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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



hatched. This may seem surprising, 

 Vmt try it and be convinced. 



The Syrian bees build less drone 

 comb than the blacks or Italians ; 

 they protect their stores against rob- 

 Viers with such determination that 

 they often catch the robber on the 

 wing, around tlie hive, and punish 

 them before they even get time to 

 alight ; in fact, tliey are robber proof. 

 Their bodies are more telescopic, 

 which enables them to cairy larger 

 loads of honey, and to contract their 

 bodies at other times to quite small 

 proportions. 



They are swift on the wing, flying 

 so rapidly that only those heavily 

 laden with honey can be secured on 

 the bloom. No race of bees will fly 

 more rapidly, or further (when nec- 

 essary) in search of honey than will 

 the Syrians. They have been known 

 to fly G}4 miles to obtain pasturage. 

 I have seen my Syrians '2}4 miles from 

 my apiary ; how much further they 

 went I ani unable to say. 



As honey gatherers, they are not 

 excelled, and both the Cyprians and 

 Syrians will make a greater effort to 

 obtain honey when there is a scarcity 

 than the other races, and are valuable 

 for comb honev. My Syrians work on 

 the firs' - '-of red' clover (large 

 heads) ■''^\ .^here was a plentiful 

 flow 01 ite clover honey ; and I 

 never saw bees thicker on buckwheat 

 than I saw the Syrians ou the red 

 clover this season. 



Mr. Morris, who lives T.}4 miles 

 from my apiary, one day last summer 

 came to see my bees, aiid he told me 

 when he was cutting his red clover 

 for hay. his son remarked : " Father, 

 look at the bees working on the red 

 clover." !Mr. Morris said he got oft 

 the machine to see if they were his 

 bees, but they were not ; they were a 

 different race — his are black bees — 

 when I showed him my Syrians, he 

 said they were the bees" that he saw 

 working" ou his field of red clover, and 

 he said that was the first time he 

 ever saw bees working on red clover. 

 He is a man that can be relied on. 



The Syrians winter better than the 

 Italians", come out better in the 

 spring, and do not dwindle so badly. 

 Everything considered, I regard ttie 

 Syrian bees as the most superior race 

 ever imported into this country, and 

 that, when they have been subjected 

 to the same careful selection and 

 breeding as have the Italians, they 

 will command more prominence 

 than have the Italians. I would most 

 emphatirally aflh'm that the Syrians 

 have a larger number of the necessary 

 (jualities than any other race or strain 

 of bees. I will admit that I am using 

 strong language, but my experience 

 with this race, regarding queen-breed- 

 ing, honey-gathering and wintering, 

 fully warrant me in making the state- 

 ment. These, with many other ex- 

 periences and facts connected with 

 the Syrians, fully support me in stat- 

 ing that in them' we have the founda- 

 tion on which to build Uie Apis-Av^eri- 

 cana. I am not prejudiced against any 

 race of Viees, and the above is an 

 honest description of the Syrians as I 

 see them. 

 Belle Vernon, O., Nov. 22, 1883. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Shall we u^e Old Combs ? 



C. H. DIBBERN. 



It has been claimed from time im- 

 morial that pieces of combs are in- 

 valuable to the bee-keeper. I have 

 worked on this line myself for years, 

 but have come to the "conclusion that 

 it is valuable only for the wax it 

 contains to be made into foundation. 

 I usually extract all partly - filled 

 combs in the fall, and save them care- 

 fully to be used again the following 

 spring. After practicing this for 

 vears, I am satisfied it is poor policy. 

 However it may have been, before 

 the advent of foundation, I am satis- 

 fied that, like Mr. Heddon's plan of 

 transferring, it is all changed now. 



During the past summer I used a 

 good many nice white combs in two- 

 pound sections, that had been built 

 the year before, and as tlie sections 

 were nice and new, thought I liad a 

 bonanza in getting these filled and 

 capped early. .Now, what was the re- 

 sult ':* The "bees entered the sections 

 eagerly, and in less than two weeks a 

 good part were capped. By this time 



1 was out of empty combs, and was 

 putting on sections" filled with founda- 

 tion. Now. I was beginning to think 

 of taking off some of the secxions that 

 had been filled with empty combs, 

 and what was my disgust aiid disap- 

 pointment in finding the bees uncap- 

 ping it again, and a good deal of it 

 with the caps all burst off. AVell, I 

 could only leave it, and soon com- 

 menced to take off the sections that 

 had been filled with foundation, that 

 were as line as I ever saw. I kept 

 taking oft' some of the sections that 

 were full of empty combs about all 

 summer, and most'of it went into No. 



