154 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 11, 



and that in spite of the popularity that 

 in these late years they have acquired, 

 and by which, of course, the queen- 

 breeders will profit. Yet, I think that 

 a decided advantage will be gained in 

 the direct importation of this beautiful 

 race, by the crossing between our best 

 queens and the drones of Cyprus. 



" The Cyprian bees were the great, 

 but not the sole aim of our journey. 

 Knowing that the apiary of Mr. Fiorini 

 was among the best in Italy, and the 

 skill with which lie manages his bees, I 

 was in great expectations. I am happy 

 to say my anticipation was exceeded. 



" Mr. Fiorini had wintered over 500 

 colonies of bees in 3 places and 4 apia- 

 ries. One of these places with 2 apiaries, 

 each of 100 colonies, is in the gard%n ad- 

 joining the residence of Mr. Fiorini, at 

 Monselice. Another apiary of 200 colo- 

 nies, of which I give the engraving (see 

 first page), is in one of the properties of 

 Mr. Fiorini, in a place named Meran- 

 dole, and a third in another property, 

 numbering above 100 colonies. 



" The apiaries or bee-houses of Mr. 

 Fiorini are made with roof's covered 

 with tiles, and supported by wooden 

 plates and rafters, under which a long 

 and solid beam holds two stories of 

 hives. Every one of the posts has an 

 iron foot which is plunged in a small 

 stone recipient of water, in order to ob- 

 tain a complete insulation. All the 

 hives are three stories high. 



"Some of Mr. Fiorini's hives are 

 double and even treble, and which can 

 be reduced to one by taking out the par- 

 titions. Experience has taught him, as 

 well as a number of others, that the best 

 way to obtain the greatest amount of 

 honey is to repress "natural swarming. 

 In spring he chooses from his colonies 

 the most populous, which he puts in the 

 triple hives ; as soon as one of the com- 

 partments is full he takes out one of the 

 division boards ; when both these com- 

 partments are full, he takes out another 

 partition. With such management, he 

 obtains over 30 kilo. (66 lbs.) of honey, 

 with enough honey for the bees to win- 

 ter on. 



" The apiary at Merendole faces the 

 east. The sun warms it only for half a 

 day. When the bees return from the 

 fields loaded with honey in the after- 

 noon, most of them, before entering the 

 hive, alight on the ground, which is cold, 

 and are unable to repair to their hives. 

 If the night is a little cold, and if the 

 sun does not shine the next morning, 

 most of them are lost. Mr. Fiorini, to 

 obviate this inconvenience has 4 men, 

 who with gloves gather the bees in large 

 pans, sometimes in great quantities. 

 These bees are put in a warm room and 

 enabled to return to their hives. 



" When I visited the apiaries of Mr. 

 Fiorini, only one was occupied ; all the 

 hives were gathered, in a large room 

 near each apiary, secure and dry in a 

 temperature which does not go under 

 -1 nor over -+1 (from 30° to 34°). A 

 humming a little stronger could be. 

 heard when we entered this winter 

 repository. 



"Every one can imagine how great 

 the work to manage such an apiary. 

 Such an undertaking could not succeed 

 but for the good order which I have ad- 

 mired at Mr. Fiorini's. Two large 

 rooms are used — one for the preserva- 

 tion of the combs, the other, facing the 

 north, is the working-room. In 2 large 

 cupboards are gathered thousands of 

 combs, empty or filled with honey. In 

 a third cupboard are the small combs 

 used in shipping the 800 queens that 

 Mr. Fiorini exports annually.* 



" Mr. Fiorini showed me also his cor- 

 respondence with the Italian Secreta- 

 ries of State and of Agriculture, and 

 with his agents in the Island of Java,t 

 in order to attempt the direct importa- 

 tion of the Apis dursata, which is larger 

 than ours. With a great deal of persist- 

 ence, Mr. Fiorini had nearly succeeded 

 in importing thisrace of bees, as I could 

 see by the following letter communica- 



* One-fourth of this exportation' comes to Mr. Ch. 

 Dadant, the translator.— ED. 



