268 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 24, 



For tho American Bee Journal. 



Value of the Cyprian Bees. 



TO. M. BOGEB8.D.D.8. 



The evidence of the Bee JOURNAL 

 against the character of the Cyprian 

 bee appears to he cumulative, and 1 

 think the inferences pretty fair one 

 thai the editor's judgment begins to 

 yield to the pressure. It would !»■ 

 presumption in me to attempt to in- 

 struct you, but pray permit me, in 

 your columns, to advise those who 

 are in the possession of pure Cyprians 

 to be careful how they let a good thing 



slip their fingers. 1 have now had 



Cyprians from the Jones-Benton im- 

 portation for about one year. 1 am 

 sure that I do not. at this writing, find 

 any cause for regret in the fact 

 that I sacrificed a nice strain of Ital- 

 ians for them. 



Hybrids, except in rare instances, 

 are ranked as the most vicious and ir- 

 ritable bees, and we ought not, of 

 course, to expect that Cyprians, when 

 crossed, should be an exception. I 

 think extreme crossness or "ferocity" 

 (the word speaks the nervousness of 

 the writer of it] in a colony of Cyp- 

 rians, imported though it be, will, in 

 itself, constitute a weighty argument 

 for the impure mating of the queen. 



My experience is to the effect that 

 Cyprian queens mated with Italian 

 drones give a progeny, in frequent 

 cases, that is unbalanced from the 

 character of either parent. 1 bred 

 colonies in 1880 from Cyprian queens 

 mated to Italian drones that carried, 

 as far as I could see, all the character- 

 istics assigned by Mr. Benton to the 

 pure Cyprian, excepting, only, the 

 case of their queen progeny. From 

 the same stock I bred other colonies 

 just as nice as the above, that I would 

 pit against the continent as lighters, 

 and yet 1 have not known a single in- 

 stance in which even the worst of 

 these have volunteered an attack. 



I cannot but regard it as a matter of 

 regret that Mr. Jones should leave Sy- 

 rian bees with Mr. Benton on the Is- 

 land of Cyprus. This, I think, is a 

 fairly presumable fact. It is to be re- 

 gretted in a less degree, only in the 

 event that his sales from this source 

 have been less, that Mr. Fiorini should 

 have established his Cyprian apiary 

 in the presence of Italians. We owe 

 a debt to the past as well as to the fu- 

 ture. The censured character that 

 falls to the inheritance of the Cyprian, 

 under thousands of years of isolation 

 and trial, ought not, if valuable, to 

 be thoughtlessly or recklessly lost; it 

 seems a moral wrong to do so. From 

 my observation I think the Cyprian 

 has everything to lose and nothing to 

 gain from crossing, whether with Sy- 

 rians or Italians. 



I shall not indorse the Cyprian for 

 the full measure of gentleness that 

 is exhibited by the Italian, but I do 

 affirm that Mr. Benton's statements 

 on this point are, to the letter, true, 

 and I boldly assert that his affirma- 

 tion is worth more than the denial of a 

 thousand loose ex peri i neuters added to 

 that of anoi her thousand of careless ob- 

 servers. I shall advise no one to give 

 up Italians for Cyprians, but to those 

 who make the experiment or who bai e 

 already invested, I say, if you are 

 first sure of the purity of your slock 

 and understand its character, you can 

 write as your second proposition — suc- 

 cess. Let the uninitiated know that 

 the tests of purity, as applied to Ital- 

 ians, are not a test for Cyprians, for 

 a Cyprian queen mated with an Italian 

 drone will produce a race so close!] 

