1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



481 



QUERNS STOPPBD FROM LAYING BY USB OF EX- 

 CLUDERS. 



In three cases I put all the brood of a colony Into 

 an upper story, leaving the queen in the lower sto- 

 ry with an excluder between. I expected, as they 

 were strong colonies, that enough bees would stay 

 above to take care of the brood, and that the queen 

 would go right on laying in the combs below, which 

 were in good shape for immediate use. Two days 

 later not an egg was laid in either of the lower 

 stories, although there appeared to be a good 

 many bees with the queen. In two of the hives I 

 then put a frame of brood in the lower story, and 

 the queens went right to laying. In the third hive 

 I made no change; and ten days after the queen 

 had been left broodless there were only eggs below, 

 showing that the queen had stopped laying at least 

 a week. Not a queen-cell, however, was started 

 above. 



HOW SOON QUEENS LAY AFTER CAGINO. 



In caging queens during the honey harvest I found 

 that a queen, after being caged, did not immediate- 

 ly commence laying after being freed. The longer 

 she had been caged, the longer she was without 

 laying after being freed; in some cases, I think 

 waiting about a week before laying. But this 

 spring, just as soon as freed, a queen commenced 

 laying. They were, however, caged only about a 

 week, in which case I should expect, in the honey 

 harvest, at least a day or two to elapse before the 

 queen laid. Why the difference? Was it the sea- 

 son of the year? 



A SPACER SUGGESTED. 



As SO many are suggested, I'll tell you one I'd 

 like to try, but, oh dear! I'm so crowded in the 

 busy season that it isn't likely at all I can try it; 

 but some one else may. I think it may be very old. 

 Get a furniture nail whose head projects /b of an 

 inch, or a square block of wood of the same thick- 

 ness, and drive into one side of the top-bar at one 

 end, just over the end-bar. Put one on the oppo- 

 site side at the other end, and your spacing is com- 

 plete so far as the frames are concerned. The 

 dummy must be treated the same way (for I im- 

 agine a dummy is important with fixed distances), 

 and on each side of the hive must be a spacer where 

 there would be one if a frame came in place of the 

 side. 



TV- 



33 



raz 





Fjk^ 



VERTICAL VIEW OF HIVE, DUMMY, AND THREE 

 FRAMES WITH SPACERS. 



To make it more satisfactory, I think a spacer 

 should also be put about half way down the end- 

 bar. C. C. Miller. 



Marengo, III., June 4. 



My dear friend M., I am surprised to hear 

 you say that bees as a general rule destroy 

 all the eggs after the removal of the qiteen. 

 Some time ago, somebody suggested that a 



great part of the eggs were missing shortly 

 after the queen was taken away, and gave 

 as a reason that the worker bees had eaten 

 the eggs in order that they might have the 

 wherewith to produce the royal jelly. So 

 many objected, however, that I believe our 

 friend gave up his theory. Now, 1 do not 

 know that I ever saw a case where 1 thought 

 all the eggs were removed after taking out 

 the queen. On the contrary, I have often 

 watched the eggs to see how many days 

 would elapse before they were all hatched 

 into larvse. So I feel certain it can not be a 

 general rule, with our bees any way.— I am 

 very glad indeed to know that you have no- 

 ticed the difference between caged queens 

 and removed queens. Yes, I have often no- 

 ticed that queens are usually idle some little 

 time after their laying has been interrupted. 



JONES vs. BRO"WN. 



THE LEGAL ASPECT OF THE CASE. 



I BEG to dissent from the decision of your " court 

 of equity " in the case of Jones vs. Brown. I look 

 upon the decision as involving a great deal. If left 

 as a majority of the judges have decided, it will 

 have, it seems to me, a decidedly demoralizing ten- 

 dency, and will virtually abolish the business of 

 letting out bees on shares. It will tend to weaken 

 confidence, vitiate contracts, and absolve responsi- 

 bility. 



The contract in this case is, as stated, that " Jones 

 and Brown have been keeping bees on shares. 

 Jones is the owner, and Brown is the apiarist. They 

 agree to share equally in the profits and in the ex- 

 penses." The result is, that, " during the following 

 winter, three-fourths of the bees die." The ques- 

 tion is, " Shall Brown stand half the loss?" In the 

 absence of the statement, the inference is " that 

 the death of the bees occurred within the time 

 limit of the contract." 



A majority of your "best authorities" on bees 

 find for Brown— though in an indefinite and irre- 

 sponsible way. Custom often becomes— or, rather, 

 makes, law. Sometimes, however, equity is law. If 

 this case is to be tried under the former, then it 

 must be ascertained what custom is. If by equity 

 under the common law, then I would reverse and 

 remand their decision, upon the following grounds: 



1. Jones furnishing the factor, capital, and Brown 

 the factor, labor— the third and last factor, land, 

 not entering into the firm ; and agreeing, under the 

 contract, to " share equally in the profits and ex- 

 penses," they become equal partners in the busi- 

 ness for the term specified in the contract. 



2. The stipulation that they were to share equally 

 in the profits and the expenses is a sufiBcient pro- 

 vision in the contract to cover the liability of loss 

 in wintering. 



3. Under the contract they were equal owners of 

 the apiary for the time being; and, as equal owners, 

 are equally interested in all usual or unusual prof- 

 its, and so, also, of all unavoidable losses. If, 

 however, the loss could have been avoided by 

 Brown, then Brown should st^nd, as C. C. Miller 

 says, "for the resulting damage; not sharing the 

 loss, but paying all the loss.'' 



Bees, standing for money— and both are capital 

 —should have been accounted for by Brown the 

 same as if the money had been given him. If 



