90 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 23, 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Putting Wires into Comb Foundation. 



J. Q. WIIITTEN. 



Mr. John F. Cowan, in his article on 

 "The Practical use of Foundation," 

 published in the Bee Journal of 

 March 9, Bays: " It lias been practically 

 demonstrated to my satisfaction that 

 these results can only be obtained by 

 Mr. Given's method of introducing the 

 wires, and if by a happy combination 

 the Dunham foundation could be made 

 and wired by the Given or a similar 

 process, the foundation controversy 

 would be virtually ended." 



I would like tn say to Mr. Cowan and 

 others who may be interested, that last 

 seas. hi I hived about 40 full sized natu- 

 ral colonies, on Dunham foundation, 

 in Quinby frames, prepared in the fol- 

 lowing manner: The frame is wired by 

 sewing in 2 horizontal wires, spaced on 

 so that there will be .'! equal spaces 

 from the top bar down. I use a trian- 

 gular top-bar and fasten the founda- 

 tion by pressing it down to the bar with 

 the thumb and then running a stream 

 of melted wax and rosin over it. Then 

 by running a wheel, made of a cent, 

 over the wire I imbed the wire into the 

 foundation; this also forms a groove in 

 the foundation in which I run a stream 

 of melted wax which covers the wire, 

 and when drawn out will be perfect and 

 will neither sag nor break out by ex- 

 tracting. There should be a good half 

 inch of space btween the foundation 

 and bottom bar, as it will settle enough 

 to bulge the comb if left full length. 

 To give it a thorough trial I hived 2 

 heavy natural colonies in one hive with 

 the mercury at 90 in the shade and bass- 

 wood honey coming in very fast, and 

 when drawn out every conib was per- 

 fect. By bending a spoon so that it 

 will pour a small stream and with a lit- 

 tle practice, you will find it a short task 

 to fasten the foundation in the frames. 



Genoa, N. Y., March 14, 1881. 



The introduction of a few colonies of 

 these bees into Italy would have been 

 unable to effect the smallest change in 

 the race then existing ; for by our intro- 

 duction of Italian bees we have expe- 

 rienced how hard it is to overcome the 

 returning to the type which is prevalent 

 in a country. Besides, although we 

 have had too little time to study the 

 habits of the Cyprian bees, having re- 



i cei veil our queens last summer only, we 

 have noticed that, while they resemble 



I in color the Italian, their habits are not 

 the same. For instance, the Cyprian 

 bees do not cling to the combs as per- 

 sistently as do the Italians, and resem- 

 ble more the blacks in this respect ; the 

 Cyprian queens, like the common 

 queens, are more easily frightened, and 

 more difficult to lind, than the Italian 

 queens. 



As to their other qualities we are una- 

 ble to say anything. It will take a few- 

 seasons to test them thoroughly. It is, 



I therefore, desirable to see them tested 

 by a great number of bee-keepers in 



i comparison with Italian bees. 



I read in the Italian bee paper, L'Api- 



\ coltore, for January, just received, that 

 the Central Society of Italian Bee- 

 Keepers will have an exhibition on the 

 first of May, to which the bee-keepers 

 are invited to send bees from every part 

 of the country (probably to answer the 

 assertion of Mr. Jones, that there are 

 black bees in Italy), in order to compare 

 the varieties which can exist on the en- 

 tire peninsula. The report of the com- 

 mission of this society will thus put an 

 end to the discussions between those 

 who contend that there are black bees 

 in Italy, and those who say that the 

 Italian bees are all pure. Yet, it is well 

 to remember here, that in Italy, as well 

 as in Germany, they count but two yel- 

 low rings ; for they do not count as a 

 ring the first segment, to which the tho- 

 rax is attached. 

 Hamilton, 111., Feb. 5, 1881. 



For tbe American lice Journal. 



Importing Beesifrom Italy. 



CHAS. DADANT. 



