550 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 29, 



that they would not be reared, but I do not think they would, 

 for in breeding out the desire to swarm you change the entire 

 nature of the bee, and with no desire to s-warra or increase, I 

 do not think there would be any desire or use for drones), 

 there would be no drones reared whatever, except those reared 

 by the virgin queen after she failed to become fertilized, and 

 if a queen would have to wait to be fertilized by her own 

 drones, you can readily see that it would take from six to ten 

 weeks before said queen would lay worker-eggs, and what 

 would become of the bees that were already in the hive b/ 

 that time ? You might say that you would keep a few colo- 

 nies (enough to supply the needed amount of drones) for the 

 fertilization of the queens; but in that case you would breed 

 the swarming habit (?) right back into your bees, after all 

 your trouble to breed it out. 



However, I do not think that any person will bo called 

 upon to mourn at any such calamity as that, because I hon- 

 estly believe that it is entirely impossible to meet with any 

 success whatever in that line, and, as I said before, all the 

 success to be obtained in the non-swarming line will be by 

 prevention, and when a person has perfected a plan whereby 

 all swarms can be prevented, he should tell it that way, and 

 not that he has bred the swarming instinct out of the bee. 



Although I would like to hear the reasons of those who 

 believe the swarming habit (?) can be bred out ot the bees, I 

 will close by remarking that I have not the slightest hope or 

 fear of any such thing being accomplished. 



Charter Oak, Iowa. 



^ 



Honey Crop in California — Yellow Bees. 



BY DR. E. GALLUP. 



I have been waiting for the honey harvest to be about 

 over before reporting, as I wanted to give Mr. Brodbeck a 

 little " hauling over the coals" about his distressful cry of a 

 short crop, etc., on page 428 ; but I see Rambler has given 

 him a pretty good " touching up " on page 486, so I will give 

 results as far as heard from, and the reader can Judge for 

 himself. 



Mr. John Fox has 15 tons of honey from 140 colonies; 

 Mr. Oderlin, 19 tons from 240 colonies ; the Emerson broth- 

 ers, 24 tons from 300 colonies ; Mr. Miller, 19 tons, etc. All 

 these parties report the season "good" — not extra, but good. 



I notice in the California Cultivator and Poultry-Keeper, 

 in the bee-department, Mr. W. W. Walk reports 8 tons from 

 160 colonies. His apiary is located in San Fernando Pass, 

 Los Angeles county. He says : " There is only one-third of a 

 crop of honey in San Fernando and Newhall sections, owing 

 to cold, fogs and cloudy weather " — a state of things we did 

 not have in Orange county, and so far as I hear in San Diego 

 county. I learn from two parties that the honey crop is good 

 in that county. 



Quite a mistaken notion that many people have, is that 

 the nearer the coast the more foggy and cooler the weather, 

 but bear in mind that there is quite a change in temperature 

 even sometimes in very short distances. I know from actual 

 observation that there is quite a difference in temperature 

 between here and Los Angeles city. Orange and San Diego 

 counties are noted, by people who know, for having a very 

 mild and even-tempered climate in comparison to some other 

 counties in southern California. 



We had a three days' cool northwest wind early in the sea- 

 son. It did not affect the honey-flow here at all, a? I was 

 very particular to inquire, for I saw in the papers that the 

 honey crop would be badly injured in Ventura and some parts 

 of Los Angeles counties. The paper stated that the wind was 

 so violent that it whipped and stripped all the bloom from the 

 white sage, etc., and some thousands of acres of beans de- 

 stroyed so the ground had to be replanted. We had no such 



wind here. Now, Mr. Brodbeck's apiary may be located in 

 such a locality, hence his long-faced cry. I see no reason to 

 change my mind from the prospects early in the season. All 

 the bee-keepers that have reported to me claim that their 

 hives are all extra-full now, and they will probably have to 

 extract once more in order to put their colonies in extra con- 

 dition for winter. 



I say our bee-keepers have done well, when wo take into 

 consideration the poor condition in spring, owing to the last 

 season's failure. 



THE VERT YELLOW BEES. 



I was pleased to see S. E. Miller "touch up" Mr. John 

 McArthur on his pure Italians, on page 487. Mr. McArthur's 

 article would not mislead or influence any practical or experi- 

 enced bee-keepers — not in the least, because they know better ; 

 but where the mischief comes in is in conveying the Idea that 

 his yellow hybrid drones are pure Italians. This question 

 was fully discussed in the "Old Reliable " years ago. Mr. 

 Adam Grimm went to Italy in person, and saw the Italians In 

 their native purity. We had queen-breeders in those days 

 that claimed their bees were extra-pure, because their drones 

 were extra-large and yellow. I was one that exposed the fal- 

 lacy, and Mr. Grimm backed me up with facts. 



Santa Ana, Calif., Aug. 5. 



What Dr. Miller Thinks. 



OvER-RiPENESs OF HoNEY. — The Rural Canadian has an 

 article headed " Ripeness and Over-Ripeness of Honey." The 

 writer says : " The apiarist can handle his bees so that they 

 will make good honey." This will be cheering news to some. 

 When your bees begin to bring in some of the abominable 

 stuff they sometimes store, just have a good " handler" come 

 along and he'll handle the bees "so that they will make good 

 honey." 



Further on he says : "If the honey is allowed to stand 

 too long in the hive it becomes too thick and heavy, and the 

 flavor undergoes a corresponding change. The rich flavor 

 becomes too strong and ill-smelling, and In time it is notice- 

 able to the amateur." Now you know why honey smells bad 

 — been left too long on the hive ! 



"In making fine honey for the market, it is quite essen- 

 tial that the apiarist should know just at what period the nec- 

 tar should be gathered and sealed." After studying some 

 time over that last sentence to know exactly what it means, 

 I'm inclined to think there's quite a bit of "over-ripeness" 

 about it. 



An Average Yield. — So many times I'm brought up 

 standing by some such expression as this: "I have secured 

 about half the average yield." Now what is an average 

 yield ? In most cases I can get no very definite idea from the 

 sentence quoted. If the writer had said: "I have secured 

 25 pounds per colony," it would have more meaning, but it 

 would not cost a great many more words to say, "I have 

 secured 25 pounds per colony, about half the average yield." 

 Give us the number of pounds per colony, the number of colo- 

 nies, and whether comb or extracted, and you've given us very 

 clear Information, and then if you add how it compares with 

 the average yield, there's hardly anything left to ask. 



Bees' Eyes. — On page 508, 3,500 is given as the number 

 of facets in the eye of the bee. It might have been added 

 that that's the smallest number estimated, and that the num- 

 ber varies, one worker differing from another, and queens 

 having fewer than workers, and drones more. Cowan says he 

 found as many as 5,000 In the eye of a worker, and nearly 

 as many in a queen. Cheshire found 6,300 facets, or single 

 little eyes, in the compound eye of the worker, and 4,920 in 



