10 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



was not slow to invest in it. I have 

 spent hundreds of dollars, together 

 with a great deal of time, and many 

 hours of thorough experimenting with 

 bees, and I am satisHed that the 

 Albino bees have the preference. 



The Albino queens are very prolific, 

 breeding up early in the spring, and 

 more readily supersede their tailing 

 queens. I frequently find both mother 

 and daughter laying in the same hive; 

 the workers are good honey-gatherers, 

 and for beauty and gentleness they 

 are not excelled. 



Hagerstown,v3 Md. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



The Secretion of Wax liy Bees, 



E. B. SOUTHWICK, M. D. 



I notice that in the answers to 

 Query, No. 164, nearly all speak as 

 though the will was the supreme 

 power that governs all actions, when 

 the will is but a slave to circumstances 

 regulated by the emotions. 



Xone of those who replied to the 

 Query, gave the proceedings on the 

 part of the bees in secreting wax and 

 making comb, (though doubtless they 

 were all familiar with it), so I will 

 give my description of it, which is as 

 follows: 



When bees lack for room to store 

 honey or to rear brood, and have room 

 for more comb, some of the bees 

 fasten themselves at the upper part 

 of this room, in two separate places, 

 then others fasten to them by grasp- 

 ing their bodies or legs, and hanging 

 down others fasten to them, and so on 

 until they form a string — or two 

 strings — as long as they want to com- 

 mence with ; then the lower ends are 

 brought together and held by the bees, 

 thus forming a part of an elongated 

 circle. The younger bees generally 

 do this, not because they are more fit 

 for it, but because the older bees are 

 more lit for something else. The bees 

 that are free then commence feeding 

 those in the string to the utmost of 

 their ability, and to consume this food 

 a very large circulation is caused 

 which brings into action a set of 

 secreting organs similar to our sudor- 

 ific organs, and they secrete from the 

 circulation a substance that is indi- 

 gestible and worthless in the system, 

 and throw it out on the surface. These 

 the free bees take off in the form of 

 thin scales, sometimes thicker and 

 sometimes thinner, according to the 

 time tlie organ has been at work and 

 the amount and quality of the circu- 

 lation. 



When one of these scales is taken 

 off, another commences to form, and 

 so continues as long as the bee is 

 kept in that position and properly fed. 

 That this process is exhaustive — 

 very uuch doubt, as nothing is taken 

 from the circnlation that would 

 strengthen or nourish. These little 

 scales are them made into comb. If 

 they are too thick for the place where 

 the bees want to use them, they draw 

 them out thinner; if too thin, they 

 are pressed together. 



Whether the position of the bees 

 helps the secretion ornot, I am unable 



to say ; but I think that the forming 

 of the semicircle is for the purpose 

 of having them near where the wax is 

 wanted. When regularly fed, this 

 secretion is thrown off in the feces, 

 and is about all there is of pure honey 

 that is not used in nourishing the 

 system. 

 Sherman,'o Mich. 



For tne American Bee JourDal. 



Bee-Keeiiiiig in Florida, 



JOHK T. DETWILEK. 



Convention Notices. 



Allow ine to enquire as to the loca- 

 tion, in Sonth Florida, of Mr. H. G. 

 Burnet, whose communication ap- 

 peared on page 683 of the Bee Jour- 

 nal for 1885. From his communica- 

 tion, I am led to believe that the 

 honey locality of New Smyrna, Volusia 

 Co., is much excelled ; for during my 

 residence in Florida I have failed to 

 learn of a locality where the winter 

 can be spent in hiving swarms and 

 extracting honey ; except it is from 

 hives that the ants have caused the 

 bees to swarm out, which would 

 necessitate re-hiving them. I should 

 like to liear further from Mr. Burnet, 

 who evidently has a desirable locality, 

 providing he has available transporta- 

 tion for the honey when harvested. 



I would say that, in the mangrove 

 belt of Volusia county, the season 

 extends from March until August, 

 with a drouth during April, during 

 which time feeding must be kept up. 

 I have -met several individuals who 

 came here believing that bees gather 

 enough honey daily to keep them 

 going during the winter. This is a 

 mistake; and those who ship bees 

 either in full colonies or nuclei should 

 see that each colony has sufficient 

 sealed stores to subsist upon for at 

 least 60 days. Feeding has a tendency 

 to cause robbing, which, in this 

 locality, is to be dreaded, as it fre- 

 quently causes the entire apiary to 

 become demoralized, except during a 

 honey-flow. If Mr. B. will kindly 

 state the source from which the bees 

 gather honey, and the quality, he will 

 confer a favor, and as well as prevent 

 individuals from coming to Florida to 

 engage in the active duties of the 

 apiary daring the winter months, ex- 

 cept it be in his locality ; for they will 

 certainly be disappointed in the man- 

 grove district of Volusia county. 



