610 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Sept. 28, 1899. 



prepared for m^ket that a few of the berries are bursted in 

 handling, and a very few bees maj' be seen about them. 



The prejudice among grape-growers in regard to the 

 bees is very deeply rooted, and will take years to eradicate. 

 Too many people judge of things by superficial observa- 

 tions, and decide a question by appearances and not by 

 facts. When grapes are damaged, either by bursting, 

 from rains, which send an extra amount of sap in the vine, 

 or by the inroads of birds — thrush, cat-bird, quail, robin, 

 etc., "the bees take the blame, because they bodily take pos- 

 session of the damaged fruit in broad daylight ; and yet 

 their role is only to save that which would otherwise be lost. 

 But it is most difficult to convince the vineyardist that they 

 are not the original causes of the trouble. 



I remember being taken to task by an old Frenchman — 

 a very good friend of mine, I must say — for keeping so 

 many bees which were entirely destroying his crop of 

 grapes, and his hopes of filling his cellar with the nectar 

 dear to all Frenchmen. He said that if bee-keepers could 

 not be madQ to see the folly of their ways, a law should be 

 past forbidding any one from keeping any more than 20 

 colonies of bees on one farm. "I have studied the matter," 

 said he, "and I know exactly how they do. They always 

 make two holes in a berry, one exactly above the other." 



Upon this I protested, and held that it was the quail 

 that made the two holes with both points of its beak. I even 

 tried to show him, ard it was plain to any one who was not 

 entirely prejudiced, that the punctured berries were all on 

 the same side of the bunch, because the holes had all been 

 made, probably in the space of a few .seconds, by a bird 

 that had enough and amused itself, like bad boys in a melon 

 patch, by plugging what it could not eat. But the bird had 

 gone, and the bees were there, and it was of no use to try to 

 defend them, when they were so willing to be seen. So my 

 arguments, which I considered as conclusive and convinc- 

 ing, only served to make the man angry, and he would not 

 speak to me for a year or more. 



But what is "the actual physiological position of the 

 bees in regard to fruit ? The honey-bee has mandibles or 



Mandible of Hornet. 



Mandible of Honey-Be 



jaws, in the form of spoons, working vertically instead of 

 horizontally, as in animals. These mandibles are horny 

 and entirely devoid of teeth. They can be used only for 

 the usual purposes of the hive, to mold the was, build the 

 combs, and handle and carry out any debris. They can use 

 them to tear the corolla of blossoms or even leaves, and 

 they also can tear cloth, by taking hold of imperceptible 

 protruding threads and pulling them out, one after another, 

 till a hole is made. But the hole that they make in a piece 

 of cloth is ragged and uneven, it is torn, not cut. They have 

 no sharp, saw-like jaws like those of hornets, and it would 

 be as impossible for them to bite into the smooth skin of a 

 fruit as it would be for a man to take a bite out of a smooth 

 wall. 



We have had as good chances as any one, perhaps, to 

 make remarks and take observations on this subject, for we 

 have had both bees and grapes, on a large scale, for 33 years 

 in this country. We now have a vineyard of 13 acres, with 

 an expected crop for 1897 of 30 tons of grapes. We have an 

 apiary of about 90 colonies of bees on the same farm, and 

 altho we have to be careful, when we crush our grapes to 

 make wine, not to leave the juice exposed, we can saj- that 

 we have never been to any real inconvenience by reason of 

 the bee's love for grape-juice. 



So give honor to whom honor is due. The bee is not 

 the enemy of the horticulturist, but his friend, and I am 

 glad to say that the better informed horticulturists have 

 long ago found this out. The others will come to it, but it 

 may take years to convince them of their mistake. It is a 

 subject which must be brought before the public at regular 

 intervals until the truth is taught in our public schools. It 

 is as necessary to teach this as it is to assert that the earth 

 turns around the sun, for those are facts which are abso- 

 lutely positive, and yet cannot be proven by careless and 

 casual observation. Hancock Co., 111. 



