148 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mr. Benton thought it desirable to im- 

 port and test them here, for, though it 

 is quite possible they might not prove of 

 direct value in domestication, and there- 

 fore private enterprise should hardly 

 venture upon the work of getting them, 

 the possibility of beneficial results to the 

 apiarian and agricultural interests of 

 the country through their introduction, 

 make the virork something which he 

 thought the government might very 

 properly undertake. 



A. I. Root — Wherever there is Syrian 

 blood, there is trouble in handling the 

 bees. I know that smoke often makes 

 them worse. There are apiaries in Cali- 

 fornia where it is understood that no 

 smoke is to be used. 



R. F. Holtermann— I think that what 

 Mr. Benton says is correct. But this 

 trait of the Syrians of defending them- 

 selves is so great, and passes on from 

 one generation to another — is so hard to 

 eradicate — that it ought to be avoided. 



Frank Benton— ylpis dorsata is not 

 looked upon as valuable for a cross. 

 What would be the result of their intro- 

 duction, I cannot say. Their sting is 

 not so severe as that of the ordinary 

 bee. They are also more clumsy. They 

 can be brushpd off before they sting, if 

 the bee-keeper is just a little spry about 

 it. 



R. F. Holtermann — Do the drones fly 

 at a different time of the day from other 

 drones ? 



Frank Benton — I do not know. I 

 know that they fly just at dusk, when 

 the workers are still, but they may fly 

 at other times. 



Prof. Riley — While the matter is prob- 

 lematical, I think that Apis dorsata 

 would not cross with our ordinary honey- 

 bees. 



(Continued next week.) 



cxxxxxxxxxxxTX TTTTxxTxyxxxxxxxxxxa 



Mr. Aaron Coppin, of Wenona, 

 Ills., is on the programme for an essay 

 on the subject of " Bees on the Farm," 

 to be given before the Marshall County 

 Farmers' Institute, which meets in 

 Armory Hall, at Wenona, on Feb. 2nd 

 and 3rd. Wish we could be there and 

 hear that essay. Perhaps Mr. C. will 

 send it to us for publication in the Bee 

 Journal. 



§ection Holders —Wide Frames 

 and Ho^v to Use Tbem. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Great Premium on page 133 ! 



A correspondent writes me thus : " I 

 wish to change my surplus arrangement 

 next season to some extent, and as I 

 wish to do it this winter, while I have 

 leisure, will you kindly tell me some- 

 thing of what you prefer, and how you 

 make and use it ? Please reply through 

 the American Bee Journal, as I am 

 taking that excellent paper." 



After trying nearly all of the section- 

 cases advertised, I have come to the con- 

 clusion that wide frames, holding but 

 one tier of sections, give the best results 

 with the least work, trouble and annoy- 

 ance, taking all things into considera- 

 tion. 



Wide frames, two or more tier of sec- 

 tions high, to be used in the upper story 

 of a two story hive, do not work at all 

 satisfactory with me, so I have discarded 

 them entirely for that purpose. How- 

 ever, I find them very handy when hiv- 

 ing large swarms, where such frames of 

 sections are placed at each side of the 

 hive to take the place of the number of 

 frames which we do not wish to use 

 when working on the contraction plan, 

 using these instead of the dummies 

 which are usually used in contracting 

 hives. 



These wide frames are hung in the 

 hive with separators toward the combs 

 or frames of foundation, and it is a rare 

 instance that I get either brood or pol- 

 len in them. These wide frames are left 

 in the hive for 2J: days, or until they are 

 filled, when they are taken out to give 

 place for empty combs, which are used 

 to fill out the hive so there will be stores 

 enough for winter, thus securing the 

 lighter colored honey for market, while 

 the bees winter on darker honey gath- 

 ered later on, which is just as good for 

 the bees, but not as salable to customers. 



