1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



25 



spell when the bees did uothiog. A 

 few days later, I discovered some ex- 

 tensive fields of mustard, which were 

 yielding an appreciable quantity of 

 honey. It was concluded to move 

 ninety colonies into the vicinity as 

 soon as possible, and in finding a sat- 

 isfactory location to place the hives, 

 it took about twenty miles to travel 

 on foot, and I arrived at the apiary 

 at two o'clock. The queens were to 

 be clipped before moving, and I went 

 about the clipping that afternoon. By 

 using the seat for four or five hours, 

 I became thoroughly rested from my 

 long forenoon tramp, so that by even- 

 ing I was ready to wrestle with hives 

 and take a load to tlie new location. 

 Now the point is here — one is not 

 obliged to use a seat unless they want 

 to do so, but a standing posture long 

 continued, or much travel, is sure to 

 divide and absorb muscular and nerve 

 force that should be concentrated 

 upon the one particular part of the 

 work. 



Cages, cell protectors, escapes, en- 

 trance guards and record cards, should 

 have a particular apartment. The 

 brush, knife, pencil, chisel and scis- 

 sors, pockets. Then a large apart- 

 ment for a •' catch-all." Nails for at- 

 taching entrance guards and drone 

 traps, and tacks for queen cages and 

 record cards, should there be kept in 

 separate boxes. To make these boxes, 

 take two screw caps, together with 

 the screws, place the concave sides 

 together in the manner of two cym- 

 bals, and solder together at the points 

 of contact. There will be a screw 

 cover on either side. These boxes 

 may be carried from hive to hive, and 

 are not easily tipped over when sit- 

 ting, and instead of wearing away the 



finger nails in picking small nails from 

 the corners of small apartments, they 

 may be shaken out like powder from 

 a flask. With covers screwed on they 

 stay there, and keep the nails there, 

 and when the tool box is overturned 

 and water gets in, the nails will not 

 rust and stick together. Toss the nail 

 boxes into the "catch-all" apartment. — 

 C, W. Dayton in Progressive Bee Keeper. 



ITALIANS vs. HYBRIDS, — A STRONG 

 PLEA FOR HYBRIDS. 



The question has occurred to me 

 whether apiarists have not laid too 

 much stress on the supposed superior 

 excellence of the Italian bees. I 

 shall make no comparison of them 

 here with the German bee nor shall 

 I now question their superiority for 

 the purposes of the student or of any 

 who keep bees for pleasure or for the 

 sake of open-air exercise; but for the 

 specialist in the production of comb 

 honey, I contend that the socalled hy- 

 brids, the cross between .the German 

 and the Italian bee is immeasureably 

 superior. After several years' exper- 

 ience with hundreds of colonies, I take 

 the ground with suprise .that any 

 should be found to differ, that he who 

 makes the production of comb honey 

 his principal business, cannot afford 

 to spend his time in the busiest part 

 of the season contending with the 

 idiosyncrasies of the Italians. 



My readers will bear in mind that 

 I am looking solely from the standing ! 

 point of the producer of comb honey ; \ 

 for the producers of extracted honey, 

 the objections to the Italians are of 

 somewhat less force. My chief rea- 

 sons for the position above indicated 

 are as follows : 



First, the dispositicn which the 



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