1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1433 



any boy of the same age who will make the 

 same progress and semi as good a picture of 

 his actual bee-handling as the one here 

 shown. — Ed.] 



EUROPEAN TRAVELS. 



A Visit to an Apiary in Italy; the Berlepsih 

 Hives Used by the Trapjiist Moi:ks. 



BY RALPH BENTON, B. S. 

 Assistant in Ento?>iology. University of California. 



[Perhaps we ought to explain that the writer. Mr. 

 Ralph Benton, is a son of Frank Benton, and, it 

 would appear, accompanied his father on his recent 

 trip through Europe, in quest of new races of bees. 

 The junior Mr. B. has furnished us additional 

 sketches which we hope to give later on. His st.vle 

 is natural and easy, and we believe our readers will 

 enjoy reading them.— Ed.] 



Out along the highway from Rome, past 

 the modern church of 8t. Paul without the 

 Gates, half hid in a eucalyptus grove, is the 

 old monastery of Tre Fontane. It was a hot 

 day in July, neaj" noon, when we reached 

 the cool of the shade and drank from the 

 spring by the drivew^ay. 

 We sent in a card by 

 the gardener w^hom we 

 found on the grounds 

 and strolled toward the 

 chapel containing some 

 old mosaics and hous- 

 ing the three fountains 

 which give the name to 

 the monastery. There 

 is an old legend told 

 that St. Paul struck the 

 ground here and imme- 

 diately the three foun- 

 tains gushed forth, all 

 of different tempera- 

 tures; and in proof of 

 this you may, with the 

 aid of a long-handled 

 dipper, di'ink from each 

 of these siaccessively 

 and determine the rel- 

 ative temperatures if 

 you like. 



These Trappist monks 

 are jovial fellows, and 



those we met were Germans. They were 

 just at dinner, and so we busied ourselves 

 by inspecting the old chapel and the 

 ground about it. We had not long to wait 

 before the gardener reappeared with Fra 

 Giuseppe, clad in his rough wool robe and 

 cow^l of dark brown, and with belt of white 

 cord and dangling tassels. 



"Benton" — yes, he knew that name — he 

 had read of "Frank Benton." "But the 

 lady will have to remain outside," and he 

 drew from tjeneath his robes the big clumsy 

 key that tmlocked the sacred cloisters, and 

 we, taking leave of our fairer companion, 

 squeezed thi'ough the half-open door which 

 clashed noisily behind us and was carefully 

 locked again by Fra Giuseppe. We passed 

 through the still and silent whitewashed 

 cloisters to another door, and found ourjelve's 



in the inner court with its well-cultivated 

 vineyard. Fi'a Giuseppe, having caught up 

 his broad-brimmed straw hat which he now 

 donned, led the way to the bee-house, where 

 the hum of bees i)ecame distin(;tly audible, 

 in proof of his previous statement of being 

 familiar with the name Benton he now pro- 

 duced from a Ijox a well-made Benton mail- 

 ing-cage. In the absence of an awl the old 

 monk had burned the ventilation holes in the 

 grooves at the sides, thus insuring plenty of 

 air, as the bees could not, through moisture, 

 close the openings by swelling, as might 

 have been the case had he been content to 

 punch them. But we had our own cages 

 with us, all provisioned, ready for the recep- 

 tion of the queens and their attendants, and 

 Fra Giuseppe now busied himself about light- 

 ing his smoker. 



The house was built in an L, with the en- 

 trances of the colonies opening on the partly 

 enclosed portion. The hives used were of 

 the Berlepsch style. These open at the rear, 

 and take two, three, and even four sets of 

 combs, one above the other. The frames are 



A GLIMPSE INTO AN APIARY IN ITALY. 



perhaps one-third to one-half the size of a 

 Langstroth frame, and of about the same 

 I'elative depth and length. They rest on rab- 

 bets, and are parallel to the entrance —being 

 removed from the I'ear with the aid of a pair 

 of plyers. These hives may have two or 

 three 'advantages: The brood-chamber is at 

 once easily inspected without having to lift 

 off one or two heavy top stories; the honey 

 stored in the rear of the brood-chamber caii 

 be removeil; and the whole operation of 

 opening a hive can be accomplished from 

 within the house without coming in contact 

 with the Might l^ees or the ))ees of other col- 

 onies. Manipulation is necessarily slow, and 

 extracted honey is almost exclusively pro- 

 duced. It is extremely difficult to find a 

 queen in a sti'ong colony, because only one 

 comb ii uccessil)le at a time, and with the re- 



