94 



THE AMERICAN APICULTVRIST. 



tect the bees and combs by placing some 

 warm material over the frames, then cover 

 all with a close fitting cap. 



2. If the colony is small, would confine 

 the bees on a few frames, say about five. 



3. Contract the entrance to one-half 

 inch if the colony is a weak one, and leave 

 it open 'about two inches where a colony 

 is strong. 



4 I advise feeding a small amount of 

 pure honey to stimulate brood rearing. 



5. If the weather is pleasant and the 

 bees flying freely and seem to be searching 

 for pollen, I think something should be 

 given them as a substitute, until natural 

 pollen can be had. I have found wheat 

 flour an excellent thing for the purpose. 

 There is an advantage in giving wheat 

 flour. When placed in some warm corner 

 of the apiary, the bees will, if the sun shines 

 only for an hour, take enough into the 

 hive to last them several days. Cotton 

 seed meal is also said to be a very good 

 substitute for pollen. 



A BUNDLE OF INQUIRIES. 



London Bridge., Va. 

 Editor Am. Apiculturist. 



I am not a candidate for literary 

 honors, but I am anxious to know 

 which race of bees is generally 

 considered by the majority of 

 beekeepers to be the best and most 

 profitable. This question is very 

 important to beekeepers who have 

 a number of hives of native bees 

 as I have, which they wish to im- 

 prove by introducing other bees of 

 the best race ; and now, to arrive 

 at a conclusion on the question, I 

 would like to ask the following 

 questions to be answered by an 

 authority, such as Mr. H. Alley 

 or one who has had the opportunity 

 of judging. 



1. Which race has the most 

 prolific queens? that is, which 

 queen will occupy the greatest 

 number of brood frames, and how 

 many? 



2. Which is the most gentle 

 race ? 



3. What bees have the longest 

 tongue ? 



4. What bee can carry the most 

 honey ? 



5. If a strong colony of each 

 race are all placed side and side 

 in the same apiary, everything 

 being equal, which will gather the 

 most honey ? 



6. Wliat hive is most used? 

 and what one do you use in the 

 experimental bee farm ? 



R. D. A. 



ANSWERS BY OLD BEEKEEPER. 



1. We have found the Syrian 

 queens the most prolific of any 

 race we have tested. They will 

 use every available cell for brood. 

 While queens of this race are very 

 prolific, many do not consider them 

 the best bees for profit. Syrians 

 and Italians crossed are far supe- 

 rior to the pure Syrian in every 

 respect. We would select the Ital- 

 ians for their mild disposition, 

 and the Syrians for vigor and hardi- 

 ness. These two qualities com- 

 bined produce a most desirable 

 strain. Syrian drones should be 

 used to mate the Italians, though 

 it would make but little difference 

 which way they were crossed. We 

 have known this strain of bees 

 to occupy fifteen L. frames with 

 brood. 



2. The Italians and Carniolans 

 are the most gentle races. 



3. Mr. S. M. Locke has a 

 very ingenious instrument for 

 measuring the tongue of the bee. 

 We believe it has not been tested, 

 and so far as we know no one can 

 answer this question correctly. It 

 has been said that the Italians have 

 the longest tongues, as they work 

 and gather honey from the seed or 

 second crop of red clover. This 

 does not demonstrate that the 

 tongue of the Italian, bee is longer 

 than thatof otlier bees, as we have 

 found bees of nearly every race 

 and strain working upon red clover, 

 equally as freely as the Italians. 



