THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



The beeg with us arc of a brownish yellow 

 color ; lower down the valley they are chestnut 

 brown ; higher up the mountains Ihey are 

 brighter anM more slender. All of them are 

 more active in their movements, especially when 

 flying, than the common black bee. At firet 

 view I could scarcely persuade myself that the 

 bees of the mountain and those of the valley were 

 the same. But when we transported a number 

 of our stocks from the plains to the Alps, for 

 the purpose of gathering the finer quality of 

 honey there, and these in a short time began to 

 produce brighter colored bees, and the queens 

 also grew lighter hued, we became satisfied that 

 climate and nutriment determined the difference 

 of color; and since then I make no distinction 

 between them. Whether there are any other 

 bees on this side of the Alps, which could claim 

 a preference over the Italians we have here, I 

 am unable to say, but intend to procure queens 

 and workers next summer from various parts of 

 Upper Italy ; and will then compare them and 

 report the result. 



Last winter Prof. Mona procured a number 

 of stocks from Piedmont, and the lower section 

 of Lago Maggiore, under the impression that 

 the bees found there were handsomer and better. 

 A minute comparison gave these results : the 

 workers resembled ours very much in color, 

 though perhaps somewhat less brown. In size 

 and shape they were precisely like the common 

 black bees ; and so likewise in their entire 

 movements and deportment. Of the ciueens 

 some were beautifully bright, others very dark, 

 and less slender than those native here. I do 

 not doubt that these bees are just as industrious 

 as those of Tessin, but am unable to say any- 

 thing from actual observation, as we removed 

 their queens early in spring, and inserted in 

 them royal cells of our own stock. It is not 

 likely that Prof. Mona will soon make another 

 such experiment. Mr. Spinedi, of Mendrisio, 

 also gives the Tessinian bees the preference de- 

 cidedly over all others. He says these are muck 

 more slender and more agile than those of Lom- 

 bardy and Piedmont, and he therefore prefers 

 them. 



Beyond the Alps the bright yellow bees and 

 queens are justly preferred, because there the 

 local causes that influence differeuces are un- 

 known, and by their brilliance of color they are 

 so readily distinguished from the common bees 

 cultivated there. 



Among the enemies of bees, the following are 

 enumerated here : the swallow, the death's head 

 moth, the large wood ant, the small red ant, 

 the wax moth, and the bee louse. Of these, the 

 wax moth is regarded as most to be dreaded, 

 not unfrequently producing widespread devas- 

 tations in the apiaries. 



As the winter here is short and mild, with a 

 dry atmosphere, dysentery occurs among bees 

 only in damp localities on the northern side of 

 the Alps and the higher hills, which are over- 

 shadowed by these eminences nearly all winter. 

 "We usually have a number of stocks in the vil- 

 lages there, as the pasturage is rich and of long 

 continuance ; but we always remove them in 

 autumn to the sunny side of the hills. 



Fortunately for us foul-brood is entirely un- 



known on this .side of the Alps, so that we are 

 safe in buying bees and honey when and where 

 we please. A large number of the German bee- 

 keepers appear to be already well aware of this 

 fact, as they purchased honey freely here last 

 fall, which it is understood was to be used in 

 feeding weak colonies preparatory to wintering. 

 The price of honey depends on the quality and 

 color of the article. The finest Alpine honey 

 sells at two francs per pound ; fine mountain 

 honey, as also such as is gathered on the Alps 

 late in the season, sells at one franc and fifty 

 centimes ; ordinary mountain honey one franc ; 

 valley honey gathered early in spring eighty 

 centimes ; second quality valley honey sixty- 

 five centimes ; buckwheat and heath honey, 

 expressed from the combs, forty centimes. 

 Yellow w^ax of good quality sells at from two 

 francs and twenty-five centimes to two franca 

 and thirty centimes per pound. 



E. UnLE. 

 Faido, Canton Tessin, Dec. 23, 1866. 



[For tbe Bee Journal.] 



In answer to W. A. Flanders, page 190, April 

 No. of the Journal, I would say I have alw^ays 

 considered the theory of the compression of the 

 queen bee to lay worker eggs, to be correct. 

 The cause of the egg in the queen cell being 

 impregnated can be explained in this way ; the 

 ompression is produced by the weight of the 

 abdomen Avhen eggs are laid in these vertical 

 cells. I have long since believed that if we can 

 get a queen to lay in drone cells while in a per- 

 pendicular position, that queens and workers 

 could be produced from the eggs thus laid. 

 This may perhaps be accomplished in one of 

 the following modes. First, if a drone comb 

 is placed m a strong swarm, containing little 

 or no drone comb, in the height of the season, 

 the queen may be induced to lay therein, and 

 if the eggs are impregnated workers will hatch 

 from them instead of drones. Second, by in- 

 troducing a sheet of empty drone comb at the 

 time of drone egg laying, and examining this 

 every few hours during the first few days, the 

 queen can be found supplying the comb with 

 eggs. Now hold it in a horizontal position so 

 that the cells she is supplying will be under. 

 Mark the eggs laid while the comb is thus held, 

 cut out that portion of the comb, and give it to 

 a nucleus having no brood but this ; and I have 

 no doubt but queens can be reared from these 

 eggs. Who will experiment on this ? I will 

 for one. R. B. Oldt. 



New Berlin, Pa. 



One of the most ingenious feeding-troughs 

 is a French invention. It is formed of about 

 eiglit hundred small cylinders of thick caiiridge 

 paper, about two thirds of an inch in length, 

 closely applied together, each standing on its 

 end ; thus forming a mass not unlike a piece of 

 honeycomb itself. The food being poured into 

 a tin saucer, this artificial comb is placed on it, 

 and the bees are able to feed almost iu their nat- 

 ural state. 



