﻿158 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  G. 
  Desborough 
  on 
  the 
  

  

  Now 
  brood 
  is 
  always 
  present 
  on 
  opposite 
  sides 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  comb 
  

   in 
  the 
  regular 
  seat 
  of 
  breeding 
  in 
  a 
  hive 
  (in 
  glasses 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  

   sides 
  of 
  the 
  hive 
  in 
  the 
  heat 
  of 
  summer 
  this 
  is 
  not 
  uniformly 
  the 
  

   case) 
  ; 
  we 
  tlierefore 
  multiply 
  the 
  twenty-four 
  by 
  two, 
  giving 
  forty- 
  

   eight 
  square 
  inches 
  of 
  brood 
  in 
  January. 
  

  

  If 
  a 
  piece 
  of 
  brood 
  comb 
  containing 
  worker 
  cells 
  be 
  measured, 
  

   it 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  that 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  twenty-seven 
  cells 
  are 
  con- 
  

   tained 
  in 
  a 
  square 
  inch;* 
  thus 
  we 
  have 
  1296 
  cells 
  containing 
  

   brood 
  in 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  January. 
  In 
  February 
  this 
  breeding 
  sur- 
  

   face 
  will 
  have 
  been 
  extended 
  to 
  three 
  combs, 
  the 
  centre 
  one 
  

   having 
  a 
  larger 
  surface 
  occupied 
  than 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  month, 
  

   and 
  the 
  comb 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  centre 
  one 
  having 
  about 
  the 
  

   same 
  quantity 
  in 
  February 
  as 
  the 
  centre 
  one 
  had 
  in 
  January. 
  

   This 
  gradual 
  progression 
  extends 
  until 
  the 
  m.onth 
  of 
  June, 
  when 
  

   the 
  greatest 
  number 
  of 
  cells 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  occupied 
  with 
  

   brood. 
  

  

  Subjoined 
  is 
  a 
  table 
  showing 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  combs 
  used 
  in 
  each 
  

   month 
  for 
  breeding 
  purposes, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  cells 
  in 
  each 
  comb, 
  

   and 
  therefore 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  bees 
  reared 
  during 
  the 
  eight 
  months 
  

   from 
  January 
  to 
  August 
  inclusive. 
  The 
  actual 
  time 
  required 
  for 
  

   a 
  worker 
  bee 
  to 
  arrive 
  at 
  maturity 
  is 
  twenty-one 
  days. 
  In 
  the 
  

   table 
  we 
  have 
  calculated 
  each 
  cell 
  to 
  produce 
  one 
  bee 
  during 
  the 
  

   month 
  ; 
  but 
  in 
  fact 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  excess 
  of 
  nine 
  or 
  ten 
  days 
  in 
  each 
  

   month. 
  This 
  may 
  be 
  allowed 
  for 
  the 
  cells 
  which 
  are 
  occasionally 
  

   missed 
  by 
  the 
  queen 
  in 
  depositing 
  eggs, 
  — 
  for 
  inequalities 
  in 
  the 
  

   shape 
  of 
  the 
  space 
  occupied 
  by 
  brood 
  comb 
  (our 
  calculation 
  of 
  

   space 
  in 
  each 
  case 
  being 
  a 
  regular 
  parallelogram), 
  — 
  for 
  the 
  time 
  

   which 
  elapses 
  between 
  the 
  young 
  bee 
  emerging 
  from 
  the 
  cell 
  and 
  

   its 
  being 
  again 
  used, 
  — 
  and 
  for 
  the 
  interregnum 
  occurring 
  between 
  

   the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  departure 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  queen 
  with 
  the 
  swarm, 
  and 
  

   the 
  establishment 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  queen 
  in 
  the 
  monarchy 
  of 
  the 
  

   hive, 
  during 
  which 
  period 
  no 
  eggs 
  are 
  laid. 
  These 
  deductions 
  

   for 
  all 
  practical 
  purposes 
  will 
  render 
  the 
  calculation 
  of 
  one 
  bee 
  

   per 
  cell 
  per 
  month 
  as 
  nearly 
  accurate 
  in 
  its 
  result 
  as 
  possible. 
  

   We 
  have 
  presumed 
  that 
  the 
  stock 
  forming 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  our 
  cal- 
  

   culation 
  in 
  the 
  table 
  swarms 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June; 
  if 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  

   swarm, 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  cells 
  occupied 
  with 
  brood 
  in 
  July 
  will 
  

  

  * 
  A 
  piece 
  of 
  comb 
  4 
  inches 
  square 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  22 
  rows 
  of 
  cells 
  of 
  

   IQj 
  cells 
  in 
  each 
  row. 
  A 
  piece 
  3 
  inches 
  square 
  will 
  contain 
  17 
  rows 
  of 
  14J 
  in 
  

   each 
  row. 
  The 
  averaoe 
  of 
  the 
  calculation 
  on 
  these 
  data 
  will 
  give 
  27 
  cells 
  to 
  the 
  

   square 
  inch 
  as 
  nearly 
  as 
  possible. 
  

  

  