+ Prior to ordering beep from .lava. Mr. Fiorini had 

 condescended to consult me about the best waj I" 

 get these bees alive, and it was in accordance Willi 

 mv advice thatbe sentto Java the boxes all prepared 

 to receive the bees. Had be succeeded, I should 

 nave been the first to import the Apis cioTsatu int<- 

 this country. Yei, that such lmpi irtatlon will succeed 

 is very doubtful, on account of the difference in cli- 

 mate, the thermometer in Java never going under 

 50"; and because these bees are not accustomed to 

 live in cavities", but to*hang their combs under the 

 limbs of trees. CH. DiMKl. 



ted to him by the Secretary of State, 

 under date of Aug. 18, 1877 : 



"'Sir: In compliance with my letter 

 of March 28, I present to your notice a 

 report which comes to me from the royal 

 consul of Singapore. This royal func- 

 tionary writes me that in compliance 

 with information directed by Mr. Van 

 Oosterzee. consul to Batavia, and of 

 Messrs. Tidman, Balfour & Co., Mr. 

 Ferrari, of Buitenzorg, who was in- 

 trusted with the search for bees in this 

 Island, has succeeded, in some places, 

 in procuring some of these bees. 



" 'In view of the desire of Mr. Fiorini 

 to import these bees, and thinking your 

 signory would prefer the successful 

 sending through the peninsular line, I 

 have taken. steps to send them directly 

 from Batavia to Venetia. through the 

 English line, with a recommendation to 

 the agency of Singapore, to take all 

 possible precautions for the transporta- 

 tion and the placing of the boxes on 

 board. I beg your signory to bring to 

 the notice of Mr. Fiorini the forthcom- 

 ing arrival of the desired insects, so 

 that lie may be ready to take steps for 

 their reception. G. Mornielli.' 



" Mr. Fiorini was planning a bolder 

 scheme, and he had for a long time spo- 

 ken of it to me, but the American Ben- 

 ton has the start in going to Java, as 

 appears from his letters published in 

 the bee papers. As everybody will see, 

 Mr. Fiorini has more than one claim to 

 the public gratitude, and the President 

 of the Central Association, in giving 

 him the gold medal, was but the inter- 

 preter of the unanimous wish of the 

 Italian bee-keepers. 



"If these lines should induce some 

 bee-keeper to visit Mr. Fiorini, I will 

 be glad of it, for such a visit will be 

 productive of precious practical notions; 

 of encoaragement, and of the convic- 

 tion of the unexceptionable importance 

 of our pursuit. In remembrance of the 

 lively and cordial reception and of the 

 indefatigable condescension in satisfy- 

 ing my insatiable, and at times indis- 

 creet curiosity, I send to the bee-keeper 

 of Monselice an apiarian greeting. 



" G. Barbo." 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Central Idea in Wintering Bees. 



J. W. SICKINNEY, M. D. 



tering was lost sight of: viz., that of 

 maintaining a low, even temperature. 



I know some of our very best apiar- 

 ists who lost sight of the importance of 

 this, and resorted to frequently heating 

 their cellar by means of a stove last 

 winter. The result of this uneven and 

 sometimes high temperature, was dis- 

 astrous to the bees. Though in a per- 

 fectly dark cellar,brood-rearing was be- 

 gun early in the winter, which natur- 

 ally shortened the life of the old bees, 

 and as the young bees were deprived of 

 the necessary flight when one or two 

 weeks old, the result was disease and 

 death of many colonies. Much worse 

 results followed, however, in this vicin- 

 ity where bees were wintered out-of- 

 doors, 80 per cent at least having per- 

 ished in this and adjoining counties 

 during the past winter. 



Now for the manner in which I win- 

 tered my bees: With the assistance of 

 a hired man, I put 50 colonies of bees 

 in an under-ground cellar on October 

 23 last. On November 11,1 put 70 more 

 in the same cellar. Of the above 120 

 colonies, 23 were nuclei and 27 were 

 weak in bees and light in supplies, 

 leaving but 70 in good condition for 

 wintering, as regards quantity of bees 

 and ample supplies. I took some out 

 and placed them on their summer stands 

 March 21. Those first put in the cellar, 

 were not removed till April 7th. The 

 continuectcold weather kept them from 

 taking a cleansing flight till April 14th, 

 thus having been confined to their hives 

 for more than h\i months, (or 173 days.) 

