AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



533 



measuring 4^^x4-^4x1 



A size con- 



taining a little more than two cubic 

 inches less honey sells for 11 cents. It 

 is all sold to grocerymen by the crate, 

 contracted before I have a pound to 

 deliver. 



At first it was hard work to sell by 

 the section, but after dealers try it they 

 prefer to buy and sell that way. It 

 saves trouble of weighing. Moreover, 

 when purchasers are told so much per 

 section, they know exactly what one 

 costs without asking to have one 

 weighed. I use no separators. When 

 some are larger than others, the grocer 

 adds a cent or two. If he forgets to 

 drop a cent or two on the thinner ones, 

 to correspond, it is none of my business. 

 I only ask for what trade I need until 

 the end of the season, and then settle 

 This helps wonderfully in making bar- 

 gains. — National Stockman. 



Swarm an! Colony, as Amlied to Bees, 



EUGENE A. WANDEK. 



Mr. Editor : — I think both you and 

 Mr. E. L. Holden are wrong in the 

 argument regarding the definition of a 

 colony and swarm. The word colony, in 

 my estimation, means a plurality of 

 families in a group, as, "An apiary is a 

 colony of bees."* At the time of, or 

 after leaving their native place, I think 

 a group of men or women, taken sep- 

 arately, or conjointly with their mother, 

 could not correctly be called a colony ; 

 also, as bees swarm from a hive, they 

 cannot be called a colony, as at all times, 

 under general circumstances, they do 

 not contain a plurality of mothers, and, 

 therefore, should be called a family of 

 bees. 



On the other hand, I think the word 

 swarm is not correctly used otherwise 

 than as a verb, because the word swarm 

 really means an action of the bees, and 

 not the bees themselves. f 



I noticed upon page 215 of the Bee 

 Journal of Aug. 31, that a gentleman 

 of Gale's Creek, Oreg., is comparing 

 honey made by Italians and blacks. We 

 all know that the blacks beat Italians in 

 appearance of the honey. I have colo- 

 nies of the best bees from several 

 breeders, simply to experiment with, 

 and I have not found any that in gen- 

 eral have produced as fine appearing 

 honey as the black bees. The Italians 

 are simply " not in it" on appearance. 

 I gave up experimenting with black 

 bees last year, on account of their dis- 



agreeable conduct, and very little im- 

 provement by careful handling. Of 

 course, I prefer the Italians to the 

 blacks, but it is too bad to jump on the 

 poor blacks unjustly. 



I would answer I. F. Diamond, page 

 216, thus: "Some do; but most do 

 not, when well bred and carefully han- 

 dled. I have 3 colonies, the queens of 

 which I destroyed only last week. These 

 colonies are pure blooded Italians, and 

 the queens were from some of our best 

 breeders, but the moment the top of the 

 hive was removed, they would dart out 

 at me in a perfect fury, and if I was not 

 protected, the result would shortly 

 follow." 



It is as you advise. Gentle manipu- 

 lation is what we might almost say 

 makes our bees love us, and I would 

 never advise the use of smoke, except 

 upon bees which attack the apiarist 

 fiercely, and in the introduction of a 

 queen. 



Hartford, Conn. 



[*Friend Wander is entirely wrong in 

 defining the word colony. He says "an 

 apiary is a colony of bees." But it cer- 

 tainly is not ! The word apiary is thus 

 defined by our best lexicographers. " A 

 place where bees are kept ; a stand or 

 shed for bees ; a bee-house." Hence, 

 we use the term house-apiary. Instead 

 of an apiary being a colony of bees, as 

 Mr. Wander claims, It is a place where 

 bees are kept — not the bees themselves ! 

 As this error is the foundation of his 

 theory, all his arguments, based upon it, 

 are erroneous ! 



fMr. Wander is again in error about 

 the word "swarm." When used as a 

 name for bees it is a noun, and is thus 

 defined, "A large number of small 

 animals or insects." There, surely, it 

 means " the bees themselves !" 



It is not best to jump at conclusions — 

 but to weigh the testimony and argu- 

 ments in a just and deliberate manner. 



We do not generally comment upon 

 letters or articles unless called upon to 

 do so, or when we deem it essential that 

 some explanation be made, and quite 

 often some reader will think such are 

 necessary when omitted, and vice versa. 

 We do not all see through the same 

 spectacles. — Ed.] 



