BEE-KEEPIXG. 441 



1318. But it is not the queen alone which deposits eggs ; it has been well 

 ascertained that the worker-bee occasionally lays them ; but it is remarkable 

 that these workers never deposit anything but male eggs. It has been sup- 

 posed, however, that there must have been small queens mixed with the 

 workers, whose office it was to lay male eggs in old hives. As, however, 

 this is so contrary to the known proceedings of the real queen, it is more 

 probable that these fertile insects, which are smaller and more slender than 

 the common workers, may be common workers which have derived their 

 fertility from the circumstance of some royal jelly having been casually dropt 

 into their cells when grubs, as they uniformly issue from cells adjoining those 

 inhabited by grubs which have been I'aised from the plebeian to the royal 

 rank. Such, at least, is the commonly accepted oiDiuion of authoi's ; but it is 

 evident that further observation is requii-ed here ; for the change of functions 

 arising from change of food, is contrary to all known physiological principle, 

 and may be pronounced as the merely apparent result of a phenomenon whose 

 real cause is still a mystery. 



1319. The duration of life in the different individuals of the hive is various. 

 The male bee's existence is not more than two or three months. The female 

 has been known to live for five years, although the general term of her exist- 

 ence is from two or three years, and the workers do not appear to be so long- 

 lived as the queen ; probably little longer than a year being their term of life. 



1320. There are two prominent systems in use in the management of bees, 

 each based upon the importance of giving room, and diminishing their dis- 

 position to swarm. One of these systems is placing the hives or boxes side by 

 side (Nutt's collateral system), the other advocates the piling of the boxes one 

 upon another (the storifying system), affording, in both cases, a free commu- 

 nication whenever required. Whichever of these modes be had recourse to, 

 the bees have a regular habit of constructing their combs at uniform distance , 

 from each other ; but they have also another habit when they are untutoi-ed — 

 viz., that of building them irregular I3', insomuch that their j^osition is fre- 

 quently curvilinear, and sometimes tliey are even placed at right angles with 

 each other. This proceeding forms a great impediment to the manipulation 

 of wax and honey. To avoid this, every box or hive should be furnished with 

 movable bars, upon each of which, or at any rate uj^on every other bar, 

 pieces of worker-comb should be fixed to serve as a guide to the bees, prior to 

 the introduction of a swarm ; and it will be found that the bees, if they have 

 their guide-combs correctly and securely fixed, will invariably accept them as 

 the foundation of their future structures, by which means several important 

 objects will be accomplished. In the first place, the facility for taking the 

 stored honey will be very much increased. In the next place, if the bees are 

 not wealthy enough to spare a whole boxful of honey, you can, without diffi- 

 culty, take from them what they can spare. And, thirdly, if in your apiary 

 there should be any families very unequal in wealth, provided the boxes and 

 bars ai-e reciprocally adapted to each other, one or more bars can be removed 

 from a weak hive, and exchanged for the same number of loaded bars from 



