1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



197 



even though one may have "been a 

 subscriber to Gleanings, for a year or 

 so," if it was not liable to deceive a 

 few thoughtless individuals, would be 

 hardly worthy of notice. 



The place for Americans to domes- 

 ticate and acclimate apis dorsata, is in 

 America. We are told by experienced 

 and reliable students of apiculture 

 that in the tropics, apis mellifica, is 

 controled with difficulty, they are 

 quite liable to leave their hives and 

 decamp. What then could you ex- 

 pect of dorsata, in the hands of a mis- 

 sionary, though "a subscriber to 

 Gleanings, for a year or so." Even if 

 the missionary was competent, when 

 would we get results that were any- 

 ways reliable and useful to us as 

 Americans? It is a wellknown fact, 

 that climate and other surroundings, 

 have great influence over the habits 

 and disposition of all living things; 

 that which would be easy and natural 

 to accomplish at home in our own 

 country, might be very difficult in 

 the Orient. 



If you were going to Americanize 

 and acclimate an Irishman or a Ger- 

 man, would you go to Ireland or Ger- 

 many to do it ? Would you get sat- 

 isfactory results if you did ? Could 

 you not accomplish it better and 

 cheaper with your subject in Amer- 

 ica? 



This talk of first experimenting 

 with dorsata in the native laud is a 

 miserable subterfuge, and is brought 

 forward to delay and defeat the very 

 object for which it is supposed to be 

 laboring. 



Apis dorsata should be secured and 

 introduced into the subti'opical por- 

 tions of our country, with the least 

 possible delay, where we can test 



them in our own way, time and cli- 

 mate. 



Is there a bee keeper "whose heart 

 hath ne'er within him burned" when 

 viewing the narrow and spiteful at- 

 tempts to obstruct all progress in this 

 line, unless it serves the selfish ends 

 of certain, self-styled, "leaders in 

 apiculture." There never has been 

 any great enterprise undertaken but 

 has been opposed by this very class. 

 "And so it has been through all ages 

 past, since the cycles of thought first 

 began," 



"Which is why I remark, 

 And my language is plain, 



That tor ways that are dark, 

 And for tricks that are vain, 



Some bee keepers are pecular. 

 Which the same 1 am free to 

 maintain." 



(From Gleanings). 



IXTRAOTED HONEY. 



How We Run Our Bees to Produce It. 



BY F. A. SNELL. 



Each bee-keeper has his own favor- 

 ite way,and I will give ours. In the ex- 

 tracting-supers we use the same comb- 

 frames, or those of the same 

 size as used in the brood-chambers. 

 We make it a point to remove from 

 the brood-chambers all frames con- 

 taining a large amount of drone comb, 

 and put in their place good worker 

 combs. By so doing we have but a 

 small number of drones reared, or not 

 more than desired. These drone combs 



