58 



TUB AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ney; and an amount of condensation -wliich 

 produces a humid internal atmosphere, is al- 

 ways an evil, and may prove ruinous on a sud- 

 den and great reduction of temperature. The 

 combs, too, should he in good condition — neither 

 very old and black, nor yet quite new. Yel- 

 low or orange-colored combs, in which brood 

 has been several times reared, are greatly to 

 be preferred, as being warmer and more com- 

 fortable in all respects, than such as have been 

 recently built. If thus wintered, bees are not 

 likely to be attacked by dystentery, unless a very 

 prolonged period of continuous cold weather 

 keep them confined. A fcAv mild, clear days, 

 occurring at intervals of six or eight weeks, 

 would sufiice to preserve them in health and 

 vigor, till ^he return of spring. 



ITALIAN BEES. 



TESTS OF PTJRITY. 



"We intended to append some comments to 

 the translation of the Eev. Mr. Kleine's article 

 relative to the marks of purity of the Italian 

 bees, contained in the July number of the Bee 

 Journal, but were prevented from doing so by 

 the press of other matters claiming attention 

 while preparing to resume the publication of 

 this journal, and which have since continued 

 to engross much of our time. 



We designed to say, then, that we do not con- 

 sider Mr. Kleine's description of the distinc- 

 tive marks of purity as sufficiently clear and 

 full to entitle them to be regarded as exclusive 

 ultimate tests. This is more particularly so in 

 the case of the drones. We cannot say that we 

 have ever seen Italian drones bearing precisely 

 the marking which Mr. Kleine's article requires. 

 -On the contrary, we have seen drones marked 

 differently, which were the progeny of queens 

 undoubtedly pure, if the production of uni- 

 formly marked workers (workers fully corres- 

 ponding in -their markings with the standard 

 propounded by Mr. Kleine himself), can be 

 deemed evidence of purity. And we have 

 known queens reared from the worker brood 

 of such a queen, and fertilized by the drones 

 referred to, produce workers marked similarly, 

 and as fully and uniformly so as were the work- 

 ers produced by the grand-parent; and corres- 

 ponding too with the worker standard fixed by 

 Mr. Kleine. Hence we are disinclined to re- 

 ceive his description of the marking and color- 

 ing of drones and queens, as the standard of pu- 

 rity. We prefer recurring and adhering to the 

 test originally announced by Count Stosch, and 

 recognized everywhere in Germany; namely, 



that a queen is to bo regarded as pure and 

 purely fertilized whon young queens, reared 

 from her worker brood and fertilized by her 

 drones, produce workers characterized uni- 

 formly by the markings required by the stand- 

 ard for pure workers ; and for that worker 

 standard we are willing to accept Mr. Kleine's 

 description. In brief, we would make the mark- 

 ings and deportment of the Avorkers, and not 

 the marking or coloring of either queens or 

 drones the ultimate standard of purity of race. 

 This the rather, because we are not aware that 

 any other recognized authority describes the 

 markings of drones as Mr. Kleine does, in the 

 article referred to; and he himself gives a dif- 

 ferent description of them in his other publi- 

 cations. 



We avail ourselves of the opportunity to add, 

 in re^jly to frequent inquiries, that we have not 

 been, and are not now, breeding Italian queens 

 for sale, and have no pecuniary interest in any 

 that are so bred. 



For the American Boc Journal. 



Straining Honey and Wax. 



With a shoe-knife cut the comb in strips, if 

 convenient, of three or four inches wide; put 

 them in a porcelain-lined preserving kettle, 

 which set into or on an iron kettle partly full 

 of boiling water. Let it remain on till the combs 

 are melted and a spoon can be passed easily 

 through the mass; but do not stir much if 

 the combs have bee-bread. Then set the kettle 

 with the melted combs on the bottom of the 

 cellar, or in some other secluded place where 

 the bees will not find it, and let it remain until 

 the wax and refuse form a solid cake on the top 

 of the honey. While the honey is still warm, 

 empty all into a bucket made entirely of fine 

 strainer or perforated tin. The one I use is about 

 nine inches in diameter andtVi^elve inches deep, 

 and will hold about as much as a common 

 wooden pail. This strainer bucket (for the sake 

 only of security,) is to be set into a tin bucket 

 of say twelve inches in diameter and sixteen 

 inches deep. Set the inner bucket on a tin hoop 

 about three and a half inches deep, so that the 

 honey will easily strain out. It will be very 

 clear. After the honey is strained out, the re- 

 fuse can be put into an open hive or box, and 

 let all the bees work on it; or, better still, put 

 it into an empty hive, and set over it some le(!- 

 ble colony. To make honey, put the refuse in 

 a strainer bucket, which set in the other bucket, 

 two thirds full of boiling water, and set it on 

 the stove a few minutes. Now raise tlie inner 

 bucket out of and over the boiling water, Avhen 

 the wax will, in a few minetcs, run out and 

 float on the boiling water, and can be collected 

 in the usual way, by pouring into cold water. 

 I have used these buckets some seven years, 

 and find them more convenient than any other 

 contrivance with which I am acquainted. 



Jacksonville, III. H. T. Collins. 



