1882 



GLEANINGS IN liEE CULTUKE. 



828 



keepers who had succeeded. Wh:»t has become of 



such assertions? I dare say that it is as impossible 

 for the worker to chans'o the sr> if the egg as it is 

 impossible for a hen to raise, at will, a hen or a 

 rooster from an egg which she has laid. 



Hamilton, 111., June 7, 1882. Chas. Dadant. 



H. S.— Friend Zi'oof;— Please insert the criticisms 

 that I inclose in this letter, without changing or ex- 

 tending a word. Yours friendly,— C. D. 

 SUICIDES. 



You are right, friend D., in your surmise 

 that the item 1 gave came from a Christian 

 l)aper; but you are surely wrong in saying 

 that Christian papers would willingly print 

 untruths. After receiving your letter we 

 turned to the People's Cydopcdia, and looked 

 for " suicides." We found it just as I gave 

 it. We looked again in Chambers', and 

 found it stated a little stronger still. Our 

 proof-reader looked in Zell's, and he says it 

 also gives stronger figures than mine. Our 

 cyclopedias are reliable on a matter of sta- 

 tistics, are they not, friend UadantV Three 

 suicides a day is indeed terrible to think of. 



BEESWAX, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A SUB- 

 STITUTE. 



I hardly think any one has misunderstood 

 me in what I said about using parafhne or 

 ceresin with wax for fdn. For brood-combs 

 without wiring, it will not answer at all ; 

 but with wires near enough together, it is 

 worked out even faster than natural wax ; 

 and, if I am not mistaken, Capt. Hethering- 

 ton was the tirst one who informed us of this 

 fact. Several years ago I used, in section 

 boxes, starters made of part yellow wax and 

 part paralflne, and the bases of the cells 

 were thinned out beautifully, and the honey 

 in no way differed from any other. We then 

 discontinued the use of it, because it worked 

 so disastrously for brood-combs; but such a 

 thing as wiring frames was then almost un- 

 known. Grape sugar is still being used quite 

 extensively for feeding bees, and works ad- 

 mirably for keeping them from starving dur- 

 ing such a spring as we have just had. 1 

 live in the fear of God, or, if you choose, 1 

 fear a guilty conscience ; but I do not fear 

 what men may say, nor that I shall lack pat- 

 ronage so long as I am doing business hon- 

 estly.— I am very glad of the facts you have 

 given us in regard to the supply of wax, and 

 doubtless you are right. Since our last, we 

 have found wax enough at from 26 to 28 c, 

 and we have, in fact, been obliged to drop 

 our paying price one cent. We have, so far, 

 worked up about 18 tons of Avax this season, 

 and we have now about two tons in stock, so 

 I presume there will be no need just yet of 

 our thinking of a substitute. 



CAN BEES REAR DRONES FROM WORKER 

 EGGS y 



Will it not behoove us all to decide cau- 

 tiously in this new matter of the ability of 

 the bees to change the sex of a worker egg V 

 Since it has come up, Neighbor II. and I 

 botli recall to mind cases where drones were 

 reared on pieces of worker brood given to 

 queenless colonies. You can all try it. Take 

 a nicf C'lnbof worker brood, cut out a piece, 

 and i^[\ e to a (|ueenless colony. The portion 

 left m the hive will produce all workers, 



while that taken to the queenless hive will 

 often produce more or less drones. Try it 

 and see, and then give us an explanation. I 

 thank you, friend Dadant, for the kindness 

 and courtesy with which ^ou have pointed 

 to me where you think I might be in danger 

 of making mistakes. 



In regard to this last matter, facts are con- 

 tinually being brought in, and here is one 

 from friend Flanagan, while I am writing: — 



In regard to being able to change the sex of the 

 egg, the fellowiug came inider my personal obser- 

 vation, and seems to corroborate friend Peters' 

 statement in a recent number of Gleanings, only 

 in this case they made drones from worker eggs. In- 

 stead of workers in drone-cells. In going over the 

 apiary in which I have an interest, placing in the 

 nuclei pieces of brood to ensure no fertile workers, 

 (and to supplj' eggs for rearing a queen if any acci- 

 dent happened (he virgin queen), a piece of comb 

 containing eggs of the proper age was Inserted in 3 

 different nuclei at the same time. In the first there 

 was a virgin queen, and the piece of comb contain- 

 ing the eggs developed into tirst-class drone brood. 

 In the 2d and 3d nuclei, the young queens were lost 

 (probably on their wedding flight), and the result 

 was the raising of a nice lot of queen-cells that 

 hatched good queens from each piece of brood. The 

 comb was frcshlj'drawn out of foundation, aEd had 

 not one drone-cell in it. Where theie was a young 

 queen, and the bees had no way of raising drones 

 but from the worker eggs given, instinct and de- 

 sire prompted them to change the sex, while with 

 the o;her two cases, being more in need of a mother 

 than drones, queen-cells were theresult. These are 

 the facts. Make the most of them, and let us hear 

 if any one else has had a similar experience. Who 

 will speak first? E. T. Flanagan. 



Brlkville, 111 , June33, I8S3. 



FRIEND BOOITIHOWER AND HIS 

 "DARK CI^OUD." 



ALSO HIS PLAN Of PDTTINO ON IT A "SILVER 

 LINING." 



DARK cloud is hovering over the bee-keep- 

 ers of this county. To-day is the 18th of 

 June, and up to the present time our little 

 pets have gathered scarcely a pound of honey. 

 Intelligence has reached me from adjoining towns, 

 and from localities in Albany County, that many 

 colonies have perished from starvation. In my 

 short experience I never knew bees to consume so 

 much honey, and be in such a weak condition up to 

 date, as they have this spring. I never saw a more 

 extensive bloom than we have had this season, but 

 the weather has liecu so cold and wet that it was im- 

 possible for the bees to take any advantage of it. 

 Up to date I have heard of but one swarm in this 

 State; everywhere bees are weak, and some are in a 

 deplorable condition except where extensive feed- 

 ing has been kept up for the past two or three 

 weeks. The bees seem to have become discour- 

 aged, dragging out their brood and swarming out. 

 The crop of white honey positively must be short; 

 and only where bees have been fed, and had extra 

 care, can any white honey be obtained. Box-hive 

 men are suffering more than those who have frame 

 hives. The former, as a general thing, have been 

 careless, and, having box hives, could not readily 



