808 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



winter is not seen. Even this dispo- 

 sition might be modified after the 

 lapse of two or three years, and their 

 brood-rearing be regulated according 

 to the state of the climate in which 

 they may And themselves. However, 

 they have no desirable traits other 

 than what the more beautiful Cyp- 

 rians possess, while they are not so 

 quiet under manipulation as the latter; 

 I have therefore decided that 1 have 

 no use for them. 



The Palestines are even more un- 

 certain in temper than (Syrians, while 

 they have an unpleasant habit of bit- 

 ing the fingers of the operator, they 

 also develop laying workers more per- 

 sistently than any of the races yet 

 named, and the probability is that 

 there will be no permanent demand 

 for them. 



Carniolan bees are. without doubt, 

 the most easily handled of all, as al- 

 most any amount of rough treatment 

 fails to make them bad-tempered ; 

 and yet they are not surpassed by any 

 in defending their homes against in- 

 truders of their own kind. Contrary 

 to the statements of some, I have 

 found that this race is quite distinct 

 in character and appearance from the 

 common black bee. The queens are 

 generally dark, but bronzed on the 

 underside of the abdomen, while 

 many have yellow bands, and some 

 are quite yellow ; yet all produce 

 workers of the typical sort. The lat- 

 ter should show no yellow bands, but 

 upon the first segment of the abdo- 

 men is generally found a scarcely dis- 

 tinguishable shade of that color, and 

 then follow several extremely broad, 

 white bands, giving the bee a very 

 beautiful appearance. 



As regards their working capabili- 

 ties, they are superior to either Ital- 

 ians or natives, and in building up in 

 the spring, surpass all but the Cyp- 

 rians. They are extremely active 

 when anything is to be o"btained, 

 while in dull weather, and during 

 winter they are particularly quiet, 

 and bear confinement during" a jour- 

 ney better than any bees I have 

 known. Here we have the secret of 

 their remarkable wintering qualities, 

 and if this good point alone be con- 

 sidered, where is the apiary in your 

 northern latitudes, or in our own un- 

 certain climate, that can afford to do 

 without them V 



While Cyprians are more suitable 

 for extracting purposes, Carniolans, 

 though not quite so good honey-gatli- 

 erers, are particularly adapted to the 

 production of corab honey; while a 

 cross between a Carniolan queen and 

 a Cyprian drone will give an "all- 

 purposes " bee not to be excelled by 

 anything yet found. Just here is a 

 fact which must convince all that 

 Carniolans are quite distinct from 

 blacks. In crossing the latter with 

 yellow drones, generally only one 

 band of yellow is shown in the 

 worker, never more than two ; but 

 ■when mated with a Cyprian drone, 

 many of the bees from a Carniolan 

 queen, though very large, will be 

 marked like Cyprians, others not so 

 bright, but of better color than any 

 Ligurian bee. A Cyprian (pieen 

 mated with a Carniolan drone does 



not produce a single dark bee, and all 

 have 3 yellow bands, while the color 

 is but a shade darker than tlie pure 

 yellow variety. Each of these crosses 

 may be handled either with or with- 

 out smoke. 



Carniolans are not quite so steady 

 on the combs in handling as Cyprians, 

 neither are they so easily shaken off, 

 and when they are so treated a great 

 many fly around. Though equally as 

 good tempered, it is here that my 

 preference comes in for working with 

 Cyprians. I can find no other fault 

 with Carniolans, but another good 

 quality possessed by them must not 

 be overlooked— I find them longer 

 lived than any other variety, a point 

 of even more importance than their 

 extraordinary breeding powers— one 

 which in connection with their per- 

 fectly restful condition under confiue- 

 meut, renders them particularly de- 

 sirable for all cold and uncertain 

 climates. 



I am aware that some who have had 

 but one |or two queens of this kind 

 have spoken unfavorably as to their 

 honey-gathering qualities, but I am 

 in a position to assert as a fact that 

 these bees, by the side of Syrians and 

 Ligurians, have given more bees and 

 more honey than any. Those who 

 have not found it so should not dis- 

 card the whole race, but try again, 

 and see what other queens "will do, 

 and then breed from the best, just as 

 they profess to have done with 

 Italians. 



