650 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



committee in charge miglit desire, and make 

 one grand display of sweetness and beauty; 

 and don't you think the lady managers would 

 say. " Oh my! isn't that sweet" '? 



But then. I have to get back from " fancy" to 

 facts, which are "stubborn things." It is not 

 the intention of the Columbian Commissioners 

 to try to show a large quantity of any thing, 

 but to see how much of a variety of the very 

 best quality of every thing can be placed on 

 exhibition in the smallest space, quality and 

 beauty, and not quantity, to count. Ohio, 

 Michigan. New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Cali- 

 fornia, or any other State mkjht occupy the 

 whole space that is allotted to the bee-keepers; 

 then where would the other States exhibit? 



Knowing the design of the Commissioners, 

 any one can at a glance see the propriety of 

 limiting every exhibit as to the space it shall be 

 permitted to occupy, and the height to which 

 it may extend. 



Mr. Frazier says, " If there is a time for every 

 thing, why would not this be a good time for 

 bee-keepers to kick ? " I believe there is a time 

 for every thing, but I don't believe the time for 

 " bee-keepers to kick " has arrived. I don't see 

 any thing to "kick "or to " kick for." If Mr. 

 Frazier. and all other interested bee-keepers, 

 instead of waiting to find something to kick, 

 would take a little time in writing to Mr. Bu- 

 chanan just what their views are, and what 

 they would like to have done, it might give 

 him new ideas, and be of material aid to him 

 and our specialty; but to stand back and find 

 fault and "kick," won't help one bit. But 

 don't, for mercy's sake, flood him with long- 

 winded letters that don't have a good sound 

 suggestion in them. First, decide what you 

 want if you know, and then "boil it down" 

 into a few lines, if possible, and send it to him 

 at once, or as soon as possible. 



I am no more interested in this matter than 

 any other bee-keeper who is desirous of doing 

 his or her part toward making a creditable 

 exhibit of our product. I can not speak author- 

 itatively, but simply give my views as any one 

 else might. 



It is expected that every person furnishing 

 honey or beeswax will have the same labeled, 

 in accordance with the rules already published, 

 so that every package, whether comb or extract- 

 ed honey, or beeswax, will show what it is, 

 where it came from, and who produced it. In 

 your next issue I will try and' say more as to 

 what to do. A. B. Mason. 



Auburndale, O., Aug. 3. 



FIVE -BANDED BEES. 



A criticism; cajoling things by their 



RIGHT NAMES. 



I have felt for a long time as if it were the 

 privilege of the average bee-keepers of this 

 country to know something more definite con- 

 cerning the so-called five-banded Italian bees 

 that are so much advertised at present. I have 

 taken considerable pains to glean what infor- 

 mation I could from those who have advertised 

 them the past two years; but I consider the in- 

 formation that comes from practical honey- 

 producers (which I am constantly receiving) of 

 the most value to those who are interested in 

 fancy bees. The first report I ever had con- 

 cerning them was two years ago, from W. S. 

 VandrufF, of Pennsylvania. He reported them 

 as the poorest honey -gatherers, and bees that 

 would not winter with any certainty, even in 

 Pennsylvania. This was the first impression, 

 and the first impression often goes a long way 



with many of us; so it was with me, and I con- 

 sidered the four-banded bees (as then called) as 

 a worthless inbred strain, which I have good 

 reasons to believe those that Mr. VaudrufI de- 

 scribed to me were. 



During the season of 1891 several parties 

 wrote me concerning the so-called five-banded 

 bees, wishing me to try them. I at that time had 

 resolved to make a fair trial of them before 

 recommending them to those inquiring about 

 them. I accordingly sent to Jacob T. Timpe 

 for a select queen. Aug. 3. 1891; and late in Oc- 

 tober I received a fair-looking queen that he 

 promised would produce four bands on "the 

 scale " as he termed it. Well, this queen was 

 wintered successfully, and this season I care- 

 fully compared them with my other bees, which 

 were then all common three-banded Italians. 

 The colony was strong in the spring, but did 

 not build up as rapidly as did others: and, what 

 was most noticeabU'. they would cease flying 

 much earlier at night, and would not be seen 

 flying at all during cloudy weather, when most 

 bees were working freely on apple-bloom. They 

 were as cross as Cyprians, and not a bee shows 

 any yellow on the fourth segment. I gave her 

 away, and the party I gave her to declare they 

 are the poorest bees he ever saw. 



But this is not a fair representation of the 

 golden bees bred by our best breeders of to-day, 

 as I have proved during the past few weeks in 

 the midst of a good honey-flow for this locality. 

 By a close comparison with the best three- 

 banded Italians I can see very little ditTerence 

 in their prolificness, gentleness, or as honey- 

 gatherers. I feel sure that they are equal to 

 any bees I ever had, in this respect. But where 

 the complaint comes now is mostly from those 

 who expect to get bees from their queens that 

 they get from these five-banded advertisements, 

 that the workers will show five yellow bands, 

 or. in other words, yellow on five segments; 

 and I believe, right on this point, the breeders 

 have made a mistake in calling them .5-banded. 

 Let me explain, and then I thfnk all will agree 

 with me. especially those who have purchased 

 queens and have seen their progeny. 



Early in the spring I sent to nearly every 

 breeder of five-banded bees for a sample of 

 bees from the best queens, and at the same 

 time I inquired for prices of breeding queens. 

 The answer was the same in nearly every in- 

 stance: " I can not send a queen that will pro- 

 duce over 50 per cent of five-banded bees like 

 sample;" and I wish to have it distinctly un- 

 derstood, that not a single bee that I received 

 from the many excellent breeders showed a 

 particle of yellow below the fourth segment; 

 and several of them wrote me that the young 

 queens would not produce over 10 to 20 per cent 

 of five-banded workers, the remainder three- 

 banded. Now. I have always suppo.sed the 

 segments were the bands, as we have been in 

 the habit of calling our Italians three-banded, 

 and surely a part of three distinct segments on 

 the abdomen are yellow. The golden variety 

 have the segments solid yellow, with no black 

 stripe at the extremity. I have two colonies 

 whose drone progeny is yellow all over the ab- 

 domen, including the tip; but I might add that 

 one of the queens produces not a bee showing 

 over three bands. I feel sure that there is a 

 mistake in calling them five-banded bees when 

 it is difficult— yes, very difficult to get a queen 

 that will produce all her working progeny 

 showing yellow on the fourth segment. It is 

 almost certain we shall not have bees yellow all 

 over like the queen, in time; but I believe in 

 calling things by their right name, and think 

 it is time this matter were set right. 



James Wood. 



North Prescott, Mass., Aug. 8. 



