Dec. 27, 1906 



1051 



American TJee Journal 



even require full proof that he was the 

 right man We'uns shall have to look a 

 little out if that kind of juries get 

 plenty. Page 930. 



xiTioN of Honey. 



That finished and official definition of 

 honey. If I cut it out 1 shall lose track 



of the clipping; and if 1 don't cut it 

 out I shall soon be unable to find it. 

 What can I do? I'll sequestrate space 

 in this department to say, "I Ifncial defi- 

 nition of honey on page 927." Then I 

 will at least have two chances of find- 

 ing it instead of one. And thanks to 

 the Bureau for the merciful qualifica- 

 tion about small percentages of sweet 

 which arc of insect origin. 



How and When Bees Build Certain 



Cki.i 



Have my doubts, Arthur C. Miller, 

 whether a bee ever wishes to build, or 

 tries to build, a round cell. 'Spects bees 

 know some things without being driven 

 into everything by automatic forces. 

 And some might charge you with try- 

 ing to revive the stupid nonsense of 

 Prof. Agassiz, that bees stand in the 

 cells while they build them — but I guess 

 you don't mean that. The thought in 



your article which I pick to dwell on, 

 thai bees build drone-comb when rest- 

 less, and thai to change the restless- 

 to quiel is to change from drone- 

 comb to worker. Better we find out if 

 that is really so— and then get some 

 profit out of it, somehow. Page 912. 



Bee-Moths and Bees. 



In the scrimmage between Mr. Mc- 

 Donald and the Australian Bee- Bulle- 

 tin, one item seems to have been over- 

 looked. That bee-moths ate out 40 colo- 

 nies of bees of any sort does not sound 

 very much like the exact truth. Page 

 909. 

 Strenuous Bee- Keeping — Reuniting 

 Old Colony and Swarm. 



So Adrian Getaz would "take 'em up" 

 and — let 'em down again, just in time 

 to save their lives — as one step to find- 

 ing queens in box-hives. Pretty "stren- 

 uous" sort of bee-keeping that. 



Glad to learn that reuniting old colony 

 and swarm 8 days after hiving works 

 and is practical in extensive regions. 

 With me the old colony swarms 15 or 

 16 days after prime, and therefore I 

 guess the manipulation named wouldn't 

 be reliable for me much before the 20th 

 day. Page 912. 



outhern 



■■9 



Conducted by Louis H. Scholl, New Braunsfels, Tex. 



Races of Bees— Queen-Mating — 

 Cotton as a Honey-Plant 



Mr. Scholl — I notice that you discuss 

 Holy Land bees in the American Bee 

 Journal of May 24. I would very much 

 appreciate it if you would discuss Cy- 

 prians, Carniolans, and Caucasians, in 

 a similar manner, mentioning their re- 

 spective strong points and weak ones, 

 merits and otherwise. I notice that 

 Frank Benton, in his treatise on "The 

 Honey-Bee," gives the Cyprians a very 

 high place as honey-gatherers. How 

 would they do for a beginner who is 

 not very much afraid of stings? 



I also notice A. I. Root gives Cau- 

 casians quite a puff. How would they 

 do for a beginner who wanted to mul- 

 tiply colonies? In your experience are 

 they good honey-gatherers? How about 

 a beginner getting queens of each of 

 the above mentioned three races, and 

 trying them, and then settling on the 

 one best liked? My nearest bee-keeping 

 neighbor is a little over ; Vj of a mile dis- 

 tant. Would there be any danger of 

 my bees crossing with his, if I didn't 

 let any swarm escape? I don't want to 

 introduce an undesired cross among my 

 neighbor's 



One reason I am inclined to try Cy- 

 prians is that Mr. Benton says they are 



courageous to work during a scant 

 honey-flow, and are prize honey-gath- 

 erers ; and we have drouths here, as you 

 do there, I suppose, during which the 

 nectar-supply is scant. 



There are 500 to 1000 acres of cot- 

 ton land in reach of my bees. Would 

 you say that ought to give them a good 

 supply of honey? How do you esti- 

 mate cotton as a honey-producer? 



"Santa Anna." 



Your suggestions in regard to the dis- 

 cussions of the various races of bees 

 are much appreciated. It has been my 

 desire to take up each race, as I have 

 found them in actual experience, and 

 this will be done in subsequent arti- 

 cles. 



The Cyprians are good honey-gath- 

 erers and keep their colonies strong for 

 any emergency flows; in fact, they re- 

 semble the Holy Lands, already de- 

 scribed, in this and many other re- 

 spects. But for the same objectionable 

 reason, their irritable temper, which far 

 over-weighs their good points over 

 other races, the Cyprians have not be- 

 come very popular. Since you do not 



fear stings you might give them a trial 

 and test them By procuring 



a few queens of each race a fair de- 

 cision should be arrived at. especially 

 as "m:ui\ bee-keepers have many lik- 



The Caucasians have not been tried 

 enough by me to decide upon them as 

 honey-gatherers, but they seem to hold 

 themselves well with the Italians and 

 their common crosses in the same yard. 

 I like their gentleness, which struck me 

 very much since I first saw and handled 

 them in ( Colorado, in 1902. 



I am contemplating the requeening 

 of all of my apiaries — a dozen in num- 

 ber — the coming season, and am giv- 

 ing the different races of bees much 

 thought. It is not an easy matter to 

 decide upon which would be just the 

 right one for each of nearly a dozen 

 different locations, differing from each 

 other in mam respect-. Probably all 

 of the races will be tried, and reports 

 later should be of some interest. 



Your drones would By and mingle 

 with those of your neighbor's J^ mile 

 away, and the chance would be that 

 they would cross with queens of his 

 apiary. There should be a distance of 

 at least 3 miles. 



Regarding cotton as a honey-plant, 

 there are many factors that must be 

 considered, as it does not yield nectar 

 in all localities and under all climatic 

 as well as atmospheric conditions. In 

 a subsequent article or two, cotton as a 

 honey-plant will be discussed more fully, 

 as this subject is of interest to many 

 readers. Under favorable conditions, 

 and in localities where cotton yields 

 nectar, 500 to 1000 acres would be 

 enough for a fair-sized apiary ; but not 

 knowing enough of your locality, it is 

 impossible for me to say whether this 

 would be of any value for your bees. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is 

 made to take all the copies of the imerican 

 Bee JourDal for a year. It is sent by mail 

 for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. 

 The Bee Journals can be inserted as soon as 

 they are received, and thus preserved for 

 future reference. Or we will send it with the 

 American Bee Journal a year — both for $1.10. 

 Address the office of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



-♦ 



Amerikanisclie Bienenzuclit, 



by Hans Buschbauer, is a bee-keeper's hand- 

 book of 138 pages, which is just what our 

 German friends will want. It is fully illus- 

 trated, and neatly bound in cloth. Price, 

 postpaid, S1.00; or with the American Bee 

 Journal one year— both for $1 75. Address 

 all orders to this office. 



The Chicago-Northwestern Conven- 

 tion Photograph was taken Dee. 6, i',t06, 

 which was very good indeed. Price, post- 

 paid, in mailing tube, 60 cents. Send orders 

 10 the office of the American Bee Journal, 

 and we will see that the pictures are mailed. 



