Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1873-06-27

introducers, and many queens that have been
imported produced gentle progeny but only
under favorable conditions, while others, with
equal claims to purity, were vicious and un-
manageable. The gentleness Of the Italian
beO is not docility il is more Of stubborn
cowardice. When disturbed, they immedi-
ately retire to the rocesscs of the hive, and
instead of salying out to drive the intruder
of, they stick themselves tenaciously to the
sheets Of honey and brood, as if determined to
defend their stores behind the walls Of their
castles. The American bee, in all its varie-
ties, if it fights at all, is willing to come out
of its entrenchments and when subjugatod it
can be driven about at pleasure. Many Of
them show no more disposition to sting than
do the gentlest of the Italians, and if it can
be shown that they vary to as great an ex-
tent in productiveness, | believe more de-
sirable breed could be produced from them.
AT the last meeting Of the North Ameri-
can Bee-koepers' Society, the opinion was ex-
pressed that the existence Of bees depended
on their stings, aud that they could not be
entirely deprived of the instinct to use them.
The assumption can hardly be true, for all Of
the indigenous species of bees of America,
North and South, (that is, the MelipOnas and
Trigonas,) are stinglsss, and many races and
varieties Of them have not even the protection
of hive, gum or hsllow trees to shield them,
but hang their combs and stores on the limbs
of trees. Still they have continued to exist
and prosper.
In one instance, l had a natural swarm of
bees to come out, whose queens wings were
clipped. had a number Of them sting me
on the hand, and on examination found that
their stings were very small, and many Of
them SO soft that they could not penetrate the
skin If wide and careful observation was
made, other instances might be discovered Of
tendency to dispense with a useless append
age.
About the same time had a colony with
out wings. While young they could build
comb aud nurse the young as well as if they
had wings, but when they became old enough
to 60 out to gather honey, of course they
were useless, and as but few could be seen
crawling around the outside Of the hive, it is
to be presumed that they wandered off in the
grass and were lost. The mother of them
had her wings clipped short, as it was my
custom at that time. If the winglcss condi-
tion Of the mother caused the same condition
in her offspring, it would indicate means Of
removing the sting by clipping the sting Of
the queen.
In state of domestication, there is not
only no necessity for this, but it is positively
injurious. With proper management, it car
bo prevented, and if prevented for time
long or short, 1t would disappear, as other
instincts do, under domestication. We would
then want to remove the antipathy that one
queen has to another, so that several could
be kept in the same colony. In modifying
the temperament of the bees, the queens
would no doubt share in their civilization.
Mr.. +. Smith, Of the British Museum, in.
cines to the opinion that a colony of Trigo'
ma contains several queens at time, as the
multitudes inhabitating some nests are toe
great to be all produced by one female. The
MelipOna and Trigona are indigenous to
Mexico and Central and South America
There arc many species Of them. The colo.
nies of many are very numerous. They are
stingless. Some build in the hollows of trees
others in the ground some suspend their
nests from the limbs of trees, and at least one
species constructs its own hive Of clay, it be-
ing of very large size.-(Smith,) If these
tropical bees can exist under such circum-
stances why cannot our Apis msllifca? ? And
when perfectly domesticated and made by
cultivation as harmless, why cannot several
fertile females inhabit the same hive?
| Red Glover.
There is, perhaps, no plant grown that
yields honey more abundantly than the red
clover, but on account Of the long tubular
carola in which it is secreted, it has been W
to this time inaccessible to the honey y-bee.-
When the Italians were first introduced, il
was stated that their tongues were long
enough to reach it. Except in rare instan
oes, the statement has failed to be verified
Occasionally, on the e,ond crop, some flow
er-heads fail to develop their normal size, and
a few bees work on them, but | have yet tC
hear of their doing 50 to any great extent
Mr. Dadant, of Illinois, suggests, in the can
nails of Bee Culture" that by proper selec
tion of seed from only such heads as the bees
have been seen to visit, and by repeated Sc
lections from sowings on poor ground, va
ricty Of clover might be produced with flow
ers 50 small that the honey would be accessi
bic to the bees. The suggestion is good
one, but it would be better if we could in
crease the length of the prOboscis of the bees
once had Il colony of gray bees that
worked freely on red clover whenever it was
in bloom, and stored great quantities of hon
ey gathered from it, while no other bees re-
sorted to it, Italianized them, and lost the
opportunity of pro6ting by the encourage
ment of SO valuable variation, and at the
same time spoiled the most valuable stock o.
bees | ever had
General A9ritmItnre.