696 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Oct. 31, 



I wish here to be understood that these observations apply 

 to Italian bees as received from Italy. 



Every experienced breeder of Italian queens knows that 

 by a selection of iiis yellowest female and male stock, that in 

 a few generations he can produce bees with bands much yel- 

 lower and brighter than the original imported stock, and if 

 there is an introduction of Cyprian or Syrian blood the yellow 

 is further extended and increased. Queens from such stock 

 may be bright yellow ; drones brilliantly mottled with yellow ; 

 and workers with four and five yellow bands. The dull mark- 

 ings of the Italian ancestors are obliterated by the brightness 

 of the golden beauties. It is very questionable, in my mind, 

 whether these Americanized four and five banded bees can, 

 with propriety, be called Italians. There is a change of 

 physical characteristics from the original. They cannot 

 strictly come within the text of my essay. Color here is cer- 

 tainly no criterion of purity. It only indicates that there has 

 been a selection of yellow stock for breeding. 



My text confines me to the markings of Italian bees as we 

 get them from Italy. These must be pure if the fact of their 

 coming from that country can make them so. The color of 

 imported Italian queens varies from quite dark to yellow; 

 drones from nearly black to mottled with yellow; workers 

 with three abdominal bands varying from dark leather to 

 bright yellow. In some cases the third band cannot be seen 

 until the abdomen is distended with honey. The queen prog- 

 eny of many may vary from nearly black to yellow. Now we 

 cannot say that the imported queens that produce dark 

 queen, drone, or worker progeny are impure; or claim purity 

 for only the bright ones. Ttie dark color does not indicate 

 impimty any more than the light color indicates purity. We 

 have seen that the Italian bee is only a variety, and, as such. 

 In breeding, it is liable to sport, or revert back toward the 

 original — sometimes to dark — sometimes to yellow, but still 

 maintaining the three yellow bands as a sort of standard of 

 excellence. Without some standard of excellence or ideal it 

 would be impossible to breed a variety up to a high attainment. 



When the breeder of bright yellow bees embodies in his bee 

 vigor of constitution, and an increased capacity for gathering 

 honey, as the prime factors, and color as a secondary consid- 

 eration — utility leading beauty — we shall have the bee of the 

 future. Color, then, in the Americanized Italian will indi- 

 cate excellence in the bee, and the insect itself will stand as a 

 monument to the skill, patience and perseverance of its de- 

 velopers. J. P. H. Brown. 



The report of the Auditing Committee showed the finances 

 of the Association to be as follows : 



RECEIPTS. 



Balance on hand after St. Joseph convention $28 23 



Dues paid at Toroato convention 36 00 



Total $64 23 



SISBDRSEMENTS. 



Salary of Secretary at Toronto $25 00 



Other expenses In connection with Toronto convention 

 and previous to meeting (such as Badges, Programs, etc.) 31 70 



Total $56 70 



Balance on hand $7 53 



W. COUSE, I 



D. W. Heise, J. Com. 

 Geo. W. York, ) 



In the list of those who paid their annual dues, on page 

 614, these should have appeared : Rev. ETierson T. Abbott, 

 St. Joseph, Mo., and Geo. F. Leslie, Braeburn, Pa. 



In the list of Life Members present, on the same page, 

 should be the name of J. T. Calvert, Medina, Ohio. 



The convention adjourned to meet in 1896 at the call of 

 the Executive Committee. W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



Liberal Book Premiums are offered on page 

 690, for the work of gettiug new subscribers to the Bee Jour- 

 nal. It is a fine chance to get a complete apicultural library. 

 Think of it — 40 cents' worth of books given to the one send- 

 ing a new subscriber ! Remember, please, that only present 

 subscribers to the Bee Journal can take advantage of that 

 offer. The publishers of the Bee Journal believe in making it 

 an object for the old subscribers to push for new readers 

 among their neighbors and friends, hence the generous pre- 

 lum offers to them. It is hoped that all may begin now to 

 v?ork. Sample copies of the Bee Journal free. 



