5S 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPEE. 



March 



hold a like opinion and say that a man 

 can be taken to task for keeping empty 

 hives (full of comb) setting in his bee- 

 yards when it can be proven that he 

 does so to induce stray swarms to 

 take possession of them. It should 

 come under the same head as trapping 

 bees, which is unlawful. 



ITALY. 



The bee-keepers of Italy do not seem 

 to see the need of a bee journal. The 

 Apicoltore has but 400 subscribers. 



B. V. 



PALESTINE. 



Palestine has been called the land 

 where milk and honey flows, and judg- 

 ing from what the Bible says one 

 might be lead to think that the bee- 

 keeping industry must have flourished 

 in Bible times. It is, however, pretty 

 well conceded that the word translated 

 with "Honey," by Luther meant in 

 most instances, "something boiled 

 do-^vn to a jelly — grape jelly," an arti- 

 cle used even now in the Holy Land 

 by the wealthier people and travelers 

 in place of butter, which is scarce. 

 There were probably many wild bees 

 in the woods and in caves, but none 

 were kept in hives domesticated. Since 

 these times the timber has all been de- 

 stroyed and Avild bees have become 

 a rarity. Not many bees are kept now 

 in hives althovigh the conditions are 

 favorable for bee-keeping. The Euro- 

 pean imigrant is the only one carrying 

 on modern bee-keeping, averaging 60 

 pounds per hive. Failures are not 

 known. The earliest honey is gathered 

 from almond and apricot blossoms, 

 followed by orange blossoms. Thistle, 

 cactus and other weeds furnish some 

 honey later. Some bee-keepers migrate 

 to the mountains and into the vicinity 

 of Bethlehem. — From Schlesw. Hoist. 

 Bztg. 



CHILI. 



A report from a Chilian bee-keeper 

 states that an apiary of 160 colonies 

 bought in the country and transferred 

 in modern hives, gave (in 1903) 340 

 swarms. No foundation was given. 

 The crop of honey was 37,000 pounds; 

 74 pounds per colony, all counted, or 

 231 pounds "spring count." Apiculture 

 is on the increase. The natives use but 

 very little honey, only as medicine. 

 Practically all is exported, the present 



price being about 7 cents per pound. 

 All extracted honey. — From Rucher 

 Beige. 



SIBERIA. 



The winter in Siberia is not only 

 very cold but lasts about seven months, 

 from the middle of September to the 

 middle of May. The snow is very 

 abimdant, sometimes eight or ten feet 

 deep. The summer comes suddenly 

 as soon as the snow is melted, is ex- 

 ceedingly warm, especially during the 

 day, and ends as suddenly as it be- 

 gan. 



The honey is gathered almost exclu- 

 sively from the lindens. There are 

 seventeen dii¥erent varieties of them, 

 blossoming successively during nearly 

 the whole season. The colonies ai-e 

 wintered in buildings erected for the 

 purpose. Most of the bee-keepers ai-e 

 specialists and establish their apiaries 

 in or near the forests. The hives are 

 imported from the United States, that 

 is, the majority of them. Each is set 

 on four small posts, and has a roof 

 above. In the fall, or rather beginning 

 of the winter, the weak colonies are 

 united, sometimes five, six or more to- 

 gether. No colony weighing less than 

 14 pounds (of bees) is wintered. Hives 

 are hung on the trees to attract and 

 capture the runaway swarms. The 

 bees remain in the hives during the 

 middle of the day on account of the 

 excessive heat. The honey (chunk 

 honey) is sold at about 17 cents per 

 pound. — From the Apiculteur. 



SWITZERLAND. 

 Mr. Edouard Bertrand, the editor of 

 the Revue Internationale d' Apiculture, 

 announces that the paper will be dis- 

 continued at the end of the present 

 year, (1903). His health and strength 

 are beginning to fail, and it is neces- 

 sary for him to seek some rest. The 

 Revue is, or rather has been, the best 

 of all the bee papers published in the 

 French language. It has lasted 25 

 years. Mr. Bertrand is the author of H 

 some of the best works on bee-keeping ; i 

 in existence. It is hoped that the 

 Suisse Romande Society of Apiculture 

 will undertake to continue the paper. 



FRANCE. 



A swarm had introduced itself into 

 the wall of a frame house and decided 

 apparently to stay there. A bee-keeper 



