1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



811 



will And it an absolute necessity to encourage the 

 presence of the honey-bee. 



The stock of bees at the time of our visit is getting- 

 comparatively low. This is not to be wondered at, 

 for Mr. Blow disposes of upward of two hundred 

 stocks annually, and no swarms have yet appeared 

 by whicli to replenish them. In reply to an inquiry, 

 we learn that, after testing all varieties of bees, 

 hybrids (that is, English bees crossed with either 

 Italians or Carniolans) are better than any pure 

 breeds, the latter cross being much preferable. 

 Mr. Blow devotes a considerable amount of atten- 

 tion to queen-raising. We were not surprised to 

 hear tiiat lie finds Englisliraised quee.is much 

 better than imported ones, as naturally the former 

 are more capable of withstanding the cimngesof our 

 climate. Apart from this, he lias found it necessary 

 to give up importing queens, uecause foreign ones 

 can no longer be depended upon. The increased 

 demand of late years has made the raisers unscru- 

 pulous, who either send old queens or unfertilized 

 young ones. Mr. Blow's apiary of English bees is a 

 few miles distant.* 



DRONE-CELLS FOR ftUEEN-CTJPS. 



AN OBJECTION TO THEIR USE; AN INGENIOUS 



WAY OF EXTl^ACTING THE KOYAL .TEI.I.Y 



FKOM OEIX-CUPS; POSSIBILITIES 



OF PRODUCING LARGER 



QUEENS. 



Mr. jRoot.-— Page 63.5 of your August 15th 

 number contains an article, "Queen-cells from 

 Drone Comb," indorsing the Alley plan for 

 grafting cells to hatch queens. Having experi- 

 mented extensively in the different methods 

 recommended for queen-rearing, this disclaimer 

 asserts that, in his opinion, no method yet con- 

 trived can equal the Doollltle cup-cell In pro- 

 ducing large valuable queens. Apiarists are 

 aware that worker-cells average ^2 of an Inch 

 in diameter, while drone-cells are y^"^ "flush; also 

 that all drones matured in worker-cells are 

 much smaller than those hatched in drone-cells. 

 It is fair to assume that a queen reared in a 

 drone-cell would invariably be much smaller 

 than if reared in a queen-cell, the measurements 

 of which are generally ^^ or /^ of an inch in 

 diameter, and round, therefore longer than a 

 hexagon of the same diameter. It is true, also, 

 that the smaller cells always produce the small 

 queens. 



Taking into account this difference in the size 

 of cells, I was induced to experiment with a 

 larger cell, of which the Doolittle cups afforded 

 the only means of enlarging (satisfactoi'y to the 

 bees), to produce a superior queen bee that 

 would not pass through Dr. C. C. Miller's zinc 

 excluder, even in virgin purity. It looks rea- 

 sonable to suppose that an increase in size 

 would add value to the bee, in the enlarged 

 capacity for eggs, and therefore a prolonged 

 usefulness, as doubtless all germs of eggs are of 

 equal size in a small or large, queen. Follow- 

 ing up the experiment, cells were used fj of an 

 inch, from which were hatched vei-y siiiperior 

 bees as to size, exceeding the average of natural- 

 swarming i^roduction; and then the poetry of 

 motion of her majesty on the combs at work 

 pleases the eye of tiie connoisseur. 



It is unnecessary to place the cups in the 

 hive to be notched by the bees before introduc- 

 ing the jelly and larva. By the use of a glass 



*Mr. Blow makes tlie foHowing acknowledgments 

 to different parties who assisted liim in getting to- 

 gether the ab(ive tine lot of engravings: To Percy 

 Lund & Co., propi'ietors of tiie " Practical Photogra- 

 pher," for two photo blocks; to Messrs. Newton & 

 Co., Fleet St., London, for permission to make bhx^ks 

 from their tine series of photos on "Bees and Bee 

 Culture," for the use of technical classes. The por- 

 trait of Mr. lUow him.self is from a negative by 

 Maull & Fox, of Picadilly, London. 



instrument called a dropper, costing a dime, 

 the jelly can be placed In the bottom of the 

 cups as fast as one can pick up tacks. The bar 

 holding the cup can be placed on the knee of 

 the operator, while before his face, at an angle 

 of about 35 degrees, is placed the frame from 

 the hive containing brood to be transfeiTed. 

 Having cut away the quill one inch from the 

 point, half the diameter, with it break down 

 the lower wall of cell containing the larva 

 wanted. This enables you to incline the quill 

 and scoop out the larva without danger of in- 

 jury. 



By this management the larva is transferred 

 without trouble and without any material in- 

 jury to the comb, which is then placed back in 

 the hive without commotion among the bees. 

 It is doubtless a fact that improvement can be 

 obtained in this line of work, which will en- 

 hance the value of queens. In improving my 

 bees, as pure strains as possible are obtained 

 from various sources, and the difference in the 

 size of the queens obtained demands improve- 

 ment in the method of breeding. Just before 

 the cups are converted into cells, and capped, 

 those havingthe least jelly should be removed, 

 and the jelly used to start other cells. 



HOW TO PRESERVE ROYAL JELLY FOR FUTURE 



USE. 



If you are not ready to do so at the time, suck 

 out the jelly with the dropper, and deposit it in 

 a wax cup formed the same as cell-cups are, 

 ^4 inch in diameter, and }.2 to % inch deep. 

 Cover by using a small piece of tin heated. 

 Shave off the top of the cup. and this will cause 

 a thin film of wax to be spread over. Press 

 down on the cup, and two or three days may 

 elapse, when the jelly can be used if kept from 

 the air. In dipping the cells, use slightly salted 

 water to dip the stick in before dipping into the 

 wax. It is grateful to the bees. 



Des Moines, la., Oct. 5. James Cormal. 



[Our correspondent's objection to drone-cells 

 for queen-cups, as recently suggested by Mr. J. 

 D. Foosbe, does not seem to be sustained by the 

 facts. Mr. Fooshe is quite an extensive queen- 

 breeder in the South, and rears for us the larger 

 part of the queens that come from the South. 

 We have carefully examined the queens that 

 have come from these drone-cell cups, and can 

 assure our correspondent that they are not one 

 whit smaller than and In no respect inferior to 

 queens reared by other methods. It should be 

 remembered that the drone-cells themselves 

 form just a mere starter for the bottom of the 

 cell; and, if we understand Mr. Fooshe, the 

 bees soon enlarge it, making it into good-sized 

 queen-cells. 



Our friend Mr. Cormal has struck upon a very 

 ingenious way of extracting royal jelly from 

 the cell-cups. We never before thougiitof the 

 dropper (or, as it is often called, " pipette ") for 

 this purpose; but we feel certain that it would 

 do the work far more satisfactorily and expe- 

 ditiously than any other method. They can be 

 obtained at drugstores, usually, at from 10 to 15 

 cts., and we suggest the wisdom of Southern 

 breeders — particularly Mr. Fooshe and Mrs. 

 Atchley— testing the pipette immediately, and 

 reporting on the same.] 



WAXING QUEEN -CAGES. 



PREPARING THEM FOR SITIP.MENT, ETC 



When queens are reared by the hundreds and 

 even thousands, the breeder must make every 

 move count, and even then he sometimes has 

 more work than he knows how to get through 

 with. I have, from necessity, picked up several 



