1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



395 



For the American Bee JmirnuL 



Three-Band Test of Italian Bees. 



G. M. DOOL1TTLE. 



When the Italian bee was firs] 

 brought to this country we were told 

 that they were a distinct race <>i bees 

 which had been excluded from all 



others from time immemorial, being 

 conlined to a certain district by the 

 impassable Alps and the sea surround- 

 ing them. As these bees easily mixed 

 with our black bees a test of purity 

 was sought after, so that the "buyer 

 might satisfy himself whether he had 

 bees as pure as those imported from 

 Italy, or whether they were a mixture 

 of the two races, black and Italian. 

 As it was hard to get queens purely 

 fertilized, a few of those eager to sell 

 all queens as pure tried to fix that 

 test at something short of the three 

 yellow bands, which was conceded by 

 the majority should be the proper 

 test, for surely all bees imported from 

 Italy would show the said three bands 

 It was from this standpoint that I 

 once wrote an article on the purity of 

 Italian bees, which will be found in 

 volume 7, page 10, of the American 



Rfe ToURNAIj- 



At this time I considered all queens 

 whose bees did not come up to the 

 standard of purity there given as be- 

 ing mixed with black blood on the 

 American continent. After a little 1 

 reared a queen whose progeny nearly 

 all of them showed 4 yellow bands. 

 At this my faith in the purity of Ital- 

 ian bees in their original home was 

 somewhat shaken, for, if these banded 

 bees were pure, what could we call 

 these four-banded bees. They could 

 not be called more than a pure, so we 

 had to call them a " sport," as the 

 vegetable growers do when a certain 

 line of vegetables produce a different 

 kind from the original. 



About this time it became apparent 

 to some that the bees in Italy were a 

 mixed race, and we find the great 

 German apiarist, Dzierzon, writing 

 thus • " Throughout the whole race 

 of Italian bees, there is a slight trace 

 of German blood, which, in the course 

 of time, lias found its way into it, as 

 no Chinese wall, not even the Alps, 

 has been able to keep the two races 

 hermetically sealed from each other. 

 And now it appears that there is not 

 only a " slight trace of German blood 

 in Italy (the long-continued home of 

 the Italian bee), but that there are 

 black and hybrid bees there also ; and 

 yet our friends Thomas and Demaree 

 will talk about pure Italian bees. It 

 there are black and hybrid bees in 

 Italy, and also as Dzierzon asserts, a 

 "slight trace of German blood through- 

 out the whole race of Italian bees," 

 pray, tell us where we are to look for 

 purity. .,. ,. 



This talking of purity of Italian bees 

 in America, and of those of Italy (the 

 land from which they were imported), 

 as being mixed with black and hybrid 

 blood, is very much like " sending 

 coals to Newcastle." We must take 

 A. I. Root's stand and say that all 

 bees coining from Italy are pure Ital- 

 ians, or else say that the. purity of the 

 Italian bee consists in what is called 

 " thoroughbred," and call them Amer- 

 icanized Italians, stopping this talk 

 about there being a pure race of bees. 

 As some wish to know where I 

 stand, I will say that I take the latter 

 ground. Well, this being the case, 

 what is meant by tested Italian queens? 

 Now we come to the three-band ques- 

 tion again, and will repeat what I said 

 on page 285: "I claim every bee 

 should show the three-bands while 

 standing on the combs, to be such bees 

 as I should want to breed from ;" yet, 

 " as far as my experience goes, I have 

 yet to see the queen whose progeny 

 show the three-bands under all cir- 

 cumstances," and see if I cannot de- 

 fine my position so it will be plain to 



others. The abdomen of every worker 

 bee is composed of six scales, or seg- 

 ments one sliding into the other tele- 

 scope fashion. With the black bee 

 these scales are black, all of them. 

 With the Americanized Italian the 

 lirst scale or segment beginning at the 



end of the abdomen next the thorax, 

 is about 7 8 orange color, the other 

 eighth being a black ring extending 

 around the segment on the side oppo- 

 site the thorax. The second segment 



is about 4-5 yellow and 1-5 black, the 



black stripe or ring being toward the 

 point of the abdomen, as on the lirst 

 segment. The third segment shows 

 about l , vellow and ] 4 black. All 

 these markings should be clear and 

 distinct (not muddy or cloudy and 

 mixed as is the case with some of the 

 imported stock) while standing on the 

 combs; not on a window pane trying 

 to fly and crawl up the glass. 1 say 

 while standing on the combs, but wish 

 to specify so as to meet my last state- 

 ment, that "I have yet to see the 

 queen whose progeny show the three 

 yellow bands under all circumstances. 

 These scales or segments I told you 

 would slide into each other telescope 

 fashion, and if a bee is stung by an- 

 other bee, the abdomen will so draw 

 up or one segment slip into the other, 

 so that scarcely any of the yellow can 

 be seen except on the first segment 

 next the thorax, still the yellow bands 

 are there, but don't show. The same 

 is true to a more or less extent with 

 the young bee when first hatched ; 

 that is, her abdomen is so drawn up 

 that the three yellow bands do not all 

 of them show. Again in the fall when 

 clustered together for winter in their 

 undisturbed repose, they show scarcely 

 more than the two bands ; yet the 

 three yellow bands are there all the 

 same Even a four-banded bee will so 

 draw up her abdomen when preparing 

 for a winter nap, that no yellow will 

 show except on the two first bands, 

 and the second band would not show 

 if there was room in the first segment 

 for the second to go inside of it. 



