<tJ6 



GLEANII^GS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



scattering it broadcast throughout the land, to 

 fertilize the millions of flowers which otherwise 

 would produce no fruit. But, to return to the 

 two paragraphs quoted. 



While I believe the bees were created for the 

 fertilization of flowers, yet I also believe that 

 not half of the different species of plants and 

 trees require the aid of the bee to fertilize their 

 flovi'ers, and that only those which require the 

 aid of the bee secrete any honey; hence, I said 

 that it was not true that every flower " that 

 nods to the breeze or kisses the bright sunlight " 

 secreted honey. In this we see the wisdom of 

 the Creator— bees created to fertilize flowers 

 which could not be fertilized in any other way, 

 and honey placed in these flowers to attract the 

 bees to them. Thus we have the clovers among 

 grasses secreting honey, while the timothy, 

 orchard, red-top, and other grasses do not 

 secrete honey, for they are fertilized by the 

 " breeze." All the fault I hav(,' to find with the 

 first quotation is, that it is represented that 

 both the breeze and bees may be needed to fer- 

 tilize the same and all plants; while I believe 

 that plants and irees which can be fertilized by 

 the breeze do not need the aid of the bejs; and 

 that those requiring the aid of the bees cdii 

 not possibly he fertilized by all the breezes that 

 ever blew. ' To be sure, bees sometimes collt-ct 

 pollen from many flowers which do not require 

 iheiraid; but. as I said before, honey is secreted 

 only by those which do. Take the flower of the 

 squash, for instance; (Iregory, who is certainly 

 good authority, in his excellent treatise on this 

 plant tells us that squashes can be fertilized 

 only by the aid of bees and insects, and proves 

 the same by giving experiments tried, where 

 fine netting was placed over the female flowers 

 on certain hills, when not one of the flowers 

 thus treated produced a squash, while the hills 

 not so treated gave a good crop. Any one look- 

 ing at a squash-flower will at once come to the 

 conclusion that it is impossible for the wind to 

 carry the pollen from one blossom to another; 

 hence we find it secreting honey to attract the 

 bees. Prominent among this class of flowers 

 which needs the bees to fertilize them, we have 

 the clovers, fruit-trees of nearly all classes, 

 basswood (linden) trees, buckwheat, and fall 

 flowers quite generally. Of the class that does 

 not need the aid of the bee, 1 will mention 

 grasses of all kinds growing in this locality 

 (except clover); grains of all kinds ((-xcept 

 buckwheat); and mostof the trees of the forest, 

 such as beech, birch, ash, hemlock, etc. With 

 the grain I would include corn. I know that 

 some writers tell us that bees gather honey 

 from corn; but after a careful watch for over a 

 score of years I have failed to find a single bee 

 having any honey in its honey-sac while at 

 work gathering pollen from corn-tassels. If 

 the stalks are bruised or cut in any way. some- 

 times there is a sweet substance that exudes 

 which the bees gather, but this can not be prop- 

 erly called the secretion of nectar. 



In the above I have given my views regarding 

 this matter, and stand ready to be corrected by 

 any one who can show that I am wrong. I am 

 no botanist, therefore can not give a scientific 

 article on the subject; but if there are any good 

 botanists among the readers of Gleanings, I 

 (and I tliink all of its readers) should be pleased 

 to hear from them on the subject. Knowledge 

 along this line will help us to disarm the many 

 jealous ones about us who seem to think the 

 bees are injuring them by taking honey from 

 the flowers. Let us keep it ever before the pub- 

 lic, that the bees are not only the bee-keeper's 

 friend, but the especial friend of the farmer 

 and fruit-grower. Thus doing, many of the 

 troubles of the past will be saved. 



Borodino, N. Y. G. M. Doolitti.e. 



PULLED ftUEENS. 



DK. MII.I.ER TELLS ALL ABOUT THEM. 



One of the bee-journals for which I have a 

 real respect asks for a "'rest " on pulled queens. 

 Why ? If it has tried them and found out that 

 there is any harm in using them, would it not 

 be a better way to tell the harm in the case? 

 Certainly there has not been such a great deal 

 said about them; but enough has been said 

 against them to show that most if not all of 

 those who say any thing against them have 

 never tried them and don't know what they are 

 talking about, merely giving speculative opin- 

 ions. Those who have tried them will no doubt 

 enjoy a quiet smile on being gravely informed 

 in one of the bee journals that it is said that 

 '■pulled queens are very short-lived, and that 

 but few of them ever become fertile on account 

 of having their wings destroyed by pidling the 

 queen from her cell before being propi'rly 

 matured." Elsewhere the suggestion is made 

 that it would be better to use queen-cells, thus 

 letting the queens come out at their own time; 

 and one man goes so far as to say that, instead 

 of pulling queens, he puts wax over the spot in 

 the cell that has been gnawed by the queen so 

 as to hold her prisoner in the cell a longer time, 

 thus making her stronger. 



I will try to be magnanimous enough not to 

 oblige any one to use pulled queens who does 

 not want to; but as I have found no little ad- 

 vantage and convenience in their use myself, I 

 will try to clear up some misunderstandings 

 that seem to prevail. 



When a queen is raised at any time in a colo- 

 ny where tfiere is no intention of swarming, I 

 think it will be found that the queen emerges 

 from her cell too young and tender to fly, and 

 quite light colored. I can hardly believe, how- 

 ever, that nature is making any mistake in the 

 case, and I do not believe that she would be 

 any the better queen for longer confinement in 

 the cell. In other words, I think she will ma- 

 ture as well out of the cell as in it. At least 

 the bees seem to think so, and govern tliem- 

 selves accordingly. 



If swarming is contemplated, a number of 

 queen-cells being built, one queen is allowed to 

 emerge, and tlie rest are held in their cells. 

 One or several of them will be thus confined a 

 day or more, the free queen piping and the 

 others quahking. They are not confined in the 

 cells because they are any better for it, but be- 

 cause the exigencies of the case require it. 



Now, suppose we go to a hive containing 

 these queens in cells. Take out a frame and 

 find a queen-cell. Looking close, you may see 

 a little slit gnawed by the queen, passing part 

 way round the cell near the smaller end. 

 Through that slit the workers feed her during 

 her imprisonment; and, when allowed by them, 

 she will enlarge the slit and push open the cap. 



But you may not see any such slit. If you 

 don't, I know of no way of telling whether the 

 queen is matured enough to emerge, or too im- 

 mature to emerge for several days. Pull the 

 cell and S(>e. That doesn't mean that, by some 

 means, you are to get hold of the queen's wings 

 and puli on them till you get her out of the cell. 

 It's the cell rather than the queen that is to be 

 pulled. Take hold of the cell and pull it off. 

 A bee-keeper of any experience will readily do 

 that without injuring the queen, and so, prob- 

 ably, would one without experience. All that's 

 necessary is simply to grasp the cell tight 

 enough to pull it off, but not tight enough to 

 mash it. 



The probability is, that, in pulling it off, you 

 did it in such a way that it left the base of the 

 cell entirely open. In that case the queen will 



