Aug. 2, 1906 



667 



American Ttee Journal 



mology since I am a representative of that branch of the 

 Department of Agriculture. 



During the past few months some work, which may be 

 of interest to the members of the National Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, has been done and I will briefly outline it. Most 

 of this is to be considered merely as tentative, since the in- 

 vestigations are not yet completed, but some idea may be 

 got out of what has been done recently. I will report only 

 on the past and leave the future till a later date. 



The best methods of queen-rearing have occupied most 

 of the time during the summer. I have tried several times 

 every method of which I could learn and have tried to test 

 them impartially. I am convinced after these trials that 

 by the use of artificial cell-cups we can get more uniformly 

 good queens than by any other means. For mating nuclei I 

 prefer a comb area about equal to one standard Langstroth 

 frame, divided into 3 frames with about 500 to 800 bees. 

 The style of box is relatively unimportant. I have prepared 

 a short bulletin on this subject which is ready for distribu- 

 tion, and I will take pleasure in sending it to any one who 

 requests it. I can say that the illustrations are fine, since I 

 did not take the photographs myself, and they alone show 

 most of the methods more clearly than is possible in a 

 description. This will be sent to all persons on our mailing 

 list, and any person interested in bees may be included in 

 this list. 



A considerable number of queens of the Caucasian variety 

 have been distributed during the summer. These bees cer- 

 tainly surpass any other race, known at present, in gentle- 

 ness. As to honey-production, not so much is known but I 

 have received some excellent reports. I think there is a 

 great future for these bees, and good queen-breeders are 

 taking hold of them. If selected for honey-production, ac- 

 cording to the ideas which I gave a while back, I believe 

 they would be the most popular bee we have for city bee- 

 keepers, at least. There seems to be an idea among some 

 of the bee-keepers that the Bureau of Entomology claims 

 that these bees are the best bees known to apiculture. These 

 bees have been recommended for gentleness, and no exag- 

 gerated statements have been made either by Mr. Benton 

 or myself, as far as I am aware. 



Let me quote from Mr. Benton's Farmers' Bulletin No. 



59: . , . 



"Caucasians are natives of that portion of Russia lying 

 between the Black and Caspian Seas; are exceedingly gen- 

 tle, good workers, good defenders of their hives, prolific, build 

 many queen-cells, and swarm often if confined to small 

 hives. They are dark gray in their general color, although 

 the workers show frequently one or two yellow or leather- 

 colored bands ; are somewhat smaller-bodied than Italians 

 or Carniolans, have good wing-expanse, and hence are nim- 

 ble flyers. The drones are rather small and quite dark in 

 color, queens not large, and varying in color from a cop- 

 pery yellow to a dark bronze." 



At the St. Louis convention these bees were discussed 

 from the published statements. I cannot see that too much 

 was claimed for them. It is too early to prophesy as to the 

 ultimate future of the race, and above all they should not 

 be condemned without cause as has been done. Of one 

 thing I think I can be sure — unless care is used in selecting 

 breeding queens of this race we shall hear the bees con- 

 demned when it will be the fault of the breeder. This is 

 why I am anxious to see these in good hands until they are 

 tried out. 



There has been some misunderstanding as to the method 

 of distribution of queens by the Bureau. The Bureau of 

 Entomology should not, I think, give away any queens which 

 can be purchased in the United States, and thus interfere 

 with the business of the domestic breeders. The regula- 

 tions concerning this distribution have not been well out- 

 lined, and, after consultation with others who have con- 

 ducted government distributions, I, therefore, drew up the 

 following plan which has been approved by the chief of 

 the Bureau and by the Honorable Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture: 



"To any experienced queen-breeder who will guarantee 

 to rear queens and mate them purely in considerable num- 

 bers for general sale, the Bureau will send, as far as the 

 supply will allow, one high-grade breeding queen, purely 

 mated and carefully tested. In addition, several queens whose 

 matings are not known will be sent for drone-production. 



since drones are not affected by the mating; all queens, 

 however, will be from good stock, the number to depend on 

 the supply at hand. The breeder making the request must 

 give evidence of his ability to rear good queens, must agree 

 to offer at least 200 pure-bred queens a year for sale to 

 the general public, and must not ask for them an exorbitant 

 price It is the opinion of the Department that 20 percent 

 more than the current price for Italian queens would be fair. 

