256 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



hands. Breeders there were who had bred 

 for color, and we have golden-colored bees, 

 and they can breed trne to this color. If we 

 could do this in one hive why not in another? 

 He did not consider the Italian a bee sufficient- 

 ly prolific. We should breed in the direction 

 of having more prolific Italians; and if this 

 could not be developed in its purity, then we 

 should mix. The Carniolan bee is a wonder- 

 ful wax-secreter, and very prolific — ahead of 

 any thing he had seen in other varieties. 

 The queen must be young. In youth, in the 

 queen, we have all the vitality we can ever 

 get. With plenty of good stores, whether it 

 be outside or in winter repositories, we shall 

 be likely to winter the bees well. In his lo- 

 cality he removed bees from the cellar about 

 April 15. They should then at the first op 

 portunity be examined and their true con- 

 dition ascertained. 



Too much stores is almost as bad as the 

 lack of stores, as it reduces the room for a 

 brood-chamber. Where necessary, clean the 

 bottom-board and hive. An ordinary cover 

 is not sufficient protection. There should be 

 a non-conducting cover, and it should tele- 

 scope deeply so it can be packed. 



The queen in a good colony, under proper 

 conditions, should in 15 days occupy with 

 brood all the space bees can cover; and if 

 then we want to spread more we must do 

 something to raise the temperature of the hive. 



Bees, according to investigations, in order 

 to produce temperature, when quiet, give 

 three to five inspirations, then remain quiet 

 for three to five minutes; when very active 

 they will increase the inspirations to 160 a 

 minute. 



The blood of the bee receives oxygen 

 through cells, and the blood fed with fuel 

 (carbon) produces heat. The temperature 

 of the hive is connected with the I'espiration 

 and activity of the bees, and activity on the 

 part of the bees causes greater respiration, 

 and this, again, causes a higher temperature. 

 It has been found that the thorax of the bee 

 is of a higher temperature than the abdomen. 

 One pound of honey set out to rob could be 

 made to agitate 100 colonies of bees. Great- 

 er heat wovild enable greater expansion of 

 the brood-nest. 



The temperature of the cluster at swarm- 

 ing time is 96 inside, and 66 outside; later in 

 the season the inside temperature is 86 and 

 outside 78 to 80. Activity causes stimula- 

 tion; and by stimulation we secui'e greater 

 activity and greater heat. If the stimulation 

 is from outside, bees are sometimes tempted 

 outside; and, owing to changes of weather, 

 bees might be lost. The feeding to agitate 

 the bees should be done inside the hive; and 

 to prevent, by opening the hive, the loss of 

 heat, the feeder should be manipulated from 

 the outside. The feeder should be so small 

 that only a few bees can get at it at a time. 

 The feeding should be done at the close of 

 the day. Low temperature generally pre- 

 vails at night, and to hold the temperature 

 at night where it was during the day, the 

 feeding should be done at evening; 4 oz. at 

 a time is quite sufficient. 



In the course of three or four weeks the 

 bees under such conditions start into fruit 

 bloom with the brood-chamber filled with 

 brood and honey. 



As to the hive, we need a large one if we 

 want to breed large colonies of bees; and it 

 is a question as to which is the best hive for 

 brood-rearing. 



He used a divisible brood-chamber; if more 

 room was required he gave another section. 

 To prevent swarming he found that three 

 sections in most cases, using part foundation 

 and part drawn comb, gave best results. He 

 prepared his bees in this way for the honey- 

 flow, which opened about June 5. At that 

 time each colony should be hatching 2000 to 

 3000 bees per day, and we shall then have 

 an enormous colony. 



Manipulation now depends upon whether 

 the aim is comb or extracted honey. If ex- 

 tracted, then use a queen-excluder, with su- 

 pers above; for comb honey, no queen-ex- 

 cluder is used. Swarming can be prevented 

 by the displacement of bi'ood and honey, the 

 queen-excluder being used above the second 

 section of the brood-chamber. 



A CONVENTION SIDE-LIGHT ON BREEDING 

 HORSES PROOF AGAINST BEE-STINGS. 



Most of the members of the convention 

 drove in a van 2| miles out of the city to see 

 Mr. Holtermann's bee house, cellar, and bees. 

 On the way out an informal discussion took 

 place on bees and horses, and the action of 

 each in combination. One bee-keeper from 

 Caledonia stated that there were some horses 

 the bees would not sting. Doctor Burt, V. 

 S., a prominent horseman from Simcoe, who 

 is also an extensive bee-keeper, said he knew 

 that. It was a saw-horse or a clothes-horse. 

 The Caledonia bee-keeper said, "No, no! but 

 horse J, if they are of certain colors, will not get 

 stung. The bees will leave those colors alone. ' ' 

 Another member present said the gentleman 

 was quite right. He had ne^ier known a blue 

 or green colored horse to be stung. 



THE REVOLUTION IN CUBA. 



Its Effect on the Honey Business; Why 

 Cuban Honey will Never Enter the 

 American Markets; Why Wax is the 

 More Profitable Crop ; an Interesting and 

 Valuable Article. 



BY FRANK REIMAN. 



Of late, considerable fear has overtaken 

 some American bee-keepers lest Cuba should 

 be annexed to the United States and honey 

 be admitted free. I would say that there 

 should be no cause of alarm at all, as the 

 comb-honey business is entirely dead in 

 Cuba, and the strained honey will go to Eu- 

 rope, even though the tariff on honey is en- 

 tirely removed by the United States. The 

 only parties that use Cuban honey in the 

 United States are the bakers, and they will pay 

 5 cts. more a gallon for Mexican honey. My 

 experience is that all Cuban honey ferments 

 sooner or later. Cuban comb honey must be 



