146 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURI8T. 



These are now magnificent colonies, 

 covering ten standard Langstrotli 

 frames and filling two cases of 

 twenty-eight 1 lb. sections each. 



A peep into any of these pure 

 Italian homes with their double 

 cases of white sections in process 

 of completion would take the con- 

 ceit out of the " business bee " bus- 

 iness, or more properly the swindle 

 bee business, or I am unable to 

 understand what true " business " 

 real 13^ is. 



I am perfectly acquainted with 

 the very best class of hybrids, and 

 it has cost me heavily for two years 

 past to get control of my breeding 

 field. The best class of hybrids 

 are about equal to the best pure 

 stock as honey gatherers, but you 

 just let them mix up and multiply 

 and they will soon degenerate be- 

 low the standard of any pure race 

 with which I am acquainted. 



The season here was unfavorable 

 up to the 20th of May, since which 

 time the prospects have brightened 

 exceedingly. The white clover is 

 abundant and yields profusely. 

 There is some fatality however, in 

 connection with the queen-rearing 

 business up to this date. I have 

 lost more young queens while out on 

 their wedding tour than at any other 

 time, or in all the time of my 

 experience. I attribute it to the 

 sudden showers of rain which have 

 been so frequent of late. If I mis- 

 take in this conclusion I am per- 

 fectly at sea as to the true cause of 

 my loss. 



While removing the queen cells 

 from a queen-rearing colony to-day, 

 I found that several of the queens 



had hatched out ; and, as the colony 

 was strong the rest of the cells 

 were protected by the bees and 

 these young "misses" were crawl- 

 ing every which way, and I had the 

 opportunity to see a ferocious com- 

 bat between two " bloody-eyed " 

 princesses. They were too fine to 

 be wasted in that way however, 

 and after watching them fight like 

 expert veteran wrestlers as 1 held 

 the comb in my hands, I concluded 

 to se])arate them and put them at 

 better business. I lifted them from 

 the comb by the wings and pro- 

 ceeded to break their grip upon 

 each other, which was not so easily 

 done as one might imagine. They 

 were most desperatel}' savage. 

 Christiarisbvrg, Ky. 



THE SPIDER AS A 

 COMB-PROTECTOR.^ 



By C. L.COLTON. 



To many readers of the "Bienen- 

 zeitung" it will be welcome and at 

 all events interesting to learn of a 

 new means of preserving our combs 

 from the depredations of the moth 

 during the winter. 



It is about eight years since I be- 

 gan beekeeping and through the 

 succeeding years, notwithstanding 

 the pleasure afforded me by the 

 harvests of hone}' and combs, I have 

 experienced much trouble and vex- 

 ation in the storing of my beautiful 

 combs, for scarcely a j^ear passed 



1 A free translation from the German of W. 

 Eckhardt. 



