174 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL AND GAZETTE. 



THE AMSEIOAN BEE JOUENAL 

 AND GAZETTE. 



WASHINGTON, MARCH, 1867. 



Bt^^TiiE American Bee Journal and Ga- 

 zette is now published monthly, in the City o 

 Washington, (D. C.,) at $3 per annum. All 

 communications should be addressed to the Edi- 

 tor, at that place. 



Italianizing. 



The safe introduction of queen-bees is a 

 matter of such vital importance to bee-keepers 

 ■who are procuring Italian queens for the pur- 

 pose of Italianizing their apiaries, that the dis- 

 covery of some sure and convenient method of 

 accomplishing the object is everywhere regarded 

 as highly desirable. All the modes hitherto 

 practiced have occasionally proved inefficient, 

 and many a "far-fetched and dear-bought" 

 queen has become the victim of an unsuccessful 

 effort to instal her as the head of what Ber- 

 lepsch denominates "the fierce democratic" of 

 the hive. Such losses, even when the unlucky 

 manipulator can "afford" them, are ever an 

 annoyance; but to one who has invested in the 

 venture a portion of his slender means, in the 

 fond expectation of "quick returns" and ample 

 renumeration, failure is not onlj^ a grievous dis- 

 appointment, but a serious injury and a lasting 

 discouragement. Complaints and inquiries 

 reaching us from every side, show that this is 

 "an evil under the sun" very generally ex- 

 perienced in these days, though probably one 

 with which Solomon was unacquainted. 



We shall not undertake to prescribe an in- 

 fallible method, for in our experience and ex- 

 periments, while our failures have been fre- 

 quent and mortifying, we have as j^et met with 

 nothing that could be regarded as a specific, 

 though we have tested some very highly re- 

 commended nontrums. AVe believe we have 

 read most of what has been written on the sub- 

 ject, by observant and reflecting bee-keepers, 

 from the days of Schirachto the present time; 

 and the sum and substance of the whole seems 

 to us to be briefly this — that, to induce deprived 

 bees to accept readily an offered queen, they 

 must be made conscious of their destitute con- 

 dition, and of their utter inability to help them- 

 selves. Anything short of this gives no as- 

 surance of success, however favorable the issue 

 may sometimes be. It was evidently his 

 knowledge of this fact, derived from personal 

 observation, that enabled Knauff, one of the 



most eminent and expert German apiariap^*, 

 more than fifty years ago, to lay down the fol- 

 lowing as an easy practical application of 

 the principle: 



" A queenless colony will readily and under 

 all circumstances accept a fertile queen, even 

 though accustomed to tlie presence of unfertile 

 one, if she he offered to it in. an empty hive. In 

 a hive containing honey-combs, bees accustomed 

 to an unfertile queen will not accept even a fer- 

 tile one, except under constraint or by com- 

 pulsion. This seems obviously to be in ac- 

 cordance with nature, for the stores accumu- 

 lated in the presence and under the auspices of 

 the old queen, appear to serve as a constant 

 reminder, k(!eping her memory fresh in the 

 houseliolcl. Even when a colony has sent out 

 a swurm, or one lias been driven or forced out, 

 and sufficiency of queen-cells have already been 

 started, the bees will destroy an introduced 

 fertile queen cpiite as promptly as they would 

 an unfertile one; nay, ofttimesmore so. This, 

 too, seems natural, lor that is the period of 

 change, and of an oversupply of embryo 

 (queens — an overstocking literally of the queen 

 market. But if we drive out queenless bees, and 

 place them in an empty hive, they will readily 

 accept an offered cpieen, the more especially if 

 she be fei'tile. Confine a deprived colony in 

 an empty hive, and let it bustle and buzz as it 

 pleases for a while, then introduce a fertile 

 queen, unaccompanied by workers, through a 

 hole in the top of the hive, and at the same in- 

 stant open the entrance. The bees will rush 

 out in masses, but almost immediately return 

 and become quiet and content. All natural 

 again, for under the circumstances the bees are 

 conscious that they have no option in the mat- 

 ter; they must either accept what is within 

 their reach, or perish miserably." 



These results of Knauff' s experience and ob- 

 servation merit special attention at this time, 

 and bee-keepers who intend to procure Italian 

 queens would do well to experiment previously 

 with common queens, so as to familiarize them- 

 selves Avith the theory and the requisite mani- 

 pulations, in case the process proves to be safe 

 and efficient on trial. By driving out a swarm 

 from each of two common stocks, removing the 

 queens, and confining the bees of each swarm 

 in an empty hive well ventilated, till they have 

 become thoroughly aware of their queenless 

 condition, and then interchanging the queens 

 before introducing them as directed by Knauff, 

 the question of safety could easily be decided, 

 without hazarding the life of a valuable Italian 



queen. 



■ » <■ I ■ 



(t^" We are always glad to receive com- 

 munications from practical bee-keepers. Even 

 the briefest statement of observed facts is ever 

 welcome. Though seemingly unimportant at 

 the time, they may lead to higlily valuable re- 

 sults if published. Thft same system of ma- 



