130 THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. July, 



A SEARCH FOR FOREIGN RACES OF BEES 



And Valuable Honey-Producing Plants — The Giant Bees of the East^ 

 Megapis Dorsata and Megapis Zonata* 



Editor Amei'ican Bee-Keeper: 



THE plans whicji I have proposed 

 at various times to the JDepart- 

 ment of Agriculture looking to 

 the securing of the large bees of the 

 East, have finally been put in such 

 shape as to be acceptable to the De- 

 partment, and I am about to under- 

 take the investigation of these bees 

 as to the pos-sibility of their domesti- 

 cation and ntilization in some part 

 of this country, or at least to settle 

 if possible the question as to whether 

 they are of any value v^'hatever. 



Incidentally in connection with this 

 work there are other things which 

 may likewise be undertaken, such as 

 the procuring of select queens of var- 

 ious European races. Italians. Carni- 

 olans, Dalmatians, and Banater bees 

 from Hungary. Then a good supply of 

 the gentle Caucasians will be forward- 

 ed direct from the Caucasus to the De- 

 partment for use in breeding these 

 bees in the Department apiary and al- 

 so to be tested at various state ex- 

 periment stations. Eastward from the 

 Caspian sea in the province of Trans- 

 caspia and along the caravan i-oute 

 through Afghanistan and on through 

 all of northern India there are num- 

 erous races, and even distinct species, 

 of honey bees that are certain to prove 

 of gi-eat interest and very possibly of 

 much value. 



Thei'e are also possibilities in the 

 way of honey-producing plants which 

 may also have great economic value 

 in othei; directions. 



From Calcutta I shall proceed by 

 Avater, stopping only at Singapore, to 

 Manila, and -shall spend some time in 

 diffei-ent portions of the Philippine Is- 

 lands learning all I can of the bees in- 

 digenous to that great archipelago. 

 The large bees will of course be 

 brought under actual test and observa- 

 tion before any are shipped away. If 

 deemed advisable both colonies and 

 queens will eventually be forwarded 

 by way of the Pacific to California. 



It will afford me pleasure to fu-nish 

 from time to time some account of 



the progress which I am making ijii 

 connection with this undertaking. The 

 journey will be begun .Tune 3, on 

 which date I sail by the Amcn'icaii 

 line S. S. "Merlon" for Liverpool, gO' 

 ing immediately after landing there to 

 London, and thence after a -short delay 

 only to Paris, and southeastvvard 

 through Germany, Switzerland, Iti)ly, 

 and on to Constantinople by way oi 

 Vienna. A number of apiarian es- 

 tablishments, as well as the publica- 

 tion offices of some of the bee jouriiars 

 of Europe, will be visited on 1hi« 

 .iotirney. After these pleasant diver 

 sions on the way, the dash eastwarc 

 through the \>ald regions of tlie Cau 

 casus, Ti-ans-caspia, and Afguanistai 

 will take two months or more, aui 

 nearly an equal length, of time wil 

 be given to the investigation In lu 

 dia, and a still longer time to th' 

 work in the Philippines. 



AVith kind greetings, I rem.-ii.i, 

 Yours very truly, 



FRANK BENTON, 

 In Charge of Apicultur( 

 U. S. Department of Agriculturt 



Washington, D. C, May 24, 1905. 



INVERSION. 



The Old Plan to Prevent Swarming Again In Use. 



By E. H. Dewey. 



MY WORK on a few colonies las 

 season necessitated a ten-mil 

 drive once a week over unfavoi 

 able hilly roads so my actual workin 

 hours in the apiary were few. 



The gentleman whose bees I wa 

 looking after, purchased a number o 

 swarms in huge boxes early in th 

 season and when driven out crowde 

 a "Danz" body. He purchased a nup 

 ber of queens from many of the mos 

 prominent breeders — not high price 

 queens, but the common tested kind- 

 to determine the relative value^ o 

 "long tongues," "red clover" strain,! 

 "golden" and "banded" and any othe 

 freak catch trade-name. One quee 