Mr. A. Salisbury, under the above 

 heading, says that "It is no longer a 

 question: the Italian bee of Italy is not 



a distinct race Later investigation 



proves the fact that there are black bees 

 in Italy, as anywhere else, even in the 

 vicinity of Koine itself." 



Mr. Jones, at the Convention in Cin- 

 cinnati last fall, asserted that he had 

 seen black bees at several places in 

 Italy, even in the vicinity of Rome. 

 All my inquiries, as well as the reports 

 of prominent and disinterested bee- 

 keepers of Italy, such as Mr. Mona and 

 Dr. Dubini, prove that there are no hy- 

 brid bees in Italy, and, of course, no 

 black bees. 



Will Mr. Jones tell us in which apiaries 

 he saw black bees V Of course, by black 

 bees we understand entire colonies of 

 black bees. Then, he saw also colonies 

 of hybrid bees, for the mixing could 

 not lie lire veil ted. 1 bit if Mr. Jones saw 

 only a few black, or set mingly black bees, 

 in a colony, this circumstance, caused 

 either by the dark contents of their 

 stomachs, or by some oilier accidental 

 cause, we cannot infer from it that there 

 are black or impure bees in Italy. I 

 hope that Mr. Jones will answer this 

 question. 



Mr. Jones adds that, in his opinion, 

 the Italian bees were descended from 

 the bees of Holy Land, or those on the 

 Island of Cyprus. Such an opinion 

 raises the question : Are the yellow bees 

 from Cyprus, from Syria, or from Italv. 

 the original bees ; or the black lues, of 

 more northern climates, the original 

 bees, the yellow color being only an im- 

 provement ? 



According to the law of natural se- 

 lection, the yellow beesof these three 

 countries are about similar, because the 

 three countries enjoy a mild climate. 

 The idea of Mr. Jones' that the Italian 

 bees descended from the bees of ( iyprus 

 or of Syria, cannot be sustained, for it 

 leads to the idea of large importations 

 of bees from these countries, into Italv, 

 at a time when the means of transporta- 

 tion were few, long and difficult. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bees and Grapes. 



REV. M. MAHIN, D. D. 



I notice that the question whether 

 bees destroy sound grapes is again be- 

 ing discussed. I have been a bee- 

 keeper for 11 years and during most of 

 that time have raised grapes enough 

 for family use, and I have given con- 

 siderable time and attention to the 

 question under discussion. All my ob- 

 servations go to show that bees do not 

 puncture sound grapes. I have seen 

 them sucking the juice from grapes 

 that had been broken by birds, and have 

 picked off the broken grape, and 

 watched the result. The bees would 

 run about over the bunch hunting for 

 an opening, and finally abandon the 

 search. Last season a great many 

 grapes were destroyed or injured in this 

 part of the country, and 1 gave the 

 matter special attention. Many of the 

 grapes cracked more or less from the 

 effects of rains following dry weather, 

 and many more were broken more or 

 less by birds. As forage was scarce the 

 bees worked industriously on these 

 broken grapes until they were all gone. 

 But on all the bunches there were some 

 grapes that were not broken, and these 

 remained on the vines until late in the 

 season. After the juice had been 

 sucked from all the broken skins I saw 

 the bees for many days vainly searching 

 for openings from which they might 

 Obtain the supplies they had been ac- 

 customed to draw from the broken 

 fruit. These sound grapes remained 

 on the vines, in some cases, for weeks 

 after the bees had ceased to get any- 

 thing from the broken ones. Now it is 

 plain that the juice of these very ripe 

 grapes would have been quite as accep- 

 table to them as that from the ones they 

 are accused of having punctured anil 

 destroyed. And to my mind it is clear 

 that if they had punctured and 

 destroyed as many as they are accused 

 of doing, they would not have become 

 suddenly reformed as the grapes became 

 sweeter and more delicious. I will not 

 alii r m that the bees cannot puncture the 

 skin of a grape, but I do affirm that as 

 far as my very careful observation en- 

 ables me to judge, they do not. And 

 if I am correct in this the injury done 



to the grapes is very small. The injured 

 grapes would spoil in a few days if the 

 bees were not to touch them. 



