in 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIIE. 



Ocrr. 



furnishes is not always tlie mostwliolesome. 

 Our regular food does very well for us, usu- 

 ally ; but during a time ()f severe drought, 

 such as we are having now, almost every- 

 body has to be careful what he eats, and not 

 a few of us have to come down to plain 

 In'ead and milk, graham, or some thing of 

 tlie like, instead of partaking of the fruits 

 that we usually eat with impunity. I am in- 

 clined to think it well to keep out the pollen 

 in winter, much as we put the sweet apples, 

 pears, and melons on a high shelf where the 

 children won't see them uhen tlieyhave fre- 

 quently recurring spells of a 1 suppose 



you all know how it is, if I don't tell it. 



jo>e:s's bee islands. 



REPORT OF A VISIT TO THEM. 



^gn^ KIEND KOOT:- Your request, that I would fur- 

 jifJ"' ni.sh some account of my recent visit to the 

 — ' above islands, was duly received, and my will 

 was good to comply with it sooner, but I am one of 

 those luifortunatc mortals who always have more 

 work to do than time to do it in. However, I will 

 now try to give you and your readers an idea of an 

 enterprise, in which all bee-keepers can not but feel 

 a deep interest. 



The islands lie in the Georgian Uaj% and are part of 

 an immense archipelago. Ti»lk of the Lake of the 

 Thousand Islands ! here are from 3000 to 5000, of all 

 shapes and sizes. They have never been accurately 

 counted, are unsurveyed, and still in the hands of 

 the government. Jones has located there, with the 

 right of purchase when they come into the market. 

 The island which is the center of operations, is called 

 Palestine Island. It is distant from Beeton, Mr. J.'s 

 home, 100 miles, 40 of which are traveled by rail, and 

 the remainder by steamboat. There is daily com- 

 munication between Palestine Island and Beeton, 

 the steamer plying between Colliugwcod and Parry 

 Sound passing very near to a jutting point of Pales- 

 tine Island. From this island, bees and all needed 

 supplies are distributed to the two other islands, 

 named respectively Cyprus Island and Italy Island. 

 These islands are from 6 to 8 miles apart. There are 

 no bees in all that region, except what Jones takes 

 there. A stock of bees could not live in that region 

 on natural supplies. The bees taken there to carry 

 on the breeding business gather very little, and must 

 be fed continually all through the summer season. 

 It is a bleak, stormy region, but often very pleasant 

 in the time of year when the heat is oppressive fur- 

 ther south. Of course, it is lonesome, there being no 

 settlement nearer than Parry Sound, in one direc- 

 tion, 16 miles off, and Collingwood, in the opposite 

 direction, 60 miles off. The bees are taken to these 

 islands in the spring, and returned to Beeton in the 

 fall. This year was characterized by such a cold and 

 backward spring, that operations could not be com- 

 menced until the middle of June. 



Of course, the object aimed at by this isolation is 

 to keep the three great races of bees entirely sepa- 

 rate, so as to secure the absolutely pure fertiliza- 

 tion of queens. Palestine Island is devoted to Holy- 

 Land bees, and as these are preferred by Mr. Jones, 

 as well as in brisk demand by other bee-keepers, the 

 chief attention is given to them. More correctly, I 

 should say, a larger number of Holy-Land queens 

 arc reared than of the other races, the same 

 care and attention being given to all. The young 



queens arc reared mostly in full colonies at Beeton, 

 shipped to the islands for mating, returned to Be((- 

 ton after they have begun to lay, and are thence 

 despatched to all points as ordered. It is a rather 

 tedious and costly process, but it secures the ob- 

 ject aimed :it, with unerring certainty. Cyprus 

 Island is devoted to the Cyprians, and Italy Island to 

 the Italians. On each island there are a number of 

 nucleus hives, accompanied by a number of full col- 

 onies containing the best drones produced at the 

 Beeton apiaries. Besides the breeding of pure 

 queens, a variety of crosses is being tried, of which 

 not much can yet be said with positiveness, for 

 crossing and breeding for points are slow processes. 

 I will not go into the minutije of daily work on these 

 islands. Experienced bee-keepers can easily picture 

 that to themselves; but I will say, that the opera- 

 tions are carried on systematically, and, so far as I 

 could see, with great precision. 



The general family likeness which subsists be- 

 tween the three races of bees now prominentlj' be- 

 fore the apicultural public, necessitates a breeding 

 establishment such as this, until such time, at least, 

 as by repeated experiment, and thorough testing, 

 we have settled down on the bee of the future. So 

 long as we had only blacks and Italians, it was easy 

 to distinguish them ; but now we shall have to go In 

 for pedigree, the same as horse, catte, and other 

 live stock breeders. After spending three days at 

 the islands, and nearly as much time at the Beeton 

 apiaries, I can not infallibly identify each individual 

 specimen of the races, and when a general mix 

 comes, as it will in all apiaries where the three spe- 

 cies of drones are flying, it will be pretty bewilder- 

 ing. This establishment may be said to be the one 

 emporium of pure queens for the world. There is 

 nothing like it in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. 

 Its Importance is already recognized by all advanced 

 bee-keepers, and as apiculture spreads, which it is 

 sure to do, the value of this enterprise will become 

 more widely appreciated. 



The following are, as nearly as I can state them, 

 the distinguishing characteristics of the Holy-Land 

 and Cyprian races: The Holy-Land queens have very 

 distinct black bands between the yellow, and the last 

 band near the segment is half-moon shaped. These 

 queens are Aery bright and handsome. The Holy- 

 Land workers have a gold shield between the wings, 

 not quite so large as that on the Cyprians. The hair 

 is longer on the thorax, and more gray. The hair on 

 the segments of the abdomen is a distinct gray, even 

 to the tip, giving them a lighter appearance than the 

 Cyprians. The Holy-Land bees are very docile— as 

 much so as the quietest Italians. They seem less in- 

 clined to build drone comb than any other bees, and 

 even in a populous colony will build worker comb 

 clear down to the bottom of a deep rack. They also 

 build an enormous quantity of queen-cells. I count- 

 ed 56 in a single hive myself, and Mr. Jones states 

 that they often start far more than that. He tells 

 of having got 63 living queens in one batch, only 3 

 of which were in any way imperfect. The queens 

 are wonderfully proliflc. I saw immensely strong- 

 stocks, every available space peppered with eggs, 

 yet they are said not to be so liable to the swarming 

 fever as other races. After a short inspection of 

 stocks, I could identify the Cyprians by their dis- 

 position and movements. They have a certain touch- 

 me-not air. The Scotch motto, i\^f )/io mc impuir Ja- 

 t'O'si/, is theirs. They are very like the Italians, but 



