, OLDEST BEE PAPErX*V 

 IN AMERICA 



DEVOTED TO SCIENTIFIC BEE-CULTURE AND THE PRODUCTION AND SALE OF PURE HONEY. 



VOL. XVII. 



CHICAGO, ILL., NOVEMBER 9, 1881. 



No. 45. 



tf* B , **^9^^Tw$ 



Published every Wednesday, by 



THOMAS G. NEWMAN, 



Editor and Proprietor, 

 974 WEST MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILL. 



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Sweet Clover Still in Bloom. 



Mr. C. H. Dibbeni, of Milan, 111., 

 under date of Nov. 1st, sends us the 

 following unimpeachable testimonial 

 of the late-blooming habits of melilot 

 or sweet clover : 



Enclosed please find a few racemes 

 of melilot clover picked in the open 

 field to-day. This clover was in bloom 

 all through our severe drouth, was 

 then etiten down hy cuttle, but since the 

 rains has come out again, and is now 

 in full bloom. It shows what can be 

 done with melilot. It looks as if it 

 would blossom all winter, if the frosts 

 did not kill it, and bees seem to visit 

 it as eagerly now as in July. 



The welcome fragrance of the flow- 

 ers announced the contents of the let- 

 ter, even before the envelop was cut 

 open. While this article is being pre- 

 pared for publication (Nov. 3, 10 a.m.) 

 our tirst snow storm is prevailing in 

 blinding clouds, and we have before 

 us a modest bouquet of sweet clover 

 blossoms, culled from under its snow 

 winding-sheet. 



Mr. E. Lucas, of Kirtland, 111., 

 stated in the N. W. Dist. Convention, 

 on the 27th nit., that less than 2 weeks 

 previously he saw bees storing honey 

 in their section boxes from sweet clo- 

 ver, while nothing else could be found 

 in bloom. He is so well satisfied of its 

 remunerative ability as a honey pro- 

 ducer, that he has seeded in ten acres 

 of it, notwithstanding he is in an ex- 



cellent locality for spontaneous bee 

 forage. 



With Mr. Dibbern's letter before us, 

 we are more than confirmed in the 

 opinion that in most localities, by a 

 judicious system of mowing or graz- 

 ing, its honey flow can be protracted 

 certainly four months, and, possibly, 

 nearly five months. 



The " Coming Bee." 



Hon. W. H. Andrews, of McKinney, 

 Texas, writes us under date of Oct. 

 29, as follows : 



Since my return home from Lexing- 

 ton, Ky., I have overhauled my entire 

 apiary, and find that I now have 275 

 colonies of Italians in good order. 



I got my Langstrotn-fund Syrian 

 queen home in good health ; it took 

 me five days hard work to get her ac- 

 cepted. I never had so much trouble 

 with a queen before. The colony to 

 which I introduced her was in good 

 condition to take a queen, but they 

 seemed to know that this was a little, 

 waspy, striped-backed concern, not 

 like the royal golden mother they once 

 had. 



I have concluded to start a small 

 Syrian apiary, though I am quite sure 

 that the pure Italian (the brightest) 

 is the much-talked of " coming bee," 

 and that all talk is a mere waste of 

 raw material when it points in the di- 

 rection of an amalgamation of races, 

 as it would take two or three such 

 lives and fortunes as that of Mr. D. 

 A. Jones', directed to and expended 

 upon that one object, and that, too, 

 without one material mistake; be- 

 sides, it would take a ten years' session 

 of the National Convention to deter- 

 mine what races should be mixed, and 

 what points should be brought out and 

 what repressed ; and then the trouble 

 would only be begun, for the means 

 by which these things could surely be 

 accomplished, would require all of a 

 lifetime of trial and study. 



I hope that the next man who pro- 

 poses the " coming bee" as a subject, 

 will tell us what it is to be, and how 

 he expects to obtain it ; let us have 

 one idea, just one, in regard to this 

 matter. 



We regret being obliged to differ 

 with Judge Andrews regarding the 

 present attainment of the "coining 

 bee." We feel confident that in his 

 careful, discriminating management, 

 even his beautiful " brightest" Ital- 

 ians will reach a point as much in ad- 

 vance of their present excellence, as 

 they have advanced from their first 

 importation. And that they have ad- 

 vanced we can well believe, after read- 

 ing in the last Bee Journal (page 

 347) the result of Dr. Brown's com- 

 parison between the tongues of Amer- 

 can-Italian bees and those bred from 

 imported mothers. 



But we learn another point from the 

 Doctor's able address, viz : that the 



tongues of the Cyprian bees, in a trial 

 of six, aggregated 1-32 of an inch 

 longer than he reached with six of his 

 improved Italians, and they in turn 

 aggregated 3-32 of an inch (one-tenth) 

 longer than the imported Italians. 