As far as I have been able to observe 

 wasps, hornets, &c, do little injury to 

 grapes. The mischief results mostly 

 from the crackingof the skin, by a very 

 few days, even, of wet weather after it 

 has been dry for some time. The skin 

 of the grapes becomes so full that a jar 

 from the wind or from the alighting of 

 a bird on the bunch, will cause them to 

 crack, and then, if there is a dearth of 

 honey, they are sure to be sucked dry 

 by the bees, with more or less help 

 from yellow jackets, hornets, and 

 wasps. It is possible that in some cases 

 the skins are cut by wasps, &c, but 1 

 think the cases are exceptional. 



Huntington, Ind., March 4, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Use of Separators for Box Honey. 



OREINER BROTHERS. 



In starting an apiary it is of great im- 

 portance to adopt a hive that will prove 

 satisfactory to the manager, in all its 

 features, for the present as well as for 

 the future. It is not an easy matter af- 

 ter an apiary has been started and hives 

 and appliances have accumulated, to 

 change the sizes or dimensions of such, 

 if they should not be satisfactory. In 

 the different manifestations of the hive 

 we find that it is necessary to have 

 brood frames and sections interchange- 

 able, in fact, it is still more convenient 

 to have all the different parts of the 

 hives as uniform as mechanical work- 

 manship can produce them, so that 

 frames, honey-boards, division-boards, 

 covers, sections, mats, &c, may be 

 picked up anywhere and adjusted to 

 any hive desired. 



The use of separators is another fea- 

 ture of this kind; if once adopted and 

 the bees arranged accordingly, it may- 

 cause considerable trouble to remodel 

 a lot of appliances, especially if sepa- 

 rators of any perceptible thickness are 

 used. 



In the Bee;Journal for Feb. 2, Mr. 

 Heddon gives some very good hints on 

 " hive and section making," but we can 

 not endorse all hispoints,andin this ar- 

 ticle we refer in particular to his clos- 

 ing sentence. 



It seems strange to us that Mr. Hed- 

 don pronounces separators " nuisances," 

 whilst other prominent bee-keepers, 

 and we believe the majority, use them 

 and advocate their use. It must cer- 

 tainly be a query to young beginners, 

 who seek information amongst the con- 

 tributors of the Journal, to encounter 

 such square contradictions. Our ex- 

 perience is about as follows: 



The 2 first years of our experience in 

 bee-keeping found us equipped with 

 open surplus cases, we mean by surplus 

 cases the adjustable half-story, with 

 the proper number of frames con- 

 taining sections. The seasons were 

 good and the crops abundant, but the 

 shape of a good share of our honey was 

 anything but desirable; it was not uni- 

 form in thickness nor even; some be- 

 ing thick on one end and thin on the 

 other, some were missed entirely, whilst 

 the adjoining one bulged out to take up 

 tbe space; in short, the variations were 

 many. 



To glass and crate this honev for mar- 

 ket cost us considerable trouble and we 

 concluded to try separators. The 2-~> 

 cases we had prepared and used the 

 next season at our honey apiary proved 

 to be a success; the honey was "just 

 splendid;" the sections in shape, thick- 

 ness and weight were as near perfect as 

 could be desired, and we decided at 

 once to produce honey in no other way. 

 However, we were not entirely satis- 

 tied; we knew separators were objected 

 to by some bee-keepers on account of 

 a smaller vield. Mr. Heddon says, on 

 page 88 of the Journal, " These sepa- 

 rators cost me too great a portion of my 

 surplus crop." 



To satisfy ourselves on this point we 

 used the following season about 100 

 cases, rigged as the first i">, with sena- 

 tors, which we scattered in our differ- 

 ent apiaries side by side with open 

 ones. The result was that we noticed 

 very little difference, if any, in the 

 amount of honey stored, and the editor's 



opinion, on page 50, was exactly our ex- 

 perience. 



