480 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



ably owing to the laat named quality, 

 are more liable to suffer from dysen- 

 tery and spring dwindling than the 

 blacks. 



From my own experience, and what 

 I can learn from others, I have no 

 doubt that the Cyprians are the best 

 honey gatherers known ; one colony 

 in Texas gathering over 800 pounds of 

 honey. They are remarkably prolific, 

 and are the most beautiful bees with 

 which I am acquainted. As to their 

 disposition, authorities differ so much 

 that it is liard telling anything by 

 what we read about them". JVIy ex- 

 perience with them in this respect is 

 about as follows : While they are 

 gathering honey from any source, or 

 being fed, I can handle them with 

 ease, and much taster than any other 

 bees, and with less stings ; owing to 

 the ease with which ttiey can be 

 shaken from the combs, they are the 

 best to extract from, but after the 

 honey season is over let them alone, 

 and at any time during the season it 

 will not do to show any fear. 



My experience with Holy Land bees 

 is somewhat limited. I believe their 

 principal claim is in being more pro- 

 lific than any other race, and are as 

 amiable as the Italians. In my opin- 

 ion the coming bee must possess the 

 energy and hardiness of the Cyprian, 

 and docility of the Italian, combined 

 with the prolific qualities of the Holy 

 Land bees. 



I am not prepared at the present 

 time to mark out any particular course 

 for the bee-keeper to pursue, but be 

 not content with an average of 25 

 pounds of surplus honey per colony, 

 when some of our best give 100 pounds 

 or more The work of improving the 

 present bee, is not destined to be the 

 work of one person. The queen 

 breeder will endeavor to produce 

 whatever quality his customers call 

 for; if they are satisfied with and call 

 for rings and bands, the queen breeder 

 will produce them if the purchaser 

 demands good honey gatherers in 

 preference to color, they will be forth- 

 coming. 



The old style of bee-keeping had 

 one advantage over the present 

 method, as it gave full scope to that 

 natural law, " the survival of the 

 fittest," as all colonies that had not 

 succeeded in gathering a winter's 

 supply of stores were either consigned 

 to the brimstone pit or left to starve, 

 while under the present management, 

 colonies that are short of stores are 

 fed, and every queen kept alive if 

 possible ; whether they possess any 

 good qualities or not, thus often keep- 

 ing alive queens that in the end may 

 prove a positive injury to their owner. 



In my opinion a queen should not 

 be tolerated in an apiary unless her 

 progeny are possessed of the follow- 

 ing qualities : 



Pirst. — Good honey gatherers. 

 Second.— Hardy to winter. 

 Third.— Easy to handle. 

 Fourth. — Yellow bands. 



There is much more that I would 

 like to say upon this subject, but as I 

 have already taken up too much of 

 your valuable time, I will only say, 

 do not be satisfied unless your bees 



are good honey gatherers, hardy to 

 winter, easy to handle, and possessed 

 of yellow bands — thus hastening the 

 arrival of the Coming Bee. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Wintering on Summer Stands. 



J. B. POND, JK. 



To those who desire to follow the 

 strict rule of nature, it must seem 

 conclusive that our bees should be 

 wintered on their summer stands. It 

 may be argued that domesticated bees 

 are not in a state of nature, but that 

 argument carries little weight, as the 

 only change made in causing them to 

 subserve to the best interest of man, 

 is that of furnishing them with a 

 better and more comfortable home for 

 themselves, and one that is more con- 

 venient to manipulate by its owner. 

 As a matter of fact, bees are not 

 domesticated, as are the ordinary 

 domesticated farm animals. They are 

 never tamed ; trueby selectionwemay 

 rid them of bad qualities to a certain 

 extent, and to a certain extent im- 

 prove them, but till we can fully con- 

 trol the matter of fertilization, the 

 work of improvement will not be 

 complete, however satisfactory may 

 be our approximate results. In the 

 matter of wintering, if we assume 

 correctly, that our bees should be 

 wintered safely on summer stands, 

 the question will at once arise, " how 

 can this be done V" If done at all, it 

 must necessarily be done in accord- 

 ance with natural laws ; and when we 

 ascertain fully and completely just 

 what those natural laws require, in 

 order to accomplish this end, then the 

 problem is solved, and the question 

 correctly answered. Of course it can- 

 not be expected that every colony in 

 an apiary will be wintered success- 

 fully. Death is the great leveller, 

 and all animate things must bow sub- 

 missively to the reaper's stroke ; the 

 point is to reduce winter losses to a 

 minimum. 