2 honey, while that built on founda- 

 tion, made at the same time, was ex- 

 tra nice. 



The explanation is very simple. 

 When honey is coming in liberally, 

 the bees wil'l fill comb that is already 

 built too fast, and cap it over before 

 it is ripe and souring ensues. If the 

 bees are compelled to build the comb, 

 or draw out foundation, the cells are 

 filled so gradually that the honey will 

 keep by the time the cells are built 

 out. Every particle of comb should 

 be saved, and carefully melted up and 

 made into foundation. It may look 

 like sacriledge to melt up nice " white 

 comb, but it will pay. 



Milan, 111.. Nov. 27, 1883. 



Trenton, Ontario, Convention. 



A meeting of bee-keepers in the 

 vicinitv of Trenton, Qnt., was held at 

 Trento'n on Oct. 16, 1SS3. P. V. L)emp- 

 sey was elected Chairman, and .J. II. 

 Peck Secretary. Constitution and by- 

 laws were ado"pted, and the following 

 were elected oflicers for the ensuing 

 year : 



President, P. C. Dempsey ; Vice- 

 Presidents. W. C. Wells. C. \V. Post, 

 S. Powell, J. G. A. Wallace, H. G. 

 Stafford, Edward Caverly, Allen 

 Pringle, John Mitchell, R. A. Brook, 

 A. D. Allen. D. J. Hawley ; James II. 



Peck, Secretary-Treasurer : H. F. 

 Whittier, Janitor. 



THE BEST METHOD OF AVINTERING 

 BEES. 



W. C. Wells winters his bees in a. 

 cellar under his siiop — has a sub-earth 

 ventilation by means of 4-inch tile 

 pipe — prefers' 6-inch tile. When he 

 prepares his hive for winter, takes 

 empty combs out of the hive and 

 crowds the remaining sections up 

 close, by means of division-boards. 

 Makes a frame the size of the top of 

 the hive, and about 2 inches deep, 

 tacks on cotton cloth, and fills with 

 sawdust, which allows the dampness 

 to pass oft', while it retains the animal 

 heat in the hive. Packs his colonies 

 about the middle of October, and puts 

 them into the cellar about the middle 

 of November. Keeps the tempera- 

 ture as near 45° Fahr., as possible. 



W. C. Post winters his bees simi- 

 larly to the plan of Mr. Wells, but 

 ventilates by means of the cellar 

 windows. 



S. Powell winters his bees in a cel- 

 lar with caps removed, and nothing 

 but a course piece of bagging pla<'ea 

 over the top of the hive — ventilates 

 his hives by means of a hole in the 

 back part of the hive, covered by fine 

 wire cloth. 



H. G. Stafford winters his bees sim- 

 ilarly to Mr. AVells— has sub-earth 

 ventilation for his cellar, in which he 

 winters his bees. 



J. G. A. WalUtfe wintered his bees, 

 last winter, in the stone basement of 

 a barn, and lost -58 out of 66 colonies ; 

 attributes his loss entirely to sour 

 honey. 



P. C. Dempsey winters his bees in 

 bee cellars, specially built and venti- 

 lated for that purpose. His experi- 

 ence covers a period of thirty years. 

 Thinks the principal cause of failure 

 is bv not putting bees into good win- 

 ter ' quarters before hard freezing 

 weather. 



D. J. Hawley winters bees in a good 

 cellar, without any special ventilation 

 except from the bottom of the hive. 

 Does not think ventilation from the 

 top of the hive advisable, as it is es- 

 sential to keep up the animal heat in 

 the hive. Rarifled air caused by ani- 

 mal heat will ascend to the top of the 

 nive, while all the foul gases will de- 

 scend to the bottom of the hive. 

 Hence, the necessity of bottom venti- 

 lation. Where a very large number 

 of colonies are kept in the same cellar, 



teneral ventilation is necessary in ad- 

 ition to hive ventilation. 

 J. II. Peck wintered his bees suc- 

 cessfully from the instructions he re- 

 ceived from the Hon. Lewis Wall- 

 bridge (now Chief Justice of Mani- 

 toba), from whom he obtained his 

 bees. Had no ventilation, except 

 from the bottom of the hive. Thinks 

 if bees are put into an ordinary cellar, 

 with at least 30 pounds of libney to 

 each hive, and caps removed, and 

 cushions of sawdust or cotton batting 

 placed on top of the hives, and that 

 where not more than 10 or 12 colonies 

 are placed in the same cellar, that 

 cellar ventilation is not absolutely 

 necessary, but perhaps advisable. His 

 bees were housed, last year, 1-50 days, 