 It will also be expected that in future years the breeders 

 will do their utmost toward the improvement in honey-pro- 

 duction, at the same time maintaining the purity of the 

 races. The Bureau will be glad to aid breeders of this 

 class to its utmost ability, but will not aid in any way a 

 breeder who offers for sale or sells crossed hybrids of the 

 various races, except in the case of untested queens, and 

 even in that case, every possible effort should be made to 

 get pure matings. 



"After thi's distribution all inquiries to the Bureau will 

 be answered by giving a list of reliable breeders, including 

 those who have received stock from the government apiary; 

 and the name of any breeder who knowingly sends out in- 

 ferior stock will be dropped. It is not the purpose to interfere 

 with the private business of the persons receiving queens, 

 but these precautions are taken to protect the bee-keepers of 



the country. 



"No applications for queens under other circumstances 

 will be considered. All applictaions will be considered in the 

 order of their receipt." 



I trust that this method will seem fair and just to all, 

 for it is my desire to give everybody a "square deal," and 

 I do not care to distribute queens merely to give something 

 away I also hope that by this method we may be able to 

 induce a good many first-class men to take hold of this work. 

 I will do everything I can to aid the right men, but careless 

 breeders, and those who give second-grade queens to their 

 customers, need not apply. If I could give you a list of the 

 persons who have written for Caucasian queens this sum- 

 mer I am afraid you would all go into the business. The 

 present demand is due to notices in ordinary newspapers 

 which were caused by the extreme gentleness of these bees. 

 This is not the kind of fame which I desire for bees being 

 distributed. . , . 



Caucasians, Carniolans, and Cyprians are now being in- 

 cluded in this distribution, as will be any other races which 

 may be obtained in the future. The Banat, or Hungarian, 

 bees which are also very gentle, are being tested and may 

 be worthy of distribution, but that remains to be seen. If 

 they are, they will be included. 



During the summer I found some lesser wax-moths, 

 Achroiagrisella, and began to breed them in a wire-cloth 

 cage They behave in much the same way as the other large 

 wax-moth,' Gallcria mellonella, but I think they are more 

 inclined to burrow in the brood-chamber. I asked for in- 

 formation concerning the distribution of this species, through 

 the American Bee Journal and Gleanings in Bee Culture, 

 and received reports of them from various parts of the 

 country. They are doubtless found elsewhere for they 

 have been introduced into this country several times, and 

 seemingly have later disappeared. 



Bee-diseases have received some attention also. Owing 

 to the fact that I have entered the service of the Bureau 

 late, I was not able to get started on this work very early 

 in the summer, and consequently have been handicapped, 

 but the work is of vital interest and worth continuance. 

 Through the kindness of several men prominent ; n apicul- 

 ture, I received a large number of samples of diseased brood. 

 The Bureau of Animal Industry, at my suggestion, assigned 

 a competent bacteriologist to this investigation, and between 

 us we have been getting a fair start. So far the results are 

 briefly, that Bacillus alvei has been found in every sample 

 of "black brood" and not a single case of foul brood, con- 

 firming the work of Doctors Veranus A. Moore and G. 

 Franklin White, of Cornell. No characteristic germ of foul 

 brood has been found. In one sample, from foul brood, 

 which was unmistakably contagious, sent in by my assistant, 

 Mr. John M. Rankin, who is in California, we found a bacil- 

 lus resembling Bacillus alvei in many respects, but on cultiva- 

 tion, it was found not to be the same. When fed to a colony 

 it did not produce the disease, although the feeding con- 

 tinued for over a month. The final outcome of this investiga- 

 tion is still unknown, and I present these few facts merely 



