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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Dec. 28, 1899. 



own way, as in the meantime their numbers grew beauti- 

 fully less — thanks to a reliable shot-gun. 



The g'reen oriole has, however, the honor of beingf the 

 greatest gourmand in this line that I have j-et encountered, 

 and its capacity for stowing away bees and s/ings is simplj- 

 marvellous. To secure its prey, it sometimes settles on a 

 hive and catches the bees as they fly home : at other times 

 it darts from some convenient perch and takes the bee on 

 the wing ; but its most favorite plan is to locate itself in a 

 fruit-tree and either snatch up a bee as it alights on a blos- 

 som, or as it flies from flower to flower. In one of these 

 little friends that I shot and made a post-mortem examina- 

 tion upon, I found IS stings in the stomach, sticking into 

 the lining of it, just like pins in a pin-cushion, some of 

 them being very firmlj' implanted and imbedded almost up 

 to the head. Another bird had no fewer than 27 stings im- 

 bedded in its alimentary canal, and also one sting with its 

 poison-sac attacht sticking loosely in its throat at the base 

 of the tongue. I sent on the head and stomach of one of 

 these birds to Mr. H. Tryon, our Government Entomologist, 

 and herewith append his report : 



"The bird from which the head was derived that you 

 submitted for examination on July 28, is an example of the 

 green oriole (Oriolus viridis), a not uncommon denizen of 

 Brisbane district, especially during the winter months. The 

 portion of its alimentary canal, that you also left for in- 

 spection, contained, as you surmised, numerous bee-stings 

 (seven of these were identified by me) that had partly pene- 

 trated and were still fixt in its mucous and muscular wall. 

 There also occurred upon the inner lining of the viscus, and 

 upon the bird's tongue also, several hairs that had been 

 derived from the body of a bee. The special features pre- 

 sented by these hairs and stings, when considered together, 

 yielded undoubted evidence that they were derived from 

 honey-bees upon which the bird had fed. The green oriole 

 is well known as being one of those birds that are both fru- 

 givorous and insectivorous. It feeds upon figs, mulberries, 

 loquats, various berries, and upon insects generally. I am 

 not aware that it has ever been previously noted, that it in- 

 cludes the honey-bee in its dietary." 



Does it not seem an extraordinary thing that birds 

 should be endowed with an immunity from the poison of a 

 bee-sting, when one sting has been known to be sufficient 

 to cause the death of a human being ? Some writers, how- 

 ever, maintain that birds eat only drones, others that they 

 extract the sting first, or else swallow the heads only, but 

 these are certainly mistaken, as I have proved times out of 

 number. 



In regard to the martins, altho they have paid repeated 

 visits to my apiaries, they have never caused much loss, as 

 on account of a very accommodating habit they possess of 

 perching together in a row, their destruction is easily ac- 

 complisht. The magpies, however, are among our most val- 

 uable insectivorous birds, and I therefore always put up 

 with a good deal from them before resorting to violent 

 measures, in fact it is now several years since I destroyed 

 one, but the gluttonous little oriole is inexorably outlawed 

 and therefore shot on sight, every time. 



In conclusion I will mention that I have lookt up scores 

 of works, right back as far as 1691, and while most of them 

 accuse certain birds of eating bees, not one writer seems to 

 have made the discovery that the stings may be swallowed 

 with impunity, and may even pierce the walls of the stom- 

 ach and yet to all appearance have no injurious effect upon 

 the bird. H. L. Jones. 



A General Report for the Season of 1899. 



BY J. S. H.\KTZKLI,. 



ONE year ago I wrote an article for the excellent Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal and the fraternity of bee-keepers — a 

 report of the product of honey from my apiary and my 

 experience with the Golden system of managing bees for 

 the production of comb honey. Now that the season of 

 1899 has closed, and with its closing I can but record in 

 large type, FAILURE, I am in no way fitted to make up 

 an account relative to any plan for the production of honey. 



The spring of 1899 opened apparently favorable, bees 

 building up rapidly, and were in prime condition forgath- 

 ering nectar from all sources from which we expect surplus 

 honey stored in sections in this part of country. Poplar, 

 white clover, basswood, sumac and buckwheat all appeared 

 in prime condition, but failed to yield the sweets desired. 

 I do not think I ever witnest as dense growth, or as much 

 bloom on white clover in these parts, but all of no avail. 



