I902 



THE AHERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



183 



Cyprio — Golden Bees. 



I SHOULD like to enquire after the 

 number of yellow bands carried by 

 your breeding queens'? This may 

 lead me to send you along a lot of sub- 

 scribers. 



Under heading of Editorial Chat, 

 there is a question I may answer. Mr. 

 W. Reid asks has any of your readers 

 tried pure Cyprian's results, and where 

 obtainable. 



I am not a Yankee student. ^ly 

 knowledge has been obtained in Eng 

 land and the reply gleaned from the 

 British Bee Journal twenty years ago. 



With the British boom came the 

 Italian. 



The Britishers knowing that black 

 bees were plentiful in Italy soon dis- 

 covered the source of the yellow bands, 

 the}' were brought by the Monks from 

 the Holy Lands. Benton established a 

 trade and afterwards discovered a more 

 golden marked bee in the Island of 

 Cyprus, these and the Holy Lands are 

 the source of the American Goldens so 

 called Italians. I have kept them in 

 England and Australia, have a few now 

 not quite pure. All those with a cross 

 are what is called by me good Italians, 

 the less black blood the better they 

 work and can be handled best without 

 smoke. When pure, good allround bees 

 are so beautiful to handle and look 

 upon that the novice never tires of 

 opening up and exhibiting to his friends; 

 the result is foul brood and disgust 

 with Cyprians. 



There is small diflferenece between 

 Holy Lands and Cyprians for work, no 

 blacks will ever lay such solid masses 

 of brood proving whole frames are 

 covered at short intervals. Under care- 

 ful treatment they will not fizz, they are 

 first in the morning and last at night, 

 rarely ever hang round entrance. Pre- 

 vent your Cyprians laying out of sea- 

 son and they will make a brood-nest 

 in the spring covering 20 simplicity 

 frames, from these, honey can be pro- 

 duced at a price to compete with 

 treacle always providing that you steer 

 clear of the hundred and one useless 

 inventions that go to make the supply 

 dealer fat. 



When roughly handled they will 

 clearout the novice. — John Jordan- 



<^Friend J. my breeding queen pro- 

 duces bees with three bands. I believe 



you are wrong when you say that the 

 Goldens of America were produced 

 from the Cyprian and Holy Land bees. 

 I believe it was Messrs. G- M. Doo- 

 little and Hearn, who originated the 

 Goldens, and that they used only pure 

 Italian bees to breed from. — Ed.) 

 — Australian Bee-Keepers' Review. 



CATCHING A BEE. 



Clever Idea of a Timid Bce-Keeper— Is Red Ob- 

 jectionable to Bees? 



(Kate V. Austin.) 



WHAT may seem a trifle is often 

 worth mentioning. For in- 

 stance does everybody know just 

 how to entrap a bee when it is buzzing 

 on a window pane? 



The other day, one of my bees flew 

 into the house, and began capering 

 upon the window. I could not raise the 

 sash to let it out, on account of the 

 screen barring its flight, and I was for 

 a moment at a loss just what to do; 

 for I was afraid of handling so delicate 

 and yet so piquant an insect. But sud- 

 denly a bright idea buzzed into my 

 head and this is what was done: 



I took an envelope that was cut open 

 at the end and gently pushed the open 

 end up under the bee. and down into 

 the paper trap it fell; then carrying my 

 prisoner {o the door I saw it fly safely 

 and joyously away. 



Now this way of catching a bee is 

 familiar, no doubt, to both man and 

 bee, but neverthelejs the idea was new 

 to me and so I thought to give it \ving 

 in case that such a simple method might 

 not occur to everyone- 



There is a question which I wish 

 some one would answer for me, and 

 that is, does the color of red anger 

 bees? Not the color of red in flowers, 

 but the color of red tn dress. Would 

 a flaming red dress worn by a keeper of 

 bees irritate them beyond endurance? 

 I fancy it would, but have no wish to 

 try the experiment- I like my bees, 

 and then, besides, I want to keep on 

 the good side of them, or rather, I \yish 

 to keep at that end oposite the sting. 

 But there are those who delight in ex- 

 periments, absurd and otherwise, and I 

 wish they would inform me whether 

 bees have an abhorrance of red in gar- 

 ments, like unto the turkey gobbler. 



Centerville. Ind- July 21. 1902. 



