384 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



thing — if it is only opening clams — and 

 by exchange of products, we can all get 

 expert service in everything that goes to 

 make up our lives. An expert bee- 

 keeper vi'ill verify your plans, or point 

 out the w^eak points in a few minutes, 

 and perhaps save the manufacture of 

 bee-keepers' supplies, or an amateur 

 bee-keeper thousands of dollars ; but do 

 not expect his services for nothing, nor 

 that he will charge by the hour. He 

 must have something for the time spent 

 in educating himself, the same as for any 

 other profession. 

 Buffalo, N. Y. 



Italians vs. ttie Blact Bees. 



CHAKLE8 WHITE. 



On page 325, Mr. Nelson finds lots of 

 fault with the Italian bees. I would 

 like-to have the address of the breeders 

 that send out the worthless Italians that 

 Mr. Nelson mentions — I would like to 

 try one or two out of curiosity, as I have 

 never found the traitor in any I have 

 tried, that Mr. N. speaks of. 



It is true that the Italians will swarm 

 earlier in the season than the blacks — 

 that is one of their redeeming traits, for 

 if they are properly handled that will do 

 them for the season, while the blacks 

 will get strong enough to swarm about 

 the time they should be working in the 

 sections, and if there is any flow of 

 honey they will surely swarm, and keep 

 swarming as long as the honey-flow 

 lasts. 



I will admit that they can be kept 

 from swarming, and have buckwheat 

 for them to work on ; that they will go 

 into the sections ahead of Italians, but 

 the Italians will start ten days later in 

 the sections, then catch up with the 

 blacks, if the flow lasts two weeks 

 longer. If the flow should be cut short, 

 and you take what surplus the blacks 

 have put into the sections, then they 

 will starve before Spring. That is one 

 of their traits, to have a hive full of 

 brood when they should have it full of 

 honey. 



As for the stinging qualities of the 

 blacks, there is nothing that will beat 

 them except the hybrids, and they have 

 the energy of the Italians and the wick- 

 edness of the blacks. I can nearly 

 always tell what kind of bees a man has 

 as soon as he tells me how they act. 



I am often asked how I get rid of the 

 moths. My reply is, "Get Italians;" 



and it is generally asked by those who 

 have blacks. 



It is often remarked by visitors in my 

 apiary, that my bees work better than 

 theirs. They say theirs are not working 

 well. I remove the cover of the hive to 

 show them what the bees are doing, and 

 the visitors nearly always say, "Hold 

 on, until I get away !" After getting 

 them over their scare, they are sur- 

 prised, and say, " My ; if I should do 

 that with my bees, they would run me 

 off the farm." I then tell them that 

 mine are Italian bees, while theirs are 

 blacks. They want to know then how I 

 knew they were clacks. 



I do not believe there is anything in 

 the climate to make the difference, as I 

 have had queens from a number of dif- 

 ferent States, and their bees are about 

 the same. 



Farmers' Valley, Nebr. 



Bees Leaving HlTes— ArllSclal Pollen. 



A. C. BABB. 



On Feb. 22, one of my colonies came 

 out of the hive and flew around for 

 sometime. I found the queen and put 

 her at the entrance, and in a few min- 

 utes the bees were all in. While the 

 bees were out I examined the combs, and 

 found plenty of honey and some brood, 

 but no bee-bread. The next day they 

 came out again, and flew as they did the 

 day before. I managed to secure the 

 queen again, clipped one wing, and put 

 her at the entrance as before, and soon 

 the bees were all in again. 



I went to another colony and took out 

 a frame that was well supplied with 

 bee-bread and honey, and gave it to the 

 uneasy colony, which accepted it, and 

 concluded to stay at home and be con- 

 tented. The next day they went to 

 work on the pollen substitute described 

 below. 



I have had the grippe since Jan. 15, 

 and have not done any work the past 

 two weeks, nor been out except when in 

 the warm sunshine. I have not given 

 my bees the attention that they should 

 have had, but they have all wintered 

 nicely so far. They have stores suffi- 

 cient until the peach bloom opens, ex- 

 cepting the colony above described. It 

 will not be long before the elms and 

 peach-bloom will afford abundant pollen 

 for the bees. 



I have been using a substitute for 

 pollen, made of equal parts of wheat and 

 oats ground together. I sifted the bran 



