THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



261 



ANSWER BV HENRY ALLEY. 



I. All the new races of bees have 

 been thoroughly tested in the Bay 

 State apiaries, and none were found 

 to equal the pure Italians in any re- 

 spect. None of the new races or 

 their crosses combine so many de- 

 sirable qualities as the best strains of 

 Italians. 



Seven years ago we imported some 

 Carniolan queens. They were per- 

 fect so far as purity was desired, but 

 their swarming habits were such that 

 they were soon allowed to run out. 

 With us any race of bees will swarm 

 too much, though none can compete 

 with the Hungarian or Carniolans. 

 There is an American, some where 

 in Germany, who is shipping queens 

 of this latter race to this country, 

 and many people are led to believe 

 that they are superior to any other 

 race. Our statements regarding the 

 race of bees this same person has 

 been sending here rather hurt his 

 business, and we hope that what is 

 said in this connection will convince 

 any reader of the Apiculturist that 

 the Carniolans are as worthless as 

 some other imported bees that are 

 being sent here. 



Bear in mind that our best strains 

 of pure Italians were not reared in 

 Italy, but here in America. I never 

 saw a pure Italian queen, nor yet 

 heard any person say that they ever 

 received one from abroad. The 

 American Italians are superior to any 

 bees of this strain in the world, and 

 to the American beekeeper belongs 

 the credit for this great improvement 

 in the Italian. Don't purchase im- 

 ported queen bees ; they are not so 

 valuable as home-bred queens, and 

 they do not cost one-quarter as much. 



THE DB ONE A ND Q UEEN- TEA P. 



QUESTIOXS BY C. C. M. 



1. Would it be practicable and profit- 

 able to use queeu traps on one buudred 



30 



Jiives in an out apiary which is visited 

 only once or twice a weel^, no one iu 

 the meantime being present to watch 

 for swarms? 



2. Are there any large honey produc- 

 ers who have made a practice of us- 

 ing queen traps to catch queens of 

 issuing swarms? 



ANSWERS BY HENRY ALLEY. 



I. Yes, we think it would. Yet 

 all should understand that the drone- 

 trap does not prevent swarming, but 

 it does gives the apiarist full control 

 of his swarms when they issue. 



Suppose one has a hundred colo- 

 nies of bees in one or more places. 

 Now, is it not perfectly natural for 

 from one to ten swarms to issue at 

 the same time when the weather is 

 favorable ? What is to be done un- 

 der the circumstances providing the 

 apiarist is present and several colo- 

 nies, more or less, swarm and settle in 

 one immense cluster? To separate 

 and'divide into the proper size colo- 

 nies and provide each swarm with a 

 queen would be a big job, at least it 

 it would be to me, and I think it 

 would be to most people. Several 

 of tlie queens would be lost, in any 

 event. Now, suppose all this took 

 place when the apiarist was not pres- 

 ent and perhaps would not be there 

 for two or three days, what would be 

 the result ? All who have any acquain- 

 tance with bees know about what it 

 would be, and I need not state here. 



Well, suppose the hives were all 

 supplied with the drone and queen- 

 traps and from two to ten swarms is- 

 sued and all settled in one cluster 

 (if they do setUe ; generally they do 

 not when the trap is used) ; there- 

 suit would be, queens all trapped 

 and the bees returned to the hives 

 from which they issued, when in some 

 cases, and perhaps in a majority of 

 cases, the bees would come off again 

 the next day, provided the queen is 

 released from the trap. Now, right 

 here some one will say ; " then we 

 must be present and release the queen 

 every time a swarm issues?" Not so, 



