lO 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



January, 



THE 



Bee -Keeping World 



staff Contributors : F. GREINER and ADRIAN GETAZ. 



Contributions to this Department are solicited from all quarters of the earth. 



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GERMANY. 



"The dififerent localities around 

 Darnstadt," says Dickel in 111. Bztg., 

 "vary greatly as to furnishing forage 

 for bees; some are exceedingly good, 

 while others in nearest proximity are 

 so poor that bees cannot successfullj^ 

 be kept without liberal feeding with 

 sugar." He uses granulated sugar as 

 the best and most economical sub- 

 stitute. 



sorbent. Straw skeps that have 

 served a long term of years are so 

 coated with bee glue as to prevent all 

 ventilation, and ought to be provided 

 with upward ventilation like other 

 hives. — Wuerth in "Die Biene." 



H. Mulot criticises the reports of 

 eggs being transferred by workers 

 which have made their appearance 

 from time to time in different bee pa- 

 pers. All such reports have lacked 

 proof, he says, and it is his opinion 

 after long and careful watchfulness 

 that bees do not move eggs to other 

 combs, and that it is a physical im- 

 possibility for them to do so, and 

 says no mortal has ever witnessed 

 such an act. — 111. Bztg. 



Some time ago Dr. Miller, in Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, mentioned the 

 comb foundation with a tinfoil base 

 sent out by Schulze, a noted German 

 foundation manufacturer. Knack says 

 in 111. Bztg. that bee-keepers in Ger- 

 many have not found foundation with 

 metal base a success, but asserts that 

 Schulze's foundation with veneer base 

 is quickly accepted by the bees and 

 that the queen does not hesitate to 

 fill combs of that kind with eggs, al- 

 though the so constructed combs have 

 flat-bottom cells. 



The disposition of an unprofitable ji 

 colony to store honey may be materi- IJ 

 ally increased by giving them several ' * 

 cards of hatching brood from an in- 

 dustrious hive, says Wuerth. 



The progress apiculture has made 

 during the last period of years is 

 mainly due to the movable comb, but 

 it should not be forgotten that this 

 great invention is, or should be, only 

 an auxiliary for the accomplishment 

 of certain ends. Combs should be left 

 undisturbed except when strictly nec- 

 essary. It means a loss to the bees 

 and bee-keeper every time the latter 

 interferes witn the former's affairs. 

 The conditions of a colony may often 

 be correctly judged from the behavior 

 at the entrance. "Always observe, 

 seldom operate," should be the bee- 

 keeper's motto. — Schleswig-Holst. 

 Bztg. 



In the same paper Gosh says that 

 in certain parts of Germany the 

 spruce forests have yielded immense 

 quantities of honey the past season, 

 enabling single colonies to store lOO 

 pounds of honey (honey dew). The 

 color of this honey is inclined to be 

 green. 



Ventilation is an essential condi- 

 tion to successful wintering of the 

 honeybee. Not only should the en- 

 trances be left open (2i/^x8 ctm.), 

 but upward ventilation through pack- 

 ing above should be secured. It 

 would, however, be unwise to fill out 

 an upper story completely with ab- 



Five thousand worker larvae just 

 hatched weigh one gram. When 

 grown, eleven of them weigh two 

 gram. They thus have increased their 

 weight nine hundred fold inside of 

 five days. A queen bee larva increases 

 more than double this amount. — 

 Schleswig-Holst. Bztg. 



