FEBRUARY 1, 1914 



lOd 



really see colors. Another question is 

 whether the color sense is similar to ours — 

 if not, in what way it differs. K. v. Friseh 

 has tried to solve this problem too. After 

 bees were trained to a certain color, he used 

 besides the gray papers various other color- 

 ed papers also, and found that the bees 

 sometimes, besides the color they were train- 

 ed to notice, would also take notice of similar 

 colors. Since the investigation is not com- 

 plete we will not detail them further. It is 

 interesting to note that the bees could not 

 be trained to pure red. They would mistake 

 it for black and dark gray. That means 

 that the bees can not see the red color as 

 such. 



The fact that the bees can't see red as 

 such brings us back to the relation of insects 

 and flowers. In former times when no one 

 thought of making exact experiments about 

 the color sense of bees, investigators had 

 l^ointed out that blue and violet blossoms 

 were preferred by the bees, and the pure 

 red neglected. This is true only of pure 



red. Purple and carmine red contain some 

 blue, and are, as v. Friseh showed, recog- 

 nized by the bees, but easily mistaken for 

 blue. 



The results of the experiments are in 

 harmony with the colors of the flowers. 

 With the exception of the poppies, whose 

 size without the color is sutticient to attract 

 the insects, there are hardly any pure-red 

 flowers in our flora. 



Many plants produce shining-red fruits, 

 but these are intended for the birds, not the 

 insects. It is of special interest that in 

 some countries red blossoms are found quite 

 abundantly, but by those plants that are 

 pollinated by the humming-birds, not by 

 insects. 



The investigations of v. Friseh have 

 doubtless proven that the bees have color 

 sense. The old theory that the colors of 

 flowers are designed to attract the insects, 

 which has been opposed by Hess, has been 

 successfully vindicated. 



Markt Oberdorf, Bavaria, Germany. 



REPORT OF KENTUCKY STATE BEEKEEPERS' CONVENTION 



BY RICHARD PRIEST DIETZMAN 



On Friday, January 9, 1914, of Farmers' 

 Week, conducted under the auspices of the 

 Agricultural College of the Kentucky State 

 University, there was held a beekeepers' 

 convention in one of the assembly rooms of 

 the State Experimental Station. About fifty 

 beekeepers were present when the conven- 

 tion was called to order at ten o'clock in the 

 morning by Professor H. Garman of the 

 State Experimental Station. He welcomed 

 the beekeepers in a few well-chosen words, 

 and introduced Mr. H. F. Hillenmeyer, of 

 Lexington, Is-j., who presented a very inter- 

 esting paper on " Kentucky as a Beekeep- 

 ing State." He was followed by Dr. J. H. 

 Kastle, the director of the station, who had 

 prepared a paper outlining the purposes of 

 the meeting. 



Professor C. W. Matthews, of the station, 

 was introduced and read a very interesting 

 paper on " Bees in Relation to Fruit-grow- 

 ing." 



Dr. M. A. Auliek, of Bradford, Ky., was 

 next introduced, and gave a most interesting 

 talk on his methods of producing extracted 

 honey. We understand that Dr. Auliek is 

 one of the most successful beekeepers in the 

 State, and that his extracted honey has 

 always a ready market at the best prices. 

 When he concluded his address, the points 

 that he made were discussed on the floor by 

 various people who were interested in the 



subject, after which Mr. H. C. Clemons, of 

 Boyd, Ky., delivered an address on " Win- 

 tering Bees," advocating the use of sealed 

 covers. There seemed to be a number pres- 

 ent in favor of the absorption cushion, and 

 an animated debate took place, which 

 brought the convention up to the adjourn- 

 ing hour for lunch. 



After lunch, Professor Garman presented 

 a paper on the " Prevention of Swarming." 

 Mr. E. E. Barton, of Falmouth, gave a talk 

 on sweet clover. Mrs. J. T. Marvis of the 

 same town was unable to be present, but 

 sent a paper on the same subject, which was 

 read. 



Mr. Clemons then delivered a second 

 address in the absence of Mr. Jordan, of 

 Morgan, Ky., on " The Importance of Good 

 Queens in an Apiary." 



The convention then proceeded to organ- 

 ize a State Beekeepers' Association. Dr. 

 Auliek was elected President, Mr. Clemons 

 Vice-president, and Professor Garman Sec- 

 retary and Treasurer. The constitution was 

 adopted, and plans were laid for a vigorous 

 campaign for members. 



A bill had been prepared to strengthen 

 the law concerning foul-brood inspection, 

 and it was next taken up and discussed, 

 section by section, and unanimously approv- 

 ed as prepared, and each member present 

 pledged himself to use his best endeavors 



