C90 



GLEaKIKGS m BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



A DEFENSE OF THE BLACK BEE. 



REPORT THAT WILT. DO CREDIT TO ANY RACE 

 OF BEES. 



§ BEING Mr. Doolittle's article, in Ahr. inrti 

 Gleanings, "On the Different Ktices of 

 Bees," I feel I can not let it pass, especially 

 that part of it which has reference to the 

 black, or brown bee, without standing up 

 and speaking- in its defense. What he saj'S about 

 it as a poor honey-gatherer is not true in my expe- 

 rience. I have kept bees for the past 8 years, and 

 have had nothing but blacks, and my returns com- 

 pare favorably with those of my brother bee- 

 keepers who have Italians. To prove what I say, 

 I will give you some of my experience. 



Three years ago was a good honey season in 

 Canada. 1 had 30 colonies in the spring; 5 were 

 weak and 25 were good. I got 4500 lbs. of lioney, of 

 which 1200 lbs. was comb; increased to 80, and the 

 colonies averaged 25 lbs. each for wintering. Is 

 that " from hand to mouth," or "calculating a day 

 or so in advance"? Now for two poor seasons, 

 especially this year: I began with 130; increased to 

 220; got 7000 lbs. of honey, of which 2400 is comb 

 honey, and they all average 25 lbs. per colony lor 

 winter. Is that "from hand to mouth"? Last 

 year was very much like this, when we got about 

 the same per colony. Those of ray acquaintances 

 who have Italians get no more per colon j- than I 

 do. As for the wax-moth, I have never lost a colo- 

 ny from that cause yet, and surely they must re- 

 sist it, or they would all have been destroyed;, and 

 as to their being cross, I find no trouble in hand- 

 ling them. Now, I say that both Italians and blacks 

 have good qualities. It hurts me to hear the bee 

 run down, that has proved such a friend to me. I 

 also see that Mr. Root agrees in every particular 

 with what Mr. D, says. Now, Mr. R., can you say 

 from actual experience that what Mr. D. says about 

 the blacks is true as honey-gatherers? 



Wm. Coleman. 

 Devizes, Ont., Can., Aug. 26, 1886. 



Friend C, I am very glad to hear your 

 good report with common bees ; but if you 

 will excuse me, it seems to me it does not 

 strike the point after all. You say you had 

 nothing but blacks ; therefore, how do you 

 know that Italians in your hands would not 

 liave done a good deal better, even, than the 

 report you give? It is tru^, you say your 

 neighbors have done no better with Italians; 

 but I suspect that, if your neighbors had on- 

 ly blacks, like yours, they would not have 

 done nearly as well as they have done. I 

 presume you know it is a common thing for 

 one bee-keeper to get good yields of honey 

 every season, while his neighbors around 

 him do little or nothing. It is in the man as 

 well as in the bees. The comparative differ- 

 ence between the Italians and the common 

 bees has been settled for years, with such 

 overwhelming results in favor of the Ital- 

 ians that I liardly think it worth while to 

 open it again. We are glad of your report, 

 hov,'ever; but I would put it soniething this 

 way: " Mr. William Coleman, of Devizes, 

 Ontario, Canada, has obtained 7000 lbs. of 

 honey, and increased from 130 to U20 during 

 the past year, and that, too, with only com- 

 mon black bees." I hardly think you will 

 call me prejudiced, because this matter has 

 been discussed over and over for many years. 



HOW TO UNITE, 



AND MAKE THE BEES STAY IN THEIR NEW 

 LOCATION. 



HAVE just received a card from W. H. Ritter, 

 of North Springfield, Mo., in which he wishes 

 to know how I unite my bees without having 

 trouble; and as it might be of interest to 

 many of j'our readers I will give you my 

 plan— one that has never failed with me so far, 

 though I can't tell how soon it may. In the first 

 place, I never unite except when they are light, 

 both in bees and honey. 



A little before sunset, when the weather is good, 

 I take my smoker and go to the colonies I wish to 

 unite; and by a vigorous smoking and jarring of 

 the hive I cause them to fill themselves with 

 honey. This takes only a few minutes. I then 

 simply pick up the hives and carry them near the 

 hive where I wish them all to remain, open them 

 all up, and, if necessary, give them another dose 

 of smoke; then I shake bees of the colony that 

 stands in the place where I wish the united colony 

 to stand, all or nearly all off the combs in front of 

 their hive, setting their combs in an empty hive 

 close at hand, replacing them with combs from 

 the other colonies, after the bees have been 

 shaken off in front of the same hive. In this way 

 I get the bees thoroughly mixed, so they are all 

 strangers to one another, and I sometimes alter- 

 nate combs from different hives; but it is not 

 essential— at least, I have not found it so. 



Now you will ask me, " How do you get them to 

 stay on the strange stand?" Well, I keep a look- 

 out for a while after uniting (the same evening 

 and next morning); and if any considerable number 

 of bees go back to their old stand I let them buzz 

 around until they get thoroughly frightened at 

 the loss of their home, then I pick up the united 

 colony and carry it around to the place where they 

 formerly stood, and in five minutes I can pick up 

 all the stray bees, then carry the hive back where 

 it belongs, and hardly a bee will go back to his old 

 stand, provided the hives are all taken away so 

 they can not see them. To be successful with the 

 above plan, all the hives should be of one color, 

 and as much alike as possible. By the above (>lan 

 I united 39 colonies back to 24 in my own yard; and 

 in another yard, about 12 miles from here, belong- 

 ing to a lady friend, I doubled back from 17 to 7 in 

 the middle of the day, and never stayed an hour 

 to look after them, and she writes me that hardly 

 a bee went back. The proof of the pudding is in 

 the eating; and in this case it has proved excellent. 

 It may be well for me to state, that all the above 

 was done during a dearth of honey, when bees are 

 inclined to be more quarrelsome than at any other 

 time. M. Bkoers. 



Gonzales, Texas, Aug. 23, 1886. 



Friend B., your plan of uniting colonies 

 and making the bees stay in their new loca- 

 cation is very similar to the one we practice 

 here at the Home of the IIoney-Bees. Of 

 course, we think our way is a little simpler, 

 but the principle underlying both is the 

 same. I have no doubt your plan will work, 

 judging from our own experience. I would 

 add, however, that I think you will tind a 

 marked difference in different colonies. 

 While some will adhere to the hive in its 

 new location, without very much trouble, 

 the bees from another colony Avill persist in 

 going back just as many times as you restore 

 them to their combs and queen. 



