THE AMERICAN BEh-K VEPER. 



125 



The Punic Bee. 



BY E. L. PRATT. 



Many will be taken by surprise to 

 learn that a new bee has been found 

 that excels anything ever predicted, in 

 the coming "American wonder." 



The name of this bee is, the Panic 

 bee — Apis Niger; 'tis shiny black in 

 color, and is smaller than our native 

 black bees, or Italians. There are no 

 bands or marks of any kind on it, 

 young bees are the color of green eb- 

 ony, shading off to true raw ebony when 

 beginning to field, and finishing off to 

 polished ebony when old and all hairs 

 are worn off them. 



They are the tamest bees known — 

 the only time when it is possible to get 

 them to sting, being when they have 

 the swarming fever on. 



They are the hardiest bees known. 

 They can fly from and to their hives 

 with safety, with .mow on the ground 

 and two degrees of frost. 



The queens are very prolific, and 

 are easily found among the bees. The 

 young queens are the most lively I ev- 

 er handled, and I found that I would 

 be obliged to quicken my motions in 

 introducing them to fertilizing hives. 

 They cluster well on their combs, 

 spread evenly over them, and shake 

 off readily. 



To sum up, we have a bee, docile, 

 hard-working, prolific, non-robbing, 

 and best for comb honey. They have 

 many other good points, that are more 

 in favor of the queen breeder, horti- 

 culturist, etc., than the honey produc- 

 er; this being the party to appreciate 

 the bee that does not sting, and will 

 build up from 1 to 20, and possibly 

 yield 1,000 lbs. of surplus honey. 



They also have the following char- 

 acteristics: if a pure blooded queen 



mates with a drone of any other race, 

 her bees are a blend of the two races ; 

 and though better than the race mated 

 to, are not quite so good as pure If a 

 pure Punic drone mates with a queen 

 of any other race, the resulting bees- 

 almost equal pure Funics for honey 

 gathering, and in other respects the 

 cross is very marked. 



They can eat the hardest and dryest 

 sugar ; in fact they will carry away 

 the hardest and dryest sugar loaf 

 (when no honey is to be got.) 



These bees are very difficult to ob- 

 tain, and the price, ($80,00 each,) will 

 not be surprising when I say that 

 they have to be carried in their travel- 

 ing boxes on the heads of Negro 

 natives and the backs of camels across 

 the great desert of Sahara. 



After the middle of March it is too 

 hot to transport them to the coast in 

 safety. Their natpral swarming months 

 are December, January and February. 

 So you see the ones in my yard are 

 awakeniug to a new spring. 



Although these bees are smaller and 

 different in habits from ordinary bees r 

 they can be introduced and worked 

 with all the appliances of modern api- 

 culture. The fact that they are such 

 a wonderful race of bees will give 

 them a strong foothold among the bee- 

 keepers of America. 



Beverly, Mass., July 21 , 1891. 



Alsike clover is coming to the front 

 as a honey plant. It seems to be much 

 hardier than either white or red 

 clover. I have noticed it growing in 

 dry, compact, sterile soil by the road- 

 side. Also in a roadside ditch, where 

 water was running one-fourth of the 

 time during, the year.— J. H. A. 



