Tlie produce of an acre of furze is equal 

 to au acre of meadow. For further infor- 

 mation and analysis, the above mentioned 

 work must be ref ered to. 



I have seen, in Wales, several small 

 water-wheels driving 2 rollers, in which are 

 fastened strong teeth, for the purpose of 

 crushing furze. J. 8. Wood. 



Nyborg, Denmark, April 17, 1878. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



Interesting Topics. 



A tong time since 1 tried to help (or 

 hinder) by a few lines the old Jouknal. — 

 A long and serious illness has caused a 

 neglect, both of my bees and the good old 

 Journal. Its superiority over all other 

 journals devoted to the same object is so 

 visible that it commands respect fromall. 



ITALIANS vs. BLACKS. 



The superioritj^ of the Italians Is so visi- 

 ble that it does seem it would long have 

 been settled. I have had them side by 

 side for 7 years, pure Italians, pure blacks 

 and hybrids. There are three points in 

 which to compare them. First, the Italian 

 hives contain double the number of bees, 

 and often three times as many. They travel 

 farther for forage and are never troubled 

 by moths. Last, but not least, in a poor 

 season they will average 10 lbs. to 1 for the 

 blacks, of surplus honey. Now, I don't 

 need to compare them in any other respect, 

 yet the Italian has claims of being superior 

 in other respects. Colonies all in like con- 

 dition at beginning of harvest— same hive, 

 same locality, and tried in 5 different loca- 

 tions, side by side. 



IMPORTING QUEENS, 



Imported some Italian, Cyprian and 

 Smyrnian, September 1, 1875, but they 

 starved while in the express office at New 

 Orleans. One Cyprian lived 24 hours after 

 I received them. I regretted greatly the 

 neglect of the company. The Italians were 

 all dead and moldy ; the Smyrnians were 

 dead, but the combs clean ; the Cyprian 

 were nice and clean, and many of them able 

 to move. We have ships plying between 

 here and Java, so I can get bees from that 

 Island, as there are native Javanese who 

 come here. I can get Cyprian bees in the 

 same way. I am determined to have them 

 direct from their native place. I care not 

 for second-handed races. They send 

 hybrids to America, and then to be mixed 

 by American bees again, and then sold at a 

 fancy price, and then only one-fourth blood. 

 None for me. There is one thing I never 

 could believe, in the Dzierzon theory, viz : 

 That pure queens mated with black drones 

 will produce pure drones. I was always in 

 doubt until I gave it 3 good trials and 

 learned to my sorrow that my fears were 

 well grounded. I am now arrayed against 

 that theory and argue it at proper times 

 from actual experiments during 3 seasons. 

 I have fully satisfied myself. Let others do 

 the same. I believe it impossible to keep 

 an apiary entirely pure for a length of time, 

 unless one is continually adding young 

 queens that are tested or fertilized in con- 



finement. After long and mature consider- 

 ation I have decided to re-queen my apiary 

 every year, if the honey season be good and 

 breeding extensive ; if not so, then every 

 2 years. In the South, a queen will not 

 remain prolific as long as in the North, as 

 breeding is carried on so much longer. — 

 Two years would not be much too long for 

 a good queen, but in a fine honey season 

 when a queen keeps up 15 full section frames 

 of brood from April 1st until August 1st, it 

 uses up a queen. 



FLOATING APIARIES. 



I investigated this matter 3 years ago and 

 found that to build a boat for the express 

 purpose of carrying bees was not practica- 

 ble, and gave the subjectof forage along the 

 Mississippi Kiver, from Cairo to Natchez, a 

 careful investigation, and found it would 

 not support an apiary or a barge, but by 

 going up small streams it might do, but 

 have doubts. There is a similar object I 

 have in view, as soon as forage begins to 

 fail here, to move the bees up above St. 

 Louis by railroad, so as to lose little time in 

 transit ; but if forage should remain good 

 here, it would not be advisable, only in 

 case honey fails here in the last of May- 

 then go. In this State there is forage for 

 1000 il)s. to the colony if the atmosphere 

 was only favorable, which is generally too 

 cool. Many speak of the hot South ; my 

 objection is, it is not ?iot enough. I shall 

 watch the season closely, and if our harvest 

 is not good I will go to Illinois at once. 



FERTILIZING IN CONFINEMENT. 



Well may Dr. Family offer $25 for the 

 "best method of fertilizing in confine- 

 ment;" but hereafter, when I offer any- 

 thing for a prize, I shall consider well who 

 are to be the contestants and manner of 

 decision. Yes, 'tis a fine plan to get the 

 best mode on certain topics, for two or three 

 to offer a small prize, thereby bringing out 

 a few of the best, and then it is public. I 

 deem it more honorable to communicate 

 such things at once to the journals, when 

 such a small sum as $25 is offered. I would 

 give it free to the Journal before I would 

 compete for a sum less than $100. 



I do not deem any plan to propagate a 

 foreign race of bees in any way successful, 

 unless done in confinement, to retain the 

 race pure, to prevent loss from birds and 

 other enemies, to prevent loss from perish- 

 ing while on a bridal trij) and from entering 

 wrong hive. Queen breeding is very uncer- 

 tain at best, and when attended with all 

 these drawbacks it is very much of a risk. 

 Now, to think of raising pure queens when 

 there is any black blood within 10 miles— it 

 is very uncertain to my mind. In Point 

 Coupee, I knew two instances where there 

 was not an Italian within 10 miles, and yet, 

 there came a swarm with a fine Italian 

 queen, mated with a black drone. I am 

 familiar with several instances where Ital- 

 ians have come 5 miles and united with 

 blacks ; and is it not as reasonable to 

 assume that blacks will do the same ? The 

 fertilization of queens must be done in 

 confinement, if it is expected to keep the 

 race pure. I tried it in 1872-3, and failed 

 almost entirely. I tried again with much 



