When the 

 young queens began to hatch, some were as 

 dark as black queens and some brighter 

 than the mothers. But, lo and behold ! the 

 workers began to hatch, some with one, 

 some with two, and abaut 1 in 100 with 3 

 bands."— i?. M. Argo, in Bee World. 



'All impartial writers and travelers tell 

 us that there are two kinds of bees in Italy. 



Varro and Columella also speak of two 



varieties. Klein, a German apiculturist and 

 writer of distinction, says: At this day 

 both varieties are met with in various parts 

 of Italy.' In Oct., 1875, 1 received an in- 

 voice of queens from Milano, Italy, and 

 among the lot was a very dark leather- 

 colored queen that produced progeny badly 

 mixed. At least one-tenths of her progeny 

 were as black as any to the ' manor born.' 

 They had no signs of the bands that 



characterize the pure type The most of 



Italian queen-breeders d^;^ not rear all their 

 queens, but purchase them from the coun- 

 try people, and as bee-keeping among the 

 Italian peasantry is conducted in the most 



careless and slovenly manner, very little at- 

 tention is paid to selection." — Dr. Brown, 

 before the N. E. B. K. Society, N. V. 



1 could fill the Journal with evidence 

 such as quoted, but the above is sufficient. 



Mr. D's questions are not perplexing, and 

 not at all offensive. 



1. If Mr. D. has not increased considera- 

 bly since last season, there are a few young 

 and many old bee-keepers in Tennessee 

 who outnumber him in colonies 2 to 1, all 

 Italians. There are many black and hybrid 

 bees here too, as in Italy where imported $7 

 Italians come from. These we do not sell 

 at all, for any price. 



2 and 3. If there be no dishonest men in 

 the .SI queen business, why suppose for hy- 

 pothesis. I have yet to see one of them 

 published for dishonest transactions. Their 

 queens are warranted Italians, and being 

 sold before tested, the progeny is not war- 

 ranted. 



I am in the business to make money, and 

 try to give value received to all who deal 

 with me. If I were loosing money, I would 

 find it out without being told, and abandon 

 it at once; and here, readei's of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, let me say to you what 

 you already know, Mr. D. is after green- 

 backs too, and whenever you see these pro 

 bono jnibUco, all for the people and for 

 pleasure, regard them with suspicion. It is 

 not human nature for men to pursue and 

 continue a business that all the time is loos- 

 iufi to them. When there is profit there is a 

 corresponding amount of pleasure; is that 

 not so? W. P. Henderson. 



Murfreesboro, July, 1877. 



California Bee-Keepers' Convention. 



The chairman, Mr. Fox, called the meet- 

 ing to order, and stated that the peculiari- 

 ties of the season required a meeting at this 

 time. He stated that the questions to be 

 discussed were: "What shall be done with 

 our bees," and second, *' The assessment 

 made on bees," stated at 32.50 per hive. 



Minutes of last meeting was read by the 

 secretary, Mr. Balcom. Membership 45. 

 Approved. 



The report of the board of directors was 

 read, and approved. 



Mr. Fox stated that some of the board had 

 had liberal correspondence touching the 

 honey interest, both in America and Eng- 

 land, and that they had agreed to reduce the 

 number of grades. He also referred to the 

 conclusion of the board as to a uniformity 

 of packing cases, mode of arrangements for 

 grading, packing, etc. 



Mr. Harbison said in response to a sug- 

 gestion, that he attended the meeting of the 

 bee-keepers of Los Angeles county, and 

 said that the idea of co-operation was sug- 

 gested there of the five bee counties, and an 

 organization made, but on account of the 

 failure of the honey crop, nothing further 

 has been done. He said the bees up there 

 were dying rapidly, and the matter must 

 stand there for the present. 



Some communications were reported, 

 most of them inquiring as to "what shall be 

 done with the bees?" 



Mr. Fox said the inquiry was urgent to 

 learn something for future action. 



Mr. Harbison had visited five of his apiar- 

 ies, and examined the cases and the feed 

 carefully, and found only a small appear- 