 Equally pronounced is the result of 

 Prof. Cook's numerous microscopical 

 measurements of the tongues of the 

 Syrian bees, which he finds to equal 

 those of the Cyprians, and .006 of an 

 inch longer than those of the Italian. 

 Here, then, is " one idea, just one," 

 which must be taken into account in 

 the development of the coming bee. 

 Now, if the Syrians are capable of as 

 great improvement as has taken place 

 in the Italians up to this time, we can 

 count upon a tongue more than one- 

 third of an inch in length, which will 

 be sufficient to reach the nectar in the 

 first bloom of red clover, and to ren- 

 der unnecessary any further efforts to 

 secure Apis dorsata. That this almost 

 fabulous length of tongue will be of 

 any real benefit in Texas we cannot 

 assert, but certainly it would be no 

 disadvantage ; in the Northern and 

 Central States, however, where the 

 broad and luxuriant red clover fields 

 bloom but to " waste their sweetness 

 on the desert air" with but rare ex- 

 ceptions, this will be a priceless boon 

 to all bee-keepers. With the possibil- 

 ity of its accomplishment, it is worthy 

 of the attempt. 



Amiability, however, must be a 

 prominent characteristic of the com- 

 ing bee, and with this point in view 

 " an amalgamation of races " may be 

 the shortest road to success. We are 

 quite positive we can distinguish much 

 difference between the progeny of a 

 Syrian queen mated with a Syrian 

 drone, and that of one where the pa- 

 ternity is Italian. They are, too, more 

 easily controlled with smoke. 



Prolificness, also, will play an impor- 

 tant part in deciding the choice of the 

 coming bee. In the majority of loca- 

 tions where honey-producing is a prin- 

 cipal industry, our bees are never too 

 strong when the honey harvest comes 

 upon us, but the reverse is the rule, 

 and many of our most successful bee- 

 keepers double up and greatly reduce 

 the number of their colonies to get 

 them strong enough to take the fullest 

 advantage of the yield. So that an 

 improvement in this respect is desired, 

 in our colder latitudes. In the South, 

 where breeding is going on more or 

 less all winter, this is not so desirable 

 —in fact, might be detrimental, as 

 causing too great a consumption of 

 winter stores. To withstand our rigor- 



ous northern winters, we need strong 

 colonies of vigorous young bees on the 

 early approach of winter ; but in the 

 South this is not so essential, as stim- 

 ulative breeding can be resorted to at 

 almost any time. 



We cannot appreciate the necessity 

 for the employment of two or three 

 fortunes, nor the devotion of a " life- 

 time of trial and study." A material 

 mistake might be annoying, but not 

 necessarily fatal in gaining the desired 

 result. Where it is possible to obtain 

 several successive generations in a 

 single season, and anumber of queens 

 at each breeding, much experimenta- 

 tion may be carried on in a few years, 

 as compared with the breeding and 

 improvement of four-footed stock of 

 all descriptions ; and there are scores 

 of intelligent and observing apiarists 

 in America at the present time, who 

 are working with a view to developing 

 a superior race, and have occasion to 

 feel much encouraged. 



Nor will it take a ten years' session 

 of the National Convention to deter- 

 mine the matter. There may be dif- 

 ferences of opinion, but the masses of 

 the most discriminating will soon 

 " agree upon an open verdict" when 

 perfection is approached, and none are 

 so blind as not to be easily convinced 

 when self-interest is the argument to 

 be met. The best bee will then be re- 

 cognized as the most beautiful, because 

 the prospective glitter of " money in 

 the purse," realized from their excel- 

 lence, will cast a silver sheen over the 

 corselet if the coming bee should be a 

 substantial brown, or golden clouds 

 will float in fancy around our ideal bee 

 if it should chance to be the brightest. 



In view of the much which has al- 

 ready been accomplished in the im- 

 provement of our cherished Italians, 

 we hope Judge Andrews will find other 

 employment for his talented pen, and 

 not indite a word which may tend to 

 discourage the onward march of pro- 

 gress. We care not by what means 

 obtained, whether from " an amalga- 

 mation of races," or from careful se- 

 lection and breeding, we trust no 

 means will be left untried to produce 

 the best. When obtained, we are con- 

 fident the Judge will be as pronounced 

 in his appreciation as the most expect- 

 ant enthusiast. 



(Eg" We congratulate the bee-keepers 

 of Kentucky upon the selection of the 

 jPaiTwers' Home Journal, of Louisville, 

 as the Organ of the State Association. 

 It is an excellent paper, and worthy of 

 a liberal patronage. 



