188 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



temperature was recorded morning, noon, and 

 night, taking 6 a. m. and 1 and 7 p. m. as the 

 time. The morning entries varied from 5 to 7 

 o'clock, but averaged about 6. The noon en- 

 tries were nearly all made at 1 p. m., and the 

 evening at 7. The average noon temperature 

 was about 85 >^, the lowest being 70, 3 days 

 out of the 31; 2 days 75, and one day 78. 

 The highest was 100, and over 90 for 11 days. 

 On June 18th there was a little frost in the 

 bie-yard; but at G the temperature was 45, the 

 noon temperature being 75. The average 

 morning temperature at 6 o'clock was 53. 

 The average evening temperature was 68, the 

 lowest 57, and the highest 84. Notice that 

 the evening temperatures were taken at 7 

 o'clock, which was before sundown those long 

 daj's. After sunset the mercury would drop 

 several degrees in half an hour or so. 



In the next article I will continue the sub- 

 ject of records, and will give something of an 

 analysis of the 1897 and previous records. 



Loveland, Colo. 



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ANSWERS TO / 



SEASONABLE 



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IQUESTIONS 



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ABOUT BASSWOOD BI^OOM. 



Question. — We had a full bloom of bass- 

 wood this year, but for some reason the bloom 

 failed to yield any honey. Is it not reasona- 

 ble, therefore, to suppose that the failure to 

 secrete honey may cause the trees to bloom 

 profusely another year? If we could tell 

 about these things, it would be an item of im- 

 portance to many bee-keepers who live in the 

 bass wood belt. 



Ansiver. — At first glance, it might seem rea- 

 sonable to suppose that, where nature was foil- 

 ed one year, she would make up the loss the 

 next; but, really, was nature foiled in any 

 way, so far as the basswood-trees were concern- 

 ed, by the failure of the secretion of nectar? 

 If no seed was perfected, then the results which 

 nature desired to accomplish did not mature ; 

 but in all of my experience I have never known 

 the basswood to fail in yielding fruit (seed), 

 no matter whether nectar to any amount was 

 secreted or not. I firmly believe that no seed 

 would be perfected with the basswood, or very 

 little at most, without the aid of insects to 

 pollenize properly the blossom; but I have yet 

 to see the time when there were not bees and 

 other insects roaming over the blossoms in 

 numbers sufficient for the full fruitage of this 

 tree, no matter whether any basswood nectar 

 was accumulating in the hives or not ; and if 

 abundance of fruit is borne, nature is not foil- 

 ed in her undertaking. If I am correct, the 

 producing of an abundance of nectar or the 

 entire failure of nectar has no bearing in the 

 matter of fruit-yielding whatever, only so far 

 as it attracts insects which further a more per- 

 fect pollenization of the flowers. In other 

 words, the nectar itself in no way enters into 

 the vital fluids which' go toward the perfecting 



of the seed and the husk, or that which in- 

 closes it. Many seem to suppose that a failure 

 of the perfecting of the blossoms into fruit, 

 during any year, has a predisposing influence 

 toward a more profuse blooming the next 

 year ; but I doubt whether such have ever 

 stopped to analyze their thoughts on this sub- 

 ject. If I am correct, such a failure can have 

 no bearing on the subject whatever, as the em- 

 bryo blossoms or an entire absence of the 

 same is found in the partially perfected prod- 

 uct for the next year, before the present sea- 

 son's blossoms open ; that is, the embryo 

 blossoms are all formed in the little buds at 

 the base of each basswood leaf which appears 

 in full perfection, although not in full size, be- 

 fore the flowers then on the trees open to in- 

 vite the bees to a sumptuous feast, or open 

 without that feast being spread; hence it will 

 be seen that, if through any failure of fruitage 

 greater strength or vigor is added to the tree, 

 it can not possibly show itself earlier than 

 two years from the time the failure occurred. 

 It is always well for us to stop and carry any 

 thought to its logical and legitimate end be- 

 fore v\e begin to prepare for sume supposed 

 thing which a little logical reasoning would 

 convince us could never come to pass. 



ITALIANS OR HYBRIDS. 



Question. — If you were breeding especially 

 for honey-gathering purposes, which would 

 you prefer — the golden Italians, dark ones, or 

 hybrifls? If hybrid bees, how would you 

 b eed them for best results ? 



Answer. — Volumes have been written on 

 this subject, and the matter is not full}' settled 

 in the minds of many at the present time. 

 Some of our ver}- best bee-keepers tell me that 

 they do not know which is best ; but from my 

 standpoint a true solution depends upon which 

 we are producing — comb or extracted honej'. 

 If I were producing extracted honey altogeth- 

 er, I think I would select the darker Italian, or 

 those produced from queens reared from an 

 imported mother, allowhig these queens to 

 mate with whatever drones there were in and 

 about the apiary, paying no attention as to 

 whether the.^e drones were from Italian, hy- 

 brid, or black stock. If I were working for 

 comb honey exclusively, then I would procure 

 a good queen of the golden variet}-, rearing 

 all queens from her, and allow them to mate 

 with any drones they might chance to meet, 

 the most of which would, without doubt, be 

 from an entirely different " blood " from them- 

 selves, which would give a direct cross. Such 

 direct cross always gives the greatest vigor, 

 and, as the question is asked, I should not 

 care one cent whether my yellow queens mat- 

 ed with drones from black or hybrid stock, as 

 all of my experience goes to prove that thor- 

 oughbred golden Italian queens, mated to 

 drones of either black or hj'brid stock, give 

 bees equal to the very best for comb-honey 

 purposes. But if I could conveniently hinder 

 the thing I should prefer not to have these 

 queens meet drones from young queens reared 

 from imported mothers — not because they 

 would not give bees just as vigorous, and of 

 just as good honey-gathering qualities, but for 



