THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



167 



races of God's beings. The cows 

 spare the blossoms for the bees, and 

 the bees fertilize them that they may 

 -bring forth seeds and perpetuate the 

 foliage of the plant for the nourish- 

 ment of the cows. 



Even our ancient progenitors, in 

 Bible times, understood this law much 

 better than do many at the present 

 day, for the promised land " flowed 

 with milk and honey," as one of its 

 chief characteristics. The cow and 

 the bee were not antagonistic in the 

 Holy Land, why should they be here 

 now in our land. 



If 1 were to locate an apiary for 

 white clover I would put my bees in a 

 rich dairy region. Our most success- 

 ful eastern apiaries are thus located. 

 L. C. Root & Bro.'s, and G. M. Doo- 

 little's great yields of honey are ob- 

 tained in one of the richest dairy 

 regions in the country ; still the but- 

 ter and cheese from that region com- 

 mand the highest market price. 



I would also prefer locating a dairy 

 in a region where many bees are kept 

 for the many advantages that would 

 accrue to the beneht of the dairy. 

 For the highest success of either of 

 these industries, I afu positive they 

 should be conducted in the same local- 

 ity. 



Ilartfdrd, N. Y. 



For tbe Americnn Bee Journal. 



Bacterium the Cause of Dysentery. 



CHAS. F. MUTH. 



I just noticed" bacterium " in No. 

 8, page 122, of tlie Bee Journal, 

 which, perhaps, allows of a few sug- 

 gestions. Doctor Southwick says, 

 very properly, as follows : "Bacteria 

 do not work much below temperate, 

 and not at all below freezing. They 

 work better the hotter it is, until it 

 gets hot enough to destroy vegetable 

 life. Let us compare this with bee 

 dysentery. Bees are most apt to have 

 the dysentery in long spells of severe, 

 cold weather, when the bees are quiet 

 and the hive at its lowest tempera- 

 lure, at a time when bacteria work 

 but little if any," etc. 



Let me suggest, right here, that 

 this is the very point where bees try 

 their utmost to create all the heat they 

 are able to. All that is needed yet is 

 insullicient ventilation, and you have 

 the very hot-bed of bacteria'. Water 

 stands and hangs in big drops on the 

 combs, walls and under the covering ; 

 this, aided by the great heat created 

 by tiie bees, turns the honey about 

 their cluster sour, and as the bees 

 gradually die off by dysentery, and 

 the heat diminishes, mold commences 

 to cover the combs and keeps growing 

 thicker as long as there are bees 

 enough left to keep up the necessary 

 temperature. 



Mr. Ileddon wrote one of the best 

 articles on wintering (in Gleanings, 

 I believe) I have seen for some time 

 at the conclusion of which he states 

 that bees are safest when the inside of 

 their hive is kept dry. This can only 

 be done by a proper upward ventila- 

 tion. My covering of the brood cham- 

 ber is a straw mat. Last fall I bored 



a 1>4 inch hole through each side of 

 the upper story, near the top. and my 

 bees never looked drier and healthier 

 than they do now, and I liave never 

 found less dead bees in tlie bottom of 

 the hives. I liad, accidentally, 

 skipped two hives and forgot to bore 

 those ventilating holes through the 

 upper stories on which the covers 

 were resting tight. These two are .the 

 only hives with moldy combs. The 

 bees are in good condition, because 

 our w^inter was a mild one, and they 

 were not obliged to create a heat as 

 they would have done if the winter 

 had been as severe as last winter. 

 Otherwise, heat and dampness would 

 have brought bacteria, and those two 

 colonies would very likely have died 

 of dysentery. 

 Cincinnati, O. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Another Call from "Strange Visitor." 



L. W. VAN KIRK. 



I am still living, Mr. Doolittle. hav- 

 ing passed through the "ordeal," but 

 not without incurring some of the 

 ulterior penalties which are so com- 

 mon when one tramples on the corns 

 of a " specialist." I have followed 

 your writings for years, and some- 

 where in the " lumber room " of my 

 memory I have stored a few thoughts 

 that I cannot pass without an ex- 

 planation. You say " if we wish a 

 good yield of box honey, use so few 

 frames in the hive that the queen 

 keeps them literally full of brood," 

 and in your report "for 1880 you say : 

 "June 18th found us feeding to keep 

 from starving, and on July 13th bass- 

 wood closed, after which our bees 

 hardly obtained a living." Here is 

 what I don"t understand : If your 

 queens keep the brood chamber liter- 

 ally full of brood during the honey 

 season, where does their winter stores 

 come from y If June 18th found you 

 feeding bees to keep them from starv- 

 ing, and tlie season closed July 13th, 

 your bees must have been short of 

 stores in the brood chamber, if you 

 kept the queens laying right along. 