 On moving them from the cellar, I 

 found 2 standard colonies dead, having 

 been smothered by the entrance becom- 

 ing closed, and 3 of the nuclei having 

 consumed their supplies, had died. 

 Some 4 or 5 of the weaker nuclei 

 chilled to death during the latter part 

 of March, and first part of April, leav- 

 ing 110 colonies that wintered safely 

 through this long cold winter in my 

 under-ground cellar, at a temperature 

 never above 45° nor below 33°. 



Camargo, 111., April 28th, 1881. 



Translated for the American Bee Journal. 



Shall Bees be Fed in Winter? 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Waxed Ends. 



B. HIX. 



In consideration of the unusual mor- 

 tality among bees the past winter, all 

 through the States lying north of the 

 State of Tennesee, I am disposed to 

 state my success in wintering. 



As spring is now fairly established, 

 and all danger from spring dwindling is 

 passed, we can the better judge of the 

 full merit of this or that mode of win- 

 tering bees. Many reports made in the 

 months of February and March of suc- 

 cessful wintering, will prove premature 

 and have to be largely revised; for to my 

 certain knowledge, in this section of the 

 country, many colonies that had strug- 

 gled through five months' of cold win- 

 ter-weather, perished during the first 

 part of April. 



For many years it has been a matter 

 of surprise to me that there should ex- 

 ist such diversity of opinion among 

 apiarists in regard to the best mode of 

 successfully wintering bees in the 

 Northern States. Every thoughtful 

 and observing apiarist must know or 

 ought to know, the more quiet bees are 

 kept the better they will winter. The 

 more evenly a temperature, between 35° 

 45° is maintained in the immediate vi- 

 cinity outside the hive, the better they 

 winter.. The purer the atmosphere that 

 enters the hive, the better they winter. 

 With these conditions and a sufficiency 

 of honey in the hive, all doubt can be 

 obviated about successfully wintering 

 bees. 



Can these conditions all be secured 

 ami maintained in any place so easily 

 as in a cellar? If not, then why take 

 the hazzard of out-door wintering? 

 Pack them as you will on summer 

 stands, in chaff, or whatever else you 

 please, you hardly expect to control the 

 temperature of the atmosphere in which 

 they live for the winter. Some one 

 might ask, has there not been many 

 failures the past winter, as in seasons 

 preceding, in cellar wintering? Most 

 certainly there has; and why? Because 

 the important central idea in cellar win- 



L. H. PAMMEL, JR. 



Az fur az mi own observation extends 

 glewcose is the best huniiy plant yit dis- 

 kovered ; it wil stan enny klimate or 

 sile, is purrennial in its babbits, and is 

 as ezy tew kultivate az a Kanada this- 

 sle, and full az eazy tew erraddicate. 

 Its bunny enps air shaller, sow a short 

 tonged bea is gest as good az one a foot- 

 long. If yew hev this plant growing in 

 yewer naberhood, a Be Journal is on- 

 nessary and overstocking onpossible. 



Ten year ago i new awl about beas 

 and waz so positive az to frekently al- 

 terkate with objectors on {cardinal 

 pints, but poor sesons and tuff winters, 

 sandswitched with agravated attacks or 

 long spring dwindles, haz dun fur me 

 what argyment culd never do, and now 

 i don't no enuff about beas 2 overstok 

 the market ; but ive found out won 

 thing : wilf nil old natur had jest az soon 

 kit won hunderd and foar kolonies az 

 one. I don't try to arger with bur 

 enny tpoar. She nose the hull story, 

 and wil hev the last word. 



I went 20 mile tew kail on a man that 

 grandilloquizes in the papers about hiz 

 " litle petts." lie had 2 strong hives in 

 a week kondition, and it wuz so nasty 

 around tbar I dident sta tew dinner. 



When i sea a amitewer watchin his 

 beas a falen into the sno, I drive rite 

 along; hiz kountenance iz enuff fur me. 



The man thatreportetha bigghunney 

 kropp and at the same time a large in- 

 krease ov kolonies, is purty stmre tew 

 hev hiz name writ into the order book 

 ov a glewcose seed store. 



