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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



stead of frames, and the experience of years 

 had satisfied him that, for his purposes, hives 

 ten inches wide and twelve inches high were 

 the most suitable, in his district. He had for- 

 merly used hives only ten inches high, but his 

 bees wintered hadly in them, as they could not 

 store sufficient honey overhead for winter con- 

 sumption, and were consequently constrained 

 to lodge and move along the sidewalls. Higher 

 hives were therefore to be preferred ; and last 

 summer he could have wished that his own 

 wore somewhat higher than they are. The 

 bees having stored up honey very abundantly, 

 have so largely encroached thereby on their 

 usual wintering space, as to reduce it to a min- 

 imum — a result which may prove injurious to 

 them. 



Mr. Deiehert remarked that in assigning di- 

 mensions, Sir. Klipstein appeared to have refer- 

 ence exclusively to single hives. Where double 

 hives and pavilions are used, some modification 

 will be indispensable. In these the bees, during 

 winter, lodge against the common partition, 

 and great width of chamber would consequent- 

 ly be objectionable, especially if containing 

 small colonies ; because in winter much vapor 

 would be condensed in the vacant spaces, and 

 during a cold spell the bees could not reach the 

 honey there stored. In pavilions, therefore, 

 and in double or twin hives, a reduction of 

 breadth and an incrense of height will be advi- 

 sable. When determining the dimensions of 

 his own hives, he had been governed by the ex- 

 perience of Mr. Dzierzon, and adopted nine in- 

 ches and a half for their breadth, and fourteen 

 inches for their height. In such hives his bees 

 had uniformly wintered well. 



Question 19 referred to the expediency of 

 holding a honey mart annuallj r , in connection 

 with the General Convention of Beekeepers ; 

 and inquired what arrangements would be 

 needed for that purpose. 



Mr. Hopf, who suggested the project, appear- 

 ed to be its sole advocate. He conceived that 

 the advance and the increasing importance of 

 bee culture made it desirable that some increas- 

 ed fa r ilities for the disposal of its products 

 should be provided. Only one mart for honey 

 existed in Germany now, and that was held an- 

 nually on Maundy Thursday in the city of Bres- 

 Iau, at a time consequently which is inconven- 

 ient for those who use movable comb hives, as 

 their honey is ready for market in July, Au- 

 gust, and September. The annual meeting of 

 the Beekeepers' Convention occurs at a more 

 suitable period, and a mart conducted under its 

 auspices would lead to extensive sales at fair 

 prices, and thus create increased attention to 

 this fascinating pursuit. The proposition how- 

 ever did not meet with encouragement, and the 

 Convention proceeded to consider one of the 

 deferred items: 



Question 11, which was an inquiry whether 

 the heatu bee of Germany is a distinct race, or 

 a mere casual variety of the honey bee. Prof. 

 Leuckart contended that it was not in any re- 

 spect essentially different from the common 

 kind, and that its peculiar characteristics or ap- 

 parently distinguishing qualities are due solely 

 to local causes. His view was sustained by Mr. 



Dathe and Dr. Pollman ; but a communication 

 from Mr. Gravenhorst (who was unable to he 

 present) was read, in which the claims of this 

 bee, to be regarded as a distinct race, were fully 

 set forth and ably discussed. What primarily 

 called his special attention to these bees, was 

 the circumstance that when movable comb 

 hives were first brought to his notice, and he 

 attempted to use them, he failed of success. 

 For this failure he could not account, inasmuch 

 as he had followed the instructions of the ablest 

 masters, and was fully convinced of the superi- 

 ority of the hives and the system. But later, 

 when he had opportunity to see and compare 

 these bees with others brought from distant 

 sections of the country, the conviction was 

 forced on him that the heath bee was really 

 a distinct race. He then stated his reasons for 

 this belief, in an essay published in the Hanover 

 Centralblalt, in the spring of 1868 ; and the 

 Baron of Berlepsch subsequently expressed his 

 concurrence in this belief, in a communication 

 sent to the Bieneivzeitung, saying inter alia, that 

 " in form and coloring, that is, zoologically 

 viewed, the heath bee is entirely identical Avith 

 our common bees ; but she possesses some such 

 charactistic differences as entitle her to be re- 

 garded as a distinct race." 



These special peculiarities of the heath bees, 

 Mr. Gravenhorst finds solely and wholly in a 

 more decidedly impressed disposition to swarm, 

 and its correlative consequences. The chief 

 points are — 



1. Young queens will leave with and accom- 

 pany a swarm, like old ones, even when the 

 hive is not yet half filled with combs. 



2. Young queens will swarm even in the 

 same year in which they are reared. 



3. If all the queen cells but one be destroyed 

 on the ninth or tenth day, the young queen 

 will, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, 

 swarm out with a portion of the bees — leaving 

 the parent stock queenless. This is an essen- 

 tial feature, according to Mr. G., to whom it 

 was an interesting sight last summer — when all 

 the native queen cells had been destroyed in a 

 number of his colonies, and maturing Italians 

 or common queen cells inserted — to find the 

 bees swarm out in due time, but speedily return 

 again, because the young queens of these two 

 races refused to accompany the swarming mul- 

 titudes. So certain was the result in every in- 

 stance, that he finally ceased to pay any atten- 

 tion to these demonstrations, well knowing that 

 the seceders would surely return home. 



4. In strong colonies, heath bees are prone 

 to build drone combs, even when they have 

 young queens. 



5. The heath bees prefer dwelling in small 

 colonies. 



These five points, especially the first four, 

 Mr. Gravenhorst conceives may fairly be regard- 

 ed as presenting peculiarities, justifying the 

 conclusion that the heath bee is a distinct 

 race. 



Without expressing any opinion on this 

 subject, the Convention took up the next regu- 

 lar question. 



Question 17. Are railroads used by apiari- 



