GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



section or locality these bees have been 

 imported, and as there is no reason why 

 they should not be carried into sections 

 where they are not known, and at least 

 given a fair test, it may be that they will 

 prove a great blessing to our industry 

 everywhere. When they first came about, 

 there Avere some rejDorts from those who 

 had given them only a very limited trial 

 that were not in their favor; but such re- 

 ports have long since discontinued, and 

 nearly all if not all are in their favor of 

 late years, since they have been sufficiently 

 tested; and I believe such will be the case 

 in nearly every place they are tried. So if 

 I were the only beekeeper who has given 

 them a thorough test and found in them a 

 great superiority over any of the other 

 races of bees, I would be the last man to 

 pen another line in their favor; but hun- 

 dreds of beekeepers from almost all parts 

 of the country report the same thing after 

 testing them. Now, I feel safe in recom- 

 mending them to those who are not satis- 

 fied, or who do not obtain good results from 

 the bees they have at jDresent. 



I obtained three of the first Caucasian 

 queens the government imported; and the 

 second year I had them I had seen enough 

 in their favor to head all the colonies in my 

 home or main yard with queens reared from 

 them; and from time to time I have estab- 

 lished from this yard many other yards, 

 and have done no little requeening with 

 this stock, with the result that it has revo- 

 lutionized beekeeping with me; and adopt- 

 ing this stock has enabled me not only to 

 operate several hundred colonies, but even 

 several thousand colonies. So I can not 

 say too much in their favor from my own 

 experience as well as that of others; and if 

 I am a success as a beekeeper it is due to 

 our government for sending me the founda- 

 tion stock of this variety of bees; for I had 

 already reached the climax — yes, and went 

 a little beyond if possible — with the Italian 

 and other varieties of bees. I will not as- 

 sume the responsibility of saying that these 

 bees are just the thing for every beekeeper 

 in all parts of the United States; but while 

 reports from some beekeepers in nearly 

 every section have been made, all have been 

 in their favor. 



If it were left to the writer to be the 

 judge he would quickly and frankly say 

 that the Caucasian bees rank higher than 

 any others that have ever been imported 

 into our borders for commercial use. 



It is said that almost any kind of hive 

 will suit almost any kind of beekeeper; and 

 the same might be said in reference to bees. 

 But the highly ambitious beekeeper who 



wants to make the most of his bee business, 

 and a mark in our ranks, and number his 

 colonies by the thousands, could not even 

 think of adopting any other stock, because 

 they have greater merits or qualities. 



THEIR GOOD OR BAD QUALITIES. 



Tlieir good or bad qualities, as the writer 

 has found after some years of experience 

 with them from two colonies to two thou- 

 sand colonies, are these : First, there has 

 been but one very bad quality brought out 

 against this bee, and that was that it pro- 

 polizes the interior parts of the hive body; 

 but this was not (^uite so bad as tlie wads 

 or balls of brownish glue -found about in 

 the hive which almost put an end to man- 

 ipulating the interior parts of the hive. 

 \\"ell, this, of course, was a very serious 

 objection, and hence came the cry against 

 them. 



Another slight fault found with them was 

 that they build too much burr and brace 

 comb. But what about these bad qualities 

 in this bee to-day? They have been almost 

 eliminated, and most of it done naturally, 

 too — that is, they have nearly cleared them- 

 selves of this objection, or to such an extent 

 that it is no longer an objection. I have 

 done but little if any toward breeding this 

 bad quality out of them; but I learned that 

 if I would give them plenty of ventilation 

 about the bottom of the hive, and plenty of 

 storing room, that colonies most inclined 

 would make only a small deposit of this; 

 and then, too, about the entrance, where it 

 could be removed easily, or would not in- 

 terfere with frame manipulation if left. 



But briefly, what about the good qualities 

 of this beef Well, I would say this: They 

 embrace every thing that could be expected 

 of any bee — yes, and far more, which are : 

 They are gentler, and far less furious at all 

 times; gather more honey, and give it a 

 much better body, especially if it is inclined 

 to have a thin body, which is common 

 among different kinds of honeys. They 

 will also give it a much better finish in 

 caj^iDing. This feature alone is a redeeming 

 one in favor of this bee, for I get 2 cts. per 

 lb. more for the honey they finish in one- 

 pound sections. The capping is beautifully 

 white, and in most cases has a very fine 

 silk-like finish, and in many cases white 

 veins running through the cappings from 

 one side of the sections to the other, run- 

 ning through it like veins in a human body. 

 Then they are less inclined to swarm; build 

 up earlier in spring; queens more prolific 

 throughout the season; requeen themselves 

 more often; in oilier words, they do not 

 tolerate their old queens as do o*I,er races 



