March 20, 1902. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



183 



ins, somimes as many as 2s or 30, and were coated on 

 the outside with clay. 



Hives consistiriff of several separate chanibcra were 

 used in Sweden and Knj^'^Iaiul diirinfj the 17th and IHlli 

 centuries. J. U. Christ, of Nassau, describes such hivos in 

 1783. He also made use of the bar in connection with the 

 separate honey-chamber (super). 



Keaumur made many valuable discoveries regarding' 

 the natural history of the bee in his one-comb iiflas.s hive 

 <lurinp the forepart of the IHth century. The blind Rubor 

 united a number of such combs— re(,'ular frames — by hinjje- 

 iug them tof^other. Thus he constructed a hive which 

 could be opened like the leaves of a book. 



Feli.x Pina introduced a siraplilied Huber hive into 

 Austria, and wrote a work on bee-keepinj; soon afterward. 



Propokowitz, a Russian, is said to have used a hive 

 with a separate honey-chamber filled with regular Lang- 

 stroth frames as early as 1X12. 



We observe, then, that (ienius has been at work a long 

 time on the problem of how to make the combs of the bee- 

 hive movable, and get the most out of bees, even before 

 L/angstroth and Dzierzon were born. And, after all, had it 

 not been for Langstroth and Dzierzon — although we may 

 not make use of the exact appliances as they gave them to 

 the world— we might be to-day using the old box-hive, and 

 know but little more about bees than was known a hundred 

 years ago. Ontario Co.. N. Y. 



No. 2 -Desirability of Lon§-Tongued Bees. 



BV I'KOF. A.. J. COOK. 



It is patent from m^* last article, that the length of the 

 tongue varies in different bees, and very markedly in those 

 of different races. It is also important to remember that 

 the bees of the same race, and notably those of the same 

 colony, vary but very little, as compared with those of dif- 

 ferent races and in different colonies. The yellow races 

 possess the longest tongues, and the Cyprian and Syrian 

 bees stand in the lead in this peculiarity. 



ARE LONG TONGUES OF VALUE ? 



This would seem to go without saying. Is the long 

 neck of the giraffe of importance in the desert, where the 

 very uppermost leaves of the shrubs may stand between it 

 and starvation ? Not only the red clover, but many other 

 flowers have long tubular corollas. In many cases whole 

 families of plants have these long, slender flower-tubes. 

 "We all know that seasons vary greatly in favoring nectar- 

 secretion. A cold wind, or spell of weather with low tem- 

 perature, may shut up the nectar-secretion of the flowers as 

 absolutely as winter itself. Some flowers are much more 

 susceptible to such influences than are others. Suppose, 

 then, that in the season of clover or linden bloom the sea- 

 son is unpropitious, and that later come some flowers with 

 these long corollas, and also the genial warmth and sun- 

 shine that favors nectar-production, then plainly the bees 

 with long tongues will come to the front, and a few hun- 

 dredths of an inch in length of tongue may stand between 

 life and starvation. The cold may chill to inaction the 

 nectar-glands of clover, linden, and sage, while possibly 

 some wild plants with deep flower-tubes will prove more 

 hardy, and will yield an abundance of honey to such bees 

 as are able to reach to it. 



I have frequently seen, as have many others, the red 

 clover swarming with yellow bees — Italians or Syrians — 

 while not a black bee could be seen on the bloom, though 

 the black bees were quite as numerous in the neighborhood. 

 I have seen the same thing in observing wild flowers, in 

 both Jlichigan and California. There is no doubt what- 

 ever that the bees with longer tongues are a decided advan- 

 tage in any apiary. Bees with shorter tongues may still, 

 in certain cases, gather more honej', for reasons of supe- 

 riority in other directions, but not because of their shorter 

 tongues, which are certainly never a disadvantage, but in 

 spite of these. 



The very best bee will be better in every way, and cer- 

 .tainly will be appreciated in value if among other anatomi- 

 cal, physiological and temperamental peculiarities it has 

 the longer tongue. 



