16 



have got the most westerly, which is 

 situated at Sandspit, on the Queen 

 Charlotte Isles, the longitude being 

 about 132 degrees west. 

 Victoria, B. C. 



The Apiaries of the Caucasus 



By i :. A. Gorbatcheff. 



BEEKEEPING has been a leading 

 industry in the Caucasus since 

 prehistoric times and, accord- 

 ing to tradition handed down, this 

 has been its cradle. 



The indigenous apiaries and hives 

 present a great variety of types and 

 an originality of construction, as they 

 all bear the stamp of their locality 

 and of its population. 



Since the dissemination of mova- 

 ble-frame hives, these characteristic 

 apiaries diminish in number annually 

 and the time is not far distant when 

 they will entirely disappear. 



The Society of Apiculture of the 

 Caucasus, since the first days of its 

 organization, has considered it a duty 

 to gather together the most charac- 

 teristic pictures of these indigenous 

 apiaries. It has therefore taken ad- 

 vantage of the excellent photo- 

 graphic collection of Mr. K. M. San- 

 iss, member of the association, as 

 well as of the collection of the "Seri- 

 cicole Station." These views were 

 gathered together to the number of 

 forty-eight. 



Apiary Constructions. The ma- 

 jority of the indigenous apiaries are 

 installed near homes; sometimes in 

 special quarters; oftentimes they are 

 placed against the house walls. 



In the district of Akaltzikhe, Tiflis, 

 and in some villages of the State of 

 Daghestan, they establish apiaries 

 on the flat roofs of houses. 



An interesting feature of some of 

 indigenous apiaries is the placing of 

 skulls of domestic animals on stakes, 

 roofs or fences, about the apiary. 

 They are popularly believed to pre- 

 serve the apiary against the "evil 

 eye." 



In the north of Caucasus, where 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



nomadic beekeeping is very common, 

 the "sapetki" (hives made of reeds, 

 withes or wicker basket-ware) are 

 placed in regular rows and covered 

 with hay. In Kakheti, in the Prov- 

 ince of Sakatali, Kutais State, they 

 are placed in enclosures and some- 

 times sheltered under projecting 

 sheds. Usually they are set pell-mell 

 and rarely in regular rows. In the 

 Transcaucasus, in the oriental part, 

 they are installed in enclosed sheds 

 made of boards or reeds, with small 

 holes in the walls through which the 

 bees take flight. 



In the districts of Djebrail and 

 Choucha, the apiaries are installed 

 under earthen roofs; the hives are 

 cither piled up or placed upon shelves 

 made of poles or boards. 



In the State of Elizabethpol, at the 

 foot of the mountains, the hives are 

 ranged in rows against the walls of 

 houses and in cold weather they are 

 covered with felt or rugs. 



In the district of Akhaltzikhe, they 

 keep the apiaries on the roofs of the 

 houses, or to protect them against 

 thieves they are surrounded with 

 poles and stakes weighted down with 

 rock piles. 



The principal types of Caucasian 

 hives may be divided in two types, 

 towit : 1. Wooden hives made of logs 

 hollowed out and standing vertically 

 (stoiaki) or lying down ((lejaki); 

 2. Hives made of basket or wicker 

 ware, both stoiaki and lejaki. 



1. Hives of hollowed logs are found 

 as follows : 



(a) The Kutais hive: The trunk of 

 a tree split in two, the two halves 

 being hollowed out and put back to- 

 gether. At the sides or ends, sev- 

 eral bee openings (letki) are made, 

 and the cracks of the joints are 

 closed up with a mixture of soft clay 

 and manure. The hives of this style 

 are often placed on forked stakes 

 which have been driven into the 

 ground. 



(b) The Akhaltzikhe hive is similar 

 to that of Kutais, but they are usually 

 piled up. 



January 



(c) The Nouka hive is like a trough, 

 formed of two wooden halves nar- 

 rowed down at their extremity. It is 

 laid on the ground or supported on 

 low stone bases and covered up with 

 bark. 



(d) The Lencoran hive is made of 

 a whole piece of log bored through 

 and through. The extremities are 

 closed with round wooden disks, one 

 of which is fitted with entrance holes. 

 A layer of grass serves to protect 

 them against the sun. 



(e) The Elizabethpol hive resem- 

 bles that of Lencoran, but it is much 

 larger and longer and wrought with 

 greater care. It is also found in some 

 villages of Erivan State. 



2. The mountain hives are made of 

 wicker, measuring about 1 arshin by 

 6 or 8 verschok (about 30 inches in 

 length by 10 to 14 inches in diame- 

 rer). The top of them ends in the 

 shape of a cupola (like the straw 

 skeps of England and France). The 

 joints of the wicker are always closed 

 with clay and dung mixed. They are 

 set on boards and covered with straw 

 or woolen quilts. 



The Tartar hive is cylindrical, with 

 a flat top. It is set up on boards and 

 sheltered with boards. 



The "Lejaki" hives are narrow cyl- 

 inders of wicker or walnut, closed at 

 each end with a wooden disk. The 

 cracks are closed as in the others 

 with a mixture of clay and manure. 

 They are usually set in tiers and shel- 

 tered under sheds. They are com- 

 mon in the State of Erivan. 



The hives made of bark are to be 

 found in the districts of Gory and 

 Tioneti. They are also long cylinders 

 closed at both ends with wooden 

 disks, with small holes for the bee- 

 entrances. 



Tiflis, Caucasus, Russia. 



APIARY IX DAGHESTAN TERRITORY, TIFLIS, CAUCASUS. 

 made of clay. 



The Texas Fair Exhibit 



By T. P. Robinson. 



THE Texas Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion has just closed one of the 

 most successful apiarian ex- 

 hibits at the Dallas State Fair in the 

 history of the association. The honey 

 on display was of the finest to be had 

 in the State and came from all parts 

 of the State. There were entries 

 made from Arkansas, as well. 



The wax art displayed bananas, 

 peaches, apricots, figs, apples, pears,' 

 oranges, crackers, light bread, fried 

 eggs, a baked chicken, a beef heart, 

 and nearly a dozen choice cuts of 

 meat, both pork and beef. The eggs 

 were so perfect that they would have 

 been accepted at any cafe as part of 

 the menu. The beef heart would 

 never have been taken for beeswax 

 at all. The artist was not contented 

 to make a peach and color it perfect- 

 ly, but put the fuzz on the peach. 



The exhibit, as an educational fac- 

 tor, is of the greatest merit to the 

 b( ekeepers of the State. Thousands 

 ol people come and visit the apiarian 

 department at the fair and are fast 

 becoming educated to the merits of 

 honey as a food, its granulating pro- 

 pensities, the reason for its varied 

 colors and tastes. Many would at 



