532 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



above-named outside boxes, and within 

 the hive a pan containing water ^i inch 

 deep, and a similar amount of water 

 into another hive without any outer- 

 box ; outside temperature 12^ above 

 zero. Five hours later, the water in the 

 hive without an outer-box was half 

 frozen, while no ice was visible in the 

 hive surrounded with an outer-box. 



This would indicate that an additional 

 outer-case goes far to preserve an even 

 temperature; one with the addition of 

 some kind of packing in the space is 

 better, which would indicate a chaff 

 hive. These are called by Mr. Hutchin- 

 son "expensive and cumbersome;" but 

 the latest improved 8-frame chaff hive 

 costs but a trifle more than a good 

 single-walled hive. Nor are they cum- 

 bersome, but, on the contrary, without 

 the heavy corner post, and dovetailed 

 corners, they are neat and convenient, 

 weighing but a few pounds more than a 

 single-walled hive. — Read before the Iowa 

 State Convention. 



Red Oak, Iowa. 



BMlile-Bees— Blacl Bees, 



ALLEN LATHAM. 



On page 469 Mr. Downing speaks of 

 bumble-bees and their habits. I do not 

 want to question his powers of observa- 

 tion, yet he has either made a mistake, 

 or else Kentucky bumble-bees are not 

 the same as Massachusetts bumble-bees. 



Mr. Downing says : " She builds her 

 nest, prepares 5 or 6 cups, lays eggs in 

 them," etc. Several Summers ago I 

 studied this useful insect, and went so 

 far as to hive them, and even unite 2 

 colonies. My experience told me that 

 the queen acts as follows : In early 

 Spring she comes from her wintering 

 place, and soon proceeds to find her 

 home — she never "builds her nest." 

 When her home is found, which is 

 usually an old nest of the field-mouse, 

 or quite often an old buffalo robe, -she 

 gathers a mass of pollen and bee-food, 

 which she stores in the shape of a small 

 round ball, the size of a pea. 



Now, instead of "preparing cups," 

 she makes a small hollow on one side of 

 the ball, and deposits her six or seven 

 eggs, afterwards covering them up. The 

 larvae from these eggs are reared to- 

 gether like a litter of pigs. When full 

 grown, they spin cocoons separately. 

 These cocoons are never afterward used 

 for breeding, but are used as cells for 

 honey and pollen. 



I should say that the larvae — each 

 litter — are kept covered by a thin brown 

 covering similar to the capping of the 

 brood of the honey-bee. All the eggs of 

 the queen bumble-bee are laid in batches 

 of six or seven, or even more. The other 

 interesting statements of Mr. Downing 

 agree exactly with my experience. 



BLACK BEES. 



Mr. Ellingwood comes forward in be- 

 half of the black bee, and in response 

 Mr. Demaree extols the Italian. I have 

 long thought that the black bee has 

 been maligned — if not maligned, at least 

 badly misunderstood. I think it is in- 

 ferior, in many ways, to the Italian, 

 but it does have noble points. Can we 

 not breed the black bee to great useful- 

 ness? 



It has been my experience to occa- 

 sionally find a colony of black bees 

 which were phenomenal. They bred up 

 early in the Spring, entered the sections 

 during fruit bloom, refused to swarm, 

 and stored as much honey as any two 

 other colonies. What does this mean ? 

 This was done by. the blackest black bees 

 that I ever possessed, and so it cannot 

 be because they were a cross with some 

 smarter (?) race. 



I have always looked upon an individ- 

 ual black bee as just as capable as an 

 individual Italian. The trouble is, to 

 my mind, the black queens, a§ a rule, 

 are not prolific. No one can deny that 

 the black bee builds far better combs 

 than the Italian bee, and caps its full 

 sections with white cappings. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



Bee-Keeping as a Bnsiness, 



J. H. ANDRE. 



Bee-keeping as a business will advance 

 more within the next five years than it 

 has in the past fifteen years. The reason 

 is, those who keep a few in box-hives 

 find it a hard matter to dispose of the 

 few large boxes of surplus honey they 

 get- at any price. When they run out of 

 bees, that ends their business at bee- 

 keeping. 



Ten years ago I often found it difficult 

 to sell nice honey for 10 cents per 

 pound on account of farmers rushing in 

 a few large boxes at a low price. ' At 

 present there is but very little call for 

 anything except small sections. 



During the past two years I have 

 found no difficult in contracting my crop 

 for the season at 12 cents per section, 



