100 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Feb. 15 



and in making comparison with such hives 

 would I not be entitled to put two of my 

 eight-frame hives against one sixteen- 

 frame? Of course, I would; and when it 

 comes to that, I can take two eight-frame 

 hives with a good queen in each, and dis- 

 count any one of Mr. Holtermann's large 

 hives. If I see fit to manipulate smaller 

 hives for convenience' sake, why am I not 

 to be rated according to the number of 

 combs used, and not by the number of 

 hives? 



I believe there are many localities where 

 the eight-frame L. hive is just about right, 

 and it is hardly fair to upset the plans of 

 beginners and cause them to begin expen- 

 sive changes without having them under- 

 stand that there are as many arguments in 

 favor of as against the small hive as used 

 by the experienced honey -producer. I 

 would not say a word against the growing 

 popularity of the ten-frame hive. I use 

 some of them right along, and would have 

 worked into them long ago, only that I 

 could not see any advantage in doing so. 

 But if I had a chance to start an apiary 

 with all ten-frame L. hives I would not hes- 

 itate a moment, for I believe they are as 

 good as but no better than the eight-frame 

 when properly handled. 



In speaking of her sixteen-frame hive, 

 Miss Candler said it never swarmed. This 

 non-swarming feature would be an advan- 

 tage, of course, if it could be said that the 

 eight-frame hives were never non-swarm- 

 ers, but that would not be true; for if tiered 

 up they also may be non-swarming. 



The sixteen-frame hive would be too 

 heavy for cellar wintering where one man 

 does the work. With such hives, outdoor 

 wintering would have to be followed, but 

 that introduces another topic upon which I 

 will not enter at this time. 



Bridgeport, Wis., Dec. 6. 



ITALIANS OR BLACKS. 



The Italians Breed up Too Farly, and then 

 Swarm Instead of Working. 



BY W. C. MOLLETT. 



Noticing what Mr. T. B. Mowry, of Con- 

 necticut, has to say, p. 701, Nov. 1, 1910, as 

 to the relative value of blacks and Italians 

 in his locality, I have about come to the 

 same conclusion. It would seem that the 

 difference as to the amount and kind of 

 honey-producing plants in a given location 

 has very much to do with the question as 

 as to which race is superior. This locality 

 is somewhat similar to that described by 

 Mr. Mowry — that is, it is covered with tim- 

 ber to a considerable extent, mostly oak 

 and beech, and has very few good honey- 

 producing flowers since the basswood and 

 whitewood have been mostly cut away. 

 The past season here was a very poor one, 

 the bees being upon the point of starvation 

 in the first part of .lune — something never 

 before known; but we had a remarkable 



honey-flow in 1909, my colonies that year 

 giving an average of 90 lbs. surplus. I have 

 been trying Italians for the past four sea- 

 sons, and am firmly of the opinion that 

 they are inferior to the blacks in this local- 

 ity. Of course, in a section where there is 

 plenty of white and sweet clover the Ital- 

 ians may be much ahead of the blacks as 

 honey-gatherers. 



The chief objection I have to the Italians 

 is their prolificness, although this may 

 seem rather paradoxical to most bee-keep- 

 ers. They will begin rearing brood here in 

 February, and by the first of May the hives 

 will be crowded with bees at a time when 

 there is no nectar to gather, and, as a result, 

 I am usually compelled to feed more or less 

 or lose the bees. No matter if the hive con- 

 tains 50 lbs. of honey in the fall, they will 

 use it all in brood-rearing before the first of 

 June; then if the weather is not favorable 

 they may be at the point of starving. 



If the weather is very favorable the Ital- 

 ians will also often swarm by the first of 

 May — a time when there is little honey to 

 gather, and then the swarm must be fed 

 until the honey-flow comes, usually about 

 the middle of June. The swarm will also 

 usually swarm again during the honey- 

 flow, which will cause the extra labor at a ' 

 time when we would rather they would be 

 gathering honey. The Italians seem to 

 have a perfect mania for swarming here, 

 which, to a considerable extent, impairs 

 their usefulness as honey-gatherers. 



The blacks, as a rule, do not commence 

 brood-rearing until March, and ttien they do 

 not raise as many young bees as the Ital- 

 ians; and, as a result, they are not likely to 

 use up their honey so soon, and so are not 

 as liable to be in danger of starving. The 

 past season, when I was compelled to feed 

 all of my Italians, the bees belonging to one 

 of my neighbors lived through without any 

 feeding — they being of the common black 

 variety. 



By the time the honey-flow comes, the 

 blacks are usually strong enough in bees to 

 gather considerable honey when the weath- 

 er is favorable, and they are not nearly as 

 liable to upset all of our plans by swarming. 



One season the blacks gave a fair amount 

 of surplus when I got nothing from the It- 

 alians but increase, which I did not want. 

 I am aware of the fact that this locality is a 

 very unfavorable one for bees, on account 

 of too much rainfall and scarcity of honey- 

 producing plants, and that bee-keeping 

 does not pay here, even with the best man- 

 agement; but on account of fertilizing the 

 fruit-bloom I will continue to keep a few 

 colonies. 



Stonecoal, W. Va., Dec. 2. 



Honey Not Broken in Double-tier Shipping-cases. 



I have been shipping a good deal of comb honey 

 for the last three years. I use the double-tier ship- 

 ping-case with corrugated paper between the tiers 

 and at the bottom of the case. I have never heard 

 of one section being broken, and I have shipped 

 over two lines of railroad, and hauled over four 

 tons each year on a wagon twenty miles. 



Stanfield, Ore. T. J. Barkingkk. 