[The foregoing article was sent to us early in Septem- 

 ber, 1897, and for some unaccountable reason was not pub- 



lisht. We are very glad to place it before our readers at 

 this time, especially as the question of bees and grapes has 

 been referred to of late in these columns. Mr. Dadant is 

 entirely competent to speak on the subject, being a high 

 authority on both bees and grapes. — Editor.] 



Carniolan Bees, Dadant's Lang-stroth, Etc. 



BY PROF. .\. T. CUOK. 



THERE is no doubt that the Italian bee is a very great 

 favorite with nearly all our American bee-keepers. Its 

 peaceful habit, energy in gathering, courage to defend 

 its hive, and ability to get honey from flowers not within 

 reach of the common bee, have given it a wide and just rep- 

 utation. I have never had experience with more than one 

 other variety that was at all comparable with the Italian, 

 that is with the Syrian. 



The Svrian bee was thought by many to be too cross, 

 but, after a little experience, I found it as easy to manage 

 the Syrian as the Italian. While I think the Syrian is as 

 good a bee as the Italian, I was never sure that it had any 

 considerable superiority. 



From my reading, I have long had a desire to know 

 more of the Carniolan bee. Its reputation for amiability, 

 activity and vigor, and especially its ability to withstand 

 cold weather, seemed to give it superior excellence ; indeed, 

 so far as I know, there is only one disadvantage to this 

 bee, and that is the tendency to over-swarming. As over- 

 swarming results either from over-crowding of the hive or 

 some discomfort within the hive, it may, in the hands of 

 the wise bee-keeper, be no serious objection. If the Car- 

 niolan is so prolific that it speedily fills the hive with bees, 

 and thus leads to swarming, surely that would be a recom- 

 mendation. If lack of shade and over-heating leads the 

 bees to leave the hive, then that objection could easily be 

 remedied. 



It was my pleasure, during the latter part of last July, 

 to be in the East, and an exceeding pleasure to visit the 

 apiary of Mr. Frank Benton. I there saw a large number 

 of Carniolans from imported queens. As always before, 

 when I have seen the pure Carniolans, I was very much 

 pleased with their appearance. Their very large bodies and 

 light-colored rings, formed by the gray hairs, make them 

 indeed very attractive. 



As I had never had any chance to study them I was of 

 course interested to investigate their most pronounced 

 superiority — amiability. We went to the hives late in the 

 evening — Mr. Benton said it might as well be in the night 

 — opened the hives with no smoke, and examined them 

 without any bee-veils. As is well known, bees are often 

 angered by quick motions or jars. Mr. Benton lifted a 

 frame half way from the hive and let it drop, and yet there 

 was no show of anger. He also struck at the bees with his 

 hand, and blew on them roughly, and j'et there was no 

 show of resentment. From the size, beauty and amiability 

 of these bees I am ready to regard them with much favor. 



Mr. Benton — than whom there is no better authority — 

 "informs me that they rank with the Italians as honey-pro- 

 ducers. He says that the comb is as white as that of the 

 black bees, as these bees, like the black bees, leave a little 

 space between the honey and the capping. Mr. Benton ac- 

 knowledges that thej' do have the swarming instinct a little 

 more pronounced than the other races, yet he thinks that 

 this is induced, often, at least, by over-heating in the hive, 

 and will give no trouble if the hives are properly shaded. 



Mr. Benton also told me, a fact of which I was well 

 assured before, that the pure Carniolan would never have a 

 show of the yellow bands seen in the yellow races or the 

 hybrids. In case the yellow does appear there is certainly 

 some taint of blood, usually Italian. 



Prom all my reading, and from what I learned from 

 Mr. Benton, I believe that the Carniolan bees are well 

 worthy of trial, especially by those who are timid when 

 working with bees. I feel myself that I would like to go 

 into the queen-rearing business, did my duties permit, and 

 confine my attention to this race of bees. 



D.\DANT'S " LA-NGSTROTH ON THE HONEY-BEE." 



While visiting the American Bee Journal office, in 

 August, the editor put into my hands the fourth edition of 

 this excellent work. It divided my attention as I sped 

 across the country on my homeward journey with the won- 

 drous scenery of the Rocky Mountains. It is certainly a 

 most admirable book. It called to mj' mind so vividly my 



