90 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Oct., 



in my hand, I examined them and found they 

 were clumped around mj^ lost Italian queen. I 

 dropped them in a pan of water, when every one 

 let go its hold, and the queen was free and ap- 

 parently unharmed. I returned her from whence 

 sh '. came, and in a few minutes the grieved 

 family were buzzing their joyful wings at her 

 return. In a subsequent examination on that 

 day, she was crushed between two frames. The 

 question arises, how she came to be with this 

 native colony ? I have my surmises, but will 

 leave others to judge for lliemselves. 



My experience has been that more Italian 

 queens get lost in their attempts to meet the 

 drones, than native black or brown queens. Of 

 the superiority of the Italian or Ligurian work- 

 ers, of their dispo.sition, as well as that of the 

 hybrids, I will speak at some other time. Did it 

 ever occur to you, if the yellow-bearded Italians 

 were natives of our country, and we had been 

 used to looking at them all our lives, and the 

 black were now just discovered and introduced, 

 what praises would be heaped upon tht' dttb tails ? 

 Campbell uttered a truism when he said — "'Tis 

 distance lends ench-intment to the view." But 

 do not set me down as against the yellow-jack- 

 ets. I have been giving them a fair trial for 

 two 3^ears — or, rather, an unfair one, for I have 

 tried Iheir strength and weakness, in dividing 

 and subdividing ; and when they are reduced to 

 almost a handful, they work with a heroism 

 really commendable. 



And right here I wish to say that I think if the 

 Rev. Mr. Briggs, whose article appeared in a 

 former number of the Journal, alludes to queens 

 sent out by Mr. Alley, of Massachusetts, and 

 deems them not reliable by reason of their low 

 price, he is mistaken. I ordered one from Mr. 

 Alley, and through mistake he sent me two, 

 either one of which, or their workers, will com- 

 pare favorablj' with those of anybody. They 

 are not, indeed, as long or as large as your index 

 finger ; but I have queens in my 3'ard from va- 

 rious sources, and among them these are the 

 prettiest. Time onl}' will prove the WM:)rkiug 

 qualities of the laborers they produce. 



Wm. p. IIenderson. 



Mtti-freesboro, Teiin., Aug. 31, 1S70. 



* The Italian queens are, from the brightness of their 

 color, a mnch more "shiuin<; mark" when on the wing, than 

 blMck q\ieens. Hence, wlien out on their excursiius, they 

 are more liable to be " snapped up " by birds, and doubtless 

 raauy are thus lost every year. Southern bee-keepers proba- 

 bly suffer more from this circumstance than their uorthei'n 

 confreres, as insectivorous birds are more abundant with 

 them. 



In some portions of Italy the Lignvian bees were cultivated 

 for ceutuiies, side by side with the common or black bees; 

 yet the difference between tlieui, as regards color or qnality, 

 seems to have attracted no attention But it must be boriie 

 in mind that bee-culture fell into decay there, after the 

 fall of the I'.omau Empire, pass ng into the liauds of a rude 

 and ignorant peasantry. Whereas the superiority of the 

 Ligurians an<l Cecropians was well known and appreciated 

 ill the classic period of the nominal republic. Since the re- 

 vival of th ■ bee business in Italy (to which it has largely con- 

 tributed! the Ligurian bee has measurably recovered its pris- 

 tine favor, and is getting to bo prefenvd everywhere. — ,.b. 



[For the American Bee Juurual.] 



The Queen Nursery. 



As the readers of the American Bf.e Journal 

 are somewhat anxious to hear about the Queen 

 Nursery, invented by Dr. Jewell Davis, of 

 Charleston, Illinois, I will say that it is a perfect 

 success. I have, since the linst of June, kept mine 

 runningto its full capacity (twelve cages). I have 

 allowed the queens to remain in the cages six or 

 eight days after hatching. I now have his fer- 

 tilizing attachment, but have not yet tested itr^ 

 Young, nnimpregnated queens can be introduced 

 by Alley's process, to any queenless colony. I 

 will give a fuller report, and how to use it, this 

 fall or winter. I consider it quite an advantage 

 to save all natural queen cells, and hatch them 

 out in the Nursery ; and it is no disadvantage 

 certainly to have a supply of young queens on 

 hand, at so small an expense, to give to a natural 

 or artificial swarm, at swarming time, even if 

 they are not fertilized. When you can draw on 

 your nursery for a queen, at any time at sight, 

 it is quite an advantage ; at least I consider it 

 so. It is a positive fact that queens perish in 

 their cells by the thousand, in the natural state, 

 in extremely hot weather. In using the Nursery 

 we can control this matter; for if the weather is 

 extra hot, we place the Nursery in a small colony ; 

 and in a large strong one, if the weather is cool . 

 Thus you will see that we have the hatching en 

 tirely under our own control, and it is not left to 

 chance. The queen breeder can readily see the 

 advantage of separating all his cpiecn cells as 

 soon as scaled over, and having them perfectly 

 safe. I have kept my Nursery in a medium 

 swarm, where they had a perfect queen breeding 

 at the same time. As I said before, queens can 

 be kept in the Nursery anj' length of time, with 

 perfect safety. I place a small piece of comb 

 containing honey in the cage, between the tins, 

 then place the cell in the cage in a natural posi- 

 tion and fasten it with a pin. A very slight 

 fastening answers, as the bees cannot get at it 

 to gnaw it down. 



E. Gallup. 



Orchard, Iowa, July 15, 1870. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Paper Hives and Z. 0. Fturbacks. 



The yield of honey by various plants and trees 

 depends not only on the character of the season, 

 but on the kind of soil on which they grow. 



Mr. Editor :— Don't you think that Mr. 

 Fairbanks seems a little cross as well as sharp. 

 He says I assert in my first article what I con- 

 tradict in my second on paper hives ; and, worst 

 of all, says I am to be numbered witli the gen- 

 tiles, whom Dr. Cox gulled to the tune of heavy 

 sums. I deny the charge, and demand proof; 

 though I will say for the benefit of brother Fair- 

 banks, that I think the Doctor a ZiY/fe too smooth 

 for profit. But, to explain, we call the paper 

 hive, of whatever form. Dr. Cox's hive ; and so 

 should we call all movable frame hives, the 

 Farmer's box with Langstroth frames therein. 



Charlks Hastings. 



Dowarjiac, Mich. 