 resembling pine Cyprians that it will 

 take more than ordinary powers Of 



discrimination to distinguish the dif- 

 ference, and yet in character the bees 

 are essentially different. Hence I in- 

 fer that many breeders who sell un- 

 tested Cyprians, having not the ghost 

 of a chance for pure mating, will vend 



many bees that will stand the test of 

 the X bands. What is the test of a 



pure Cyprian? [have not found it in 

 the worker progeny, but I will not 

 deny that a more acute observer might 



do so. I am almost sine that tor the 

 most of us it must be sought in the 



worker and the queen progeny consid- 

 ered together in every case. As far 

 as I have observed, tin' queen progeny 

 of a mismated mother will manifest 

 the mating. If this be so it will never 

 lie a popular fact among breeders until 

 buyers are willing to pay for what 

 they get. Many of these untested 

 Cyprians of 1881 and their mongrel 

 progeny will appear at the bar as bla- 

 tant witnesses and vociferous accusers 

 of the pure Cyprian. Could any race 

 of bees sustain character under the 

 conditions likely to be engendered 

 against this "noble bee ?" 

 Shelby ville, Ky., Aug. 15, 1881. 



[We want all the light possible re- 

 garding the Cyprian and Syrian bees. 

 If they, or either of them, possess su- 

 perior traits, why does not Dr. Rogers 

 enumerate them ? It is an admitted 

 tact, that the progeny of an Italian 

 queen mated with a black drone, are 

 worse in disposition than the blacks ; 

 per contra, it is claimed that the prog- 

 eny of a black queen mated with an 

 Italian drone, are more amiable and 

 vigorous. This will probably account 

 for the frequent assertions that hy- 

 brids are the best workers. Again, 

 is it not possible to combine the better 

 traits of the Italians, Cyprians and 

 Syrians, or a majority of them — if any 

 are superior ? — Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Exhibiting Bees at Fairs. 



J. M. BROOKS. 



Having read the article on "Manage- 

 ment of Bees at Fairs," I will say that, 

 as I have had a little experience in that 

 line, I am of the opinion that our ef- 

 forts to instruct the public in this way 

 will prove fruitless. Several years ago 

 I obtained permission to exhibit some 

 bees at our State Fair; in due time I 

 arrived at the grounds and opened up 

 my bees. The public were greatly in- 

 terested and surprised to see how eas- 

 ily the combs could be handled, the 

 queens found and shown them, and all 

 without the use of smoke, veil, or 

 gloves. Although the crowd contin- 

 ually surrounded the bees, not one re- 

 ceived a sting. Everything seemed to 

 be working nicely, when the superin- 

 tendent came up ; taking me to one 

 side, he said that I would have toclose 

 up my hives, that they were not sting- 

 ing anyone, but were giving the "candy 

 stands" trouble. I explained the mat- 

 ter to him, that, as there was an apiary 

 of blacks kept in the neighborhood 

 it was very plain to be seen that as 

 my bees were Italians he would find 

 that about one of my bees to .511 of the 

 blacks were causing the trouble. He 

 admitted the fact, but said that the 

 candy men would not be satisfied un- 

 less my bees were shut up. I confined 

 them to the hives that evening after 

 dark. 



The next day I visited all the stands, 



and SUCh a sight — pound after pound 

 of stick candy lay on their counters, 

 exposed not only to tempt the poor in- 

 nocent bees to a feast, but to all the 

 dirty Hies. also. Bees were every- 

 where, completely driving away pro- 

 prietor and Customers, and taking 



everything before them. Of course, 



they never volunteered to sting any- 

 one unless pinched, nevertheless their 



presence tilled everybody with fear. 



Thousands perished at the "sweet 

 cider" presses, and made things lively 

 tor the "hot-candy" men, who boil and 

 serve their candy on the grounds. Of 

 Course all were free iii laying the whole 



trouble to the "confounded bee man," 



ill bringing beeson the grounds, when 

 the truth was I hail kept them closed 

 up. except the one day. 



