1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



473 



CONDUCTED BY 



Re^'. JEmerson T. Abbott, St. tTosepi, Afo. 



One Live Specialist Found. — The following 

 letter will indicate that there is at least oiie live specialist in 

 the honey-busiuess in the United States : 



Las Crucbs, New Mexico, May 29, 1895. 

 Mr. E. T. Aubott, St. Joseph, Mo., 



Dear Sir: — In your article on page 270, you ask if there 

 is anyone in the United States who makes a living out of bees 

 alone ; if so, to hold up his hand. Well, here comes one with 

 both hands up. 1 make a living out of my bees and have no 

 side-shows of any kind, and also have some money left over 

 my living. You ask, "How do I do it?" Well, I keep on an 

 average about 200 colonies of bees, work them for comb 

 honey, and sell wherever I can find a market. I have new 

 honey now ready for sale. J. G. Stewart. 



Cannot Friend Stewart give us a short article on bee- 

 keeping in New Me.'iico ? Tell us from what his bees gather 

 the most surplus, how much he gets per colony, etc. In fact, 

 give us any information which he may have that will be of 

 interest to the general public. 



Stinging' of Bees— Are You Sure?— "A bee 



never volunteers an attack, save in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of its hive, and even then never without some reason." 



This is quoted from an article in the British Bee Journal, 

 but I have seen substantially the same thing in a great many 

 other places ; but notwithstanding this, I am inclined to think 

 the statement a little too sweeping. I have come in contact 

 with bees which seemed to me to take a special delight in 

 stinging without any provocation at all, and this without 

 much reference to their hives. I think it would be well to 

 modify the above statement by saying : " Most bees rarely 

 ever volunteer an attack without some provocation, and then 

 only in the immediate neighborhood of their home." This 

 would avoid the possibility of having the statement called in 

 question ; for if we make stronger claims for our cause than 

 we can substantiate, we only weaken it in the end. It is well, 

 if possible, to impress upon the minds of the general public 

 that the ordinary bee does not go around seeking whom she 

 may devour, but there is nothing gained, in my opinion, by 

 presenting her as an entirely harmless creature, which can be 

 handled with impunity. I have found by experience that she 

 is not always built that way. 



S'warming— 'Wbicb is 'Whicli ?—" Prevention 

 of swarming does not come under the head of advanced bee- 

 culture. It is a step backward, encourage bees to the point 

 of swarming and it will be found at the same time that they 

 are encouraged to gather and store honey in a way that in- 

 dicates great energy and activity." — Henry Alley, in 1893. 



"While the steel-gray strain of Carniolan bees will swarm 

 themselves to destruction, there has never been a swarm issue 

 from a colony of Adel bees in the Bay State Apiary since the 

 gray, or dark blood, was bred out. The more true steel-gray 

 bees found in a colony the more they would swarm. The 

 more yellow-banded bees the less they have swarmed, till now 

 they do not swarm at all." — Henry Alley, in 1895. 



Friend Alley seems to be a little mixed, or else he is let- 

 ting self-interest warp his better judgment. It seems to me 

 that he does not do the true Carniolans Justice. I had them 

 in my apiary for a number of years, and I did not find them 

 any more inclined to "swarm themselves to destruction" than 

 are the Italians. The queens are great layers, and the colo- 

 nies build up very rapidly, and, of course, if they are not 

 given room " according to their strength," at the proper time, 

 they will swarm, and so will the Italians; and I cannot help 

 but think that Friend Alley's so-called "Adel" bees will do 

 likewise. 



Apis Dorsata— A Question. 



dorsata ?" — Gleanings. 



-" Do we want Apis 



Well, I suppose that depends very much upon who is 

 meant by " we." If I am included in the "we," I can say for 

 one that I have no special yearning for the animal at present. 

 Of course it depends some upon who is to be sent after her. If 

 I am to go, and there is enough "in it," then, of course, I 



want her very badly. If the other fellow is to get the job, 

 and I am to have nothing to do with it, then I am dead set 

 against having anything done with Madam Dorsata at present. 



It seems to me, to be frank, that this whole dorsata busi- 

 ness is a neatly gotten up scheme in the interest of one indi- 

 vidual, and that the mass of the bee-keepers have no interest 

 whatever in it. If the Government wants to encourage api- 

 culture, it can find a field of operation without sending any 

 " special agent " to the jungles of India. It might try its 

 hand a little on the improvement of Apis -incUiftoa at home. 



There is a gentleman at Washington now who is accredited 

 as the " Special Agent in Apiculture," but if he has done any- 

 thing to promote the general interest of the industry, I have 

 failed to learn about it, unless it be a thing of special advan- 

 tage to have the report of the last North American Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association withheld so it can be published with the 

 report of the meeting to be held in Canada in September. 



I have heard it hinted that this special agent was writing 

 a book on apiculture to be distributed free by the Government. 

 Well, this may help the industry, and it may not. There are 

 some very good books on the subject now, and they cost but 

 little. Even if this should prove to be the book par excellence, 

 if it is as long coming in proportion as the report of the North 

 American, we will all have departed to the bourne from which 

 no traveler returns, before it is published. 



But I wander from my subject. As to wanting Madam 

 Dorsata, I say no. 



CONDUCTED BY 



JJR. C. C lillLLEIi, AXAHEA^GO. ILL. 



[Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller direct.l 



Growing Bassvirood from the Seed. 



Dr. Miller : — One of your correspondents, on page 426, 

 asks when to plant basswood seed, and you say you don't 

 know. I will tell you what I know about it, and you can use 

 the information as you see fit. I presume there are lots of 

 bee-keepers who would like to know, and I feel sure they 

 should all be raising basswoods. 



The seed should be gathered when ripe, and mixed with 

 moderately damp sand and packed in a box in the cellar where 

 it will not freeze. Wet the sand two or three times during the 

 winter, so that it will not become too dry. In the spring, sow 

 broadcast in open ground or in drills, as you would peas, and 

 cover very lightly. The roots start first, and grow down into 

 the ground ; the sprout starts afterward, and gradually as- 

 sumes an erect position. If they are covered too deeply they 

 will never rise. Less than a quarter of an inch is enough. 

 The bed should be kept damp, and to prevent evaporation it 

 is well to cover with muslin, as in a cold-frame. 



Denison, Iowa. Geo. W. Stephens. 



That's right to the point, and we certainly owe Friend 

 Stephens a hearty vote of thanks. 



Non-Swarming' Bees — Queen-Rearing:. 



On page 419, the question was asked whether swarming 

 or non-swarming bees were preferable. The majority seemed 

 to favor thft swarming kind. Now I have had but little experi- 

 ence in the apiary, this being the seventh year I have kept 

 bees, and paid but little attention to them until last year, 

 when I bought a few books, subscribed for two bee-papers, 

 and commenced giving the bees special attention. You see 

 my experience is very limited, but this much I know, and that 

 is, that I want the non-swarming bees. I have a colony that 

 has not swarmed since I have had them, and that is over five 

 years, this being the sixth season, and no swarm yet. They 

 do not look to be overly strong at any time, but they get the 

 honey just the same. They have given me over 100 pounds 

 of surplus comb honey every year since I have had them, and 

 in 1893 they gave me 147 pounds of nice comb honey, this 

 being the largest amount they have given me any season so 

 far. (During these same years some of the other colonies 

 gave me no surplus at all.) I want to rear queens from this 

 queen, and stock most of my apiary with her daughters this 

 fall. I lately bought Doolittle's " Scientific Queen-Rearing," 

 and will use his method of rearing queens. 



Now suppose I take these queen-cells just before they 



