126 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



for queens, etc. With the Italians 

 this would be perfect madness.^ 



Doubtless some will say " your 

 gentle bees must suffer from being 

 robbed." Not so, my friends, they 

 are good protectors of their homes. 



I have purchased queens from 

 some of the best breeders in the 

 States hoping to get the best in the 

 market, and I never have, as yet, 

 seen any that will hold their own with 

 my gray bees. 



In breeding, the Italians commence 

 a trifle earlier in spring, but they 

 dwindle so badly that when fruit trees 

 bloom they are not as strong as the 

 gray bees. 



For honey-gathering from the white 

 and red clover the Italians and gray 

 bees are about equal, but when buck- 

 wheat is in bloom the grays beat the 

 Italians by fifty per cent, 



I have wintered both races in- 

 doors and out of doors. The grays 

 seem to become dormant not caring 

 to move about, while the Italians are 

 uneasy, crawling out of their hives 

 and wasting away. 



My gray bees have steadily in- 

 creased by natural swarming- from 

 the one colony to 120, all in the 

 same apiary ; giving me, in an average 

 season, a nice surplus of box honey, 

 and in a very poor season holding 

 their own without feeding or spring 

 dwindling. 



I think that had one-half the pains 

 been taken to improve some of our 



1 If our friend will visit us we will show 

 him colonies of Italians that can be examined 

 without fear of stings, and this with neither 

 smoke nor protection. — Ed. 



2 When working for comb hone}-, I return 

 all of my swarms so that I get no increase 

 that season.— D. F. L. 



native bees that have been de\oted 

 to rearing foreign races, beekeeping 

 of to-day would be in a far better 

 condition. It is the general result 

 and the general summing up that 

 decide which is the more profitable 

 vocation. 



Of late years I have wintered my 

 bees in a frost-proof building, and 

 have found it to be a great saving of 

 honey. At some future time I will tell 

 your readers, if they wish, how this 

 building is constructed so as to carry 

 bees safely through five months of as 

 cold winter weather as ever existed 

 in my section, together with my ex- 

 perience in fruit raising in connection 

 with beekeeping and how I manage 

 to save my natural swarms from ab- 

 sconding. 



This having swarms decamp to 

 parts unknown is all wrong. I have 

 had more swarms come to me than 

 I ever had desert, and the idea that 

 bees injure fruit blossoms is alto- 

 gether erroneous. Why ! we were 

 obliged to prop up our plum trees 

 last season to prevent them from 

 breaking down with the load of plums, 

 and of chenies we had a most boun- 

 tiful crop and this right in our apiary 

 too. 



I should be pleased to give your 

 readers a paper on fruit and bees if 

 it would be acceptable.^ 



Hooper, N. Y. 



5 Doubtless our readers would be pleased 

 to hear from friend Lashier again, and we 

 trust that he will favor us with the article. 

 —Ed. 