Stepping up to a stand kept 1 • \ a 

 lad] i where the bees were just swarm- 

 ing) I remarked that the bees were 



very troublesome, when she replied: 

 "Yes; if it hadn't a been for that. 

 plagued bee man we shouldn't a had 

 all this bother. The managers made 



him take 'em off the grounds, and here 

 he's went and left all these a Hying 

 around here ; confound 'em, I wish 

 they were all dead ! " 



I could not help smiling at the view- 

 she had of the matter, so explained 

 that she was laboring under a mistake, 

 that I was the bee man and had closed 

 up my bees the evening before, and 

 that those flying belonged to hives 

 kept outside the grounds. 



I had been to some trouble and ex- 

 pense in getting my beeson exhibi- 

 bition, and, although not to blame tor 

 the hundredth pail of the trouble, yet 

 I had to be ruled out in order to sat- 

 isfy the confectioners. I attached no 

 blame to the superintendent ; he acted 

 and reasoned in a gentlemanly man- 

 ner, saying (as I fully understood) that 

 they were ignorant of the cause 

 of the trouble, and as long as 

 they could see my hives open they 

 would not be convinced but what every 

 one of the bees belonged to my hives 



I would not discourage anyone from 

 the undertaking, but will say unless 

 there has been an understanding "all 

 around" beforehand, that sweets and 

 everything to tempt the bees must be 

 kept under cover, there will be trouble. 



As to persons getting stung, then- 

 need be little fear if the exhibitor 

 knows his business ; if he does not he 

 had better leave the bees at home. 



Columbus, Ind., Aug, 10, 1881. 



[Mr. Brooks would now probably 

 meet with more encouragement for 

 his beautiful bees ; and certainly noth- 

 ing could be more interesting than a 

 practical lecture from him in connec- 

 tion with his exhibition. Last fall, at 

 the Wisconsin State Fair, a gentleman 

 of Madison exhibited his bees, and ex- 

 plained the methods of manipulating 

 them. This season, with a good yield, 

 his extracted honey has been sold as 

 fast as obtained at comb honey prices. 

 This is what is wanted, and bees are 

 of much more importance to the coun- 

 try than hot glucose candy.— Ed.] 



the hive on top, and long enough to 

 reach down to the bottom of the 

 frames, smoke the colony, take oil the 

 surplus arrangements, contract the 

 colon] to the proper size, put in divis- 

 ion-boards, till the empty space with 

 dry chaff, or any dry absorbent that 

 may be handy, such as lags, line hay, 

 or straw, place the blanket on the top 

 of the frames, then drop the end of 

 the blanket down back of the frames. 

 tuck the edges in nicely, close up the 

 hive and fill the top or upper story 

 with an absorbent, cover the hive to 

 keep perfectly dry. I bore a J^-inch 

 hole in the front of hive, about % of 

 tin- way iqi from the entrance, front 

 the hives to the south, and all is ready. 

 I have wintered my bees with suc- 

 cess for at least 15 years, and I know 



whereof I speak. People are depend- 

 ing too much in chaff packing outside 

 of the hive; they must have at least 

 one end of the frames to run to the 

 hive without packing, and that end 

 should be the front, ami the hive must 

 front the south. All the bees that 

 were in niv town are dead, except 

 mine, which wintered safely. I have 

 135 colonies, and my loss in winter 

 was 6 colonies, 2 of which became 

 queenless, 2 were destroyed by mice, 

 one starved and one died with dysen- 

 tery. This has been a very good sea- 

 son for honey. My bees have had no 

 rest since the fruit bloom ; there has 

 been a constant How of honey. 

 Butler. Ind., July 21. 1881. 



For the American Bee Journul. 



Preparing Bees for Winter. 



