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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



the present races, will be an advantage. 

 The Funics will improve them, but they 

 themselves will not be improved, so that 

 we most go in for pure Funics alone, if 

 it is desired to have the best possible. 



I have never seen their equal in build- 

 ing comb, which is nearly always 

 worker, and as white as snow. Their 

 brood is always compact, and sealed in 

 such a manner that I could easily pick 

 out one frame of Funic brood in a thou- 

 sand. 



In "building up," all we have to do is 

 to see that they have plenty of stores ; 

 if not, then feed them as rapidly as pos- 

 sible, and let them alone, and they will 

 breed away as if they intended to fill the 

 earth with bees, and work hard, too, in 

 picking up more food. No stimulative, 

 slow feeding ; no brood spreading, etc. 

 All that they require is plenty of room, 

 and sure enough they will fill it if left 

 alone, and the season is a favorable 

 one. 



Speaking of " feeding," I have not 

 had to feed an established colony yet. 

 Other races may have dry combs, but 

 they will not. The season of 1888 was 

 the worst known here, yet I got 12 

 pounds of surplus from one colony, and 

 had to feed all other kinds all Summer 

 and for Winter. 



I often feed up colonies in the Fall, to 

 work them up into a condition for Win- 

 ter, and, again, may give them a feed in 

 the Spring. 



All around, I have found them a most 

 wonderful bee, and yet for a long time I 

 was prejudiced against them ; they were 

 black for one thing, and I was sure they 

 would never withstand our long Win- 

 ters, so I was somewhat indifferent 

 whether they lived or not, until their 

 wonderful building-up qualities struck 

 me, and made them more interesting, 

 especially when the Winter proved them 

 the hardiest lot of bees I had. 



If I had had less prejudice, I should 

 have gone in for them largely the fol- 

 lowing year — 1887 — but instead of doing 

 so, I Cyprianized nearly my whoJe 

 apiary. I have only one colony of 

 Cyprians now ; the reason I have cleared 

 them out being they are no good as 

 honey gatherers. 



I have tried Falestines, Syrians, Ital- 

 ians, Cyprians and Carniolans with the 

 result that I find the only bee which ex- 

 cels our native blacks are the Funics. 

 Carniolans are a good race, and stand 

 third on the list. 



I am fully convinced that the very best 

 bees will be found in Africa, but whether 

 it will be the Funic, or some other race, 

 near the great central lakes, remains to 



be seen ; anyhow, here, we are getting 

 bees from Africa. 



Itisquitea regular thing for a first 

 swarm to leave 200 queen-cells behind, 

 while 600 is really nothing to be sur- 

 prised at. If a frame filled with drone- 

 foundation, or a drone-comb, cut down 

 to midrib, is put in a colony about pre- 

 paring to swarm, every drone-cell almost 

 will be worked out into a queen-cell, that 

 is, vertically, but hexagonal, but when 

 sealed the cappings are just like drone- 

 brood sealed, and every bee-keeper 

 would say it was drone-brood. 



This is a curious feature which I have 

 never noticed in any other kind of bees. 

 I think it is quite possible to get 2,000 

 cells sealed to work in this manner, but 

 cannot say, not having tried to get them, 

 as it was impossible to find colonies or 

 nuclei for what I did get. I have not 

 put this down as a good point, as it is 

 more for the queen-breeder than the 

 honey-producer. 



Sheffield, England. 



SBiral-SpriiiE Qneen-Cell Protector. 



N. D. WEST. 



Friend Newman : — In June, 1889,1 

 sent you a sample of a queen-cell pro- 

 tector and cage that I had invented, but 

 asked you not to publish anything about 

 it, for I wished to thoroughly test them, 

 and did not know whether it was best to 

 get a patent on them or not. 



I find they are far superior to any cell- 

 protector I ever saw, and I send you a 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



west's spiral-spbing cell-PR otectob. 



sample again to-day with a circular ex- 

 plaining its uses. I have applied for a 

 patent on it, and it is about through now. 

 I find that the bee-keepers only have 

 to see it to know that it is a good thing ; 



