Washington, Sept., 1870.
The remarks on queen raising, by the Rev. Mr. Briggs, in our last issue,
appear to be considered by some as aimed personally at Mr. Alley, of
Wenham, Mass. We did not so regard them. Mr. Briggs’ object seemed to us
to be very different, and one in which queen breeders in general have
quite as much interest as queen purchasers. Bee breeding, as a science,
is yet in its infancy--not less so in Europe than here; but is evidently
engaging the attention of the best and most experienced apiarians, and
has already led to some highly interesting discussions in the German
Journals and Conventions. Of these we shall, in due season, take proper
notice--we give, in this number of the Journal, several communications
referring to Mr. Briggs’ article, and shall probably have one from him
in explanation.
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👉 The March number of the American Bee Journal contained a call for a
meeting of the Michigan Bee-keepers’ Association, to be held at Lansing,
on the 23d and 24th of that month.--Bee-keepers from other States and
the British Provinces were invited to attend that meeting, as it was
_proposed then to make arrangements for holding a_ NATIONAL BEE-KEEPERS’
CONVENTION. The Association met accordingly, and it was resolved to hold
a _National Convention_ at Indianapolis, (Ind.) on the 11th and 12th
instant, but the time was subsequently changed to the 21st and 22d of
December next, as better suiting the convenience of bee-keepers. The
_place_ designated seems now, however, for some reason, to have become
objectionable to certain parties who probably have “axes to grind.” They
are now laboring hard to effect a change; but we presume the effort will
fail, as we are assured from various quarters that the Convention will
be held at Indianapolis.
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A patent has recently been granted for a method of excluding bee-moths
from hives by means of a long lever operated by a hen-roost. The
inventor claims “a combination of a vibrating roost or perch for fowls
with the slides or doors of one or more bee hives, when so constructed
and arranged that the weight of the fowls upon the roost shall close the
hives, and their removal from the roost shall open the doors.” How this
ingenious contrivance came to be patented at this late day, we do not
know; but certainly it is neither, “new” nor “useful.” The same thing
was tried and abandoned many years ago, as will be seen by reference to
Langstroth’s “_Hive and Honey Bee_,” page 263, first edition. Possibly
there is some new “modification” or some novel “combination” of material
(chickens included), on which the claim to a patent is based; but
unfortunately, no modification or combination can ever enable him who
employs this contrivance to circumvent the moths thereby.
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When a colony in an apiary is found to be queenless, and has been so
till all the brood has matured, it will generally be found difficult to
get the bees to raise a queen from brood inserted, or even to accept and
cherish a sealed queen cell. Repeated trials are usually necessary, and
when successful the population has generally so dwindled, before the new
generation attains the working age, that the colony is of little value,
especially late in the season. The better mode is to introduce at once a
fertile prolific queen from some populous colony, and let the latter do
the queen raising; unless we have fertile queens in reserve in nuclei.
With the transferred queen, several combs of brood taken from other
strong colonies, should, if possible, be given to the one that has been
queenless. The desired object will thus be more speedily attained, and
frequently with benefit to the colonies drawn on.
The European Sparrow.
“A large number of German sparrows, have been imported and placed in the
vineyards in the vicinity of Davenport, Iowa.” So the newspapers inform
us--the object, we presume, being the destruction of caterpillars. We
fear, however, that the grape growers there have made a capital mistake,
and are likely to have an easy time annually hereafter, when gathering
the vintage.
It has been customary to charge the bees with damaging the grape crop,
but it appears that in Germany this sparrow is the real offender. The
Rev. Mr. Stern, an aged and well known bee-keeper, residing at
Wessenburg in Lower Austria, writing to the Bienenzeitung about this
alleged malfeasance of the bees, says--“I have lived more than thirty
years in a village of three thousand inhabitants, most of whom derive
their support from grape culture. Besides their vineyards, they have
numerous trellises of vines at their houses, and there are several
apiaries in the village. I have myself an arbor of vines, 180 feet in
length, within twenty-five feet of my apiary. Now it has happened for
many years that I did not get a single bunch of grapes, undamaged, from
any vine in this arbor, and the other grape-growers in my neighborhood
fared no better. Berries torn open were annually to be seen, and I have
seen bees on _such_ berries often--not indeed by ‘myriads’ nor yet by
thousands, or hundreds, nor even by fifties, but only here and there a
solitary one quietly sipping of the extruding juice. I have killed
hundreds of _hornets_ in the act of tearing open the berries, and
thousands of wasps busy at the same work; but _I have never seen a bee
so engaged_. But, what flies and bees are wholly incapable of doing, and
what wasps and hornets do only in part and occasionally, _is really the
work of the_ SPARROW, which, because its habits have been little
observed or studied, continues to be held in high estimation in some
districts. Even a small number of these birds can, in a few days, do
exceedingly great injury in a vineyard, at the time when the ripening
grapes are becoming mellow. They then peck open berry after berry, as
though in sport, sip a little of the juice occasionally, and flitting
away to some other cluster incessantly repeat the damaging process. I
have witnessed this hundreds of times; and seen them do the work so
effectually that, year after year, I have not obtained one undamaged
cluster from my arbor.--This cunning sparrow knows, too, how to avoid
traps and springes, and soon familiarizes himself with the most
elaborate fantastic scarecrow set up _in terrorem_, acting apparently in
derision and contempt of the baffled and mortified grape-grower.”
Forty years ago, an American ornithologist, speaking of this species of
sparrow and the injury done by it to grain fields in Europe,
said--“_Fortunately we are free from this pest on this side of the
Atlantic._” Now we import them, and boast of it!
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