1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



327 



then I should say that they would produce more honey in the 

 original hive, and with only one queen ; but inasmuch as bees 

 are, as a rule, determined to swarm where worked for comb 

 honey, it looks to me as if the above would give more honey 

 than could be obtained either by letting them swarm, or so 

 throwing them out of their normal condition by manipulation 

 so that swarming can be prevented. 



All cutting of queen-cells, caging of queens, etc., to pro- 

 vent swarming seem to put the colony in an abnormal condi- 

 tion, so that the work that tliey do while so placed seems to 

 be done with a protest ; hence it often happens that the sea- 

 son is mostly consumed by the bees sulking the time away, 

 instead of their working with a will. Such a state of affairs 

 always results in a small crop of honey, and, as a rule, that 

 which we do get is of poor quality. If there is a short-cut 

 route to prevent swarming, and at the same time secure a 

 good yield of a good quality of honey, which can be used at 

 any out-apiary, it will be a great boon to all those wishing to 

 keep bees more than what the home-yard will accommodate. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



Facts About Bees and Strawberries. 



BY KEV. M. MAHIN, D. D. 



I have nociced in the American Bee Journal some discus- 

 sion between Rev. Emerson T. Abbott and Hon. Eugene Secor 

 on the subject of " Bees and Strawberries," and as we all want 

 " facts " I will give some of the results of my observation on 

 the subject. 



1. It is a fact that bees perform A, very important part in 

 the pollenization of the pistils of many plants. Without honey 

 and pollen gathering insects of some kind we would have no 

 melons, cucumbers, pumpkins or squashes. And doubtless 

 the seeding and fruiting of all tlowers visited by the bees are 

 materially helped by them. No well-informed person will call 

 these facts in question. 



2. It is a fact that in this region of country honey-bees 

 very rarely touch strawberry blossoms. I have had a straw- 

 berry plantation in close proximity to my bee-hives, and have 

 made frequent and careful observations, and to the best of 

 my recollection I never saw three bees at a time among thu 

 strawberry plants, though the bloom was abundant. It may 

 be that on a different soil, and in different climatic conditions, 

 bees may work on strawberry blossoms, but they do not do it 

 in this part of the country. There are, however, other insects 

 that do visit the strawberry blossoms, and do for them what 

 our bees do for many other flowers. But Apis mellifiea is of 

 no practical advantage to the strawberry grower. This is a 

 fact, and facts ought to be recognized. 



S. It is a fact that strawberry growers do not plant va- 

 rieties that are exclusively staminate. They would be very 

 foolish to do so. From my boyhood I have been familiar with 

 the fact that there are wild strawberry plants that never bear 

 any fruit, but I have never known them to be cultivated. 



Bro. Abbott says : " The rows of vines producing stamens 

 only bear no fruit, of course, and are of no value only as fer- 

 tilizers." Why should ground be given to rows of plants 

 which produce no fruit, when such varieties as Gandd, Jessie, 

 Captain Jack, Parker Earl, Wilson, and many others, furnish 

 abundant pollen, and produce very fine crops of berries be- 

 sides ? Bro. Abbott is certainly mistaken in supposing that 

 any exclusively staminate strawberry plants are cultivated. 

 It may not be scientifically correct to designate as staminate 

 those varieties that have ijoth stamens and pistils, but it Is 

 done in all fruit catalogues, and by all writers on fruit-cul- 

 ture. New Castle, Ind. 



iii. 



>*• 



Bee-Keepiag in the Bermuda Island. 



BY W. K. MORKISON. 



Myself and bees landed here on Feb. 23, and despite 

 their many hardships were all alive, and soon got down to 

 business. All have heard of these lovely Isles, but definite 

 knowledge is rare. The area of the group is 2<J square miles, 

 and about 22 long — hardly enough room for one enterprising 

 bee-master; but just think how nice for queen-rearing — no 

 foul brood, no dysentery, and no blizzards. The highest tem- 

 perature in summer is 86-. 



The chief crops are lilies, onions and potatoes, but 

 bananas, melons, squashes and pawpaws are grown for home 

 consumption ; in fact, almost anything seems to grow. Among 

 trees the cedar is monarch of all, and is idolized by the natives 

 for lack of a better. Strange as it may seem, the finest land 

 is uncultivated, being marsh land, easy of drainage. Here is 



a chance for those smart Canadians we have been told of 

 lately, for British born subjects only can own land. Straw- 

 berries do well, and fetch prices that only editors and million- 

 aires are willing to pay ! 



