NOVEMBER 15, 1914 



others used in this experiment. In the after- 

 noon more of the colored bees were over- 

 looked than in the forenoon because the 

 observer naturally became somewhat tired. 



He summarizes his observations as fol- 

 lows: A tield-bee makes about ten trips a 

 day. A trip takes from 30 minutes to two 

 hours — on an average about one hour. 



The field-bee remains but a short time in 

 the hive — fiom five to ten minutes. 



Mr. Lunden thinks that the fanning at 

 tlie entrance is not only for ventilation but 

 also a training for flying. 



Bees that made regular trips to the field 

 did not fan — only those that stayed at home, 

 and in the afternoon made their first trip. 

 The next day these fanning bees made trips 

 to the field in the morning. 



The following day other members of his 

 family continued the observation with simi- 

 lar results. 



RED CLOVER WITH A SHORT COROLLA. 



Beekeepers of the Old and the New World 

 have often expressed the wish to have bees 

 that could gather nectar from the common 

 red clover. Once the hopes of the beekeep- 

 ers were raised several degrees by the pros- 

 pect of introducing and domesticating the 

 large Indian bee, Apis dorsata. It was sup- 

 posed that, from its size, it would be able 

 to gather nectar from red clover and from 

 other plants that are not visited by our bees. 

 A beekeeper with two apiaries, one of the 

 Apis dorsata, and one of the Apis mellifiea 

 — would be almost certain to make a crop 

 from at least one of the apiaries. For a 

 short time the long-tongued red-clover 



905 



queens opened visions of sweet treasure to 

 the believing beekeepers. 



Now some, sanguine of success, try to 

 breed bees larger in size than our common 

 ones. Besides being stronger and of more 

 robust health they would likely have their 

 tongues a little longer just to reach the 

 nectar in the red clover. Such endeavors 

 probably arouse the interest, lead to think- 

 ing, experimenting, studying, and may bring 

 something different from the object sought 

 that will benefit the craft. 



It is believed to be easier to raise a variety 

 of red clover with a short corolla than bees 

 willi longer tongues. According to the 

 Bienenvater, Mr. V. Wuest succeeded in 

 crossing red clover, Trifolium pratense, with 

 Trif. pannamcum. The resulting crossing 

 has a corolla of only 5.87 to fi.l4 millimeters, 

 while the corolla of the common red clover 

 measures 8.26 to 9.54 millimeters. Should 

 that be so, and if the new crossing grows 

 as profusely as the common red clover, it 

 would be a very valuable addilion to our bee 

 flora. 



THE GREAT GERMAN BEEKEEPERS^ UNION. 



After various fruitless attempts the lead- 

 ers of the many associations succeeded on 

 July 5 in Frankfurt to amalgamate all into 

 one great federation, with nearly 160,000 

 members. Its name is " Vereinigiing Deut- 

 seher Imkerverbande," the abbreviation be- 

 ing V. D. I. Harmony prevailing, this 

 organization can do much to further the 

 intez-ests of the beekeeping fraternity. Rea- 

 sonable demands by " the powers that be " 

 will be carefully considered. 



Kempten, Bavaria, Germany. 



BY T. G. ADAMSON 



Biblical history starts about 5918 years 

 ago. May we assume that the honeybee was 

 in the garden of Eden? Any way, we read 

 of honey first 3621 years ago, when Israel 

 sent Pharaoh a " little honey." Is not this 

 the first historical record of export? We 

 may be sure it was much valued, for sugar 

 was unknown in these days ; therefore honey 

 would be the only sweetmeat known. How 

 all Pharaoh's womenkind would come around 

 for a lick! 



From Genesis to Revelation we read over 

 and over of bees, honey, and honeycomb, 

 covering a period of over 3700 years. What 

 changes in bees in these years and methods 

 of keeping and breeding! What disasters 

 and times of scarcity of honey ! The word 

 of God is compared to honey for its sweet- 



ness, and frequently honey is figuratively 

 mentioned in the Bible. Honey and bees 

 are referred to in the Bible over a score of 

 times. 



Palestine was well adapted for beekeep- 

 ing by reason of its climate and great vari- 

 ety and plenty of aromatic flowers. Per- 

 haps they had alfalfa or lucerne as well. 

 There were limestone rocks in which the 

 wild bees lived; also hollow trees and dried 

 carcases. The hives belonging to the Jews 

 were made of clay for coolness. A favorite 

 name for women was Deborah, meaning a 

 hee — a good worker. 



The Pharaohs had bees embroidered on 

 their robes as emblems of royalty, and 

 Napoleon did likewise. We may assume that 

 his visit to Egypt was productive of much 