Again, Mr. Heddon claims the first 

 i ost and trouble of manipulating to be 

 objectionable. We admit separators 

 are an expense, but they need not be 

 very costly. We use basswood, costing 

 us less than a cent each, and even at 

 twice that cost, would it not be econ- 

 omy then to expend a comparative 

 small amount if we can thereby produce 

 honey in much more attractive shape V 

 Besides we claim separators lessen the 

 trouble of manipulating instead of in- 

 creasing it. The reason we use wood 

 is because it is cheaper than metal and 

 we believe better adapted, on account 

 of its being the most natural material 

 for bee-habitations. 



Since we introduced separators the 

 percentage of unfinished honey is 

 greatly reduced. At the end Of the 

 honey season we formerly found open 

 cases almost filled with comb and 

 honey and not one single finished sec- 

 tion among them. This is not so much 

 the case since we use separators; when 

 the (low of honey begins to diminish, 

 we have noticed our bees to be at work 

 in a portion of the sections, whilst the 

 remainder would not be occupied at all: 

 we have also taken off cases at the end 

 of a honey How, which were entirely 

 empty, except 2 or 8 sections, and these 

 were finished and marketable. To be 

 sure these are extremes, but it shows 

 the benefit of separators. 



It might appear from the last part of 

 this article, that we apply surplus cases 

 regardless of the working capacity of 

 our colonies. Circumstances may 

 sometimes compel .us to do so, but we 

 aim to give our bees no more surplus 

 room than they can occupy. 



Naples, N. Y., March 6, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Texas for Bees and Honey. 



DR. J. e. lat. 



I write to answer several communica- 

 tions in regard to the adaptability of 

 our great State to beerkeeping, and as 

 apiculture is engrossing the minds of 

 many of the most energetic, progressive 

 and scientific men of our land, I recog- 

 nize the difficulty of even venturing an 

 opinion. As our great State is so varied 

 in climate and Bora, I will state that 

 my remarks have reference to my own 

 section of perhaps a radius of 100 miles. 

 I have lived in Texas since 1850. I 

 passed my boyhood days on her beauti- 

 ful prairies, amid her thousands of 

 (lowers of every hue, freighting our in- 

 comparable sea breeze with more than 

 Arcadian sweetness, silence banished 

 from her woodland slopes by the joyous 

 carol of beautiful song birds. Ever de- 

 lighting in the marvelous beauties of 

 nature, how could I fail to love so beau- 

 teous a sun-lit homer' Yes, and as a 

 grown up boy I love it still. Creek nor 

 Soman, not even Wm. Tell, loved his 

 country better than 1, therefore my 

 bee-keeping friends will pardon me if 

 I seem to color a little too strongly. 

 Our State is being filled with energetic 

 farmers who are reaping rich harvests 

 from the virgin soil, for nearly all kinds 

 of seeds that are sown spring forth un- 

 der the genial rays of the sun to 60 and 

 an hundred fold. 



Seasoning by analogy I opine that 

 bee-keeping will result in like manner. 

 Apiculture is in its nascent form here, 

 but the sun of science begins to warm 

 its quickening form. I have studied 

 the best works on apiculture, but have 

 not given it a thorough practical test 

 yet; I purpose doing so this season. 

 There are but few bees in our country, 

 all blacks except my little apiary of 7 

 Colonies, which consists of hybrids and 

 blacks. I intend to Italianize in March, 

 for they indeed possess many advan- 

 tages over the blacks. 



I have just wintered successfully in 

 simplicity hives (plain) without any sort 

 of protection whatever, and this is the 

 coldest winter I ever saw in Texas. 

 Dispatches state that at this time al- 

 most the entire North is covered with 

 snow. While my bees were in a quiver 

 of excitement to-day, Feb. 4, bringing 

 in rich loads of pollen and honey from 

 turnips, mustards, &c, I could but 

 delight in their rush of joy. How dif- 