Cot;)tnbuted /V^ticks^ 



On Important .Apiarian Subjects. 



How and Why I Number Colonies. 



BY J. W. SOUTHWOOD. 



While W. Z. Hutchinson and Dr. C. C. Miller, and others, 

 are discussing the numbering of colonies and kind of tag best 

 to use, I will give my method, and some of the reasons why. 



I winter my bees on the summer stands, and therefore do 

 not need a number on both hive and location. I use a stand 

 B to 4 inches high, and an alighting-board beveled on one 

 edge so as to fit close against the front end of the hive-bottom 

 and slope down on an angle of about 40^. These are not 

 painted, and on them I place the numbers with white paint; 

 the figures are some three or more inches long, with lines a 

 half inch or so wide, so they can be seen at a distance. 



I practice clipping the queens and hiving the swarm on 

 the old stand, and do not move the number, so the same num- 

 ber remains with the same queen while she lives. 



I face all hives the same way, so that when standing in 

 front the numbers are easily seen. 



I have a piece of plank of sufficient size, lined with lead- 

 pencil, and also lines of the same drawn vertically so as to 

 make as many columns as desired. In one column I give the 

 number of colonies, in another the year when queens were 

 hatched ; in another, whence queens were obtained ; in 

 another, when the swarm issued ; in another, the number of 

 the colony produced by the swarm, etc.; at the last a larger 

 column for general remarks, etc. This plank has the year 

 marked at the top, and is kept in a convenient place. The 

 next year I turn the board over, and the next I dress off the 

 first used side and turn back. If before dressing off I desire 

 something kept, I transfer to a book, which is seldom, as I 

 always have the last record to transfer in part to the other 

 side of the plank. 



By this method I find it very convenient to tell where and 

 when to obtain queen-cells, provided I desire to obtain such 

 cells after prime swarms issued ; and when to destroy queen- 

 cells if I wish to prevent after-swarms by this method. The 

 numbers serve a good purpose when talking of certain colo- 

 nies or queens, and when certain work is turned into other 

 hands when I am called away, as I am sometimes, etc. 



Remember, I want the colony numbered, but not the hive. 



Monument City, Ind. 



Bees and Houey-Plauts iu Utah. 



BY K. S. LOVESY. 



While this is looked upon as an "off year" among the 

 bees here, in some localities the bees have swarmed a great 

 deal, and in others they have not swarmed at all. There are 

 several causes for this. In some localities the season is colder 

 and later than in others. Some have a great deal of fruit and 

 locust bloom, while others have to depend upon the lucern 

 fields or sweet clover. Some of our bee-keepers complain of 

 a poor lioney-flow this season. Then, again, I have received 

 letters from many bee-keepers, covering several counties, say- 

 ing that the honey-flow is very good — some even say that it is 

 the best they have ever seen. The following sentence is from 

 a letter by J. A. Smith, of Heber, Wasatch county: 



"Mr. Lovesy : — We are having the best honey-flow here 

 now that we ever had since I have owned bees. The honey is 

 very white; it is gathered from white clover and lucern. From 

 one swarm, hived June 12, I extracted on July 19, 70 pounds, 

 and on July 28, 80 pounds ; aud now, Aug. T, they have fully 

 80 pounds, as they have 16 Langstroth frames l~%xy}4 

 nearly capped." 



While the above is not at all remarkable, it is a good yield. 

 Every year, in favored localities, and under favorable condi- 

 tions, we hear of large yields of honey ; but if we judge from 

 the reports received from different parts of Utah the present 

 season, it proves that the heavy yield of honey is more ex- 

 tended than usual. Still, with all this success in many locali- 

 ties, there are a number of places where the yield of honey 

 has been light. There are several causes for this. One of 

 our main honey-producing plants has been almost a total fail- 

 ure in many places this year, namely, the sweet clover. In 

 many places, prior to the middle of August, the bees did not 

 work on it at all, and in some places since that date they have 

 worked on it but very little. 



Lucern, or alfalfa, is on top this year ; the yield of honey 