During the late thaw i see a man ex- 

 aininnin his beas; tha wuz so quiet like 

 that i ventured klose. The konfident 

 look that he wore las fall wassent thar 

 now enny more, and as the okkasion 

 wuz won words cuddent reech, i took 

 mi departuer. 



When the freemometur wuz nappin 

 at 10 below, mi naber moved 13 kolonies 

 7 mile, and sot thum in his yard. He 

 sed he chused a kold da so az not to git 

 stung. Now i hate to meet a solium man, 

 but we met 2-day. Hiz bees air the 

 stingless variety. 



The following article on the above 

 subject, by Dr. Dzierzon, is from the 

 Beinen-Zeitung : 



" Too much honey in the fall is dan- 

 gerous, as all the cells will be filled with 

 honey, and the bees will have a very cold 

 place to winter in, and the consequences 

 are that many dead bees will be found 

 in the hive. Bees, like all other ani- 

 mals, require as small a space as possi- 

 ble in which to contract themselves and 

 keep warm. They are not only found 

 to occupy but a small space between 

 the combs, but in many of the cells bees 

 can be found ; perhaps more are found 

 in the cells than between the combs. 

 Now, if the cells are filled with honey 

 the cluster will be of an unequal size, 

 the cold sheets of honey will cause 

 dampness, and the uncapped honey be- 

 come sour and watery and lose its en- 

 tire aroma. This is only the case with 

 honey as soon as breeding stops. If the 

 honey is distasteful to the bee, some 

 other honey should be put in its place. 

 It is, therefore, advisable to take away 

 some of the sealed honey and store it 

 for winter use in feeding,. as this feed- 

 ing can be done to great advantage 

 when the bees take a purifying flight. 



" It is still better to have 3 or 4 colo- 

 nies in one hive if possible, and place 

 small partition boards, with holes, be- 

 tween the brood and honey chamber, 

 and put some honey in the storage cham- 

 ber, hy first removing the moss or hay ; 

 in this way bees can be fed without dis- 

 turbing them or causing excitement. 



" But should you give sugar candy or 

 anything of that nature, bees will eat 

 it, as it requires considerable moisture 

 to dissolve it— a great deal more so than 

 it does to dissolve honey. It is a well 

 known fact, that nothing can be more 

 dangerous to the bees than a disturb- 

 ance, especially if everything is closed 

 so that they cannot fly out ; for if they 

 are disturbed they exhaust themselves 

 in attempting to get out. Therefore it 

 is better never to close the entrance en- 

 tirely, unless for transportation, for it 

 is much better to lose a few hundred 

 bees in .this way than to lose the entire 

 colony. No sensible bee-keeper will 

 feed his bees after a fresh fall of snow, 

 or during the prevalence of a cold wind. 

 Not many bees will be lost when it is 

 quiet and cold, as they soon experience 

 a chill and quiet down". It is always best 

 to feed bees at dark, as they will not 

 then endeavor to fly, and all danger from 

 excitement will be avoided." 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Test Italian Queens. 



O. H. TOWNSEND. 



The method in general use is as fol- 

 lows : If all the workers show 3 yellow 

 bands they are classed as pure Italians, 

 and this is carried so far as to advise 

 the bending of the bees, or placing them 

 on a window, in order to discover the 

 bands. I am sure the above rule has 

 caused many a colony of hybrids to be 

 classed as pure Italians. 



I have several colonies of hybrids 

 which are % black in blood, the worker 

 bees of which all show the 3 bands, 

 without bending or placing them on a 

 window. 



This method of testing Italian bees 

 has led many to believe that the dark 

 Italians are crosser and more inclined 

 to sting than the light ones. As I am 

 ready to defend the dark Italians I shall 

 firmly plead for them—" not guilty." 

 Some who have Italians, and some well- 

 marked hybrids, call the latter dark 

 Italians, and they do not wish to use 

 queens from the latter because they 

 were too cross. These hybrids showed 

 the 3 bands, when the above directions 

 were followed, or, " when we looked for 

 them right," by bending the body, us- 

 ing plenty of smoke to cause them to 

 fill their sacks with honey, or placing 

 them on a window, etc. ! I am not 

 personal. I only write to discuss the 

 method of testing queens, which, ac- 

 cording to my judgment, has been found 

 wanting. As some may desire a better 

 test I will give it : 