 Again, if your queens kept the brood 

 chamber literally full of brood, from 

 whence coiueth those frames of sealed 

 honey that you speak of converting 

 into brood in" the spring V Have you 

 another apiary to work for the one 

 from which you report V 



As you were free to give the readers 

 of the .Journal what you learned 

 from the " chat," perhaps I may have 

 the same privilege. " Mine host," in 

 his report for ISSl, says : " One thing 

 we noticed with pleas'ure, our colonies 

 gave nearly an equal yield per colony," 

 and adds, " this is what I have been 

 breeding for during the past few 

 years. Reader, if you wish to obtain 

 nearly an eipiul yield per hive, unite 

 tillyoK get all strong, take frames of 

 brood from the strong and give to the 

 weak, mix them up tlioroughly, give 

 them an even start and keep them 

 that way, as nearly as possible, and 

 you will get nearly an equal yield per 

 hive. Then attribute the result to 

 your skill in breeding and not manip- 



ulations. Again, bee-keeping to be 

 most protitable should become a 

 specialitv, and the culture of small 

 fruits, etc., a side issue. You must 

 arise and proclaim to the bee-keeping 

 fraternity that vou have bred a supe- 

 rior strain of bees, and that you don't 

 raise cheap queens, etc., and when 

 you find that " this stand don't sell all 

 the cakes," come down to dollar 

 queens and grades. 



In a word, get all you can out of 

 your bees, then let them nearly all die 

 in the winter, and say they just died 

 and you can't tell why. Your loss 

 will help to balance your big report 

 and show that none but a" specialist" 

 need try to make bee-keeping pay. 



Washington, Fa. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Various Colors in Bees. 



S. A. SHUCK. 



Of all that has been written in 

 favor of tine color in bees, I have not 

 seen any reason, save for the sake of 

 beauty (if that is a reason), given in 

 favor of the golden stripes. 



It seems to me that some in their 

 eagerness, have forgotten that it is 

 facts and argument, that is required 

 to settle this controversy. If we have 

 no reasons to give, let us give up the 

 battle. 



Bees, like all nature, animate or in- 

 animate, must have color, and if the 

 beautiful can be as useful as that not 

 so beautiful, I beg the privilege of 

 taking my choice ; if not, give me 

 that which is most useful. Color be- 

 longs to everything, and many things 

 are known by their color. How could 

 we tell whether our bees were Italian, 

 German, or Hybrid, if it were not for 

 color y 



The various races of people are as 

 peculiar in color, as in language or 

 form. Certain colors belong to cer- 

 tain classes of animals, fowls, and in- 

 sects. Who ever saw a red horse? 

 And of all animals, who ever saw a 

 golden colored one ? 



Among the feathery tribes we find 

 all colors, but this yellow color is not 

 as common as many others. But of 

 insects, who has not seen yellow in all 

 its various shades. If we find that 

 this golden color is common in insects, 

 or anything, is there any quality, trait 

 of cliaracter, or disposition attriliuta- 

 ble to this color, that should make us 

 fear or condemn its possessor ? 



Of the different races of bees in all 

 parts of the world, those possessing 

 yellow bands are the most common, 

 (judging from what I can gather from 

 books and journals). If this be true, 

 and if the Italian bees have proven 

 their sui)eriority (who will deny it), 

 as a race, over any black bees known, 

 will some of the friends, who are in- 

 sisting so strongly for dark or leather- 

 colored bees, please show us wherein, 

 or how, these golden bands interfere 

 with the vai-ious traits of character 

 of tliese industrious little creatures '? 



I am willing to admit that I believe 

 that many apiarists have made seri- 

 ous mistakes while breeding for 

 color. But I do not believe the mis- 