I did not mean to say on page 285 

 that the yellow bands were not there 

 all the same, only that they did not 

 show under all circumstances. 



Friend Heddon seems to think m 

 the .Kansas Bee-Keeper that the three 

 yellow bauds will not mark the coming 

 bee, but I think they will. The reason 

 why I am not satisfied with such bees 

 as A. I. Root calls pure Italians, is be- 

 cause such bees have not proved them- 

 selves as good as those showing three 

 clear distinct yellow bands, and if we 

 wish 'to secure the best bee, we must 

 begin with that which gives the best 

 grounds for success, and the three- 

 banded bee gives us that ground in 

 my humble opinion. As to my not 

 knowing what the finest specimen ot 

 the yellow race look like, I will say 

 that in former years I have had queens 

 from H. Alley, Adam Grimm, 1. B. 

 Hamlin, M. Quinby, Aaron Benedict, 

 J. Nesbit, Mrs. Tupper, H. A. King, 

 W W. Gary and others. Later I have 

 had queens of Jos. M. Brooks, W. W. 

 Cary, J. P. II. Brown, J. P. Moore, L. 

 C. Root, A. I. Root and many others 

 too numerous to mention. It would 

 be strange if some of these did not 

 have as good bees as friends Thomas 

 and Demaree have. I do not lay so 

 much stress on bands as some do, for 

 I prefer bees for honey rather than 

 bands; still, as long as the bees show- 

 ing the three yellow bands give us the 

 best results, I believe that is the chan- 

 nel to work through till we find some- 

 thing that gives better promise. 



One thing Mr. Demaree has touched 

 upon which I have never seen in print 

 before, where he says that when on 

 the window, " the meanest hybrids 

 would show the third band in 

 splotches." I will sav that I have yet 

 to see the bee that shows yellow on 

 any band that does not show it on all 

 three ; so all talk about one and two- 

 banded bees needs an explanation. 

 We read " bees with about one yellow 

 hand to show trace of Italian blood, 

 are the wickedest bees to sting,' while 

 our experience proves that unless 

 " telescoped," such a bee would show 

 yellow on all three segments in about 



the proportion that a good thorough- 

 bred bee would; that is, it but little 



was shown on the first Scale, si ill less 

 would be shown on the second, and 

 still lesson the third, but there would 

 be yellow on three ol the segments it 



there was on any of them. 

 These are my hones! views on tne 



Italian bee question as far as my ex 



perience goes up to the present time, 

 and if 1 have trodden on any person s 

 corns by giving them, they will excuse 

 I hope. 

 Borodino, N. Y. 



F..r the American l!eo Journal. 

 Experiments with Comb Foundation. 

 JAMES HEDDON. 



During the past season my assist- 

 ants and myself have made the use ami 

 manufacture of comb foundation not 

 only a part of our business, hut a con 

 tiimal series of experiment. Much 

 has been written and said bearing tes- 

 timony in different directions, and we 

 felt that positive and extended experi- 

 ment was all that was left for us to 

 judge by. 



We began manufacturmglast spring 

 with four machines, viz : A new Dun- 

 ham 9-inch roller mill, a Vandervort 

 12-inch and Vandervort 6-inch roller 

 mill, and a Given press, with one of 

 Mr Given's new improved die books. 

 We first discarded the Dunham mill, 

 because we could not make foundation 

 upon it that had high side- walls with- 

 out the use of the objectionable soap- 

 suds, and then only with difficulty. 



Next we laid aside the 6-inch Van- 

 dervort mill, because it not only run 

 with great difficulty, butit made alme 

 or side-wall in no wav superior to the 

 old style of foundation, though it did 

 make a thinner base. 



Next we tried the 12-inch Vander- 

 vort mill, which is designed by him 

 expressly for the manufacture of heavy 

 foundation for the brood department. 

 This mill makes what we call the best 

 foundation we have ever seen come 

 from any roller mill, either for the 

 brood chamber or surplus use. There 

 are two samples of what we made in 

 regular full-size sheets of that de- 

 signed for both departments. Itie 

 thin-base sample has a splendid line 

 or side-wall. These samples, like all 

 of the foundation we have made the 

 past season, were passed through the 

 rolls with the use of starch, and starch 

 only. I wisti to say that the manufac- 

 ture of foundation with such side- 

 walls costs more than double that ol 

 the old pattern, unless soap-suds be 

 used. It is now generally understood 

 that the use of soap is objectionable 

 to the bees, just in proportion to the 

 amount used. 