I entered the season with 57 colonies, having lost 3 colo- 



nies during winter, and one colony queenless in late fall I 

 doubled up. The product of honey from 57 colonies, spring 

 count, in round numbers was 384 completed sections — an 

 average of not quite 7 sections per colony, and very many 

 light weights, therefore a very meager amount to make 

 comparison of the Golden and general plan ; and you know 

 the demoralizing effect on the bee-keeper of having to 

 record failure. Truly, they come too often, in this section 

 of country, at least. 



I have been engaged in the business of keeping bees 

 since 1890, and can say truthfully that during the nine 

 years I have not known one that the average yield from 

 spring count of colonies was SO pounds. 



In 1894 I had 39 colonies, spring count, and the yield 

 for that season was 1,500 pounds, which was the best I ever 

 had, taking number of colonies into account, and the pro- 

 duct was very superior in quality to any produced before or 

 since. That season one colony produced 112 completed sec- 

 tions of honey, and the colony on scales, during basswood 

 bloom, gained in one day nine pounds, but that for one day 

 only, proving the best ever known in my experience. 



My purpose has been, and is at present, to go out of the 

 bee-keeping business, but thus far I must record failure in 

 this, also, owing to my inability to get away from home 

 last winter to dispose of my equipment. And to my great 

 surprise now, I was induced by a proffer made me, to pur- 

 chase 19 colonies more only a short time since, and now 

 record in the yard 85 colonies, which I will endeavor to dis- 

 pose of during the winter ; and if failure is to be inscribed 

 in this also, I will certainly emigrate to some more favored 

 locality. 



Owing to the meager amount of honey secured, the sea- 

 son now closed will not compare results of the Golden and 

 general plans in its production, but I will saj' that colonies 

 in Golden hives are much the best supplied with stores for 

 winter, and now I have 52 colonies on the Golden plan. 



Last winter was the severest ever known here, the ther- 

 mometer indicating' as low as 26 degrees below zero. 



Our friend and critic, Mr. R. L. Taylor, criticized and 

 somewhat doubted my statements concerning the report I 

 made of honey poduced by the Golden and general plans in 

 the season of 1898, and as I winter my bees on the summer 

 stands I intend giving my experience with this very vital 

 problem in this and many sections of our country, and 

 would request the worthy critic named to explain, if possi- 

 ble, thru the columns of the American Bee Journal, "the 

 why " of the difference or cause of success and failure. 



Of 40 colonies wintered in Golden hives, the loss was 

 none ; of 20 colonies wintered on the general plan, the loss 

 was 3. By the general plan I mean hives with empty 

 supers on, and cushions of chaff in same, or colonies in 

 winter-cases packt with chaff, and cushions on top. Will 

 Mr. Taylor state which of the two plans he would consider 

 preferable, from the experience as stated ? 



I have been noticing lately hints of $100 for a queen- 

 bee — certainly a very generous offer, but if all the qualities 

 stated are embodied in said queen, the amount would in my 

 estimation be a mere pittance for her. However, here is an 

 excellent opportunity for some of our noted queen-breeders 

 to undertake to win the prize (if such it could be called) — I 

 mean the $100. The queen I fully recognize would be a 

 great prize. 



Now, when the queen spoken of is produced, I will take 

 it upon myself to add $100 more for her, conditionallj' — 

 if all queens reared from the celebrated one mentioned pro- 

 duce bees that are equally good in disposition and gathering 

 honey. 



My experience has proven to me beyond doubt, that 

 there is as much difference in queens and their progeny, 

 altho reared from the same mother-queen, as there is in a 

 family of children from the same parents. No two are of 

 the same temperament or energy, and no two will show 

 equally in prosperity with the same surroundings or in the 

 same locality. Careful observation has imprest this in- 

 delibly on my mind, and I will freely pay a handsome bonus 

 to any one engaged in keeping bees, say of ten or more 

 colonies, where each colony stores an equal amount of 

 honey. This being unknown and impossible, can we rea- 

 sonably expect the much-talkt of queen to be brought into 

 existence? Once produced, she would certainly be worthy 

 a palace or crown — yes, both. And if I could by any means 

 be informed in regard to time and place, I would certainly 

 attend the ceremonies, and, if necessary, pay an admittance 

 fee. 



In conclusion, I will say that last winter's losses of bees 

 to bee-keepers in these parts varied from 3 to 100 percent, 