In order to ascertain a remedy for 

 disease, the first thing is to make a 

 correct diagnosis ; so with our bees, 

 if we wish to learn how to prepare 

 them, so they will pass safely through 

 a long period of wintry weather, we 

 must first learn what it is that des- 

 troys them, when no measures are 

 taken for their safety. In some cases 

 bees die of starvation, and that, too, 

 when plenty of honey is contained in 

 the frames, and in all probability this 

 is iM nine cases out of ten the cause of 

 loss. If a sufficient amount of honey 

 is not given to support them, when 

 the colonies are left to the tender 

 mercies of an inclement winter, we 

 must expect to lose them ; for that 

 reason it is assumed, as every one now 

 leaves sufficient stores in the hive to 

 support the colony, that the cause of 

 loss is the inability of the bees to 

 reach the honey furnished them. I 

 have been so successful in wintering, 

 that for 16 years I have not lost a 

 colony on standard Langstroth frames 

 on summer stands. This I do not 

 consider luck, but the result of fol- 

 lowing the natural laws which govern 



the honey-bee, when in a state of con- 

 finement, owing to severe wintry 

 weather. 



My method of preparation assures 

 the placing of stores in the hive, in 

 such position that the bees can at all 

 times and under all circumstances 

 have access to them'; also in so pack- 

 ing the colony that all excess of mois- 

 ture will imperceptibly pass oS from 

 the hive, and not be allowed to re- 

 main and cause death, by embracing 

 the cluster in its icy fold, when unable 

 to generate a sufficient amount of 

 heat to prevent it from freezing. I do 

 not believe that any ordinary colony 

 is destroyed by cold ; I have seen a 

 colony exposed in a box hive without 

 any bottom board, for ten days with 

 the themometer standing from 5° to 

 14° below zero, without injury, which 

 is proof sufficient to me of the cor- 

 rectness of my belief. What then 

 does destroy the colony ? My answer 

 is excess of moisture allowed to re- 

 main in the hive, which is condensed 

 to ice, owing to the inability of the 

 colony to generate heat sufficient to 

 counteract it, or else inability of the 

 cluster to pass from one comb to 

 anotljer after having used up the 

 stores within its reach. If I am cor- 

 rect — and who can prove that I am 

 not ? — the remedy is plain and simple. 

 I have assumed, and still assume, that 

 much depends upon the form of 

 frame that is used, and claim with a 

 large degree of pertinacity that the 

 standard Langstroth is the correct 

 form ; this, however, is a matter of 

 opinion which I claim the right to 

 hold, and which I do hold only after 

 many experiments with it, side by 

 side with other and deeper frames. 

 However much may depend upon the 

 form of frame, the other conditions 

 mentioned are essential, and I fully 

 believe that any one who accepts and 

 makes use of them in preparing for 

 winter, will meet with the minimum 

 of loss. 



Poxboro, Mass., Sept. 7, 1883. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



Iowa Bee-Keepers' Association. 



At a meeting of the bee-keepers of 

 Iowa, held on the State Fair grounds 

 at Des Moines, on Wednesday even- 

 ing, Sept. 6, after a full and free dis- 

 cussion of the bee business and its 

 interests, it was voted to organize a 

 State Association. Rev. O. Clute, of 

 Iowa City, was elected president, and 

 L. E. Cardell, of Malcom, secretary, 

 and M. Sorrick, of Des Moines, treas- 

 urer for the ensuing year. The presi- 

 dent, secretary and treasurer, together 

 with Mr. O. O. Poppleton were ap- 

 pointed an executive committee. It 

 was decided to hold a meeting of the 

 association on the State Fair grounds 

 next year, on Wednesday of the Fair 

 week. 



The project of having the society's 

 headquarters in a tent owned by the 

 society on the Fair grounds, was 

 talked over. It was thought that in 

 such a tent meetines could be held 

 every evening during Fair week, and 



Eapers could be read, and discussions 

 eld on points of interest. It was 



