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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



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With Replies from our best Authorities on Bees. 



All queries sent in for this department should be briefly 

 stated, and free from any possible ambiguity. The question 

 or questions should be written upon a separate slip of paper, 

 and marked, " For Our Question-Box." 



Question 109.— Do the drones subserve any useful 

 purpose in assisting to keep the brood warm after 

 swarming? 



Sometimes. Geo. Grimm. 



I think they do. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



I believe that they do. Chas. F. Muth. 



I have always thought so, when natural swarm- 

 ing is allowed. P. H. Elwood. 



I seldom find sufficient numbers of them left in 

 the hive to affect much. R. Wilkin. 



1 guess so, but I am not sure. Let the apicultural 

 entomologists post us in regard to this. 



James Heddon. 



Not any more than the workers that could be 

 raised in their space and with their food. 



Dadant & Son. 



I suppose enough drones would keep the brood 

 warm without any workers; but I think the same 

 number of workers would do it as well, at less ex- 

 pense. C. C. Miller. 



They may at times, when it comes off cold imme- 

 diately after a swarm issues; but 1 think the cases 

 are rare where the drones are of any use inside the 

 hive. G. M. Doolittle. 



Of course, all bees help keep up the temperature 

 of the hive; but 1 should much prefer workers to 

 drones. I am sure that few drones in the hive is 

 the correct policy. A. J. Cook. 



I think it very doubtful. If they do, their use is 

 not appreciated by the rest of the colony, as they 

 are generally required to move into some corner 

 of the hive, out of the way. H. R. Boardman. 



I think they are of some assistance. I advise a 

 limited amount of drone comb in each hive. I 

 think all of the facts will not warrant the supply- 

 ing a large number of drones. L. C. Root. 



I think the brood has sufficient vital heat of its 

 own to keep warm, usually, in swarming time. In 

 case the hive was a very bad one, or an untimely 

 cold spell should occur, the drones might be useful. 



E. E. Hasty. 



I have failed to come to any conclusion in that 

 regard, but I am inclined to think that they do not. 

 Take a colony and sift the drones out, and another 

 with drones, and you will see that one does as well 

 as the other. Paul L. Viallon. 



Possibly they are of some use for this purpose, 

 but their presence can generally be dispensed with 

 without any detriment, as, at the swarming season, 

 the weather is usually so warm that a very few bees 

 will keep up the temperature of the hive. I have 

 known a drone to hatch after lying on the top of a 

 hive in the shade for three days and nights, no bees 

 having been near it during that time. 



James A. Green. 



The answers to these questions remind 

 me of the time when I used a queen-nursery 

 made of a lot of cages, so as to have a dozen 



or two queens in one hive. When the 

 queens were old enough to get fertilized I 

 let them out one at a time, to take their 

 wedding-trip. It all went very well until 

 the bees protested against having a new 

 queen every day or every other clay. They 

 began to ball them to such an extent that it 

 spoiled the business. As a remedy, I pro- 

 posed to have a colony all drones and no 

 workers. The drones would keep the brood 

 warm, and afford the new queen a refuge. 

 Of course, tfiey would not care a cent what 

 queen nor how many queens there were at a 

 time in the cluster. Well, it all proved true, 

 and more too, for they did not care a cent 

 how many robbers came in and loaded up 

 and went off. My next project was to find 

 a locality where no bees were near enough 

 to rob ; but as I did not at that time find 

 any such locality around here, my plan of 

 raising queens about as easily as you raise 

 cabbage-plants went by the board. 



Question 110.— Suppose two or more commission 

 firms in the same city— distant from your home — solicit 

 consignments of honey from you, and you know them 

 to be equally reliable and capable. They watch arri- 

 vals, and know to whom your honey goes, in that place 

 at least. They are not confined to your honey alone, 

 but have consignments from others as well. Would 

 you ship all your honey (for that market) to one of 

 these firms, or divide your consignments between them? 

 Give reasons for your decision. 



I think I would deal with one. This would in- 

 volve less expense and trouble in the whole trans- 

 action. A. J. Cook. 



I would not ship to either, but employ my leisure 

 moments in selling it at home and in the vicinity of 

 home. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Under the above circumstances I would ship to 

 both. Two salesmen, each with a line of customers, 

 are better than one. Geo. Grimm. 



I would ship to only one commission house in the 

 same place. You can not afford to enter into com- 

 petition with yourself. H. R. Boardman. 



Divide consignments, because there is a better 

 chance to make your name known, and because 

 you can best tell which firm is best. 



Dadant & Son. 



My custom has been to send or sell all to one 

 party, as I prefer to receive one full remittance. 

 There might be reasons for dividing shipments. 



L. C. Root. 



I would divide the consignment, believing that 

 each would be interested in making better returns 

 than the other in order to secure further consign- 

 ments. R. Wilkin. 



If I could get no information as to which one has 

 done the best, I would divide to find out. I have 

 divided my shipment on some occasions, shipping 

 on the same day, and the returns were at least 15% 

 difference in price sold, although the honey was all 

 of the same grade. Paul L. Viallon. 



In one city, I would confine my consignments to 

 one firm, under ordinary circumstances. Reason: 

 To prevent competitive ambition. I have seen the 

 case in our city, where a carload of comb honey 

 was consigned to two commission merchants, who 

 ran down the prices of each offer in order to effect 

 sales. Chas. F. Muth. 



