314 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



September 



bloom before it is cut for hay, and some 

 will be allowed to bloom for 



3. Buckwheat is one of the best honey 

 plants, yielding one of the darkest honies, 

 liked more than the lighter honies by some, 

 and disliked by others. In some places it 

 fails to yield in some years, and in all places 



generally yields nothing in the afternoon 

 Kor full information see the books, or send to 

 I S, Department of Agriculture, Washing- 

 ton, D. C, tor bulletin on buckwheat B 

 wheal yields bul little honey in Missouri. — F. 

 I P . 



Behavior of Queen 



IN long and continued observations 

 of colonies in observation bives. 

 I have repeatedly observed an 

 action on the part of the queen which 

 I am beginning to believe may cause 

 swarming at times when it is not 

 easily explained. You know bees 

 sometimes swarm out and leave 

 brood behind, shortly after hiving, 

 or at times swarm with queen-cells 

 only started. This has always been 

 puzzling. 



Observation of a queen here in a 

 weak one-frame nucleus shows her 

 repeatedly searching for empty cells, 

 which in her case, are only found 

 outside her small cluster. She wan- 

 ders off, usually alone, poking her 

 head into these cells, but not laying. 

 Frequently I have seen her go too 

 near the entrance. In doing so she 

 flutters her wings, probably making 

 some sound which I cannot hear, but 

 which immediately arouses the entire 

 cluster so that many of them rush 

 toward her. Once I saw some of the 

 bees rush outside the entrance while 

 others headed her off and actually 

 seemed to push her back, with their 

 antennae, toward the cluster. 



Might not such wanderings on the 

 part of a queen be the cause of some 

 of our inexplicable swarming under 

 abnormal conditions? I believe it is, 

 when she wanders too close to the 

 entrance and may be seized with a 

 desire to try a flight. Anyway, I 

 give you the observation for what ii 

 may be worth. 



KENNITH HAWKINS. 



St. Louis Beemen Organize 



St. Louis, Mo., May 23. — A group of 

 local beekeepers recently met and 

 formed what will probably be known 

 as the Mound City Bee Club. The 

 purposes of the organization will be: 



To learn to keep bees better. 



To co-operate with inspectors in 

 preventing and curing disease, and to 

 protect, if possible, members from 

 purchasing bees which arc lenov 

 be affected. 



To diplomatically discourage "nail 

 keg" beekeeping as a menace to the 

 industry. 



To join with other honey prod 

 of the State in a united effort to 

 bring about more beneficial legisla- 

 tion at Jefferson City. 



To secure expert instruction at 

 meetings, and, if possible, representa- 

 tion at conventions. 



To pool their wits and efforts in 

 solving problems which could not 

 easily be overcome individually. 



To collectively stimulate honey con- 

 sumption by the distribution of 

 proper literature and judicious adver- 

 tising. 



To endeavor to standardize pack- 

 ages — at least locally. 



To learn to calculate production 

 costs. 



To collectively purchase supplies. 



And last, but not least, to enable 

 the enthusiasts to meet and "get it 

 out of their system,' 'and be thereby 

 no longer a bore to their long-suffer- 

 ing friends who don't care a rap 

 about bees. 



All interested local apiarists who 

 would like to help swell the crowd at 

 the next meeting are invited to com- 

 municate with the undersigned. 

 A. G. VAN RONZELEN, 

 223 Dover St. 



Honey Granulation — Bees in Pound 



Replying to enquiry of "Ontario," 

 page 254, June issue, relative to 

 granulation of honey; here my ex- 

 perience and observation show that 

 the more thoroughly the honey is 

 ripened (regardless of the source) 

 the finer the grain and more com- 

 pact the texture, even to almost the 

 smoothness of the choicest and pur- 

 est of lard. 



In reply to your comments, page 

 206, same issue, relative to the num- 

 ber of bees contained in a pound and 

 the amount of nectar, by weight, 

 that they carry, will say, the whole 

 situation is guesswork, and my esti- 

 mate was based upon actual weight 

 of empty bees and bees loaded during 

 a good honey flow, and not the half- 

 way situation in cither instance, and 

 to n i \ mind the only way to know 

 positivelj and accurately would be to 

 weigh at least one-fourth pound of 

 bees that had actually starved and 

 another one-fourth pound of those 

 known to be loaded, honey-sacs full 

 of nectar, and when this is done you 

 will find that my estimate is the more 

 nearly correct. ELIAS F( »\ 



Increased Appropriations 



Several States have appropriated 

 liberal Minis for beekeeping work at 

 the recenl sessions of the legislature. 

 Among the latesl reports is t hat from 

 the Stat' oi Connecticut, where the 

 i! om - available for bee inspect ii m 

 i d from $1,500 to 

 $4,000. A law also was enacted requir- 



ing all beekeepers to register with the 

 town clerk. If the provisions of this 

 law are generally complied with it will 

 enable inspectors to locate all the 

 bees in the territory where they are 

 at work. 



Don't Like the Italians 



I would like to see a discussion of 

 the different breeds of bees. I think 

 that the Carniolans and Caucasians 

 are the best honey gatherers. I have 

 no use for the Italians. They may be 

 all right for extracted honev. 



WINSOR W. LANTIS, 

 Perry, Mich. 



(The above letter is a reminder that 

 the Italians have had far more pub- 

 licity than other races. Let us hear 

 from the beekeepers who have given 

 other races a fair trial. — Ed.) 



NEWS DISPATCHES 



Bees Sting Horses 



Vincennes, Ind. — A swarm of bees 

 which settled under a team hitched 

 to a disc on the John Wampler 

 farm frightened the horses and 

 caused them to run away. The farm- 

 hand on the disc was thrown off and 

 dragged a considerable distance. One 

 of the horses struck its leg against 

 one of the sharp discs, severing it. 

 The animal was killed. — Indianapolis 

 Times. 



Stray Swarms Hived By Firemen 



Yakima, Wash. — A recent newspa- 

 per report of the capture by Yakima 

 firemen of a swarm of bees in a 

 tree near the fire station has been 

 followed by a number of telephone 

 calls from all parts of the city ask- 

 ing the firemen to "come and get a 

 swarm of bees just outside my 

 house." As a result, the firemen have 

 collected an apiary of nine stray 

 swarms, which are hived near the 

 fire station and apparently are con- 

 tented and thriving. — Seattle Post 

 Intelligencer. 



Bees Used in Battle 



Probably the most remarkable 

 weapons of war ever used were 

 swarms of bees. There are at least 

 two well-authenticated instances of 

 the use of this novel and stinging 

 war material. 



The first is related by Appian, of 

 the siege of Themiseyra, in Pontius, 

 by Lucullus, in his war against Mi- 

 thridates. Turrets were brought 

 up, mounds were built and huge 

 mines were made by the Romans. 

 The people of Themiseyra dug open 

 these mines from above, and through 

 the holes cast down upon the work- 

 men bears and other wild animals, 

 together with swarms of bees. 



The second instance occurred in 

 Enilant. The Danes and Norwegians 

 were attacking Chester, held by the 

 ,i .ii and some Gallic auxiliaries. 

 After adopting stoning and boiling 

 water in vain against the besiegers, 

 the Saxons threw down all the bee- 

 hives in the town upon the attack- 

 ers, who were soon routed. — Toronto 

 Evening Telegram. 



