94 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



pared in summer-time ; it is digested 

 and stored for further use, so it can be 

 assimilated at once and changed to 

 heat. We do not know any other an- 

 imal with a similar power. If we add 

 to this that the honey is capped to keep 

 out the moisture, that the surface of 

 pollen likewise is polished to keep it for 

 use in winter and early spring, we shall 

 hardly find another animal which in- 

 stinctively makes so much preparation 

 for a long winter. 



Further, the anatomy of the bee shows 

 that this animal is especially created for 

 a long winter. We know that bees are 

 confined for five or six months (in Si- 

 beria even seven months) to the hive. 

 This is possible only because the bee 

 can accumulate their excrements for so 

 long a time in the large intestine. Prac- 

 tice teaches that they can stand this 

 long confinement as long as they remain 

 healthy. All who have examined the ali- 

 mentary canal of bees will never doubt 

 that this part of the intestine is expressly 

 fitted, created or developed for this pur- 

 pose. 



If we, by our scientific and rational 

 methods of beekeeping, cannot winter 

 our bees without more or less loss, it is 

 a proof that our management or our 

 theories are not correct. So much is 

 sure : that many thousands of years, bees 

 lived and prospered, wintered, swarmed 

 and gathered honey in a cold climate 

 and without any help (?) of a scientific 

 beekeeper. 



Another proof that bees are natives 

 of a climate with cold winters is the fact 

 that a colony of bees breed in winter 

 time and do this the more the colder 

 the temperature. If a severe tempera- 

 ture in January or February causes a 

 great consumption of honey, we shall 

 find more capped healthy brood than 

 later, after the bees have had a cleansmg 

 flight. Whoever examined a colony in 

 such circumstances will never doubt this 

 fact. An insect, which in severe weather 

 can breed and can nurse healthy young 

 ones and for this purpose can raise the 

 temperature fifty or sixty degrees, will 

 remain healthy, using no other food than 



that stored, disdaining even water, with- 

 out discharging fteces, is surely created 

 for a cold climate. 



We again come to this conclusion if 

 we observe the habits of a colony of 

 bees. A single bee is a feeble thing, 

 but a single bee does not winter. A 

 single bee is in fact only a part of an 

 organism and the colony of bees is the 

 animal proper. In this respect alone 

 we could write many articles. If you 

 want to know how insect colonies act 

 which are created for a tropical climate 

 let me tell you how the so-called stingless 

 bees do, the melliponre or trichoptera, 

 and you will find out the difference. 



L. SrACHELHAUSEN. 



Selma, Texas. 



MORE ABOUT BIG BEES. 



DR. MlLLEIl, W. Z. HUTCHINSON AND 

 MR. CUESHIRE RUM KM BE RED 



Dr. Miller says on page 12, "queens 

 of medium size are generally the best. 

 They have proven so with me." He 

 admits that he uses old combs all the 

 time. 



That's right ; as long as you use old 

 combs stick to your medium or small 

 size queens ; the older the combs the 

 smaller you will find your queens. I 

 prefer the large, handsome queens on 

 new combs and the result in a crop of 

 honey, is, with me, better by nearly two 

 to one. Again, on page 83, Dr. M, 

 says, " I cannot see how the size of 

 worker cells can have any effect on the 

 queen's progeny." What kind of a doc- 

 tor are you? The comb cells are the 

 wombs in which the infant bees develop 

 previous to birth — by its repeated use, 

 each time leaving a lining that is never 

 taken out by the bees, causing it to be- 

 come cramped in size. To illustrate : 

 not long since I learned, or think I 

 learned, this matter. I had a colony 

 that was not doing well. I obtained 

 from Mr. Alley one of his best queens 

 from the $100 queen ; received and in- 

 troduced her during June, 1890, into 

 that hive on those old combs ; her young 