' Mr. Root might come and see the finest roads in all the 

 world, over 100 miles of them, smooth as asphalt, and laid 

 amidst enchanting scenery. 



Next to Gibraltar, this is the most important military post 

 in the world, and literally bristles with guns and other imple- 

 ments of war. But Bermuda has higherclaims for distinction, 

 for it has no beggars and no paupers, and it is studded with 

 churches and schools so numerous that I am puzzled to know 

 where they get the money to sustain them. The people speak 

 excellent English, and the ladles have a speech that is cer- 

 tainly charming to the ear, and fills the hearts of their Ameri- 

 can sisters with despair. It need hardly be said that the trade 

 relations are chiefly with Uncle Sam, the colony having a 

 tariff of 5 per cent, for revenue purposes only. 



Altogether, I am happily situated in almost every way. 

 The air is remarkably clear, and also soft, and strolling along 

 these superb roads in the clear moonlight, mere existence Is a 

 delight, and one gets a foretaste of that "Beautiful Valley of 

 Eden." But it is not always thus, for terrific winds sweep 

 over the Islands, and Old Atlantic is lashed into a high fury. 



It would take some space to elaborate the lily business, 

 and needs a page by itself, but if any of the fraternity of bee- 

 men desire a few bulbs for gardening I will buy what they 

 want, or would be glad if friends would send me seeds of 

 honey-plants for an exchange. They are growing here that 

 lovely plant — the " Freesia" — and the bees love it-as much as 

 men do, for its fragrance, borne on the breezes, is never to be 

 forgotten ; but a native oxalls they simply get wild over, 

 which I may describe at a future time. 



Now about my last article, on page 36, I have a word to 

 say. Mr. Miles (page 132) seems to think that that dovetail 

 will be hard to make. It's not so. Mine were made by hand, 

 and are all right. If they are made as accurately as my flat 

 hive roofs, they'll do. The " key " should be made of hard- 

 wood, and have a shaving taken off Its broadsides so as to not 

 drive the pieces apart. The hive should be put together in a 

 box form, and all joints glued, then you will have a hive to be 

 proud of, and last a life time. 



I have recently seen a remarkably useful book on extra- 

 tropical plants suitable for culture, and as it designates the 

 honey-producing ones, It should be In the possession of every 

 bee-keeper. It gives a succinct account of a vast number of 

 plants suitable for culture outside the tropics, and is pub- 

 lished by the Victorian Government. It may be procured 

 from John Ferris, Government Printer, Melbourne, Australia. 

 Its probable cost may be about $2. 



Devonshire, Bermuda Isles, April 2. 



Planting to Help Out Bee-Pasturage. 



BY W. H. MORSE. 



Planting for honey seems to be unsatisfactory to the 

 many that have tried it, and quite a number claim a total 

 failure, but no one will dare deny that we can improve our 

 locality. The majority of the writers in the Bee-Keepers' 

 Review seem to thinlc things are all going to be paralyzed in 

 the future in the producing of honey. Well, we are getting 

 the basswood and other timber cut by the wholesale, but if 

 the forests are cleared it cuts that supply off, but another 

 springs up to take its place, and what is to hinder planting to 

 get results (answer), for the other fellow's bees to gather the 

 nectar? Well, think that way, and you are sure to claim bee- 

 keeping doesn't pay finally, but, say, if you plant a tree, see 

 to it that it is a honey-producing variety ; and if clover, don't 

 scatter sweet clover in a neighborhood which Is kept in good 

 order, but be judicious in your selection. Go into a deserted 

 part, if there is one, and give the sweet clover a chance to run 

 the weeds out, not forgetting to add a little catnip — it is a fine 

 plant for waste-places, it is as tenacious as sweet clover, and 

 when once sowed it will take care of itself. But if the neigh- 

 borhood has no place for such plants, give it a liberal dose of 

 white clover seed, but don't go to the pasture to sow it, as the 

 the grass will in most cases run it out, but utilize the sides of 

 the roads, or any bare and exposed position. 



I will mention an incident in regard to white clover which 

 I noticed in particular the last two summers. Not more than 

 100 yards from my bees there is a steep rise in the land, and 

 no shade in any direction, and this land was covered with 

 white clover. About the same distance in another direction 

 the land has some trees growing on It, and being lower, it is 



