66 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



April. 



himself up and said with all the so- 

 lemnity of an oracle. "In five years 

 you will not have a bee." "Why?" said 

 i. He replied, "Because I have known 

 so many who have kept bees about 

 that long and get as high as 100 

 swarms and then lose them all:" He 

 proved to be a false prophet, for I 

 have not been without bees since. 

 I first invested 60 years ago. But if 

 any prospective bee-keeper thinks he 

 can get a few colonies and set them 

 down in some fence corner, give them 

 no attention but possibly to hive the 

 swarms that may issue and expect to 

 make a fortune from them, yoai better 

 invest in something else. But I will 

 add, that bees will stand more neglect 

 than any other domestic animal, but 

 with intelligent care will pay better 

 than any other stock on cost price, 

 labor and expense. 



Again, there may come a year, or 

 years when the climatic conditions 

 may be such that the honey crop will 

 be a failure, and the same may be said 

 of any other crop the farmer may at- 

 tempt to produce. Again, if any one 

 expects to become a millionaire rais- 

 ing bee* and honey, I really wish him 

 success and I will be ready to say 

 there is one who has become rich not 

 at the expense of his fellow man. For 

 all the bees collect is so much added 

 to the great storehouse of nature that 

 would otherwise be "scattered by the 

 winds or lost on the ambient air." 

 The Italian Bee. 



From 1860 there was considerable 

 said in the agricultural papers about 

 the Italian bees and several Amer- 

 ican bee keepers began to import them. 

 Among the number, as I remember 

 them, was Rev. Langstroth, Quinby, 

 Colvin and Carey and possibly others. 

 In May, 1866, I wrote to Richard Col- 

 vin, of Baltimore, as to the purchase of 

 an Italian queen bee. He replied that 

 he was booking orders for queens at 

 $20 each, but thought he had as many 

 orders booked as he woiild be able to 

 fill that year. I began to look else- 

 where. On the 22d of July, 1866. I 

 received two queens from another 

 source at a cost of only $12. The little 

 queen (not Italian) that presides in 

 the hive that has windows and doors 

 and whose interests were identical 

 with mine, remonstrated some, saying 

 that $12.00 was a big price for two 

 little bees. But you see, I had the 

 bee fever pretty bad. I had at the time 



60 colonies of black bees in Langstroth 

 hives. I introduced both queens suc- 

 cessfully and reared 11 young queens 

 that season Avhich met black drones. 

 Mine were the only Italian bees in the 

 county at that time. According to the 

 Dzierzon theory I had 13 queens that 

 would produce pure Italian drones in 

 the spring of 1867. In that summer 1 

 Italianized my whole apiary, which ir 

 the fall numbered 120 colonies. Mj 

 method of procedure may be of inter 

 est to some beginners. 



I went through my black coloniei 

 about twice a month and shaved th( 

 heads oiff of the capped drone brood 

 having first reduced the drone comb t( 

 the minimum and had but little troii 

 ble Avith missmating; and what I ha( 

 came from droves of bees locatec 

 within two to five miles of my yard a 

 they will cross at the latter distanc 

 I happen to know. I had an out ap 

 ary of black bees five miles nortl 

 Avith intervening wooded hills, an 

 one of my black queens mated an Ita' 

 ian drone from my yard at home n 

 there were no other Italian bees in th 



rTinn+V T liorl n"5'-»' ^r-i +1">o iiitvorlll. 



tion of Italian bees discovered 

 should say observed) some very ol 

 .iectionable traits in my black bee 

 First, they did not properly defer 

 themselves against the wax moth. Se 

 ond, in attempting toi capture a qne( 

 the bees would either fignt or rnn 

 wild confusion up over the sidps < 

 the hive or out at the entrance. Tliir 

 not good defenders of their horn' 

 from the attack of robber beej 

 Fourth, a proclivity to desert the] 

 homes enmasse in the spring and tl 

 to force an entrance into some othf 

 hive already occupied. This tral 

 showed most plainly in the month 

 April, when the bees were idle. Tbj 

 desertion did not arise from any bn 

 condition of hive or comb, for som| 

 times it would occur while 10 or 

 pounds of good honey remained in tl| 

 combs with brood in all stages, 

 development and combs free froj 

 mould or any other ob.iectionable fej 

 ture. If I returned such desertiil 

 swarms to their own hives they wej 

 sure to come out again at the fill 

 favorable oiiportnnity. The only w| 

 I could successfully manage them, wj 

 to remove their queen and compel .t| 

 bees to rear another. By the time tl 

 young queen would be hatched th«l 

 mania for deserting would be cure! 



