380 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



November 



amount of pleasure accompanies the 

 act of fertilization of each egg. So 

 the young queen desires worker-cells 

 in which to lay. But if she is old and 

 fatigued by repeated laying, the mus- 

 cles may require rest. As her eggs 

 enlarge in her ovaries without any 

 voluntary act on her part she is com- 

 pelled to keep on laying. She may 

 then seek for drone-cells which will 

 permit her to let the eggs pass out 

 without effort or fertilization. 



The workers evidently in some 

 manner understand the wishes of the, 

 queen, for in this last instance they 

 will not only build drone-combs if 

 there is any space to build them, but, 

 as called to our attention by Dr. Mil- 

 ler, they will often leave drone- 

 combs unoccupied with honey and 

 burnished for the queen's use even in 

 remote corners of the hive, some- 

 times in the supers otherwise crowd- 

 ed with honey. 



It is still a question whether the 

 queen can, at her will, lay drone eggs 

 or worker eggs. But there is no 

 doubt in the mind of any observer 

 that, when she is in good health and 

 prolificness, she does lay drone-eggs 

 only in drone-cells and worker-eggs 

 in worker-cells. 



Let us see now what lesson we may 

 derive from these physiological 

 facts. 



If we harvest a swarm in an empty 

 hive, giving the bees only very nar- 

 row strips of foundation as starters 

 and guides, if the queen is young she 

 will probably keep up in her laying 

 with the comb-building and the re- 

 sult will be a large proportion of 

 worker-comb. But if we should give 

 the swarm two or three combs al- 

 ready built, or if, as some do, we 

 should hive the bees on half sheets 

 ot foundation, then the oees would 

 at once find themselves ahead of the 

 queen and a large proportion of 

 drone-combs would be built. 



We should, therefore, hive a swarm 

 upon either a hive full of comb or 

 full sheets of foundation, or no 

 combs at all. 



If the queen is old, there is much 

 danger of drone-combs being built, 

 so, in that case it is better to give the 

 swarm fully built combs. 



If we replace one comb with an 

 empty frame, in a full colony, during 

 our manipulations, divisions, making 

 of nuclei, etc., we will be almost cer- 

 tain of seeing this empty space filled 

 with drone-comb, for the queen has 



the entire surface of the other combs 

 to keep her busy. However, if this 

 space is given, in early spring, in the 

 center of the brood-chamber, at a 

 time when the queen is eagerly look- 

 ing for worker-cells, and the outer 

 combs, not covered with bees, are too 

 cold for her to occupy them, we may 

 secure very nice worker-combs in 

 this way. But we must remembei 

 that combs are very expensive to 

 build; so a task of this sort must not 

 be put upon any but the richest colo- 

 nies, when they have more honey 

 than they may be able to use in 

 breeding before the honey crop. 



Let us bear these facts in mind if 

 we would have the greatest possible 

 results from our bees. A large pro- 

 portion of drones is a waste and 

 should be permitted only in the colo- 

 nies which we desire to reserve as 

 breeders. One or two such colonies 

 are sufficient for an apiary. 



T 



Bees and Grapes 



From a Jersej'ville, 111., Paper. 



HE following clipping was re- 

 ceived in September at the of- 

 fice of the American Bee Jour- 



JERSEYVILLE TO WAR 



ON HONEYBEES 



Commissioner M. B. Voorhees Would 

 Forbid the Keeping of Bees Within 

 City Limits, and an Ordinance was 

 Ordered Drawn Last Wednesday 

 Prohibiting the Keeping of Bees. 



"Bees are ruining fruit in my part 

 of the city," said Commissioner 

 Voorhees at the council meeting last 



Wednesday evening, "and one of my 

 neighbors requested me to urge the 

 City Council to pass an ordinance 

 prohibiting the keeping of bees with- 

 in the city limits, and thus save the 

 valuable product of the grape vines." 



The question was discussed pro 

 and con and Commissioner Wagner 

 stated that the grapes at his home 

 had been ruined by bees stinging 

 the grapes in years past when nearby 

 neighbors had several hives; he ex- 

 pressed himself as favorable to such 

 an ordinance being passed. Mayor 

 Shephard remarked how fine the 

 grapes at the home of his aunt were, 

 and was surprised to know that it 

 was because of the removal of the 

 hives of a neighbor near the Shep- 

 hard home and the result of the con- 

 fab was that Corporation Counsel 

 G. G. Reardon was instructed to draw 

 an ordinance prohibiting the keeping 

 of bees within the city limits. 



As questions of this kind are quite 

 in line with popular prejudice, the 

 editor saw fit to take up the gauntlet, 

 in favor of the bees of Jerseyville. 

 The following letter was therefore 

 addressed to the City Commissioner 

 mentioned in the clipping: 

 "Mr. M. B. Voorhees, Jerseyville, 111.: 



"Dear Sir — I am informed, whether 

 correctly or not, that your city is 

 about to pass an ordinance prohibit- 

 ing the keeping of bees within the 

 city limits. I would like to ask 

 whether this is so. Meanwhile I 

 wish to present to you the following 

 statements : 



APIARY OF W, L. WILDER. IN GEORGIA APIARIES HAVE TO BE 

 RELATIVELY SMALL. 



ANOTHER APIARY OF W. L. WILDER, WHO IS M)T Ti ) BE CONFUSED WITH OLR 

 OLDER CORRESPONDENT. J. J. WILDER, OF CORDELE. 



"1. Bees cannot sting grapes. If 

 they did, it would poison the grapes 

 and they would be killed by their ■ 

 own devices. • 



"2. Bees cannot puncture grapes in 

 any way. You can test this to your 

 own satisfaction by placing a buncli 

 of sound grapes within a hive of 

 bees. You will find that the grapes 

 will be left untouched. If you punc- 

 ture or crush one of the berries, the 

 bees will consume the juices. 



"3. The damage done to grapes is 

 done by birds, at daylight, before 



