Jan. 30, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



71 



* The Afterthought. '^ 



-;i:- 



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The "Old Reliable" seen throuEh New and Unreliable Qlassei. 

 By B. B. HASTY, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, O. 



PHOTOGRAPHING A BEE. 



llononiry mention to Collins, of Denver, assisted by D. 

 W. Woildng, for their photo of the bee, on the front of 

 No. 50. We should have called it the photo of a live bee 

 if they had not "given themselves away." Anyhow, the 

 assistant knew enough of bees to put things in life position. 

 What are those little spurs half way up the ligula? 1 

 think they are visible when we closely examine live l)ecs, anil 

 they are very distinct in this picture; yet I don't renuMn])er 

 to have ever seen a word about them in the scientific ac- 

 counts. That the tip of the ligula has a semi-identity of 

 its own, other than being a mere prolongation, is very natural 

 — and praiseworthy. 



Room for lots more of this magnified photo work before 

 we reach Ilad-enough-town. Various parts of the bee (alive 

 if possible) would be very welcome. Several years ago, if 

 I remember aright, Ernest Root got a lucky snap-shot of a 

 bee on the wing, which has done good service as a basis of 

 pictures since. 



A LONG-TONGUED NUMBER. 



No. SO seems to be a long-tongued number. All right, 

 say we. No danger of getting too many facts on the sub- 

 ject. Say what you will about the uncertainties, we can- 

 not afford to ignore any bright light which appears in front 

 — only don't expect too much, or get too excited. When Mr. 

 Ramkin says that in five years' work for the Michigan Experi- 

 ment Station he has found the best gatherers to be the long- 

 tongued bees, as a rule — well, the testimony may not be final, 

 but it is not to be pooh-poohed. If the tongue keeps on grow- 

 ing for some time after the bee starts out in life, that's an 

 awkward fact which we must look a little out for, and be 

 sure that we have mature bees. 



"Nature lias been breeding this tongue to a standard lengtli for 

 so long a time that it is not likely to vary rapidly under artificial se- 



If you're drunk on the new fad, drink a little of that 

 and sober up. Thanks, Prof. Gillette. The professor is ex- 

 cusable for wondering how one or two hundredths of an inch 

 can help very much on red clover. 'Snects the real distance 

 that nectar can actually be taken out of a tube varies much 

 more than that. Interesting to see that the Cyprians lead. 

 Just what might be expected, considerinsr the vim of the 

 race, and the severe conditions under which nature has bred 

 them. It was not the lack of ability to get honey out of 

 a posy that banished the Cyprians, but a job lot of unendur- 

 able qualities. But oh ! for a honey-bee with a bumble-bee's 

 snout on it ! However, probably the shrinknge of the bumble- 

 bee's dissected tongue is much less than in the case of the 

 smaller species — to the extent that the honey-bee in actual 

 work will compare better than do the figures on page 793. 



HONEY FROM RED CLOVER. 



Prof. Gillette wonders if those who have reported honey 

 from red clover may not have been mistaken. By no means. 

 Theoretically there are at least four dififerent ways bees can 

 gather it. When honey conditions are most favorable the 

 whole inside of the tube, below the funny littfe knob 

 which closes the top, appears to be moist with nectar (whether 

 by secretion on the spot or by percolation from below 

 does not matter:) and presumably all that's needed to 

 get nectar is sufficient time and patience in licking at the 

 damp surface. Furthermore, carpenter bees are quite plenty 

 in some places, and they in gathering from red clover punch 

 holes in from the outside. Presumably honey-bees could get 

 quite a bit by following their path next day. Thirdly, we 

 often see clover-tubes with a long section of the bottom filled 

 with nectar. It is supposed that they sometimes fill up within 

 reach of the honey-bee's ligula. Fourth, a fall drouth short- 

 ens the tubes of second crop clover materially ; and they are 

 supposed sometimes to be so short that the honey-bee can 

 reach the bottom. 



WATCH THE TONGUE-REACH. 



I think brethren who feel at all satisfied with the dissec- 

 tion measurements would do well to spend a few hours closely 

 watching bees at work on the stalks of sweet corn ("as they 

 do not infre(iuently), and sec if their notions about the bee's 

 ligula are not modified somewhat. In this work bees thrust 

 the ligula between the sh ,.th of the leaf and the stem — and 

 it being a tight s<|ueak they often fail to get under, and 

 so by accident extend it along the outside in plain sight. My 

 memory of this observation is that I was surprised at the 

 length of their reach. Perhaps the professors will be. 



i!V>Vj!V>^ Ji^VJiV J^ J^ J^>^ JiV>^ 



Convention Proceedings, i 



Report of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Convention, 

 Held at Woodstock, Dec. 3, 4 and 5, 1901. 



REPORTED BY R. F. HOI.TERMANN. 



iContidued Irora page 55.) 

 SIZE OF HIVES— CKLI.AK TK.MPKKATfKK. 



Qups. 1 — Is a larger hive than an 8-frarae desirable? 



Mr. Hall said for extracted honey, the large one. He has 

 one equal to an 11-frame Langstroth. For extracted, he 

 wants the latter, for comb he doc^s not care which. 



Ques. 2 — How close should an apiary be located to a 

 dwelling so as to cause no annoyance ? 



Mr. Hall — I prefer them close, but you must manage 

 rightly. The queens in cross colonies should be killed. 



Mr. Sibbald— Much depends on how the bees are handled. 



Pres. Newton related an instance where the bees were 

 clearly made cross through bad handling. 



Ques. 3 — What temperature is nearest correct for proper 

 cellar-wintering ? 



Mr. Hall — 44 degrees, I like. I have wintered bees well 

 at 52 degrees. 



Mr. Pettit— Why then want 44 degrees? Do you not 

 think there were conditions you did not consider ? 



Mr. Hall— No doubt. 



Mr. Smith — 44: to 50 degrees. I think it does them good 

 to get a warming up occasionally. 



Mr, Pettit — Seems much depends on the cellar. I believe 

 and acute ear is the best guide. 



BEES HANGING OUT — QUEENLESS COLONIES. 



Ques. 4 — If bees hang out of the hive, is it an indication 

 of no honey-flow, or is something wrong with the bees ? 



If others are bringing in honey, and bees in certain hives 

 are loafing, they are probably preparing to swarm. If a few 

 bees are on the bottom-board, the colony is probably queen- 

 less. 



Ques. 5 — What is to be done with queenless colonies early 

 in the spring ? 



If they have lots of honey, set them on top of another 

 hive. It is not advisable to give them a (lueeu. 



RETAILING EXTRACTED HONEV — CARNIOLANS AND ITALIANS. 



Ques. 6 — What is the best way to put up extracted honey 

 for retail trade ? 



One pound. IJ^ and 8 pound jars, to dealers. 



Mr. Evans — 1 want, for my customers, nothing less than 

 10 pounds. 



Mr. Smith — It depends largely on the class of trade. We 

 put it up in lO-cent tumblers to 5-pound pails. 



Mr. Sibbald — In Toronto there are six half-pound jars 

 sold to one one-pound jar. 



Mr. Holtermann said it largely depended upon what the 

 retailer educated the people to use. 



Mr. Darling — It is not well to sell too large a package. 



Mr. Craig — We must regulate ourselves by our local con- 

 ditions. 



Ques. 7 — Does crossing Carniolans with Italians produce 

 cross bees ? 



It does and it does not. Weed out the cross. 



CO.MB FOUNDATION — BEST RACE OF BEES. 



Ques. 8 — Give us the most profitable method of getting 

 foundation made into comb. 