L. .1. DIEIIL. 



Now is the time to prepare colonies 

 for safe wintering. First, see that 

 each colony has a prolific queen, and 

 if it has not already enough honey. In- 

 sure that the colony has enough bees 

 to lill up for winter as soon as the fall 

 bloom comes. Each comb should have 

 at least one hole through it, for a win- 

 ter passage, for the bees to pass from 

 one comb to another, without passing 

 around the frame. I have examined 

 many a colony of bees that have been 

 wintered in a careless way, that were 

 not provided with winter passages, 

 and have starved with plenty of honey 

 on the other side of the comb. 1 fee] 

 certain that if they had had a passage 

 through the comb they would liave 

 survived the winter, [fan] colonies 

 tail to gather enough honey tor winter, 

 in the fall, unite all such together, for 

 vou can make one good colony out of 



2 or 3 poor ones, and I of ten find colo- 

 nies thus treated the very best colo- 

 nics in the spring. 



1 early prepare my colonies for win- 

 ter, on the summer stands. This is 

 the critical point in wintering bees, 

 and it must be done in good season so 



that the bees can properly finish up 



the work before the frost cuts oil' the 

 bloom. I have read the published re- 

 ports vcrv carefully, and can account 

 in no other way for the bad results of 

 last winter but'by the neglect to have 

 the bees prepared in good time. They 

 should have at least 2 or 3 weeks pleas- 

 ant weather before winter sets in, to 

 seal up and clean the hive ; then, if 

 properly packed inside the hive and 

 kept dry, they will winter in good 

 condition. 



This is my plan for preparing bees 

 for winter, and it works to a charm. 



After the fall season is over for sur- 

 plus, I take a blanket made the size of 



For the American Bee Journal. 



The Origin of Drones. 



(.'. .1. UOIUNSON. 



In a paper read before the Entomo- 

 logical Society, published on the lirst 

 page of the Bee Journal, of July 

 27. Prof. A. J. Cook wrote : " Though 

 doubt is sometimes expressed as to 

 the origin of drones by parthenogene- 

 sis, there is no such doubt among in- 

 telligent apiarists." If all intelligent 

 apiarists agree on any certain point, 

 why mention a doubt concerning Un- 

 admitted fact, UnleSS the writer thereof 

 assumes to dispose of or settle the 

 question of who rank as intelligent, 

 and those who do not y Said writer 

 was well aware that I. for one, " ex- 

 press doubt," yea, controvert the doc- 

 trine that teaches parthenogenesis in 

 honey bees. 



Mr. Cook, providing he is reliable 

 authority on the subject he discussed, 

 was aware that at least two intelligent 

 apiarists, namely, the lamented Major 

 Munn, a learned physiologist and en- 

 thusiastic apiarist, wrote thus: "Par- 

 thenogenesis, so far as the honey bee 

 is concerned, would be difficult to 

 prove with all the voluntary muscles 

 in the bees' abdomen, or any pressure 

 Of the cells that might tie brought to 

 bear on the oviperous queen bee." 

 lie further says : " The proof is want- 

 ing that the eggs may not have al- 

 ready been fecundated in the queens' 

 0\ :nies." 



I claim, as set forth in a former ar- 

 ticle, that queens are impregnated with 

 royal jelly (drone's semen) while in 



the larval state. Furthermore, I will 



here allude to one other enthusiastic 

 and experienced apiarist who. though 

 read out by Prof. Cook as not being 

 counted "intelligent," advocated the 

 same doctrine as to the "origin of 

 drones " that 1 promulgated in I lie 



Bee Journal of March 2:'.. The in- 

 dividual referred to is Mr. Elihu 



Kirliv.a naturalist of some sense, at 

 least, if not intelligent according to 



the before mentioned standard. Prof. 

 l-:. Kiriiy was a valued correspondent 

 of the Albany Country Gentleman, 



and after the AMERICAN Bee JOUR- 

 NAL was started, he contributed to 

 both periodicals until his health failed. 

 The reader call C pare the articles 



of the said Professors and determine 



which, in a scientific point of view, 

 ■■expresses" the highest degree of in- 

 telligence. 



inasmuch as 1 have presented testi- 

 mony to corroborate my theory of the 

 origin of drones. I challenge Prof. 

 Cook to produce one intelligent apiar- 