In this connection I may say that 

 comb honey is very liable to sweat, 

 crack and become sour, from the 

 dampness of tlie climate, and that 

 those who change their location to 

 any part of Florida, from the North, 

 should take this matter into consider- 

 ation before making too large an in- 

 vestment in supers and sections for 

 the production of comb honey. To 

 tliose who come here to " astonish the 

 natives " with their superior skill and 

 abilities, I have nothing to say; to 

 those who are willing to profit by the 

 experience of others, I would say that 

 a little attention given to the methods 

 practiced by resident aiiiarists will 

 insure success, or at least prevent loss 

 until experience is gained. 



New Smyrna, ©Fla. 



I^~ The annual Convention of the Indi- 

 ana State Bee-Keepers' Society will be held 

 at Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. L'O and ai, ISSG. 

 The meetings of this Society have been very 

 successful in the past, and the coming: meet- 

 ing promises to be still better. The meeting 

 will be held in the rooms of the State Board 

 of Atrriculture, and it is one of a series of 

 meetings held by the different Societies of 

 the State, which pertain to the specialties of 

 Agriculture, viz., Dairying, Wool-Growing, 

 Swine-Breeding, Poultry-Itaising, etc. Re- 

 duced rates are offered at Hotels, and every- 

 thing possible will be done to make the 

 meeting entertaining and instructive. A 

 very complete program is being prepared, 

 with ample time to discuss the important 

 subjects of particular int-erest to bee-keep- 

 ers. A cordial invitation is extended to all 

 bee-keepers, with the hope that they will at- 

 tend, and thus make the Convention of still 

 greater importance. 



FUANK L. DonGHERTY, SeC. 



I^T" The annual meeting of the Cortland 

 Union Bee-Keepers' Association will be held 

 in Union Hall at Cortland, N. Y., on Jan. 12, 

 1SK(), at 10 a.m. It is hoped that all inter- 

 ested in apiculture will make an e.xtra effort 

 to be in attendance at this meeting. Those 

 unable to attend this meeting are requested 

 to send to the Secretary, reports of their 

 apiaries from Mav 1, 1885, to Bee. 1, 188.5. 

 W. H. Beach, .Sec, Cortland, N. Y. 



^S~ The ne.\t meeting of the Maine Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held at Skow- 

 hegan, Me., on Jan. l!i, '-20 and ':!1, 1886. The 

 Maine Central H. R. will sell tickets at one 

 fare for the round trip. The Grand Trunk 

 R. K. will sell tickets at the same rate to 

 Lewiston, Me., to all who attend the meeting. 

 Bee-keepers everywhere are cordially invi- 

 ted to be present. Wm. Hoyt, Sec. 



IW The Northern Ohio Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will hold a meeting in the Baptist 

 Hall, in Wellington, O., on Friday, Jan. 8, 

 iswi. A special effort will be made to secure 

 a full attendance. H. R. Boaiidman, See. 



J^W The annual meeting of the North- 

 western Illinois and Southwestern Wiscon- 

 sin Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in 

 Frccport, Ills., on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 1886. 



JONATH.VN STEW.IBT, SCC. 



f^" The annual meeting of the Champlain 

 Vallev Bee-Keepers' Association will be held 

 in Middlebury, Vt., on Jan. -21, 1886. 



R. H. HOLMES, Sec. 



t^" The Northeastern Ohio and North- 

 western Pennsylvania Hee-Keepers' Associa- 

 tion will hold its seventh annual convention 

 at Meadville, Pa., on Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day, Jan. 20 and 21, 1886. C. H. CooN, Sec. 



t^~ The Eastern New York Bee-Keepers' 



Association will hold its annual convention 

 in Agricultural Hall at Albany, N. Y., on 

 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, January 

 26—28, 1886. The first session will begin on 

 Tuesday, at 2 p.m. All interested in bee- 

 kccijing are I'eriuested to attend, and bring 

 apiarian supplies for exhibition. The pro- 

 gramme will consist of essays on important 

 subjects, discussions, etc. 



E. W. Philo, Sec. 



System and Success. 



i^' All who intend to be systematic in 

 their work in the apiary, should get a copy of 

 the Apiary Register and commence to use it. 

 The prices arc as follows : 



For .")0 colonies (120 pages) $100 



** 100 colonies (220 pages) 125 



" 200 colonies (420 pages) 1.50 



The larger ones can be used for a few col- 

 onies, give room for an increase of numbers 

 and still keep the record all together in one 

 book, and are therefore the moat desirable. 



