742 



THE ffiMERICarf BEE JQURMmL,. 



CARNIOLANS. 



The Characleristic!$ of this Race 

 of Bees Described. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY E. F. QUIGLEY. 



Since my report on page 268, I have 

 had some inquiry about the Carniolan 

 race of bees. I would say that they 

 are as good honey-gatherers, with me, 

 as the best Italians. They do not 

 crowd the brood-chamber, if given a 

 chance to store above, and a smaller 

 number will enter a surplus case and 

 work. They use very little propolis, 

 their sections are clean, as compared 

 to other bees, and the sealed honey 

 has a tine appearance, the capping 

 being very white. They have not been 

 so bad about swai-ming for me as the 

 Italians, and they are much gentler 

 than other races. 



The Carniolans get out early, and 

 have worked later in the sections — in 

 fact, they were the only ones giving 

 any fall surplus. All swarms were 

 hived in one section of the new Hed- 

 don hive, and none of them swarmed 

 again. I believe that they will stand 

 contracting better, and contracting 

 will relieve the surplus of bees that are 

 reared in large hives. 



They are quiet in winter, and in 

 summer they are slow about settling. 

 The progeny of the queen introduced 

 to a cx'oss colon}', are not so gentle at 

 first as they will be afterwards ; this 

 disappointed me for a time, therefore 

 I shall use my best colony as nurse- 

 bees. 



They cling to the combs better than 

 black bees, but not so well as the Ital- 

 ians. They defend their homes well, 

 but I have never seen one trying to 

 rob another colony. This fall they 

 found some wet candy that was 

 thrown out by a groceryman within 10 

 j'ards of some Italians, and the Carnio- 

 lan bees had carried it nearly all home 

 before the other bees found it. I 

 noticed them working very busy, when 

 the others were not flying, so I hunted 

 them up, with the results as stated. 



It takes but little smoke to subdue 

 them, and some of them can be handled 

 without anj'. A small swarm of the 

 Carniolans stoi'ed 48 pounds of surplus 

 white clover honej' in the comb, and 

 still have about 25 pounds in their 

 hive. I shall breed for gentleness and 

 honey-gathering qualities. 



Care should be taken that the sur- 

 l)lus honejf is not taken q,way too close, 

 as they will store all the honey above, 

 leaving the brood-chamber empty ; 



this is a valuable trait if properly used. 

 Mj' system is, to give them a case of 

 frames of empty comb, placing it be- 

 low, about the close of the clover har- 

 vest, and as the queen goes below to 

 lay, the case .above is filled with honey 

 as soon as the bees hatch, and at the 

 close of the season the lower case is 

 removed, crowding the bees into a 

 small space for winter. I shall dis- 

 card all other bees, for I like the Car- 

 niolans, all things considered, better 

 than any other race of bees. 

 Unionville, Mo., Nov. 1, 1889. 



THE SIERRAS. 



The Black-Inceiise Cedar Yields 

 Thick Honey. 



Written for the Western Apiarian 



BY S. L. WATKINS. 



The " black-incense cedar " is one 

 of the best honey and pollen yielding 

 trees of the Upper Sierras. This 

 species of cedar abounds only in cer- 

 tain locations, growing at an elevation 

 of about 4,000 feet above the sea-level. 



It is a singularly beautiful tree, with 

 its black, shiny bark, light green 

 foliage, and striking appearance, dis- 

 tinguishing it from its other compan- 

 ions of the forest. These species of 

 cedar sometimes attain a height of 

 from 150 to 200'feet, and frequently 8 

 feet in diameter. The young trees are 

 generally gathered into family groups, 

 each sapling exquisitely symmetrical, 

 with the primary branches whorling 

 irregularlj' around the axis of the tree, 

 while each is clothed with its light, 

 green, feathery foliage. 



It does not seem to be particular as 

 to the soil it grows on — smooth or 

 rocky, wet or dry : it makes out to live 

 well on all of them. 



Old trees of this species are usually 

 dead or broken off at the top, caused 

 by winter snows and winds ; trees 

 thus broken off, usually send out young 

 shoots which grow up parallel with the 

 main axis of the tree. 



In the fall of the year they are 

 loaded with myriads of beautiful, small 

 yellow cones, producing a golden 

 tinge, which gives the tree a very 

 beautiful appearance. It is about this 

 time of the year that it begins to yield 

 honey, which seems to exude from the 

 bark and the twigs of the tree. S9me 

 seasons the trees are just dripping 

 with it. This honey exudes from the 

 trees for about two weeks ; at the end 

 of that time it crj'stallizes, and looks 

 like small drops of granulated sugar 

 on the under side of the limbs ; the 

 first rains usually wash it all off. 



I have made several experiments to 

 determine whether it was the work of 



aphides, or plant-lice, \vhich usually 

 cause the so-called honey-dew. 



This honey cannot be extracted at 

 all, on account of its great density ; 

 the combs would be torn to pieces be- 

 fore the honey would start to come 

 out. 



The honey gathered from this source 

 has a spicy, eedary taste, not at all un- 

 pleasant. Some people prefer this 

 kind of honey to all others, mj-self 

 among the number. This honey is of 

 a beautiful straw color, weighing be- 

 tween 12 and 13 pounds to the gallon. 



The botanical name of the incense 

 cedar is Libocedrus decurrens ; but this 

 species of black-incense cedar is en- 

 tirely different from the common kind. 

 I once came across a variegated in- 

 cense cedar, half of the foliage of 

 which was a dark green, and the other 

 half pure white. Viewed from a dis- 

 tance, the tree looked as if it were 

 covered with white flowers. Whether 

 this is a distinct species of cedar, or 

 onlj' a freak of nature, I am unable to 

 state. I should be pleased to hear the 

 opinions of California botanists on 

 these two varieties of Cedar. 



Placerville, Calif. 



EXTRACTORS. 



Description of a Ten.Frame 

 Honey-Extractor. 



Written, for the American Bee Journal 



BY LOUIS C. KOEHLER. 



On page 677, Mr. Poppleton says 

 that he is using a honej'-extractor 

 which extracts 6 frames at the same 

 time, and he probably believes that he 

 has something good. At the same 

 time he says if any one has any better 

 extractor, let him describe it. All 

 right, I have it. 



Last winter I made an extractor, the 

 can of which is made of galvanized 

 iron, 29 inches in diameter, and 26 

 inches high. It has 3 legs 12 inches 

 long, bringing the can 12 inches from 

 the floor. The central shaft, to which 

 the revolving comb-basket is attached, 

 is a 5-inch iron rod, connected directly 

 with the gearing above, and resting 

 on a cone at the bottom. The revolv- 

 ing comb-basket is made of }xj inch 

 steel, and is large enough so as lo 

 leave a 1^-inch space between the bas- 

 ket and the can. 



I can extract ten frames at the same 

 time. My bee-hives are all the 10- 

 frame style, so I can finish the frames 

 of one hive at once. The frames in the 

 surplus apartment arc 18x5^ inches. 



The principle upon which it works 

 is a very simple one — a band running 

 around small wheels fastened to the 

 shafts of the revolving comb-baskets. 