Two other good points are possessed 

 by both Carniolans and Cyprians. 

 They are not given to robbing ; and 

 in making up nuclei with these bees, 

 they will almost invariably stay where 

 placed. 



In conclusion I would say that 

 much is due to Mr. Benton, for plac- 

 ing before us more prominently these 

 new varieties of bees. It would per- 

 haps be too much to say that these 

 bees will cause a revolution in our 

 industry, but that the two most de- 

 sirable kinds mentioned will so(m be 

 found superseding Italians in most 

 apiaries, even where the former are 

 now strongly opposed, I am fully 

 persuaded, as their marked superiority 

 must bring them to the front. 



Kottingd-ean, England. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Tlie Houey-Proiliicers' Association, 



J. V. CALDWELL, (125-208). 



The idea of an association to con- 

 trol the price of (uir honey crop has 

 impressed me very forcibly. First, is 

 there anything tangible or practical 

 in the idea ? I say no, most emphati- 

 cally. Honey is one of the products 

 of the farm, and as such it must be 

 placed on the market in precisely the 

 same manner as any other product. 



I am very sorry that our product 

 has gone down in price, as it has this 

 season. As I am depending upon my 

 bees for a living, I am doubly inter- 

 ested, but I am satisfied that the re- 

 sult would have been different had 

 the season been a poor one, instead 



of one of the best in my 14 years' ex- 

 perience. If we could all agree on a 

 fixed price for our honey, and also 

 agree to take no less under any cir- 

 cumstances, there might be some en- 

 couragement to form such an associa- 

 tion. But there are, in my opinion, 

 at least the two following serious ob- 

 jections : 



1. Most bee-keepers, when their 

 product is ready for the market, want 

 the money for it, or its equivalent. 

 Now, suppose the crop has been a 

 good one, as is the case here this 

 season, and, for instance, the price of 

 good comb honey is placed at 20 cents 

 per pound, and the market price is 

 only 10 cents. What is to be done ? 

 The producer cannot hold over his 

 honey until another year, as can the 

 wheat and corn raiser, but he must 

 sell. But it may be said that the 

 price will not go to such a low figure, 

 if it were not for the small bee-keep- 

 ers, who, not making a business of 

 bee-culture, care but little about the 

 price they secure for their few hun- 

 dred pounds. 



2. What are we going to do with 

 these farmers and small producers ? 

 They will sell, and at a low price very 

 often, and it seems to me that we 

 could not induce them to join any 

 such organization as the proposed 

 one ; and, granting this to be the facts 

 in the case, just as soon as they saw 

 the price of honey fixed at a higher 

 figure, they would have an induce- 

 ment to produce more honey, and 

 thus crowd an already overstocked 

 market ; thus making matters worse 

 than they are at present. 



It is my candid opinion that there 

 is but one practical method of accom- 

 plishing the desired end, and that is 

 for a few rich apiarists to form a 

 " corner," and each season buy all the 

 honey produced in the United States 

 and Canada; but where, oh, where, is 

 the Gould or Vanderiilt among us ? 

 If any of our fraternity can suggest a 

 more practical plan, by all means let 

 us have it. 



Cambridge,^D Ills. 



For ttie American Bee JoomaL 



How Bees Exercise, Hilieriiatioii, etc. 



"I 



DR. G. L. TINKER. 



On page 746, Mr. Demaree presents 

 a very able article upon the above 

 subject, and it is one upon which we 

 certainly require more light. To 

 make up the issue fairly and squarely, 

 Mr. D. denies that bees ever resort to 

 " exercise " to raise the temperature 

 when subjected to severe cold. No 

 subject pertaining to wintering has a 

 greater practical bearing than this 

 one of exercise. We need a thorough 

 understanding of the conditions that 

 compel bees to exercise, and which is 

 the forerunner of all our great disas- 

 ters in wintering, and of those other 

 conditions that secure hibernation, in 

 which all the energies of the bees are 

 conserved in the highest decree in 

 their long winter confinement. 



I afHrm that bees do exercise when 

 subjected to low temperature, but it 



