804 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



California party, and has since confined 

 his efforts to his apiary and to the duties 

 devolving- upon him as secretary of the Col- 

 orado State Bee-keepers' Association. 



Since coming- to Boulder an accident 

 caused the death of his younger brother. 

 Two years ago his father died ; a few weeks 

 later an aunt was taken while a near 

 neig-hbor, and now he has answered the 

 sudden call, leaving an aged mother alone 

 in the world, save a bereaved young wife 

 with little son sixteen months old. 



Mr. Morehouse acquired more than ordi- 

 nary success in his chosen vocation. He 

 was a man of marked characteristics, and 

 one whose manner at once impressed all 

 with his earnestness, candor, skill, and 

 honesty. He stood high in the business 

 and fraternal circles of Boulder; and in 

 the State Association none were more 

 strongly recognized in their profession. 



The funeral was held on Tuesday, the 

 26th, under the auspices of the Christian 

 Scientists of Boulder, of which org-aniza- 

 tion the young widow is a devoted member. 

 The Woodmen of the World took charg-e im- 

 mediately thereafter, and escorted a large 

 cortege to the grave, and there performed 

 the rights of the order, of which he was a 

 protective member. Quite a large deleg-a- 

 tion of members of the State Association 

 from over the county were in attendance, 

 and the floral tributes were indeed lavish 

 and most beautiful, signifying in a measure 

 the high reg-ard in which the stricken 

 brother was held. 



APIS MELLIFICA OR APIS MELLIFERA. 



Which is Right? 



BY F. GREINER. 



For many, many years our honey-bee has 

 been known among scientists as Apis niel- 

 lifica. It is owing to Prof. Frank Benton 

 and Prof. Cook that the older name, Apis 

 niellifera, has been resurrected again, if I 

 am not mistaken. Br. Buttel, Oldenburg, 

 says in Bienen later, that Linutfus named 

 the honey-bee in 1759 Apis mellifera. The 

 Litin word niellifera signifies honey-gath- 

 erer. Linn;eus at that time believed, so it 

 appears, that the honey-bee simply gather- 

 ed the honey and stored it in the combs, as 

 she found it in the blossoms. Two years 

 afterward he discovered his mistake, for 

 he found conclusive proof that hive honey 

 is not identical with nectar; and when he 

 came to the conclusion that the nectar had 

 to be changed to become honey, and that 

 the honey-bee performed this work, he at 

 once changed the attribute ;«<?// //^ra to w^////- 

 ica, which signifies honey-tnaker. It seems, 

 therefore, that niellifica is the right name, 

 though mellifera is the older one. I am the 

 more surprised that Prof. Cook should use 

 the wrong- name, since it was he who did 

 so much toward having the bee- keepers un- 

 derstand that honey was not simply the 



gathered nectar, but dig-ested by the bees 

 and thus changed to honey. 



Naples, N. Y., July 25. 



[I have asked Dr. E. F. Phillips, a zool- 

 ogist who is here, to answer this, which he 

 does. — Ed.] 



Mr. Root asked me to make a reply to the 

 above article. The question as to which 

 name shall be used for the bee was fully 

 discussed by Mr. Benton in Gleanings for 

 March 1, p. 232. In that place he pointed 

 out the fact that Linnjeus, in the tenth edi- 

 tion of his Systema Natiircr, gave the name 

 mellifera. According to the rules for scien- 

 tific names this edition is the one which has 

 priority above all the rest, and for that rea- 

 son the name mellifera must be used. It 

 makes no difference how many names were 

 given to the bee before that time, or how many 

 other names have been added since, this 

 name will stand without any change. The 

 question as to which name most nearly des- 

 ignates the bee has no bearing on this. The 

 fact is that either mellifera or mellifica 

 could properly be used as applied to the 

 bee; but even if its name were gigantla or 

 elephantas we should still have to use the 

 name which was given to it in that edition 

 of Linnitus. E. F. PiaiLLiPS. 



FEEDING BEES OUTDOORS. 



How to Prepare a Feeder wtth a Tub and a Piece 

 of Cloth. 



BY MRS. L. C. AXTELL. 



We have no trouble in feeding bees out of 

 doors when all colonies need feeding, and 

 can't see how strong colonies can take more 

 honey than weak ones, except as there are 

 more bees to take the syrup. 



The last two years I have used a metal 

 or sheet- iron wash-tub (as a wooden tub 

 might dry out and leak) ; simply spread 

 over it a tablecloth or any old clean cloth 

 that the syrup could easily go through, and 

 pour two to four pailfuls of syrup into the 

 tub when empty; and 50 to 100 hives of bees 

 will take it up in an hour or so with no 

 fighting or killing one another or tr} ing to 

 rob hives, even those only a few feet away. 

 We have fed out of doors the last 15 years 

 or longer, and see no ill effect from it. It 

 saves much labor. We have no bees nearer 

 than two miles. The bees pile up on top of 

 each other several inches deep, and yet seem 

 peaceable. If we were feeding fewer bees 

 we would put less into the tub. It might 

 be better to use more tubs at a time. We 

 formerly used long flat boxes, but they 

 leaked, and floats would get broken when 

 not in use. 



There should be some grass or long straw, 

 a large handful, laid on the cloth in the 

 tub, or some bees will drown. They crawl 

 out on the edges of the cloth. We simply 

 put the sugar into the water — what will 

 easily dissolve — and pour off the top. Don't 

 have it too rich — not richer than % sugar 



