1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTaRE. 



801 



laying at all regular: nor do bees fly out at 

 regular intervals; and still much less do they 

 come in so, nor with uniform loads; nor do they 

 live uniformly six or eight weeks during the 

 working-time, nor 6 to s months during winter, 

 or, at least, during the time of repose. I will 

 give a few notes later on, collated during many 

 years of close observation as to numbers. Let 

 me here say, that, as nearly as I could make 

 out, 35,000 to 40.000 bees is the average of a col- 

 ony — not a swarm — note that. A swarm can 

 never be as strong as a colony, as the swarm is- 

 suing is part of the average colony; thus, a col- 

 ony ready to swarm may push the queen to lay- 

 ing up to, say, 50,000 workers present; a swarm 

 issues, and 25,000 bees are left in each camp, 

 including, of course, some old bees. 



NEW OR OLD COMB. 



But now comes another question: Suppose, to 

 start with, we put the 34,000 bees into a hive, 

 according to the condition of the comb. Old 

 comb is, in my opinion, undoubtedly best to be- 

 gin with; and here Dr. Miller and his corre- 

 spondents, on page 634, Aug. 15th, agree on one 

 point. Every question has many sides; but es- 

 pecially so with bees ; as almost always, when- 

 ever a question is set forth, it must be put un- 

 der certain conditions: thus, in Stray Straws, 

 June 15th, "Please," says, Dr. M., "keep watch 

 and tell us whether a queen prefers to lay in 

 new or old combs; also which the bees prefer to 

 store in." Immediately we would put the ques- 

 tion to ourselves as to whether the queen is sur- 

 rounded by blacks or Eastern or Ligurian bees, 

 and at what time of year. My experience leads 

 me to say that a swarm newly hived, or a colo- 

 ny in fair condition, with old and young bees 

 hatching, working on old comb, will draw out 

 comb foundation introduced into the brood-nest, 

 over night, and one will be very sure to find 

 the flat comb foundation, introduced in the eve- 

 ning, containing eggs in the center about 7 or 8 

 o'clock next morning; also some drops of honey, 

 and even pollen, near the top, provided it is dur- 

 ing a good honey-flow, and in spring. Of course, 

 It pleases the eye, when looking in next morn- 

 ing, to find the yellow foundation turned into 

 an almost snow-wnite comb, an-- inhabited by 

 bees, as though it had always been there; and 

 beginners in general, and even bee-keepers of 

 many years' experience, not carefully examin- 

 ing the question, are led to believe that bees 

 prefer the new combs, and simply because it 

 pleased their sight and feeling as to durability. 



In France the opinion has been held by many, 

 that, between 4 and (3 years, the combs are too 

 old to be of any use to the bees, as the cells are 

 by that time too small, on account of the suc- 

 cessive generations of bees hatching in them, 

 and because they "darken the honey." This 

 last opinion is due to the dark sealings. Every 

 one knows that bees will seal their honey very 

 nea'' the color of the comb; and here the races 



give different color to the sealings of honey. I 

 have frames and combs that have been in use 

 ever since I began bee-keeping; and when we 

 first started we bought jar hives which had 

 been used many years, so I know that twenty- 

 year-old comb is very good, and I would not call 

 it old ; nor am I now discarding any. 



A correspondent of mine bitterly laments my 

 having sent him dark comb with the colonies he 

 ordered of me, although I had to explain to him 

 (a man who boasts of twenty years' experience 

 in bee-keeping) that old comb is better than 

 new to start with a nucleus; and, secondly, that 

 on no condition will I send newly built comb, 

 loaded with bees and brood and honey, through 

 the mails, and that for the sake of both of us; 

 for although the seller always guarantees safe 

 arrival of his queens, every one knows how dis- 

 agreeable it is to receive a queen or colony in 

 bad condition. He'll have to wait a few days 

 more, perhaps a few weeks; but he wanted to 

 start at once, right into the honey-flow then 

 abounding in his or her locality. The bees are 

 obliged to secrete wax, many writers claim; 

 but, on the other hand, they ought to have said, 

 "In spring, bees will secrete wax with great fa- 

 cility, and to some extent mn«t do so." This 

 would be correct. This is chiefly from such 

 men as like to combat mobilists; or, if they get 

 to be mobilists, comb-foundation manufactur- 

 ers; but bees can build comb foundation, and 

 secrete wax, to a small extent, almost every 

 spring of the year, and not more. Suppose, for 

 an instant, those writers to be correct in their 

 views; what do they do with the stock of bees 

 in a tree, sending out swarms year after year, 

 and good comb-builders in the bargain, without 

 ever building any comb in the old locality? 

 They breed in the perhaps half-century-old 

 comb, store honey, and, in years of scarcity, re- 

 main there. The wax-secreting organs are not 

 at all changed in the succeeding generations, 

 because, for at least 18 months, no swarm is- 

 sued ; and, consequently, no wax was secreted; 

 but let us for an instant follow a swarm, issued 

 April 1, hived entirely on foundation, as there 

 was no old comb to spare. In about 15 days, 

 during a fair honey-flow, the bees have drawn 

 out 10 to 15 combs; and let us suppose that hon- 

 ey is coming in. We add a story, and 10 or 12 

 combs are built. The wax-secreting organs 

 have been exercising their functions to their 

 fullest extent. At the end of May, of course, 

 not a single bee of wax-secreting memory is liv- 

 ing, and the generation now filling the hive is 

 from 1 to 40 days old. Not a single bee has had 

 any occasion to secrete wax, because the hive 

 is complete. The first-hatched bees are rapidly 

 dying off. About the end of June, 60,000 or 

 70,000 bees will have passed away, having car- 

 ried in honey and pollen, and water-nursed the 

 bees, but never secreted any wax. The extract- 

 or is worked as often as necessary, giving the 



