AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



115 



ing of starving bees. Perhaps the same 

 would be true of other cases, if all the 

 conditions were given. It might be a 

 suitable subject for the Experiment 

 Station to determine, how near starved 

 bees must be, to become gorged ; and 

 also how thin the food should be to pre- 

 vent the surfeit. Of course, if not suffi- 

 ciently starved, no surfeit will occur. 



But this year many colonies starved 

 to death long after the pollen season 

 opened, and the combs were supplied 

 with pollen when there was nothing else. 



Kalamazoo, Mich., July 6, 1892. 



Honey and Bees in a Tree, 



G. O. COUVILLON. 



About two weeks ago I found a colony 

 of wild bees in an old oak-tree, and 

 noticing a great number of bees coming 

 in and out of a hole in a large limb of 

 the tree, in active duty, which generally 

 indicates a good supply of honey, I con- 

 cluded to fell the tree and see what 

 treasure there was in it, and at the same 

 time try to capture the bees. 



Accordingly, next morning, with vol- 

 unteer aid from several of my friends, 

 eager to have a taste of the nectar, we 

 soon had the giant tree down on the 

 ground. With bee-veils and plenty of 

 smoke, we soon had access to their sweet 

 treasure, and, unmindful of a few stings 

 from as many enraged bees, we succeed- 

 ed in getting about 40 pounds of good 

 comb honey, and enough brood-comb to 

 fill five Langstroth frames. 



The next morning, seeing the bees 

 clustered in the cavity of the limb, I 

 concluded, if possible, to hive them. 



I brought two empty hives, each with 

 a well-filled frame of honey, brood and 

 eggs, which I took from other hives in 

 my apiary, with all the other frames 

 filled with comb foundation. With a 

 soup-ladle I managed to scoop up the 

 bees, and divide them as equally as pos- 

 sible in each hive. They are now work- 

 ing vigorously, and seem well pleased 

 with their change of abode. I was suc- 

 cessful enough to capture the queen 

 (whose wing I clipped), and gave her to 

 one colony, and furnished the other with 

 one from a nucleus colony. 



SQUIRKEL AND SCREECH-OWL SKELETONS. 



At the bottom of the cavity in the tree, 

 and covered with dry leaves, decayed 

 wood and moss, were the skeletons of a 

 squirrel and a screech-owl, with egg- 

 shells (doubtless from the screech-owl). 



I was puzzled to know how the unfortu- 

 nate inmates found their way in, as the 

 only entrances were -two small holes, 

 about one inch in diameter. Then how 

 did they get in there ? Presumably they 

 used it as their winter quarters, and 

 either the hole became too small for 

 their exit, or they were suddenly be- 

 sieged by the bees, and stung to death. 

 Carencro, La., June 29, 1892. 



Italian vs. BM Bees, Etc. 



CHARLES E. FALKNER. 



I notice there are still a few that up- 

 hold the common black bee, as being 

 superior to the Italians. I wonder if 

 they ever had a good colony of pure 

 Italians, and gave them the same 

 chance they did their blacks. If the 

 black bees were better honey gatherers 

 than the Italians, why did the majority 

 of the practical bee-keepers Italianize 

 them in order to get rid of them ? I say 

 the majority, but should have said about 

 all the bee-keepers. 



Ten years ago it was not uncommon 

 to go through the country and find two- 

 thirds of the bees blacks, and now you 

 would scarcely find any blacks at all. 

 The only time that I can compare the 

 blacks with the Italians, is in a year 

 like the present one — when we have to 

 feed them. I find that the blacks eat 

 just as much syrup, and gather just as 

 much honey as do the Italians when 

 there is nothing for them to gather. All 

 the difference I can see, then, is that 

 you are liable to get the "big head" 

 before you get through feeding blacks. 



Pioneer, Ohio, July 4, 1892. 



Up to July 4 the honey-flow was a 

 total failure. The apple bloom furnished 

 scarcely any honey at all, and white 

 clover was but little better. The fre- 

 quent rains washed the nectar out of 

 almost all the bloom, and now the bass- 

 wood is in bloom, but we can expect but 

 little honey from it, as we are having 

 another wet spell, and it looks as though 

 it would continue for a few days longer. 

 I had to feed my bees up to June 10, to 

 keep them from starving ; since that 

 time they barely made a living. The 

 bees are in a splendid condition, but that 

 will all amount to nothing unless we 

 soon have different weather. The farm- 

 ers here are sowing an immense lot of 

 buckwheat, and probably the bees will 

 yet find help from some source, so they 

 can store enough honey to keep them 

 from starving the next winter. 



