430 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JiJNii 



Btudying these worms. Tape- worms, for instance, 

 are very simple, but curious as almost any animal 

 we can mention. Every thing in nature is wonder- 

 tul. " O Lord, how wonderful are all thy works! in 

 wifidoni hast thou made them all." A. J. Cook. 

 Agricultural College, Mich. 



Thanks, friend Cook. But why did yon 

 not tell us something about the particular 

 point that friend Beach alludes to — that 

 these snakes, when dry, become apparently 

 dead? I wonder if it is not hibernation. 

 }5ut when wet up they are all right again. 

 IIow long will they hibernate if kept dry? 

 Will somebody tell us about it? 



Slack, or German bees. 



FRTEND nOOI.ITTLE HAS BEEN TESTING THE BEST 

 STRAINS OF OUR NATIVE STOCK. 



fOK years back we have l)eeu told about the 

 great ditference there was in the black, or 

 German race of bees, as to color, disposition, 

 etc., some claiming that there was a little 

 black bee that was nearly worthless, while 

 from the same race of bees there could be obtained 

 a large brown bee that was equal, if not superior 

 to the Italians. Others claimed that, if we would 

 have the best, we must get the light gray bee, and 

 still others were equally sure that the dark gray 

 bee, of the same race, was far ahead of any other bee 

 there was. Being anxious to have the best bees in 

 the world, I have tried every and all kinds that 

 have ever been brought to the U. S. except the 

 Egyptians; and T wish to say that, all things con- 

 sidered, 1 preler the Italians to any of the rest, be- 

 lieving that they combine more good qualities, and 

 have fewer poor traits, than anj' other bees which 

 have so far reached our shores. But I have wan- 

 dered a little. Some four years ago I began to try 

 all of these different strains of the black, or Ger- 

 man bee, to see what there was in the ditferent 

 claims put forth for them, and how these bees, 

 brown, gray, etc., differed from the bees kept by 

 our fathers; and I must say, without desire to hurt 

 anybody's feelings, that 1 can not detect the slight- 

 est difference in any of them, or between them and 

 the bees T formerly kept before 1 became acquaint- 

 ed with the Italians; and this, after having queens 

 from all the States where the claim has been made 

 that a different strain of the black bee e.xisted. 

 The last tried was the large brown bee of Arkansas, 

 which I got last August or September. As the 

 queen came late, she did not lay any eggs after she 

 came; and as the bees wintered in that splendid 

 condition which Bro. Clarke feels disposed to call 

 " hibernation," no young bees were reared till aft- 

 er they were set out of the cellar. To-day 1 have 

 been looking at them, and carefully comparing 

 their color, actions, etc., with the others, with the 

 result spoken of above. In these examinations 

 there was (me thing that came under my notice 

 which I wish to tell the readers of Gi.eaninos 

 about. 



Having tired of those 1 had last fall, I changed 

 their queens in October; and as they had not rear- 

 ed brood during the winter, less than one-fourth of 

 the bees were young Italians in these cases, and 

 about the same proportion of young black bees in 

 the other case. When I opened the colonies where 

 the young Italians were, they stood their ground 



on the combs, the same as all Italians will, while a 

 little too much smoke or a little jar would set the 

 black bees to running pellmell ovfer these young 

 yellow fellows, to such an extent as to nearly knock 

 them off the comb; still they would run or stir only 

 as they were carried with the multitude that was 

 surging by. To tell it as it is. I had a feeling of 

 pride come ovef- me tot the good behavior of these 

 young fuz/.y little chaps, which showed so much 

 mox'e steadfastness than their older companions. 



Upon going to the colony where about one-fourth 

 of the bees were young blacks, I found things just 

 the reverse. Here the young bees wbUld dodge 

 about among the older Italians, run down to the 

 bottom of the combs, and tumble off on the ground 

 or into the hive, according to where the comb was 

 held; and when I came to the queen she was so 

 nervous and fldgetty that it was no pleasure to look 

 at her; yet the older Italians stood their ground, 

 never seeming to care how badly their younget 

 sisters and mother were frightened. 



The pleasure with which Italians are handled is 

 alone quite a large item in their favor, which I had 

 partly overlooked till I got these black bees. I am 

 well aware that this trait makes it easier to get the 

 combs free of bees while working for extracted 

 honey, yet I could not think of tolerating this run- 

 ning nuisance in the black bees for the sake of get- 

 ting them off' the combs a little more easily. Be- 

 fore swarming time arrives I shall supersede this 

 last black queen, and henceforth keep nothing but 

 the Italians. 



In only one thing do the black bees e.xcel the 

 Italians, according to my experience; that is, they 

 will cap their combs a little whiter than any other 

 race of bees with which lam ucciuainted; butthej' 

 use much more wa.x in doing it, so that, while their 

 combs look prettier, there is a loss in wax to nearly 

 balance the looks. The claim that they enter the 

 surplus apartment more easily than any of the 

 yellow races has no weight with me, for, with my 

 management, any of the races do not hesitate to go 

 into the sections as soon as honey is to he had 

 from the fields in sulKcient quantities for practi- 

 cal work there. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., May 1.5, 1888. 



1 am very glad, friend D., that you have 

 taken this matter in hand, and made a prac- 

 tical test. Whenever these brown, or Ger- 

 man bees, have been extolled, I have had a 

 sort of feeling that, if carefully tested, they 

 would not prove much different from our 

 common bees, although I have never had 

 the time nor inclination to make the test. 

 Just as soon as I received those first Italians 

 from father Langstroth, and saw how civil 

 and peaceable they were, 1 made up my 

 mind that I iievei- wanted any more of the 

 crazy-acting lilacks. Vou have narrated, 

 more vividly tlian I could possibly have 

 done it, the difference in behavior; and I 

 agree with you, that this one thing alone, 

 providing the Italians had no other merit, 

 would be a sufficient recommendation to in- 

 duce me to adopt them. I have been pleas- 

 ed in the same way with the Light Brahma 

 fowls. I can pick them up and set them 

 down, and do what I please with them, and 

 they do not act scared out of their wits, and 

 raise the whole neighborhood by their 

 squalling. 