To breed bees, then, with longer tongues, and clover 

 with shorter corollas, would both be of advantage, but the 

 former would be of most service to the apiarist, for then 

 the bees would glean from all deep-tubed flowers, and not 

 simply from the clover. 



CAN WK BHKKD LONCEH TOKGUE8 ? 



There can be no more doubt that this can be done than 

 that the sun will rise to-morrow morning. AUorganiHms — 

 plants as well as animals, and all animals, from the lowCHt 

 protozoan to man him.self are alike embraced under the 

 laws of breeding. Those interested in this subject should 

 read Miles' "Stock llrceding," or. still better, the claHsical 

 work of the great Darwin, " Animals and I'lants I.'nder 

 Domestication." All animals tend to vary. This tendency 

 may be inherent, or, more likely, is the result of envi- 

 ronment. Selection, either by Nature or man, will continue 

 and fix these variations. 



Through the three laws variation, inheritance, and 

 selection -the world is indebted for its wonderful varied 

 life. Through the wiser, sharper selection of man, our 

 cultivated plants and domestic animals have developed 

 races with astonishing rapidity. The American trotting- 

 horse has been created within the memory of tho.se living, 

 while the Poland-China hog another valuable gift to the 

 world from American breeders -is the product of but a few 

 years. 



IS THE BEE AN EXCEPTION ? 



I believe the bee would show exceptional susceptibility 

 to such modification. Nature, unaided by man's keen 

 observation and painstaking selection, has made or devel- 

 oped several races of bees. The Italian, the Cyprian, the 

 Syrian, the Egyptian, the German, etc., are not species, 

 but races of the one species — Apis millifera. Where el.se 

 in all the realm of life do we see so many Nature-made 

 races as in the species of our honey-bee ? I know no other 

 example at all comparable to this. Surely, if our bee is so 

 plastic in the duller, more plethoric hands of Nature, what 

 may we expect when man applies the well-known laws of 

 breeding towards its modification, along any desirable 

 line? We have seen what man can do with the bee in 

 color. He can add rings at will, or cover all with gold. If 

 color were as valuable as a long tongue, we should have a 

 still more valuable bee to-day than are our best strains of 

 Italians. 



Again, I know of no animal with such wonderfully 

 varied organs as has the bee, and such a multiplicity of 

 them. Glands, mouth-organs, legs, stomach, even the 

 hairs, are marvels of varied modification. Man is only 

 wonderful in his brain and hand, while the honey-bee has 

 a half-score of marvels to exhibit. This has all been done 

 in the slow, plodding machinery of Nature. Let man. 

 eagle-eyed, take the honey-bee in hand, and with some 

 worthy ideal — not color, which has only the virtue of pleasing 

 the eye — in mind, and he may mold any product he may 

 desire. This is as sure as that love will always conquer. 



I know that the difficulty of controlling mating stands 

 in the way, but the plucky breeder will easily find ways to 

 conquer this diflficulty. As I have urged for years, there is 

 certainly a brilliant success awaiting the man of pluck and 

 genius who will attack this problem, guided by the best 

 that is known regarding the laws of breeding. Bates. 

 Booth, and Blakewell had not such a field of promise, nor 

 such preparation as he may easily gain, and yet what an 

 enviable record they made for themselves, and what a 

 legacy they bequeathed to the world. 



Los Angeles Co., Calif. 



The "Old Reliable" seen through New and Unreliable Qlasses. 

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



BREATHING AIR FROM A PAPBR-BAG FCLL. 



We find it nearly or quite impossible to keep from 

 breathing for any length of time, even in poisonous gas, 

 or with head under water. We know an attempt to breathe 

 can only draw water into the lungs— or choking gas— yet 

 we breathe in spite of ourselves. An excellent device to get 

 on disobedient Nature's blind side is given on page 100. 

 Big paper-bag full of air. and tied around a short length of 

 rubber-tubing, the other end to be held in the mouth. This 

 is really better than no breath, and if it could get as bad as 

 none it would still help us keep from doing worse. If we 

 find it necessary to stay in sulphur fumes, or fumes of 