Upon the 12-inch heavy Vandervort 

 mill we can make sheets nine inches 

 wide, all even and perfect, and as good 

 as the sample shown, averaging seven 

 square feet to the pound. Much care 

 is needed and the process is slow and 

 tedious, where no soap is used, when 

 we try to pass through sheets that run 

 ten to the pound; the sheets will 

 double together, and make us so much 

 other trouble, that we fail to make the 

 manufacture practical. Still, I be- 

 lieve this same Vandervort 12-inch mill 

 the best roller foundation machine on 

 the market. I further believe that if 

 we propose to make a foundation with 

 perfect-formed and high side-walls, 

 we must either use objectionable non- 

 stickers or find the work impractica- 

 ble. We should remember that sam- 

 ples of excellent foundation can be 

 turned out in various ways that are 

 not practical for the general manufac- 

 ture. Every year I receive samples 

 by mail, and wherever I have ordered 

 a few pounds, I have never in a single 

 instance received ever s« small a lot 

 equal to the samples. Nearly every 

 piece of these samples betrays the use 

 of soap. Some of our mill makers ad- 

 vise the use of starch with some soap. 

 Pure beeswax is sticky stuff, and with 

 so many high side-walls pressed so 

 closely to an unequal number of points 

 of metal, some very slippery substance 

 is needed to allow them to loosen. 



Manj have tried adulterating the wax 



with "less sticky articles, but the bees 

 say, " no." 



Our last work making loundation 

 was done upon the (liven press. 1 



bought this machine in the spring ol 

 isso. for the sole purpose of lilling 

 frames lull of worker Inundation, and 

 in a manner that would hold it in po- 

 sition under all circumstances. I have 



here samples of both the thick and 

 thin Given loundation. The side lines 

 air not so sharp as those of the Van- 

 dervort or Dunham: therefore, while 

 they an- not quite as high, they possess 



more wax, because the base or septum 

 is thinner. In every instance the bees 

 draw out all the wax in the lines. My 

 assistant, Mr. Henry C. Farwell (now 

 in Rutland. Vt.), and myself, have 

 conducted a series of experiments du- 

 ring the season with different styles 

 and thicknesses of foundation, and on 

 an extensive plan. We have given it 

 what is to our minds a thorough and 

 comprehensive test, both in sections 

 and super frames of 6x12 inches. We 

 have put three styles in one of these 

 frames, and have mixed things up in 

 every way we could think of to get a 

 satisfactory test— and right here I wish 

 to say that we did it without the least 

 prejudice or desire what truths might 

 come to the front. We cared for the 

 truth only. I had three mills to make 

 foundation, to use and to sell. I had 

 an agency and profit for the sale of all 

 the mills above spoken of. I could not 

 be prejudiced; certainly my employ- 

 ees were not. The results show up 

 very much in favor of both the manu- 

 facture and use of the Given foun- 

 dation. ,. 



Mr. Given claims that the new dies 

 are so constructed that the bulky side- 

 lines are left only slightly pressed, and 

 beino- softer, are more readily and 

 easily drawn by the bees. However 

 that 'may be (which looks reasonable 

 to me from the form of the dies), we 

 found that the bees took earlier and 

 more kindly to the Given foundation ; 

 that they drew it out further, thinner, 

 and left a thinner base when com- 

 pleted. In handling over 1,000 one- 

 pound sections of comb drawn out 

 last year from Dunham, Root and 

 Given foundation, Mr. Farwell re- 

 marked : " I can tell you every time 

 which combs were made from Given 

 foundation," "How?" I inquired. 

 " By its delicate thinness, particularly 

 of the base," he replied. I looked it 

 over again, and saw that such a differ- 

 ence was really discernible. 



I devised a plan whereby I succeeded 

 in pressing sheets at the rate of 80 thin 

 sheets (averaging 10 feet to the pound) 

 in 25 minutes. But this speed is not 

 the bestof the discovery. I took them 

 from the dry pile of sheets (my boy 10 

 years old peeled them apart for me) 

 and passed through the whole SO with 

 one lubrication, and I rinsed only the 

 first six sheets, all theremaindercom- 

 ing from the dies perfectly dry, and 

 no racks for drying required. lor 

 some reason I failed to make the same 

 process work with the type-metal rolls, 

 probably because not adapted to that 

 metal, as it seems to be to hardened 

 copper. I at once put to test the adapt- 

 ability of this process to the likes and 

 dislikes of the bees, and found it a 

 success there, too. 



I have no pecuniary interest in any 

 one's mills. I shall not hold an agency 

 for any in the future. This year's ex- 

 perience teaches me that purchasers 

 naturally prefer to trade direct with 

 the manufacturers at the same price. 

 I think I should feel the same. 



I predict that sales in foundation 

 will soon be confined to local trade, as 

 the truth is, and will "come up- 

 permost," that it will remunerate 

 well every bee-keeper who expects to 

 keep not less than 25 colonies, to own 

 a press, unless he can purchase its pro- 

 ducts near home. Comb foundation, 

 in the flat, is practically merchantable 

 for long distances ; but that pressed 

 into made-up frames costs high for 

 transportation, and should be made at 

 home or purchased near thereto. 



From all I can learn of others who 

 have tested the plaster casts, they do 

 not give satisfaction. Their frailty, 



