Bloomington, Ill., March 5, 1881.
The first question is difficult to answer, as enterprising bee-keepers,
like the balance of humanity, are generally governed by motives of
convenience or profit. There are very few but have other business
connected with bee-keeping, and this would suffer if close attention
was given the migratory system. The amount of honey required to winter
in the South is much less than in the North, but the quantity is
governed by contingencies, as would be the question, How much honey
will a colony obtain in the South in a season? Usually bees obtain
considerable surplus in April and May, in some localities. Mr. Bingham,
we believe, abandoned the migratory system on account of excessive
freights, while Mr. Perrine met with a series of disasters from the
first which would have discouraged any one. Mr. W. O. Abbott was
engaged last season with a floating apiary on the Mississippi river,
from which large returns were anticipated; but as nothing definite has
been made public since the close of the season, we suppose it was not
a success. Others have tried Southern wintering, but we have no data
upon which to base conclusions, except the fact of its abandonment. The
trouble has not been so much from destruction of combs, as the expense
attending the removal.
A private letter from a gentleman with several hundred colonies of
bees, located a short distance below Memphis, Tenn., dated March 5,
says: “My colonies are mostly very strong; they are bringing in 5 kinds
of pollen; many are clustering in front of their hives; most of them
had large quantities of honey left over, and I could extract an average
of 15 lbs. per colony with profit to the bees. Bees here are given no
attention in the fall, but are left on the summer stands, sometimes
with the second story over them, and often with only a honey-board.
Frequently there are entrances at front and rear, and wide cracks in
the sides from which bees pour out, but disaster never overtakes them
except from starvation.”
If a necessity exists for wires in foundation, then perhaps the
wired frames are best. That but few of those in attendance at the
Northwestern Convention “had given wired foundation a fair trial,” was
undoubtedly owing to the fact that the great majority of those present
had never experienced the necessity for using wires; and it might
be difficult to convince a considerable minority of the bee-keepers
in the country that wired foundation is even desirable for general
use. Of course, for special purposes, such as migratory bee-keeping,
shipping in summer, etc., where not to be transferred from the frames,
wired-frames might be very desirable.
Interesting Letter from Ceylon.
Through the courtesy of Mr. D. A. Jones, we are permitted to publish
the following letter. Anything relating to the peregrinations of Mr.
Benton in the far East, and any discoveries of new races of bees he
may effect, will possess a great attraction for our readers. His next
letter, from Singapore, will be awaited with interest.
I found on examination that every queen was alive upon my
arrival in Pointe de Galle, though some of the nuclei were
greatly depopulated, owing to the death of many bees, and
would not have lived to reach Java had I not gotten off in
Ceylon. By the next steamer I go to Singapore. I have made
every effort to secure bees here, but none are kept in hives
in those ports I have visited, and I do not think in any port
of the Island.
Of those found in trees few can be secured, because the trees
are valuable cocoanut palms, and the entrance holes are in
the trunk of course, and are very small. I have obtained
three hives only of the small bees, having also spent some
time fixing up the bees I brought with me, and trying to find
the large bees, to say nothing of searching for some place
where bees could be purchased in hives or pots. The natives
are far worse than Cypriotes to get along with and accomplish
anything. They seem to tell lies simply for the sake of
giving an answer, where no pecuniary gain could come to them.
Again, they seem to wish to avoid saying “I do not know,”
when the Lord knows it would be the most appropriate thing
for them to say in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. The
result is that it is hard work to sift the statements made by
the natives, and Europeans—nearly all English—know absolutely
nothing of value to us.
The new bees, which I think are also found in India and many
of the East India Islands (in which case East India bees
would seem to me an appropriate name), are real beauties.
The workers are 3/8 of an inch long, and build worker comb
5/8 of an inch thick, 36 cells to the square inch. The drone
comb is exactly the size, and like worker comb made by the
bees already in Europe and America. The workers are brown
with a very ringed abdomen, the bands to the tip of the body
being broadly marked with yellow, and thorax very fuzzy,
with a large shield between the wings; the drones are black,
inclining to a blue-black, and are ½ of an inch long; the
queens are leather-colored, and large compared with the
workers. These bees are very active, wonderful breeders,
regular little beauties, and can be handled without the least
smoke, scarcely ever offering to sting. It is a pity I cannot
get more of them during my stay.
I am determined to find out whether _Apis dorsata_ is to be
found here, if time will permit, and if two more races I have
heard of here really do exist. I am now where a few shillings
of railway fare will bring me to the interior of the Island.
More by next mail, with samples of bees and comb.
I have had a horrible time getting stung with large hornets
while in the jungles. It laid me up for one whole day. These
are fearful fellows, worse than those in Cyprus.